Category: INTERNATIONAL
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Mozambique: Secret Debt Crisis – All Budget Support Stopped
Revelations that the government of Armando Guebuza took on more than $2 billion in debt in secret are creating a deepening economic crisis. The Group of 14 (G14) budget support donors have all suspended their contributions to the government budget, the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, confirmed yesterday. Portugal holds the rotating chair…
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Egypt, Belarus Agree On Draft Agreements On Legal Assistance, Extradition
Belarusian Ambassador in Cairo Sergei Rachkov said that Egypt and Belarus agreed on two draft agreements on legal assistance in civil- and economic-related matters and extradition. In statements to MENA on Thursday, Amb. Rachkov said that the two sides agreed on the two treaties at a consultative meeting of the justice ministry experts that was…
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Egypt’s Foreign Reserves Rise to $17 Bln
Egypt’s net foreign reserves reached $17 billion at the end of April, which marks an increase by $449 million, the central bank said on Wednesday. The central bank’s reserves are made up of foreign currency, in addition to gold. The foreign currency reserves increased by $408 million in April compared to March while the value…
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Ease of growing your agribusiness in Rwanda
As a result of the majority of Rwandan youth being part of the agricultural sector, The Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF) was created but despite this, the country’s Minister of Youth and ICT feels more can be done. Despite agriculture absorbing about 70 per cent of the country’s population, the sector believes that banks…
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Policy instability a major headache for Nigerian investors
According to the findings from an investment survey by Nigerians in the Square Mile, policy instability and exchange rate volatility are the two biggest headaches investors have with Nigeria. Nigeria can be a very challenging market, but these challenges can be offset by better knowledge of the local market, as well as precise contracts and…
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Pipeline fiasco, first sneeze in eminent black gold curse
Uganda and Kenya have had their fair share of infrastructural lunacy. Take the so called “Lunatic Express” referred to by Charles Miller in his 1971 book of the same name. It told of the risible Uganda Railway which connected Uganda to the Indian Ocean, through Kenya, at an estimated £3 million in 1894, marred by…
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Zambia’s 2016 fiscal deficit seen slightly below 8.1 percent of GDP
Zambia’s budget deficit and economic growth are expected to remain largely unchanged this year as low commodity prices and electricity shortages continue hitting production, the treasury secretary said on Thursday. The fiscal deficit in Africa’s second-biggest copper producer is seen reducing slightly in 2016 to below last year’s level of 8.1 percent and then decline…
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Zimbabwe’s economic difficulties deepen
Zimbabwe’s economic difficulties have deepened after drought weakened agricultural production and disrupted hydro power generation and the southern African nation needs bold reforms, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. “Unless the country takes bold reforms, the economic difficulties will continue in (the) medium-term,” the fund said in a statement after a consultation with Zimbabwean…
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Uganda: Parliament Approves U.S.$7.8 Billion Budget
With unusually little disagreement on the floor, Parliament on Tuesday night passed a record Shs26.3 trillion post-election Budget for the 2016/17 financial year with the government staying true to what it promised in its campaign manifesto. The major objective of the Budget, according to Finance minister Matia Kasaija is to enable implementation of the ruling…
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South Africa’s rand firms 1 pct against dollar
South Africa’s rand firmed 1 percent against the dollar in early trade on Thursday, recovering from a nearly 4-week low hit in the previous session as investors fretted about the ailing economy. At 0530 GMT, the rand traded at 14.8650 per dollar compared to Wednesday’s New York close of 15.0150, which was its weakest level…