Category: Africa
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UN backs Kenya ban on plastic bags as industrialists cry foul
Kenya has banned the use of plastic bags for shopping from September in what could see 176 manufacturers close shop and thousands of jobs lost. Environment secretary Judy Wakhungu published the ban in a gazette notice to reduce dumping of the bags, earning accolades from the UN environmental agency, Unep. The UN estimates that 100…
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Zimbabwe to produce more tobacco to ease dollar crunch
Zimbabwe is likely to produce 205 million kgs of tobacco this year, slightly more than 2016, with sales of its main export likely to improve dollar supplies in the cash-strapped economy, an industry official said on Wednesday. Marking the start of annual tobacco auctions in Harare, Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board spokesman Isheunesu Moyo said…
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Kenya:23 banks sign up to PesaLink mobile banking platform
About half of Kenyan banks have now joined the mobile and electronic money transaction service, PesaLink, giving momentum to the new platform that is intended to rival the service offered by telecommunications companies. The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) says at least 23 lenders have signed to join the platform which will see banks rival the…
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Kenyan firms count billions in losses after South Sudan’s currency rout
Kenyan multinationals with subsidiaries in South Sudan have lost billions of shillings to devaluation of the neighbouring country’s currency. The cost of living in South Sudan hit a cumulative three-year rate of 1,285.3 per cent in December. The runaway inflation has also led to a 97.3 per cent depreciation of the South Sudan pound against…
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CBK signals end to licensing freeze with nod for Dubai bank
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) yesterday signalled its intention to lift the moratorium it had imposed on the licensing of new banks, saying it had started processing one local and one foreign application to set up operations. The CBK said it would finalise its approval of DIB Bank Kenya owned by UAE’s largest Islamic…
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Op-Ed: S.A’s telecoms policy will stunt economic growth and stagnate technological development
Who benefits from South Africa’s proposed ICT Policy? Is it “radical economic transformation” or something that will benefit “white Capital”? The introduction to the National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper refers to The National Development Plan: 2030: “By 2030, ICT will underpin the development of a dynamic and connected information society and a vibrant knowledge…
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Zimbabwe wants to continue importing power from South Africa
Zimbabwe is negotiating a new deal to continue importing power from South African utility Eskom to make up for shortfalls in generating capacity at its Kariba hydropower station, the energy minister said on Monday. In January last year, Eskom agreed a one-year deal to sell up to 300 megawatts of capacity to Zimbabwe, which was…
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Uganda: Libyans Pull Out of UTL, Uganda Govt Takes Over
Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) that has been limping for years, will be rescued by government, that will take over its full management immediately. Minister for Finance Matia Kasaija confirmed that Libyan company UCOM, a subsidiary of majority shareholders Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology Holding Company (LPTIC), would no longer be able to finance UTL.…
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Nigeria:Goldfields CEO predicts drop in Q1 output at South Deep mine
Nigeria’s telecoms regulator and central bank governor intervened on Thursday to try and help Etisalat Nigeria resolve debt restructuring talks with its lenders after the company missed a payment on a $1.2 billion loan. A banking source told Reuters on Wednesday that the Nigerian affiliate of Abu Dhabi-listed telecoms company Etisalat had given notice to…
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Nigeria central bank governor defends policy of limiting imports
Hard currency curbs imposed by Nigeria’s central bank have helped boost local food production, central bank governor Godwin Emefiele was quoted as saying by two newspapers on Sunday. Entrepreneurs have criticized a halt to hard currency allocations by the central bank for the import of almost 700 goods to prop up the naira hammered by…