Africa Briefs

Kenya appoints acting finance minister

Kenya's presidency appointed labour minister Ukur Yatani as acting finance minister last Wednesday, a day after incumbent Henry Rotich was charged with corruption.

Rotich, who has been in the finance post since 2013, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to corruption charges in connection with tenders for the construction of two dams.

Rotich, who was bailed on a surety of 15 million shillings, is one of 26 people facing charges related to the project. He is due to return to court on 8 August.

President Uhuru Kenyatta also replaced the finance ministry's number-two official, Kamau Thugge, who was charged alongside Rotich, also pleading not guilty.

Italian construction company CMC di Ravenna, which is also implicated in the corruption investigation, has denied any wrongdoing and said late on Tuesday it was co-operating with authorities. – Nampa/Reuters

Tanzania's economic growth slows in Q1

Tanzania's economic growth slowed to 6.6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019 from 7.5% in the same period a year earlier, official data showed on Sunday, weighed down by softer construction, agriculture and manufacturing activity.

A leaked report from the International Monetary Fund said earlier this year that Tanzania's economy has not been expanding as fast as official figures suggest. It said lower growth was partly due to president John Magufuli's "unpredictable and interventionist" policies.

In the first quarter, construction, the biggest driver of GDP, grew 13.2%, compared with 15.6% a year ago, the state-run National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

However, growth in the mining sector, which has been the target of repeated government interventions, rebounded to 10.0% from a 5.7% decline during the same period in 2018. Tanzania is Africa's fourth-largest gold producer.

Agriculture, which accounts for about a third of economic activity, also slowed in the first quarter of this year, with crop production growing 6.0% compared to 8.9% in the same period last year, the statistics bureau said. – Nampa/Reuters

West Africa piracy threatens regional trade plans

Piracy in the waters off West Africa threatens plans to bolster regional trade, Ghana's defence minister warned last week, as navy chiefs discussed efforts to secure the troubled waters.

The Gulf of Guinea is the most dangerous stretch of sea for pirate attacks in the world, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

The IMB said 62 seafarers were taken hostage or abducted in the area in the first half of 2019, accounting for 73% of kidnappings and 92% of hostage-takings at sea worldwide.

Earlier this month a group of ten Turkish sailors were kidnapped by alleged pirates off the coast of Nigeria.

"The threats to maritime security and safety transcend borders and have the propensity to affect international trade hence a threat to one coastal nation is a threat to all nations; coastal or landlocked," Ghana's minister for defence Dominic Nitiwul told a major maritime conference in Accra. – Nampa/Reuters

Egypt can draw from loan programme

The International Monetary Fund said last week its board completed the fifth and final review of Egypt's US$12 billion loan programme, allowing authorities in Cairo to draw another US$2 billion in funds.

The disbursement will complete the amount approved under the three-year extended fund facility programme launched in November 2016.

"Egypt has successfully completed the three-year arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility and achieved its main objectives," IMF acting managing director David Lipton said in a statement. "The macroeconomic situation has improved markedly since 2016, supported by the authorities' strong ownership of their reform programme and decisive upfront policy actions."

He said Egypt had met a 2018/19 primary budget surplus target of 2% of GDP, and it would be important to maintain primary surpluses at that level to keep public debt on a downward trajectory. Elimination of most fuel subsidies will help in this regard while promoting energy efficiency, he added.

A favourable economic outlook provides an opportunity to advance further structural reforms to boost private sector growth and job creation, but Lipton said more work was needed on reforming state own enterprises, competition policy, public procurement and industrial land allocation. – Nampa/Reuters

Algeria's state power firm to seek foreign loans

Algeria's state power utility Sonelgaz will seek foreign loans to finance its development plan, its chief executive said last week, becoming the first company in the North African country to look for funds abroad in decades.

OPEC member Algeria relies heavily on oil and gas, which account for 94% of total exports and 60% of the state budget.

The government has been trying to cut spending to cope with budget and trade deficits since crude oil prices fell sharply in mid-2014.

Subsidised electricity prices are very low in Algeria compared with neighbouring countries, and energy minister Mohamed Arkab said there was no plan to raise prices.

Algeria subsidises almost everything, from basic foodstuffs to fuel and medicine, with the aim of avoiding social unrest in the country which has been shaken by protests since early this year demanding the removal of the ruling elite. – Nampa/Reuters