International Monetary Fund - The African Mirror

May

2024

African countries can’t resolve their debt crisis under a system rigged against them

THE debt situation in many African countries has escalated again to a critical juncture. Twenty are in, or at risk of, debt distress. Three pivotal elements significantly contribute to this. Firstly, the rules governing the international banking system favour developed countries and work against the interests of African countries. Secondly, multilateral financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank focus on poverty alleviation. This is commendable. But it doesn’t address the liquidity crisis countries face. Many don’t have the necessary readily available funds in their coffers to cover urgent development priorities due to their dependency…

Apr

2024

By ODONGO KODONGO

Kenya’s shilling is regaining value, but don’t expect it to last – expert

BUSINESS

SHORTLY after Kenya’s 2022 elections, the shilling depreciated rapidly against the US dollar – the country’s main currency for international transactions – fuelling a wave of political discontent. More than a year later, the Central Bank of Kenya, taking its cue from the International Monetary Fund, said that the run on the shilling was a market correction for a currency that had been overvalued by between 20% and 25%. By early this year, the shilling recovered. Finance scholar Odongo Kodongo answers our questions about Kenya’s exchange rate fluctuations. How is the shilling’s exchange rates determined? Kenya operates a floating exchange…

Apr

2024

By RACHEL SAVAGE and MAXWELL AKALAARE ADOMBILA

Ghana fails to reach debt deal with international bondholders

BUSINESS

GHANA has failed to secure a workable debt deal with two bondholder groups in its push to restructure $13 billion of international bonds, the government said on Monday, in a blow to its efforts to swiftly emerge from default and economic crisis. Formal talks were on hold for now after the International Monetary Fund indicated that the deal would not fit its debt sustainability parameters, the government said in a statement. "We will regroup to continue negotiations until we reach a deal that is consistent with IMF debt sustainability targets," the office of Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam said on…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Senegal says oil, gas and mine contracts will be reworked if needed

BUSINESS

SENEGAL'S new Energy and Mines Minister said that the government would renegotiate oil, gas and mining contracts if necessary once a promised audit is completed. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who defeated the ruling coalition candidate in a landslide election victory last month, announced the audit after his inauguration on April 2, assuring investors they were still welcome in the West African country. In some of his first remarks since his appointment last week as energy and mines minister, Birame Souleye Diop said closer scrutiny of the sectors was high on the agenda for Senegal, which is due to start oil and gas…

Mar

2024

By MAXWELL AKALAARE ADOMBILA and CHRISTIAN AKORLIE

Ghana seeks to speed up debt restructuring negotiations

BUSINESS

GHANA wants to speed up remaining debt restructuring negotiations, its finance minister said, as the government pushes for a deal to rework over $13 billion of international bonds. The West African country has been overhauling its debts as it tries to emerge from its worst economic crisis in a generation with the help of a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. The government reached a deal in principle in January to restructure $5.4 billion of loans with official creditors. It has since started formal talks with one bondholder group under non-disclosure agreements, Reuters reported about two weeks ago, citing sources familiar…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Egypt raises wide range of fuel prices, official gazette says

BUSINESS

EGYPT raised prices on a wide range of fuel products, the official gazette said, pressing ahead with a promise it made to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) more than a year ago as part of a $3 billion financial support agreement. In a letter of intent signed in November 2022, Egypt said it would allow most fuel product prices to rise to bring domestic prices more in line with those in international energy markets. It also promised to make up for a slowdown in such increases over the previous year. But it subsequently hiked prices only once, in March 2023.…

Mar

2024

By STEPHEN ONYEIWU

Inflation in Nigeria is still climbing while it has slowed globally: here’s why

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

JUST as Nigerians were gradually digging out from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were hit by high inflation. The Nigerian economy contracted by 6.1% at the peak of COVID-19 in the second quarter of 2020. Unemployment rate rose from 27% in the second quarter of 2020 to 33% in the fourth quarter of the same year. STEPHEN ONYEIWU, Professor of Economics & Business, Allegheny College The World Bank estimated that 11 million Nigerians were pushed into poverty during the pandemic, in addition to the 100 million (out of 200 million people in the country) who were already…

Mar

2024

By SARAH EL SAFTY

Egypt says land sale, IMF accord will ease budget problems

BUSINESS

EGYPT has taken major steps towards lowering its budget deficit by selling real estate as well as agreeing on a support package with the International Monetary Fund, its finance minister said. Egypt's primary budget surplus will rise to above 3.5% in the fiscal year that will begin in July, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait told a news conference on Sunday. The primary surplus does not include interest payments, which in the seven months to end-January accounted for well over half of all expenditures and have kept Egypt deeply in deficit. The finance ministry last month forecast a primary general budget surplus…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

IMF reaches staff-level agreement with Ivory Coast for $1.3 bln resilience, sustainability facility

BUSINESS

THE International Monetary Fund said that it had reached a staff-level agreement with Ivory Coast for a $1.3 billion programme to fight climate change supported by the fund's Resilience and Sustainability Facility. Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa grower, is exposed and vulnerable to climate change, the IMF said in a statement. "Rising temperatures, rainfall disruptions, flooding, rising sea levels and coastal erosion are major challenges and represent recurring risks for resilient, sustainable and inclusive economic growth," the fund said. The reform measures between 2024 and 2026 will support Ivory Coast's actions to strengthen climate change adaptation and mitigation, particularly…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Burundi economy to expand 4.3% in 2024 vs 2.7% last year – IMF

BUSINESS

BURUNDI'S economy is projected to expand 4.3% this year from 2.7% in 2023, helped by improved performance in the agriculture sector, the International Monetary Fund said. With a population of 12 million, Burundi's economy relies heavily on agriculture revenues, especially from tea and coffee. "Growth is projected to accelerate ... supported by strong agricultural production, productive investment, and the ongoing reforms," the fund said in a statement late on Monday. Fuel shortages had hampered economic activity in 2023, the fund said. Burundi's economy is only starting to recover from years of conflict and political upheaval under former leader Pierre Nkurunziza…