Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, Africa’s former richest woman, Isabel dos Santos of Angola, natural gas field

Blog By Esther Rose

Cape Town — 2018 started off with all eyes on Zimbabwe, particuarly since its change in government leadership in November 2017, when President Emmerson Mnangagwa took power from from former president Robert Mugabe – a move that no one except Mugabe calls a coup. So now attention turns to the economy, which is struggling. While Zimbabwe grapples with this Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania are loudly objecting to America’s forcing Africans to wear hand-me-downs, better known as secondhand clothing. While this is happening several organisations have decided to stop celebrities, mainly white « saviours » to rake in millions for their charity drives and use local African celebrities instead…

While this was happening, a massive bird landed in Tanzania , while Aliko Dangote was named Africa’s richest man AND wait for it, one of the most influential people in the world. Ethiopian Airlines is named the most successful airline in Africa, a title once held and long lost by struggling South African Airways. Then tumbling from her pedestal as Africa’s richest woman, Angola’s Isabel dos Santos lost lucrative oil contracts after President João Lourenço the leader who replaced her father, former president Jose dos Santos, nullified them. This could not have been part of her father’s plan…

Southern Africa is told it needs to consider harnessing natural gas for energy, while Silas Adekunle of Nigeria becomes the best robotics engineer in the world, after developing a gaming robot. All this as Ethiopia looks at easing its  water crisis but hits a snag again and China intends helping Tanzania to help the world go nuts for their Cashews!

1. January 2018

The Time to Invest in Zimbabwe Is Now – Famous last words as Zimbabwe went through a turbulent 2018 with the biggest shake-up coming from the ouster of Robert Mugabe, the longest serving African president in history with over 30 years at the helm, in late 2017. His Zanu-PF party rival Emmerson Mnangagwa quickly took the reins and despite various attempts to kickstart the economy, the country is still struggling to convince investors that it is open for business and is a worthwhile investment. The Chinese government has not been put off though, throwing millions of dollars into various sectors including health, although this sector is ailing with lack of medicines, equipment and striking doctors. The country has also to decide on what currency reigns supreme here – the U.S. dollar, the South African Rand or the Chinese Yuan. The cost of living in the country has also skyrocketed seeing that the U.S. dollar is the currency of choice at the moment.

2. February 2018

There is a saying that clothes maketh the man – Well it seems that big business in the U.S. is secondhand clothes which they see fit to pass off to us « poor » Africans.
The U.S. government bullying is the order of the day if Africa decides to stand up and say enough!
So here it is – Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania finally decided to do just that and what happens? The U.S. decides to warn them  that they were in violation of a 2019 African Growth and Opportunity Act. So what does that do for the local manufacturing sector one wonders

3. March 2018

So « white saviours » will no longer be used by aid organisations to raise funds but will rather be represented by homegrown African heroes. While the idea is good one wonders how far and how much money will actually be raised – which begs the question – is it about the cause or about the celebrity that the money is given in the first place?

4, April 2018

is it a bird, is it a plane – Well in the case of the Tanzanians who saw it, it was a plane – in fact the biggest darn plane they had ever seen landing at the Dar es Salaam airport – the jet EK 701 was diverted from its usual route between Dubai and Mauritius due to bad weather. It was the first time an aircraft of that size landed in Tanzania and all because of a « call of nature ».

5, May 2018

So Aliko Dangote has been named Africa’s richest man for the umpteenth time. This business tycoon has made his fortune largely through cement manufacturing. He has now being named as one of the most influential people in the world and ranked 66th. Not bad for a man who started out selling vegetables for a living.

6. June 2018

Ethiopian Airlines is the most successful and voted the best African Airline for over 3 years in a row. This airline’s meteoric rise has been raking in a bunch of accolages and is growing in stature among its international competitors.

7.July 2018

Oh how the « mighty » has fallen – Once Africa’s richest woman, Angola’s Isabel dos Santos has seen her fortunes dwindle with the sweep of President João Lourenço’s pen as he  cancelled four oil contracts worth over US $22 billion. Ironically, President Louceno was chosen by her father former president Joachim Dos Santos to replace him.

8. August 2018

Southern Africa’s energy challenges can be eased by the harnessing of natural gas that could improve the energy situation in the region, and contribute to the regional energy mix, which is dominated by coal, governments have been told. Southern Africa has some of the largest deposits of natural gas in the world.

9. September 2018

I AM NOT A ROBOT…. Nigeria’s 26-year-old Silas Adekunle is the world’s highest paid Robotics Engineer,  credited for building the world’s first gaming robot and has just become the highest paid in the field. He has signed a new deal with the world’s reputable software manufacturers, Apple Inc.

10. October 2018

Water, Water! Although Ethiopia has marketed the dam as the most successful homegrown infrastructure project in the region, largely because it is being funded from local resources, a critical assessment by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has lifted the lid on the challenges facing the project and cast doubt over its completion,

11. November 2018

Going Nuts! The Tanzania cashew nuts industry will soon be processing 5,000 tonnes of cashew nuts per year with help from a Chinese firm.

Source: allafrica

By Ismail Musa Ladu and Christine Kasemiire

The National Budget
While delivering the Budget Speech for financial Year 2018/19 in June, finance minister Matia Kasaija said: « Economic stability has been consistently maintained with the economy growing at an average annual rate of growth of 6.5 per cent for the last 30 years, together with fairly low inflation. »

He continued: « Madam Speaker, economic output is estimated to grow by 5.8 per cent during this financial year, higher than the performance of 3.9 last year. The size of the economy is now Shs101.8 Trillion equivalent to $ 27.9 billion. »

Recently while delivering his speech at the third NTV economic summit, Mr Kasaija said: « The economy expanded by 6.1 per cent in financial year 2017/18, higher than the 5.8 per cent estimate that I reported during my budget speech in June. »

But not many economic analysts in the room nodded in approval.

Actually, Professor Samuel Sejjaaka, one of the panelist implored the minister to recheck his figures claiming they were not in tandem with the reality on the ground.

CBR and private sector lending
To consolidate gains made in recent months, the Bank of Uganda (BoU) decided to retain the Central Bank Rate (CBR) at 10 per cent.

CBR generally means the rate of interest which a central bank charges on its loans and advances to commercial banks or a rate at which entities such as commercial banks can borrow from the central bank.

According to senior BoU technocrats, since the CBR was raised from 9 to 10 per cent in the last two to three months, slightly more than Shs18 billion were advanced to private sector as credit. To maintain the momentum and growth in private sector credit, the BoU monetary policy committee decided to maintain CBR for the month of December 2018 at 10 per cent.

« After setting CBR at 10 per cent, interest on lending hovered at between 19 and 20 per cent, » the executive director research, Adam Mugume, said in an interview after Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile declared the 10 per cent CBR for December 2018.

He continued: « This has been the best lending rate since 1993. Going forward, we expect to see the private sector borrowing more as the high lending rates weaken or at least remain at that rate for the first time in 25 years. »

Oover the last seven months, according to Dr Mugume, bank loans to private sector increased by Shs719.6b compared to the same period in 2017.

However, the private sector, although appreciative of the central bank gesture, through their apex body, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), demanded for more including curbing unnecessary government expenditure, all of which have an impact on the economy.

BuBu in Trade
During the review annual review of the sector, Trade minister Amelia Kyambadde acknowledged challenges experienced by industry players. She also insisted that her fight for better quality of Uganda’s locally produced goods will never cease, so is her support for ‘Buy Uganda, Build Uganda’ (BuBu).

This year also saw some four out of the six One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) starting operations. These are Malaba, Busia, Mirama Hills and Mutukula. This has translated into reduced turn-around time from three days in FY 2015/16 to two hours in FY 2017/18.

This year also proved that Uganda is improving her exports in the region slowly despite several challenges. In the early 90s, consumer goods and personal care products were sourced from Kenya. This trend, according to experts, was largely driven by the effects of political turmoil that had collapsed much of Uganda’s industries.

According to BoU data, 10 years ago, Uganda sourced goods worth $375m (Shs1.3 trillion) from Kenya, a trend that peaked during 2011 to $657m (Shs2.4 trillion).

For the first time in over three decades, Uganda has exported more to Kenya than it is usually the case. According to Dr Adam Mugume, the BoU director research, in the last 11 months of 2017/18, goods from Kenya declined by 2.4 per cent, compared to the same period in 2016/17.

Battle line drawn over Digital Tax Stamps
Last week, Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA), the Ministry of Finance and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) were locked up in a meeting over Digital Tax Stamps (DTS) that the tax body is trying to introduce.

The manufacturers want it suspended on the grounds that it will increase the cost of doing business.

According to the manufacturers, they are already grappling with several challenges, among them the high cost of credit, power and inadequate infrastructure. They do not want to incur any extra expenses related to the technology.

The new stamps are part of URA’s efforts to combat illicit trade, seal revenue leakages, boost collections and increase efficiency in managing taxpayer compliance.

If implemented well, the tax collector says the digital tax stamp will enable manufacturers, distributors, retailers and consumers to track all goods throughout the distribution chain.

The manufacturers are, however, concerned about who will pay the bill due to this technology.

Uganda Airlines
Many thought this would be an early festive season present. A report carried by Aviation24.be, and comments by the Works Minister, Ms Monica Azuba had indicated that four jets which government ordered from Bombardier and Airbus will take to the skies in December–about now.

But this hasn’t happened yet.

Innovation
The year 2018 has also seen more banks move towards innovation to catch up mainly with financial technology. Banks have embraced the digital movement by creating mobile applications, credit, debit and visa cards as well as competitive products and services to attract and retain their customers.

Taxation
The tax man had a very busy year. The new tax amendments implemented in July (FY2018/19) saw introduction of mobile money and social media taxes. This caused massive brouhaha. To date it is still an issue that attracts emotion.

The mobile money tax initially charged at 1 per cent on all transactions, struck controversy after the President withdrew it saying it was erroneously passed. He said the law ought to have been 0.5 per cent only on withdrawals and asked Parliament to revisit it.

While the process took longer than expected, Parliament in November changed the law to 0.5 per cent chargeable on withdrawals only. But damage had already been done. The mobile money tax pushed some mobile money agents out of employment as Ugandans shunned the service.

Industry statistics indicate that more than half of mobile money transaction values had been lost from Shs866b in June to Shs475b in July when the tax was implemented.

Despite public outcry, the Shs200 tax daily tax charged on using social media platforms has left many Ugandans unhappy.

Withholding VAT
Part of the amendments in the Value Added Tax required designated withholding agents selected by the minister of Finance to retain 100 per cent of VAT on transactions. The law was resisted by the business community saying it would limit cash flow. The cries came to fruition in September after the Minister of Finance halted the law pending engagements with stakeholders.

Technology
Government declared that Uganda would start making her own smartphones.

Bank of Uganda revealed that a national payments policy would be drafted and sent to Parliament to regulate financial innovations and create a cashless Uganda. Telecom firm MTN saw its licence extended for another 10 years. This was after the approval of the National Broadband Policy which among others requires telecoms to list on the Uganda’s securities exchange prior to receiving a licence.

Standards
The country was awash with shock after Uganda National Bureau of Standards revealed findings of a baseline study indicating that 54 per cent of goods on the market are substandard. While the government body was proud of the drop from 80 per cent to 54 per cent, Ugandans were devastated at the news. Toilet paper, cosmetics, mattresses, electric gadgets, beverages topped the list of the substandard.

Controversy brewed over alleged fake eggs which the standards body disputed as sweets. Digital quality marks, the standards body said could save Uganda’s market from substandard products. A law making the quality mark mandatory for all manufacturers before distribution was introduced in July and the deadline is set for January 2019.

Insurance
The insurance continues to grow albeit the current low penetration of less than 1 percent. The sector has this year recorded gross written premiums of Shs658b as at the quarter ending September.

Despite being critically crucial, medical insurance is yet to be adopted nationally.

New players such AIG Uganda limited and MayFair Insurance Company Limited opened shop.

The sector also hosted reforms in the legal framework with the most controversial being the Cash and Carry regulation that is expected to be implemented next year. The regulation is envisaged to overturn the insurance industry as premiums will be paid on cash basis. Players are also optimistic that it will boost their performance.

Innovations in financial technology to extend insurance services such as motor third party payments reigned side by side the regulator’s fight against fraud through the new Anti-fraud unit.

Central Bank woes
Currently, Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) is investigating Bank of Uganda (BoU) over alleged irregularities in the closure of seven commercial banks some of which were shut down 20 years ago. Central bank senior technocrat flouted laws while trying to execute their mandate.

In a report to Parliament, the Auditor General, Mr John Muwanga, queried BoU officials on the flaws in the closure of Teefe Bank (1993), International Credit Bank Ltd (1998), Greenland Bank (1999), The Co-operative Bank (1999), National Bank of Commerce (2012), Global Trust Bank (2014) and the sale of Crane Bank Ltd (CBL) to dfcu (2016).

Trade information portal
As the year closed, the trade information portal was launched. With this portal, Uganda finally ticked one of the key boxes requiring member states to avail the necessary information pertaining to procedures, documentation, fees and other related charges relating to exportation, importation and transit of goods in an easily accessible platform.

So exporters and importers, now have no reason to complain about limited information to engage in cross border business.

Uganda Trade Portal is essentially an electronic platform developed by the ministry of trade, industry and cooperative with support from development partners such as the Trade Mark East Africa. These partners draw their funding from DFID among other partners, to provide all necessary trade information by the click of a button.

Financial markets
About three months ago, Cipla share price were on the high, recording an increase of 1.2 percent just days after its listing on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE).

Cipla, which trades under the QCIL symbol, is the latest company to list on the USE six years after Umeme did so.

But last week, was terrible for CiplaQCIL after its share price dipped since it went public in August. The CQCIL share price dropped by 6.12 per cent to close the week at Shs230, the lowest price since listing.

Source: Monitor

Les 15 premiers pays émergents en Afrique

Moustafa Kassé, le président des économistes africains, avait opiné que l’émergence est la fille aux mauvaises fréquentations. Tiré du rapport «Index de l’émergence 2017», le classement suivant réalisé par deux économistes rigoureux n’échappera pas ni au débat libre  ni à la réthorique universitaire .  «La question de l’émergence est polémique et polysémique», avertit d’emblée Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Secretaire exécutif du Népad dans la préface de l’ouvrage.

Source: Financialafric