Category: Africa
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Zimbabwe: Bank Teller Accused of Stealing $164,000 Acquitted
A STANDBIC Bank teller was accused of stealing $164,000 from cash vaults was Wednesday acquitted after a Harare court ruled that prosecutors failed to prove their case. Aaron Rashama, 45, of New Bluffhill in Harare was facing theft of trust property charges and out of custody on $1000 bail. Despite insisting that Rashama was captured…
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Nigeria: Delta State Worried About Relocation of 26 Oil Firms
The Delta State government has raised serious concern over the exit of 26 major oil companies following unabated hostilities and attack on their facilities by militants. While the government also flayed the frequent communal crises in the state, especially in Ogbe-Ijoh/Aladja communities, Deputy Governor Kingsley Burutu Otuaro, who addressed political leaders on Tuesday in Asaba,…
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How China contractors drove Kenyan firms out of mega projects
Big Kenyan contractors are feeling the heat of competition from deep-pocketed Chinese rivals whose superior machinery and lower bids for lucrative State tenders have driven local firms out of business. Kundan Singh, Spencon Holdings and Mugoya Construction are some of the erstwhile big names that have fallen on hard times due to the Chinese invasion,…
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Angola’s debt lower, but continued fiscal adjustment needed
Angola’s public debt is projected to narrow to 62.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2017, from 71.6 percent last year, the International Monetary Fund said late on Tuesday. Weaker oil prices in the last three years has constrained growth and put state finances under pressure in Africa’s second- biggest crude producer. “…continued fiscal adjustment…
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Congo central bank injects $50 million into market to prop up franc
Democratic Republic of Congo’s central bank injected $50 million into the interbank exchange market on Tuesday to prop up the Congolese franc, which has lost nearly 40 percent of its value in the last year, the bank’s spokesman said. The bank injected $50 million into the market five times in 2016 and hiked interest rates…
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North Africa:Single Power Grid to Link Dar With Cairo and Cape Town
An ambitious project to connect the North and the South points of Africa with a single power line through the Cairo-to- Cape Town grid is in the pipeline and may be functional within three years from now. The Minister for Energy and Minerals Professor Sospeter Muhongo, revealed the proposed power project during the ongoing 24th…
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Egypt: Germany Lifts Last Restriction On Tourism Flights to South Sinai – Foreign Ministry
The Egyptian embassy in Berlin managed to remove the last of the restrictions imposed on flights to Sharm al-Sheikh and other areas in South Sinai, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Germany, along with Russia, Britain, and others, suspended flights after Russian jetliner Airbus A321 crashed a few minutes after take-off from…
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Tanzania considers tax on charcoal to save forests
Tanzania is considering putting a tax on charcoal with the aim of discouraging the use of the fuel, which is a big source of energy for cooking but also a major contributor to deforestation. Officials say they believe making charcoal more expensive would significantly reduce demand for it and cut runaway tree felling in the…
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Nigeria must not scare away MTN, says comms minister
Nigeria must not scare away MTN, its minister of communications said, as lawmakers investigate alleged illegal money transfers just three months after the government fined Africa’s biggest telecoms firm over $1 billion. The comments by Adebayo Shittu are the government’s first statement on the latest investigation into MTN, indicating the government does not want to…
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Gambia’s central bank accounts intact, says president’s spokesman
Gambia’s central bank deposits are “intact”, a spokesman for President Adama Barrow said on Monday, a day after the new leader had said there was no money left in the state coffers. Barrow said on Sunday that it appeared his exiled predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, had looted state resources after his election defeat. A Barrow adviser…