Africa Briefs

Zim raises public workers pay by 29%

Zimbabwe's public workers have accepted a 29% salary hike for the lowest paid employees, which the government says will cushion them against double-digit inflation, unions said on Thursday, and likely averting a strike in the interim.

Civil servants in the southern African nation twice rejected a lower government wage offer in January but had been divided over a strike, which led to teachers briefly walking out of their jobs.

An agreement signed by the government and the top public workers' union Apex Council said "a cost of living adjustment of US$400 million [will] be effected across the board for all members of the public service with effect from 1 April."

That means the lowest paid worker will now earn a monthly gross salary of US$570 from US$441, said an official from Apex Council, which represents 16 public sector unions.

Public workers would also be able to import vehicles without paying import duty and the government will provide buses to transport the workers, the agreement said.

Analysts say wage pressures could see inflation accelerate, but finance minister Mthuli Ncube has said any salary increases would be within its US$8 billion budget for 2019. – Nampa/Reuters

Eskom power cuts to hit South Africa GDP

Severe planned power cuts at South African state-run utility Eskom are expected to shave 0.3 percentage points off first-quarter GDP growth, Goldman Sachs said on Thursday.

If the current intensity of the planned cuts, known as load-shedding, were to persist in 2019, it could subtract up to 0.9 percentage points from annual growth, Goldman analysts said in a note to clients.

In February South Africa's national treasury estimated GDP growth of 1.7% in 2019.

Eskom supplies more than 90% of the power in South Africa but has suffered repeated faults at its coal-fired power stations, along with low water levels at hydroelectric plants and diesel shortages.

Eskom continued to implement rolling blackouts on Thursday with 4 000 megawatts cut from the grid on a rotational basis. – Nampa/Reuters

Bashir bans hoarding of Sudanese pounds

Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir banned hoarding of the Sudanese pound and "speculation" on the currency, a presidency statement said on Thursday, as anti-government protesters again clashed with security forces in several cities.

Bashir has faced three months of persistent protests calling on him to step down, amid an economic crisis that has seen people queueing at ATMs and has caused sharp price rises.

Under the new rules announced by Bashir's office, individuals are not allowed to store more than 1 million Sudanese pounds (US$21 000) outside the banking system.

Entities are banned from storing more than 5 million Sudanese pounds and are not allowed to store amounts "that are not commensurate with the scale of [their] activity", the statement said.

Bashir's order, made in an emergency decree, also banned the counterfeiting of any currencies, as well as the possession, transportation or storage of counterfeit currencies and any tools used to produce counterfeit currencies.

It further banned all providers of goods and services from accepting payments via bank cards or cheques. – Nampa/Reuters