Category: INTERNATIONAL
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Zimbabwe: UN Rejects Zimbabwe’s Ivory Export Proposal
ZIMBABWE and Namibia have both failed to secure a UN permission to export ivory, in secret ballots held on Monday. Namibia’s bid lost 73 to 27 while Zimbabwe lost 80 to 21. The two SADC countries had argued that trade in ivory seized from poachers and in tusks from dead animals would protect elephants but…
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Algeria: E-Payment Officially Launched in Algeria
E-payment service is to be officially launched in Algeria on Tuesday, October 4th, the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (ABEF) said Monday in a statement. The launching ceremony, organized by the ABEF, will be attended by the minister of Finance, Hadji Baba Ammi, the minister of Poste, Information and Communication Technologies, Imane Houda Feraoun,…
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Kenya:Banks ordered to stop charging borrowers new transaction fees
Commercial banks have been asked to immediately stop charging their customers any new levies introduced following the coming into force of a new law capping interest rates. Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) director in charge of Bank Supervision Gerald Nyaoma says in a circular to chief executives of commercial banks and mortgage finance companies that…
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South Africa says gas-to-power projects to cost around $3.7 bln
South Africa’s planned gas-to-power projects will cost around 50 billion rand ($3.7 billion) and will require 1.6 million tonnes a year of gas imports, department of energy official Karen Breytenbach said on Tuesday. South Africa will announce preferred bidders for gas-to-power projects by the end of March as part of efforts to diversify electricity production…
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Sierra Leone will cut govt spending by 30 pct
Sierra Leone will cut the cost of running its government by 30 percent to try to tackle an economic crisis triggered by falls in commodity prices and the aftermath of an Ebola epidemic, President Ernest Bai Koroma said in a statement. The measures will come into effect immediately and continue for the rest of the…
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Algerian, Tunisian Press Agencies Renew Cooperation Agreement
The National press agency Algeria Press Service (APS) and its Tunisian counterpart Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) renewed Sunday, in Algiers, the cooperation agreement linking the two agencies. The cooperation agreement, signed by the Director General of APS Abdelhamid Kacha and Chief Executive Officer of TAP Hamida El Bour, follows the previous cooperation agreements signed between…
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South Africa may be over the worst of its economic downturn – FinMin Gordhan
South Africa may be over the worst of its economic downturn with potential growth of over one percent next year, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Monday, noting President Jacob Zuma had expressed confidence in him. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the FT Africa Summit, Gordhan also said the country, which is teetering…
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Kenya:Strong shilling hurting exports in region
The Kenyan shilling is nearly 20 per cent overvalued against the dollar in real terms rendering the manufacturing sector uncompetitive in the regional export markets, economists at Renaissance Capital say. The analysts estimate the fair value of the shilling based on the real effective exchange rate (Reer) should be 119 units to the dollar. Reer…
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Kenya:Planned road expansion overshoots initial budget by Sh8.3bn
Conversion of the James Gichuru Road-Rironi section of the Nairobi-Nakuru road into a six lane highway will cost Sh8.3 billion more than was announced in July, according to an audit report submitted to the National Environment Management Authority (Nema). The report says that expansion of the road will cost Sh24.7 billion or Sh8.3 billion higher…
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Algeria: European Commission – Significant Drop in EU Agrifood Exports to Algeria
Exports of agrifood products from the European Union to Algeria have significantly decreased during the last 12 years from €3.408 billion on August 2015 to €2.778 billion on July 2015 during the period between August 2015 and July 2016 period, down by 18.5%, say data published by the European Commission. The decline in agrifood exports…