South African President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed former central bank Governor Tito Mboweni as his finance minister on Tuesday, replacing Nhlanhla Nene, who lied about his meetings with three businessmen accused of plundering state funds. Mboweni, the nation’s fifth finance chief in less than three years, will have to oversee an economy that’s fallen into recession…
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has proposed setting up a sovereign wealth fund to help boost economic growth, and his ruling African National Congress (ANC) backs the plan, two senior party officials said on Tuesday. Ramaphosa, who replaced scandal-plagued Jacob Zuma as ANC leader late last year, is trying to rekindle growth before next year’s…
As Nigeria celebrates Democracy Day on May 29, the presidency has reeled out what the Muhammadu Buhari administration has achieved in the last three years it has been in power. Mr Buhari was elected into office under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) after defeating then incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic…
Ethiopia’s state-run telecoms monopoly has agreed to allow some local firms to provide internet services through its infrastructure, a move seen as spurring competition and expanding the data market, officials said. Ethio Telecom has more than 16 million subscribers of internet services in the country of over 100 million people. It generated over 27.7 billion…
Rwanda will be soon be home to a hub for financial technology (Fintech), boosting start-ups in the sector. As part of this effort, a French Fintechfirm is in the process of setting up shop in Rwanda, The New Times has learnt. Joelle Durieux, the Chief Executive Officer of Finance Innovation, a French-based cluster for innovation…
The ministers of trade from the ECOWAS sub-region have moved to strengthen economic integration among member states by urging them to adopt and present a common position based on regional instruments at the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) negotiations. The ministers reached this position during the regional meeting in Abuja, to deliberate on trade…
The risk of a reversal in the inflation drop that has characterised many of the biggest African economies in the last year, will likely mean a freeze on borrowing costs. Rate decisions across Africa in the next two weeks are likely to confirm the continent’s biggest economies have mostly ceased a wave of easing that’s…
Amid great fanfare 44 African countries signed the long-awaited African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) earlier this year. The bloc is expected to boost intra-African trade – pegged at less than 20% – by eliminating import duties and scaling back tariffs. If fully implemented, a market of 1.2bn people with a combined GDP of $2.5…
Chinese investment in Africa could be accelerating debt on the continent and creating economies which are “entirely dependent on China”, according to financial experts. Around $86bn (£64bn) in loans were issued by China between 2000 and 2014 to finance over 3,000 infrastructure projects in Africa. But as leaders gather in Beijing for China’s Belt and Road Summit this week, under…
The government on Tuesday re-affirmed its commitment to renewable energy as part of the country’s energy mix while dodging any mention of its plans for nuclear energy. Energy minister Jeff Radebe delivered a keynote address at the African Utility Week conference that kicked off at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Tuesday. He also…