August 4, 2023/United Capital

Anglophone West Africa (WAEMU)
Nigeria

• Currency in circulation hits N2.26tn, says CBN

Currency outside banks rose to N2.26tn at the end of June 2023, according to the latest figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria. According to figures obtained from the CBN, the currency outside banks rose by 185.68 per cent (N1.47tn) between January 2023 (N792.18bn) and June 2023 (N2.26tn). It had earlier dipped by 235.03 per cent to N982.09bn at the end of February from N3.29tn at the end of October 2022, on the back of the naira redesign policy of the CBN.
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• Price pressures dampens business confidence, growth in private sector

Steep price pressures restricted the pace of growth in the Nigerian private sector in July 2023, according to the Purchasing Managers’ Index, PMI, report released by the Stanbic IBTC Bank. The PMI in July was 51.7, down from 53.2 in June and the decline has been attributed to a steep increase in overall input prices.
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• External reserves shed $167.2m as naira slumps further

The country’s external reserves lost $167.2m in July, as the naira fell further to the dollar. Figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria on movement of external reserves showed that the reserves which ended June 30, 2023 at $34.12bn, fell to $33.95bn as of July 28, 2023.
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• CBN exempts PMBs, MFBs from cash withdrawal limits

The Central Bank of Nigeria has exempted Primary Mortgage Banks and Microfinance Banks that provide banking services to the poor from its cash withdrawal limit. This is to enable them to continue to play their expected roles in the economy and provide specialised retail banking service to their customers.
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• Manufacturers spent N119bn to generate power in nine years – MAN

Expenditure by manufacturers on alternative energy sources (excluding power from distribution companies) jumped by 82 per cent, from N25bn in 2014 to N144bn in 2022. Manufacturers spent about N783bn during the period to self-generate power to augment the insufficient power supply from power distribution companies to power their factories.
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Ghana

• Ghana Cuts Growth Forecast for This Year But Sees Rebound From 2024

Ghana almost halved its forecast for growth this year amid a sluggish economy, global headwinds and the impact of fiscal belt-tightening under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund. The west African nation now expects real gross domestic product growth of 1.5% this year, down from 2.8%.
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• Ghana’s Producer Price Inflation Drops to 29.2 Percent in June

The year-on-year Producer Price Inflation (PPI) fell from 30.3 per cent in May to 29.2 per cent in June, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has announced. This represents 1.1 percentage point decrease in producer inflation relative to the rate recorded in May, and the GSS said the producer inflation rate for June was provisional.
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• Ghana Cuts Growth Forecast for This Year But Sees Rebound From 2024

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) incurred a loss of GH¢55.12 billion in the 2022 financial year as a result of the restructuring of the Central Bank’s holdings of government debt. This was done under terms similar to those of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
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Francophone West Africa (WAEMU)
Mali

• Burkina Faso and Mali Skip Ecowas Meeting on Niger Situation

Member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss issues related to the political crisis in Niger. The leaders of Burkina Faso and Mali, member countries of the community, were absent at the high-level meeting held in Nigeria’s capital Abuja. The defense ministers of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, as well as Niger, also failed to attend the meeting, which has highlighted internal differences within the organization of West African states.
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Senegal

• World Bank approves two grants for Senegal focusing on higher education and flood management

According to the World Bank, which gives the details of the financing, one, amounting to 135 million dollars, or just over 80 billion CFA francs, is intended to reduce the risk of flooding in the peri-urban areas of Dakar to impact 184 000 inhabitants.
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• Financing of 1,150 billion CFA francs granted to Senegal by the IMF

This funding is being made available to Senegal because the Senegalese economy has been ”hit hard by various shocks, including rising food and energy prices, tight financial conditions, weak demand foreign exchange and the appreciation of the US dollar.
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East Africa
Kenya

• Govt Backdates Implementation of Housing Levy to July 1

The government has suspended all activities associated with the cryptocurrency project WorldCoin in Kenya until risks to the public are assessed.
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• Education Changes to Take Effect Immediately – President Ruto

President William Ruto has said the country’s education system will undergo immediate changes. This follows Tuesday’s launch of the report of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform at State House in Nairobi.
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• Govt to Implement Warehouse Receipt System to Curb Cartels

The Government intends to implement the Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) Act of 2019 to remove cartels in the supply chain. President William Ruto said this will remove brokers and middlemen in the agricultural sector who have been blamed for fleecing farmers or producers.
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• 39 Kenyan Banks Contribute Sh181.27 Billion in Taxes to Govt

A total of 39 banks in Kenya paid Sh181.27 billion in taxes to the Government in 2022, despite tough economic challenges. The latest study from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) shows Total Tax Contribution (TTC) from the lender grew 39.94 percent from Sh129.52 billion in 2021.
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• Fertilizer Prices Slashed By Sh1,000 as Govt Launches Second Phase of Subsidy Program

President William Ruto has launched the second phase of the fertilizer subsidy program that reduces the price of the commodity for farmers countrywide further from Sh3,500 to Sh2,500. According to the head of state, this will boost farmers produce during the short rains season that is soon to kick off.
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• Kenya, U.S. Bolster Ties in Combating Money Laundering

President William Ruto on Friday held discussions with Brian Nelson, the US Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. The talks primarily focused on reinforcing anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism frameworks, along with discussions about Treasury assistance to enhance capacity.
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Rwanda

• Govt Rolls Out New Anti-Terrorist Financing Measures

Rwanda’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has devised a raft of new measures aimed at enhancing the country’s capacity to prevent, combat, and criminalise money laundering and terror financing, The New Times has learned.
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• New Joint Venture to Explore Lithium in Rwanda

Aterian PLC, a UK-based mining company has signed a joint venture agreement with Rio Tinto Mining and Exploration Ltd and Kinunga Mining Ltd to explore Lithium in Rwanda. The agreement, signed on August 1, allows for the exploration and development of lithium and by-products at the HCK Joint Venture project licensed in Rwanda. The Project has 19 identified pegmatite zones for lithium, cesium, and tantalum over its 2,750 hectares in Southern Province
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• Rwanda-Uganda Border Crossing Sees Surge in Trade

Trade between Rwanda and Uganda, particularly in Burera District, has experienced a significant upswing since the reopening of the border between the two countries in January 2022
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• Rwanda Looks to Cut Vegetable Seed Imports

The Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Ildephonse Musafiri, has called on Rwanda’s seed industry to focus on research and resources to address the country’s heavy dependence on imported vegetable seeds.
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Tanzania

• Statement By IMF Deputy Managing Director Bo Li At the Conclusion of His Visit to Tanzania

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Mr. Bo Li, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today in Dar es Salaam at the conclusion of his visit to Tanzania.
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• Ghana Launches Afcta Trade Expedition to Tanzania

AFRICAN Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is collaborating with Ghana’s National AfCFTA Coordination Office (NCO) to undertake a trade expedition in Tanzania next month. The National Coordinator of Ghana’s ACTA Coordination, Dr Farred Arthur, said in Dar es Salaam during the launching of the AFCTA trade expedition to Tanzania that the move envisaging to strength economic ties between Ghana and Tanzania.
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Uganda

• Electoral Commission Launches Roadmap for 2026 General Election, Cautions Partiesx

The Electoral Commission (EC) has launched the roadmap for the 2026 general elections, as well as the strategic plan for 2022/2023-2026/2027. The Chairperson, Justice Simon Byabakama Mugenyi, explained that the objective of these plans is to improve operational efficiency, stakeholder awareness, and participation, building upon the positive reforms and innovations from the last general elections.
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• Inflation Drops to 3.9 Percent in Uganda

Inflation has dropped to 3.9% in Uganda, the country’s statistics body has revealed. The drop is for the month of July. In June 2023, Uganda’s inflation rate stood at 4.9%. The Director Economic Statistics at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Kaunda Aliziki says the drop is largely attributed to decrease in prices of goods and services.
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• Museveni Woos Japanese Companies to Invest in Value Addition for Ugandan Products

President Museveni has received the Foreign Affairs Minister of Japan, Hayashi Yoshimasa with his delegation at State house, Entebbe. The discussion centered on how Japan can support Uganda specifically on value addition, by encouraging Japanese investors to set up in Uganda, as opposed to importing raw materials which keeps Africa and Uganda stunted despite having natural deposits capable of catapulting the economies.
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South Africa
South Africa

• South Africa business activity drops again in July – PMI

South African private sector activity contracted for the fifth consecutive month in July as rising prices and weak business confidence weighed on demand, a survey showed on Thursday. The S&P Global South Africa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 48.2 in July from 48.7 in June. A reading below 50 shows contraction.
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• Petrol, diesel prices increased from Wednesday

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has announced that the price of all grades of petrol and diesel will increase from Wednesday 2 August. The price of illuminating paraffin is also expected to rise with the only decrease to be implemented on the price of LP gas.
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• South Africa June Electricity Production Falls 3.7% y/y

South Africa’s electricity production fell 3.7% y/y in June versus revised -8.7% in May, according to Statistics South Africa. Electricity consumption fell 3.2% y/y versus revised -7.7% in May.
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• S. Africa SARB Will Act if Inflation Pressures Mount: Kganyago

South African Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee will act decisively to quell any inflationary pressures should they strengthen over the medium term, Governor Lesetja Kganyago says at Ordinary General Meeting of SARB shareholders.
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• South Africa June Budget Surplus at ZAR36.7b

South Africa’s budget surplus was above economist estimates in June. Budget surplus at ZAR36.722b in June, according to the South Africa National Treasury.
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Zambia

• Zambia Raises Gasoline Price by 2.6% and Diesel Price by 6.8%

The gasoline price rose to Zk25.6 per liter and the diesel price to Zk23.4 per liter on Tuesday, Energy Regulation Board Chairman Reynolds Bowa told bloomberg reporters in the capital, Lusaka.
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• Zambia Announces Zk11.5bn Supplementary Budget

About Zk3.2bn in financing to come from institutions including World Bank and African Development Bank, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane says in parliament in Lusaka. Zk4.2 bn is unspent money from the previous fiscal year, Zk3.7bn is additional revenue. Additional spending to go toward sectors including health and education, social-cash transfers and military recruitment.
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• Zambia July Private Sector PMI 51 vs 51.2 in June

Stanbic Bank and S&P Global release purchasing managers’ index for Zambia’s private sector in July. The Index fell to 51.0 from 51.2 in June and 50.5 a year ago. Output fell to 52.1 vs 53.3 in June. Third consecutive month of expansion.
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Central Africa
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

• FOGEC grants USD 1,800,000 in financing to SMEs

The Entrepreneurship Guarantee Fund in Congo (FOGEC) handed over the envelope of 1,800,000 USD to 90 managers of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. This public service made this discount during a ceremony organized in Kinshasa. The beneficiaries of this fund are spread over 15 provinces of the DRC.
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