Category: Africa
-
S.A finmin Pravin Gordhan’s affidavit shows suspicious Gupta transactions worth $490mn
South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has revealed in a court affidavit distributed by the Treasury on Sunday that 6.8 billion rand ($490 million) in payments made by wealthy brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta, companies they control, and other individuals with the same surname have been reported to authorities as suspicious since 2012. The…
-
South Africa’s sugar tax could include pure fruit juices
South Africa could add pure fruit juices to the list of drinks expected to face a levy under a proposed tax on sugary drinks, the Treasury has said, in a country where more than half of adults are overweight. In his budget speech in February, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan proposed the tax on sugary drinks…
-
S.A:MTN Zakhele Futhi offer extended by a week
Black investors and groups hoping to get a slice of mobile operator MTN, through MTN Zakhele Futhi, at a discount rate now have an additional week to do so. The offer has been extended to Friday, 28 October 2016 at 4pm CAT. MTN Zakhele Futhi, an empowerment scheme, affords historically disempowered black South African individuals…
-
Ethiopian protesters attack factories in Africa’s rising economic star
Protesters in Ethiopia damaged almost a dozen mostly foreign-owned factories and flower farms and destroyed scores of vehicles this week, adding economic casualties to a rising death toll in a wave of unrest over land grabs and rights. The violence has cast a shadow over a nation where a state-led industrial drive has created one…
-
Kenya:Ombudsman censures the Treasury on Budget cuts
The Treasury’s decision to cut funding to various government departments in the current fiscal year is illegal, the Commission on Administrative Justice (the Ombudsman) has said, insisting that such moves are in breach of the Constitution and must be reversed. The advisory came in the wake of the Treasury’s July 12, 2016 circular that outlined…
-
Kenya:Minister now declares KQ pilots’ strike plan illegal
Transport secretary James Macharia has declared the planned strike by Kenya Airways’ pilots illegal, warning that participating in the industrial action at a time the airline is trying to recover amounts to economic sabotage. Mr Macharia’s response came five days before the strike commencement date and on the day the national carrier announced that its…
-
Egypt: Sugar Shortages Hit Egyptian Markets
After a three-hour hunt for sugar in a number of shops in Giza, one consumer was able to find one bag at a supermarket, but at the price of EGP 10. The same 1 kg bag was sold at EGP 5 about two months ago. “We hear daily that the government has supplied sugar, but…
-
Mali mine workers to go on five-day strike
Mali mine workers will go on strike on Oct. 24 for five days, a union official said on Tuesday, to protest what he described as unfair treatment of union workers. Mali is the third biggest gold producer in Africa behind South Africa and Ghana, and gold overwhelmingly dominates its mining sector, itself about a quarter…
-
KQ announces improved financials, says strike threat unjustified
National carrier Kenya Airways has announced that its net loss for the six months to September stands at Sh5 billion, a 58.3 per cent improvement from the Sh12 billion that the airline reported in a similar period last year. KQ, as the airline is known by its international code, says its operating profit during the…
-
Nigeria approves transfer of Visafone shares to MTN
Nigeria’s telecommunications regulator NCC said on Tuesday it has approved a request by internet provider Visafone to transfer its shares to MTN following its takeover by the South African firm. MTN bought Visafone in January to improve its broadband services in its biggest market Nigeria. “The NCC, in line with its procedure granted a Final-Approval…