IMF - The African Mirror

Aug

21

2024

bird TenX : Africa’s top 10 Investment destinations

BUSINESS

IN 2021, Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa were the top investment destinations in Africa. Fast forward to 2024, the tables have turned for these large economies with substantial populations and economic wealth. Instead, two island nations - Seychelles and Mauritius - have emerged as the new investor favourites, as the focus shifts beyond population size and overall wealth to a consideration of personal freedom and human development. However, despite these shifting investor preferences, the major economies in North, South, and West Africa still dominate the list of Africa's most attractive countries for investors. A report compiled by Rand Merchant Bank…

May

16

2024

By The African Mirror

Angola reflects the dangers of former liberation movements forgetting their roots

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ABBEY MAKOE ANGOLA's Western-aligned foreign policy has gradually come under huge pressure from the country’s workforce, particularly the civil servants, or government employees. In March, and April, they took to the streets in protest over what they deem severe taxes and lower wages. The next nation-wide strike by the trade unions is scheduled to take place in the first week of June. The monotonous regularity with which workers are taking to the streets, often in spite of the “no-work no-pay rule”, reflects the extent to which the proletariat of the society has become displeased with the political elites. Angola is…

May

11

2024

By CHIJIOKE OHUOCHA and ELISHA BALA-GBOGBO

IMF maintains Nigeria growth forecast at 3.3% for 2024

BUSINESS

THE International Monetary Fund maintained its growth forecast of 3.3% for Nigeria's economy for 2024, up from 2.9% last year, citing a pick up in services and trade sectors. The IMF added that the growth outlook was still challenging in Africa's most populous nation and top oil producer, with food price inflation of 40% in March, raising food security concerns. "If Nigeria grows at 3.3% that is just above the population dynamics, which is a big challenge," IMF mission chief for Nigeria, Axel Schimmelpfenning, told journalists. Since taking office about a year ago, President Bola Tinubu has embarked on sweeping…

May

09

2024

By DANNY BRADLOW

South Africa will be president of the G20 in 2025: two much-needed reforms it should drive

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTH Africa will play an important international role in 2025 as president of the G20. The G20 is a group of 19 countries as well as the African Union and the European Union. Between them they represent 85% of the global economy, 75% of world trade and 67% of the global population. The G20 defines itself as the premier multilateral forum for international economic cooperation. During its G20 presidential year, South Africa will host a summit of heads of state and government. It will also be responsible for organising and chairing about 200 meetings of ministers and officials. These will…

May

04

2024

By The African Mirror

NEW UNITED NATIONS REFORMS MUST FAVOUR THE GLOBAL SOUTH

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ABBEY MAKOE THE rise of the Majority World, or global south, in world politics has triggered pertinent issues in relation to the archaic nature and form of the UN system. And, Secretary-General of the UN Antonio Guterres summed it absolutely spot-on when he recently delivered a frank appraisal of the UN in this day and age. “We cannot solve 21st century problems with 20th century tools,” he said. The UN system has been grossly undermined by the stranglehold of the Western-led unipolar international world order. The UN Charter effected at the end of WW11 in 1945 sought to create a world that…

Apr

23

2024

By MAXWELL AKALAARE ADOMBILA

Ghana finance minister expects MoU with bilateral lenders in May

BUSINESS

GHANA'S Finance Minister expects a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) from the country's bilateral creditors in May on a restructuring deal, he said. The MoU, once signed, would cement a deal to restructure $5.4 billion of loans with its official creditors, including China and France, agreed in January. The restructuring is a milestone in Ghana's quest for debt relief as it charts its way out of the worst economic crisis in a generation and should unlock further tranches of its $3 billion programme with the IMF. Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, Mohammed Amin…

Jan

25

2024

By PATRICK WERR

Egypt economic growth forecasts lowered as Gaza crisis flares – Reuters poll

BUSINESS

Egyptian economic growth will be slower than previously expected as its pound weakens, inflation cuts into purchasing power and fallout from the Gaza crisis eats into the country's main sources of foreign currency, a Reuters poll showed. Revenue from the Suez Canal fell 40% in early January after sea attacks by Yemen's Houthis diverted away shipping. The crisis in neighbouring Gaza that started in October has also weakened the tourism outlook. "Developments over the past month have seen the country being hit hard from various angles and directly to its main revenue generators," Pieter du Preez of Oxford Economics wrote in a…

Jan

12

2024

By The African Mirror

IMF ‘optimistic’ Ghana will reach official creditor debt deal soon

BUSINESS

THE International Monetary Fund said that it was "optimistic" that Ghana and its official bilateral creditors would reach a debt restructuring deal soon, paving the way for another $600 million IMF loan payment to the country. Discussions between Ghanaian authorities and the Official Creditor Committee, co-chaired by China and France, are showing "promising progress", the IMF's Resident Representative for Ghana, Leandro Medina, said. "We are optimistic that an agreement will be reached soon, allowing to swiftly present the first ECF (Extended Credit Facility) programme review to our Executive Board," he said via email. The West African nation defaulted on most…

Nov

17

2023

By DUNCAN MIRIRI and GEORGE OBULUTSA

Kenya gets additional $938 mln from IMF, soothing nerves

BUSINESS

THE International Monetary Fund has reached a staff-level agreement with Kenya, unlocking immediate access to a $682.3 million tranche and boosting the current lending programme by $938 million, the fund said. The East African nation is grappling with acute liquidity challenges caused by uncertainty over its ability to access funding from financial markets before a $2 billion Eurobond matures next June. Its balance of payments and financial positions have also been strained by the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic and frequent climate change-induced droughts, the fund said after a two-and-a-half-week review mission to Nairobi. "The tightening global financing conditions for…

Oct

17

2023

By RACHEL SAVAGE

Debt squeeze leaves sub-Saharan Africa’s governments in fiscal bind

BUSINESS

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged sub-Saharan African policymakers last week to cut costly fuel subsidies and raise more in taxes, measures that may be hard to implement as governments grapple with tough spending choices amid high debt. The region has been hit by repeated economic shocks since 2020, from the COVID-19 pandemic to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and rising U.S. interest rates, putting cash-strapped, debt-laden governments in a political and fiscal bind. However, the IMF's prescriptions, set out at its annual meetings last week, are often painful to administer. Countries from Ghana, which defaulted on its debts last year, to Kenya, which…