Morning boats leave a quiet Pacific inlet, diesel hum in the air, gulls loud and nosy. News travels fast there. The $24.5M Grant from Bezos Earth Fund to Launch First Cross-Border Marine Biosphere Reserve in Latin America sets a clear signal. A large, practical step. Not theory. And yes, it anchors the phrase many groups […]
Q3 GDP Growth Slips to 0.5% as South Africa’s Economy Slows Further: Africa newsroom update. Markets opened to a softer print as South Africa Q3 GDP edged up 0.5%. The headline says it cleanly. South Africa economic growth cooled, and the South Africa economy’s slow tag felt accurate on trading floors. Cool morning air in […]
South African Airways suffer heavy financial losses as the ramifications of the covid -19 pandemic hits hard. The South African airline, which has been denied further funding from the government to support its operations, has suspended all international flights until May 31 as the country battles covid 19. Authorities say, the company is facing serious […]
Standard and Poor’s on Wednesday lowered the credit rating for South Africa by one notch to “BB-” due to the “significant adverse implications” of the coronavirus pandemic on the country’s already-weakened economy. “South Africa’s already contracting economy will face a further sharp COVID-19-related downturn in 2020,” after contracting in the second half of 2019 due […]
Zimbabwe farmers started selling their tobacco crop on Wednesday after the coronavirus outbreak delayed the opening of auctions, which provide vital foreign currency inflows, by more than a month. Tobacco is the second biggest earner of foreign exchange after gold, and last year generated $747 million in exports mainly to China and Europe, according to […]
The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday its executive board approved $3.4 billion in emergency financial assistance for Nigeria to support the oil exporter’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The global lender said it remained closely engaged with Nigerian authorities and was ready to provide policy advice and further support as needed. The outbreak and […]
Several hundred Burkinabè traders demonstrated Monday in Ouagadougou to demand the reopening of all the markets, which were closed at the end of March to combat the spread of the coronavirus, a source said. “We want the markets to reopen so we can resume our activities and provide for our needs,” said Soumaila Tiendrebeogo, a […]
Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli announced on Sunday that his government had started negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to obtain a one-year financial assistance to cope with the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “We have started discussions with the IMF for financial assistance in addition to technical assistance,” Madbouli said at a […]
Infrastructure projects financed by Chinese capital are gathering steam in Djibouti, causing concern in Washington that the tiny East African nation is falling into a debt trap that will allow Beijing to reinforce its influence on the continent. With the coronavirus spreading in the Horn of Africa, its fiscal burden may further increase. According to […]
The Republic of Chad strives for an 8% yearly growth rate by 2030 via industrialization and economic diversification. Chad hopes to achieve an 8% economic growth rate in ten years. This is the objective of the Master Plan for Industrialization and Economic Diversification, set up by Ndjamena. It aims to develop the national economy by […]
Evolution on Thursday announced that mine operating cash flows for the quarter ended March reached A$257.4-million, while free cash flows reached A$111.5-million. Gold production in the March quarter declined slightly from the 170 890 oz produced in the December quarter, to 165 502 oz, while silver production declined from 137 262 oz to 118 224 […]
TEBA, the century-old company that provides recruitment and other services to mineworkers, will draw on decades of experience to assist SA’s mining companies to gradually ramp up production as lockdown restrictions are eased. The gold and platinum sectors are working with TEBA to return 350,000 miners to the gold and platinum industry as the sector […]
Six months of debt relief has been granted to 25 countries considered the poorest in the world by the International Monetary Fund. The institution will then redirect these funds towards the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. 19 of the 25 are African countries chosen based on an extreme poverty and vulnerability ranking. Oil prices, virus, […]
Recent concessions made by government to relax informal trading restrictions, amid a growing risk of coronavirus infection, highlights the precarious socio-economic situation of low paid workers – not to mention the enduring contradictions of managing an unequal society and economy in South Africa. As the Covid-19 induced economic shutdown tightens its grip, many people must […]
The Pound Sterling South African Rand (GBP/ZAR) exchange rate rallied by 0.8% this afternoon, leaving the pairing trading at around R23.2864. The South African Rand suffered steep losses against the Pound today after a surprise rate cut from the country’s central bank. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) slashed interest rates by 100 basis points […]
The International Monetary Fund, IMF said that Nigeria’s economy will contract by 3.4% in 2020, but rebound with 2.4% growth in 2021. The IMF made this projection in its latest edition of the World Economic Outlook just released at the ongoing Spring Meeting in Washington. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday projected that Nigeria’s […]
Egypt has called for African countries to be exempt from paying debt interests bilaterally and multilaterally due to the worldwide spread of the novel coronavirus, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) Ambassador Alaa Youssef said on Saturday. In an online seminar discussing the pandemic’s economic implications, Youssef said that exempting debt […]
Nigeria will cut its oil production by 1.9 million barrels per day. This will reduce its daily crude oil production to 1.412 million barrels. Abuja is hoping for a $15 rebound in the price per barrel in the short term. This rebound that could bring at least 2.8 billion dollars to the country, according to […]
Ethiopia’s government vowed to continue work on a massive dam that’s stoked tensions with Egypt, even as the Horn of Africa nation contends with the growing spread of the coronavirus. Completing what would be Africa’s largest hydropower reservoir, filling it and producing electricity is a top priority for Ethiopia, State Minister for Finance Eyob Tekalign […]
Nigeria’s hydroalcoholic gel business booms amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In this edition, we speak with Dr. Stephanie Sodangi, who set up a local gel manufacturing plant in her clinic in Abuja. High demand for sanitary products such as hydro-alcoholic gels and facemasks following the Covid-19 pandemic has led to the emergence of startups. In Nigeria, […]