The African Union is pitching what it touts as a local solution to survive mounting debt for members. And the proposals could be tabled to member states as soon as the next summit, signaling the latest concerns about the potential of debt to drain economic targets. The revelations emerged last week at a conference on debt in Dakar, Senegal where officials explained the policy direction. Dr Patrick Dzana Olomo, the Policy Officer for Investment and Resource Mobilisation, Economic Affairs Department of the African Union Commission blamed Africa’s mounting debt on failure to put in place clear mechanisms on how to…
Author: Partners
Kenyan authorities have raised the alarm over the growing use of digital currencies, warning of possible money laundering and terrorism financing risks from trading in cryptocurrencies. Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Kamau Thugge said since the cryptocurrency space is rapidly changing, there is a need for cross-border regulations to protect citizens against risks. Appearing before an ad hoc committee of the National Assembly inquiring into operations of Worldcoin in Kenya last week, Dr Thugge pointed to a lack of laws barring the trade in crypto as an avenue for the space to be used as a conduit for money laundering and…
The Conversation A military intervention appears set to end the Bongo family’s 56 years hold to power in Gabon. A group of senior military officers announced that they had seized power shortly after President Ali Bongo Ondimba was declared winner of the country’s recently held presidential poll. The coup leaders claimed the 26 August general election was not credible. They announced a cancellation of the election result, closure of all borders and dissolution of all state institutions including the legislative arm of government.Ali Bongo was said to have won 64.27% of votes cast in the election that the opposition described as a sham. According to the electoral umpire, Bongo’s main…
By AFP Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba is being detained at home and one of his sons has been arrested for “treason,” military officers said Wednesday, hours after announcing they had overthrown the government. “President Ali Bongo is under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors,” they said in a statement read out on state TV. “Bongo’s son and close adviser Noureddin Bongo Valentin, his chief of staff Ian Ghislain Ngoulou as well as his deputy, two other presidential advisers and the two top officials in the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) have been arrested,” a military leader said.…
The Conversation South Africa recently hosted a Brics summit. The event attracted international attention because the group has recently begun to emerge as a possible rival against US dominance of world affairs. The US and China lie at the heart of this debate. They are the two biggest trading partners of most African countries and both have strategic interests that they are determined to protect. How might Brics affect US-African ties? Altering diplomatic relations between African countries and the US on account of Brics would have its pros and cons for the continent. Some potential gains from alienating the US would…
The East African East African governments have stepped up efforts to cut out inefficient and loss-making state-owned corporations in a move seen as relieving taxpayers of unnecessary burdens. Governments are keen on parastatal reforms to avert financial bleeding, a plan backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In Tanzania, President Samia Suluhu’s administration is working on a public sector streamlining plan that involves scrapping some loss-making parastatals and merging others to boost operational efficiency and profitability. And in Kenya, the government has amended the privatisation law by giving more powers to the National Treasury to sell state-owned enterprises without approval…
The Conversation China experienced a massive economic boom in the 1990s and 2000s which increased its demand for resource imports, like oil, from Africa. This led to a model of development finance in which China funded infrastructure in African countries in return for access to resources. This approach became known as the Angola model, because it all started with an infrastructure-for-petroleum partnership between China and Angola in 2004. Within a decade, however, a shift in China’s approach was needed, for a couple of reasons. First, African countries are vulnerable to shocks and they struggle to keep up with mounting debt repayments. For instance, in Angola’s case,…
The East African The relentless depreciation of East African currencies, which is supposed to make their exports cheaper in foreign markets, has failed to improve trade balances for the region, defying expectations and putting more pressure on foreign exchange needs. All domestic currencies in the region have depreciated at different rates over the past year, but the trade deficit in nearly all the countries has continued to widen, signalling increased importation or a drop in exports, despite the price adjustments, which should impact demand. Ugandan economist Bernard Musekese explains that all East African economies are running on an export-led strategy,…
The Associated Press Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country’s role as the G20 host this year would focus on highlighting the concerns of the developing world, and has proposed the African Union to become permanent members of the forum. “We have a vision of inclusiveness and with that vision, we have invited the African Union to become permanent members of the G20,” Modi said on Sunday as he addressed the Business 20 Summit in New Delhi. The B20 is an industry event and part of the summit of the 20 leading rich and developing nations, which will be hosted in…
The longest nationwide power outage in Kenyans’ memory remains a mystery as the government-owned Kenya Power blamed a failure at Africa’s largest wind farm, which, in turn, laid the responsibility on the power grid. Most Kenyans, including in the capital, Nairobi, saw power return almost 24 hours after the massive outage occurred on Friday night. Hundreds of people were stranded in darkness for hours at Kenya’s main international airport in Nairobi, leading to a public apology from the government. “This situation WILL NOT happen again,” Transport minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, said. Shortly before midnight Saturday, Kenya Power offered the first detailed explanation of…
