November 3, 2023/United Capital
Anglophone West Africa
Nigeria
- Relief for Nigeria as CBN begins to clear FX backlog.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has delivered over 75.0% to 80.0% of outstanding matured FX forwards in banks.
- JP Morgan projects N850/$ by December.
JP Morgan, on Wednesday projected that the naira would trade at N850/$ at the Investors’ and Exporters’ Forex window before the end of 2023. However, the US bank said the recent efforts to restore a flexible FX regime may be sustained given the willingness to accompany it with tighter monetary conditions.
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- Food prices rose to 26.76% in September – NBS.
The National Bureau of Statistics says prices of beef, rice, beans, onion, yam and other food items increased in September. It stated this in its selected food prices watch report for September 2023 released in Abuja.
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- Nigeria signs MoU with German Company, GEO-SCAN, on solid minerals exploration.
Nigeria has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with German mining technology company, GEO-SCAN to explore accrued mineral resources across the country. Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, disclosed this information during a press briefing on Monday after the Federal Executive Council’s weekly meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
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- FG forwards 2024 MTEF/FSP to N’Assembly.
Ahead of the 2024 budget presentation, President Bola Tinubu has forwarded to both chambers of the National Assembly, the 2024 – 2026 Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work and Fiscal Strategy Paper ( FSP).
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- Nigeria approves $2.8 bln extra budget for security, bridge repairs.
Nigeria’s cabinet has approved a supplementary budget of N2.2tn ($2.8 billion) to fund “urgent issues” including defence and security, budget minister Atiku Bagudu said. Bagudu said the money was part of the 2023 spending plan. This supplementary budget is to fund urgent issues, including N605.0bn for national defence and security.
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Ghana
- Fitch Lifts Ghana Local Debt Out of Default After Restructuring.
Fitch Ratings upgraded Ghana’s local-currency credit score from restricted default after the West African nation completed a domestic restructuring that resulted in “sizable” debt-servicing savings.
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- Ghana Sees Official Creditors Pact by Last Week of November.
Government “confident” official creditors will reach a memorandum of understanding on its debt relief before the International Monetary Fund board meets between the third and the fourth week of next month, Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta says in an interview in Accra.
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Francophone West Africa (WAEMU)
Ivory Coast
- Ivory Coast Reduces 2024 Budget Estimate by 2.6% to CFA13.7T.
According to a statement on its website, the world’s top cocoa producer cut its spending target for next year from an initial CFA 14.08tn franc forecast made in July. 2024 expenditures rise from a projected CFA11.69tn francs for 2023.
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East Africa
Kenya
- Kenya Inflation Unexpectedly Quickens on Soaring Fuel Prices
Kenyan inflation unexpectedly quickened to a three-month high in October, owing to higher energy prices. Consumer prices rose an annual 6.9% in the month from 6.8% in September, the Nairobi-based Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said. The reading will weigh on the central bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee which meets in early December.
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- Kenya Plans 5% Budget Increase Belying Ruto’s Vow to Cut Spending
Kenya plans a 5% increase in spending for the current fiscal year, a move at odds with the president’s vow to slash budgets in the East African nation amid mounting economic challenges. The Treasury is asking lawmakers to approve a budget increase to 3.93 trillion shillings ($26.1 billion) for the year to end June to spend more on debt repayment, salaries and pensions.
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- Debt servicing costs up by Sh216bn on weak shilling.
The Treasury has revised the cost of servicing Kenya’s external debt for this fiscal year by an additional Sh216.7 billion on account of the continued weakening of the shilling and rising interest rates on commercial loans.
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- KRA nets Sh4 billion in out-of-court deals in Q1
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) netted Sh4.37 billion in revenue from alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the first quarter of the financial year 2023/24, even as the tax agency pushes for enhanced adoption of out-of-court deals to increase revenue collection.
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- Kenya to remove visa requirement for Africans to boost trade, says president
Kenya will remove visa requirements for Africans by the end of this year in a bid to promote trade and investment within the continent, President William Ruto said. To accelerate the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Ruto said the region has to address the low levels of intra-African commerce.
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- IMF staff visiting Kenya amid loan programme increase request
International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff started a visit to Kenya on Monday, a spokesperson said, after the East African country’s central bank governor said it was discussing getting more money from the fund via its existing loan programme.
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Rwanda
- Rwanda set for new $262 mln IMF stand-by facility
The International Monetary Fund said that a mission to Rwanda had agreed a new 14-month Stand-by Credit Facility worth $262 million to help the East African country deal with balance of payment pressures from climate shocks. IMF staff and Rwanda also reached agreement on policies needed to complete the second reviews of an existing Policy Coordination Instrument and a programme under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
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Tanzania
- TRA appeals for proper business records
Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) has appealed to traders across the country to ensure that they keep proper records of their business transactions to enable the institution to make correct tax assessments.
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- TADB commits to agriculture transformation
Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) has assured farmers of its commitment to facilitate them in efforts to transform and commercialise their agricultural activities.
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- MPC: Foreign currency scarcity improves gradually
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has said the shortage of foreign currency is gradually improving owing to earnings from tourism, minerals, manufacturing and cash crops. The MPC report said the condition of foreign currency in the country will continue to improve due to inflows from various sectors.
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- Germany and Tanzania to open talks on colonial legacy
Germany will open talks with Tanzania about the legacy of its three decades of colonial rule in the East African nation, the two countries’ presidents said. Tanzanian politicians and activists have long pushed for reparations and the return of human remains from their country that are displayed in German museums.
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Uganda
- Uganda’s inflation eases to 2.4% in October
Uganda’s year-on-year inflation decreased to 2.4% in October, compared to the 2.7% reported in September, indicating a moderation in the speed of price increases. Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBS) said the primary drivers behind the annual inflation decline can be attributed to a drop in annual core inflation, which slowed to 2.0% from the previous 2.4%.
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- EU to invest 60 mln euros in upgrading Uganda power plant
The European Union plans to invest 60 million euros ($63 million) in upgrading one of the Uganda’s largest hydropower plants, helping partially plug a financing gap for the country’s ageing energy infrastructure, a top diplomat said.
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- US Ratchets Up Economic Pressure on Uganda Over Anti-LGBTQ Laws
The US terminated Uganda’s preferential trade status, the latest in a series of punitive measures against the East African nation over its draconian anti-LGBTQ laws. President Joe Biden notified Congress that Uganda is among four countries whose status under the African Growth and Opportunity Act is being withdrawn, according to a White House statement.
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- Uganda denounces U.S. plan to exclude it from duty-free trade programme
Uganda criticised a U.S. move to eject it and other African countries from accessing a tariff-free trade programme, saying the action was to punish African countries that are resisting the imposition of the West’s cultural values.
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Southern Africa
Angola
- Huíla invests in the production of Arabica coffee
The municipality that wants to stand out in the plateau region of Angola in the production of Arabica coffee, as it was in the pre-independence period, hosted, on Tuesday, in the town of Katchissome, the event of relaunching this culture, in a ceremony led by the Municipal administrator of Caluquembe, Mariana Soma.
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- Commercial partnership between Angola and the USA analyzed in Luanda
The strengthening of the strategic economic and commercial partnership between Angola and the United States of America, in order to leverage the diversification of national production, was analyzed, on Monday, in Luanda, JA Online learned, through a press release.
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South Africa
- South Africa Weighs Tapping Foreign Reserve Gains to Close Funding Gap
South Africa is considering digging into the nation’s 459 billion rand ($24.6 billion) of foreign reserves to close a funding gap as tax revenue falls short of target, the nation’s finance minister said.
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- South Africa Allocates $1.3 Billion for Over-Budget Wage Deal
South Africa’s finance minister will honor an over-budget wage increase for public servants despite fiscal constraints, while also looking at proposals to cut down the size of government. The deal will come at an additional cost to the Treasury of 23.6 billion rand ($1.3 billion), Godongwana said.
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- South Africa Struggles to Enforce VAT Rules on Foreign Companies
The South African Revenue Service is facing challenges signing up non-resident businesses to its VAT system for e-commerce, an official said Wednesday.
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Zimbabwe
- China Railway to Negotiate Concession for Tanzania-Zambia Line
The Chinese government selected a state-owned company to negotiate a concession to operate a line connecting Zambia’s copper-mining heartland with the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam, which may require as much as $1 billion in investment.
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- US Plans to Build $1 Bln-Plus Zambia Rail Link Within Five Years
The US aims within five years to complete a new railway linking Zambia’s Copperbelt province with an existing line to the Angolan port of Lobito, a senior official said.
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- SADC calls for an end to sanctions against Zimbabwe
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) called, this Wednesday, for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, in a statement signed by the acting President, João Lourenço, of the regional organization.
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Central Africa
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
- Congo’s Growth to Surpass 6% in 2023, IMF Says in Loan Review.
The economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the largest producer of cobalt, is seen expanding more than 6% this year despite a slump in the prices of the metal used in electric vehicles and violent conflict in the east, the International Monetary Fund said.
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- Democratic Republic of the Congo Budget Agency Releases Draft 2024 Finance Bill.
The Congolese Ministry of Budget Sept-28 released the draft 2024 Finance Bill. The bill includes measures to apply a flat income tax of CFA 2.5mn (US$966) for large companies, 750,000 francs (US$290) for medium-sized companies, and 30,000 francs (US$11) for small-sized companies, if a profit isn’t realized; set a minimum 1.0% tax for specified individuals and entities with any taxable income not covered by the small business tax regime; and set Aug. 1, Oct. 1, and Dec. 1 deadlines for paying advance profits tax installments, and require the balance when the declaration is filed.
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