Category: Africa
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Nigeria, Morocco to Build Gas Pipeline Link
Nigeria and Morocco are set to jointly promote a gas pipeline that will connect the two countries and some other African countries. This was one of the agreement reached during the three-day visit of Moroccan King President Mohammed VI. Speaking to State House Correspondents, The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Geoffrey Onyema, said the gas…
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Egypt: New Tariffs Could Boost Customs Revenues By Egp 6 Billion – Finance Ministry
Import tariffs increases would boost customs revenues by EGP 6 billion a year, if imports remained at current volumes, Egypt’s finance ministry said in a statement on Sunday. Egypt has imposed on Thursday an increase on customs duties on 320 goods, to 60 percent for many items. The decision aims to encourage domestic production and…
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Tanzania: Let’s Invest Heavily in Renewable Energy
High population growth and rapid urbanisation continue to put pressure on energy needs in Tanzania. At the same time, energy development has not been keeping pace with the surging demand. This is creating an energy crisis because the resources keep dwindling while demand is rising sharply. Rapid expansion and a construction boom in cities like…
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Tanzania: Higher Charcoal Tax Will Only Hurt the Poor
Premier Kassim Majaliwa’s directive to government organs like the army, the police and schools to stop using charcoal as fuel and switch to alternative and environmentally friendly sources of energy might be a game changer in the protection of our environment. According to PM Majaliwa, switching from the use of charcoal to natural gas and…
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S.Africa’s Long-Term Local Currency Rating Lowered, outlook still negative
South Africa continues to depend on resident and nonresident purchases of rand denominated local currency debt to finance its fiscal and external deficits. Its financing needs have risen beyond our previous expectations, with general government debt set to increase by an average of 4.9% of GDP over 2016-2018, to reach gross debt of 54% of…
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Angola’s state-owned oil firm to pay no dividend this year
Angola’s state-owned oil firm Sonangol will not pay the government any dividends this year, its chief executive said, as crude revenues plunge in Africa’s second-largest producer. Sonangol is an important source of revenue for the government, but the firm has amassed hundreds of millions of dollars in debts and has deferred payments to its suppliers…
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South Africa’s FinMin Gordhan orders inquiry into tax agency
South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has ordered an investigation into the tax collection authority, officials told parliament on Thursday, underlining rising tensions between the Treasury and the revenue agency. Gordhan has expressed concerns at the leadership of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), saying earlier this week he could not vouch for the accuracy…
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European share markets stabilize after U.S election
European share markets continued to stabilize today after Asian stocks rebounded from Wednesday’s sharp sell-off in the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump’s US election victory. Hopes that Mr. Trump will introduce a pro-business agenda to stimulate US economic growth helped to blunt concerns about his surprise win. In London, Paris and Frankfurt, the main stock…
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South Africa making little progress in economic reform: S&P
South Africa’s is making little progress in turning around the economy as political wrangling delays the implementation of reforms, raising the risk of a credit downgrade to sub-investment grade, S&P Global Ratings said on Thursday. “If things deteriorate further it becomes difficult to continue believing that government can implement the things they say want to…
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Nigeria to recieve $600 mn loan from African Development Bank
The African Development Bank’s board approved a $600 million loan for Nigeria on Wednesday aimed at helping Africa’s largest economy plug its budget deficit as it grapples with its first recession in more than 20 years, a senior bank official said. The loan is the first tranche of a total $1 billion budget support package.…