(Xinhua) — After two consecutive quarters of positive growth, real gross domestic product (GDP) in South Africa decreased 0.7 percent in the second quarter (Q2) of the year to 1.142 trillion South African Rand (about 66.1 billion U.S. dollars), in comparison with 1.151 trillion Rand in Q1, according to the data released by the Statistics South Africa (STATSSA) on its website Tuesday. The STATSSA said in the statistics report that the devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal, an economic powerhouse, and load shedding contributed to the decline, weakening an already fragile national economy that had just recovered to pre-pandemic levels. …
Author: Johnson Akinyi
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In a world characterised by technologies that blur the lines between digital and physical, education needs to evolve rapidly to meet the demands for a new type of knowledge worker. “Digital education is vital to the country’s future; we cannot succeed by clinging to an outdated and broken educational system. It’s time to adapt and rethink how we share knowledge, learn and teach in the digital era,” claims Pierre Aurel, Strategic Project Manager at e4.So with that in mind, let’s take a look at how Bridge International Academies (Bridge) have been future-proofing its pupils through a digitally driven mindset in delivering…
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has instructed banks to remove maximum limits for deposits by individuals and companies at bank branches and ATMs, according to a circular released on Thursday. The CBE also raised the cap for daily withdrawals from bank branches for both individuals and companies to EGP 150,000, up from EGP 50,000, while keeping the maximum limit for withdrawals from ATMs at EGP 20,000. The CBE said this decision was made given that the COVID-19 crisis has receded. In March 2020, in an effort to contain the impacts of the pandemic, the CBE set the…
By Michael Gary Published: July 05, 2022 4:26 PM Investor-led and casual trading has been on the rise for several years across the world, but now it is really picking up in Africa and its 54 countries. Different types of trading are gaining ground in different ways, and of course, there are differences between countries. Here are just a couple of popular investment options for African investors. ForexForex is the trading of foreign exchange currencies and it has seen a surge in popularity in Africa. Over the last two years, amid volatile currency rates across the world, many lay people have…
By Bernard Busuulwa | The East African Published: July 07, 2022 10:03 AM Uganda’s Central Bank has raised its benchmark policy rate by one percent to 8.5 percent in a radical move. This was occasioned by panic amidst surging inflation levels and increased pressure exerted by the US dollar against the local currency as a result of spikes in interest rates registered by developed economies. This development follows a sudden monetary policy committee meeting held on Tuesday on the back of latest inflation data, signs of vulnerability exhibited by the local currency against the US dollar, and raging uncertainty over global supply…
Kenya’s economy rebounded above pre-pandemic levels with the gross domestic product (GDP) expanding 6.8 percent in the first quarter of this year. The latest Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data shows the GDP was up from 2.7 percent last year and 4.4 percent in 2020 on recovery in the transport, food and service sectors. The sectors flourished as a result of the reopening of the economy as compared to similar periods during which Covid-19 curbs had been imposed by the government to contain the spread of coronavirus. Agriculture, Kenya’s mainstay economic activity, however, contracted in the first quarter attributed to depressed rainfall…
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Namibia’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘BB-‘ from ‘BB’. The Outlook is Stable. A full list of rating actions is at the end of this rating action commentary. Key Rating DriversThe downgrade of Namibia’s IDRs reflects the following key rating drivers and their relative weights: HIGHElevated Fiscal Deficits: Modest growth prospects and a rigid expenditure profile will maintain high fiscal deficits relative to ‘BB’ peers. Fitch estimates the general government (GG) fiscal deficit widened to 9.5% of GDP in the fiscal year ending March 2022 (FY21/22, including 0.7% of GDP off-budget items not included in government numbers),…
By Xinhua Published: May 25, 2022 5:15 PM (Xinhua) — Nigeria’s apex bank on Tuesday raised the Monetary Policy Rate, the benchmark interest rate, to 13 percent — the first hike in more than two years. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised the interest rate by 150 basis points to combat rising inflation in the most populous African country, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the CBN, told reporters at the end of the apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, the Nigerian capital. The bank, however, retained all other parameters, including the cash reserve ratio at 27.50 percent, and the liquidity…
By Xinhua Published: June 06, 2022 3:24 PM (Xinhua) — Uganda’s central bank on Thursday announced that it was increasing the Central Bank Rate (CBR) to 7.5 percent from 6.5 percent to control the rising inflation. In a statement issued here, the Bank of Uganda said it will continue to raise the CBR until inflation is firmly contained around the medium-term target of 5 percent. Uganda’s annual headline inflation and core inflation rose to 6.3 percent and 5.1 percent in May 2022 from 2.7 and 2.3 percent in January 2022 respectively, according to the bank. The bank said inflation is increasing rapidly and…
By Mmegi Online Published: June 13, 2022 5:15 PM The country’s commercial banks recorded collective after-tax profits of P529.6 million in the first three months of the year, an increase of more than P77 million from the corresponding period in 2021. The latest Bank of Botswana figures released recently indicate that the difference between the two periods was higher net interest income and lower provisions for bad or doubtful debts. The banks’ performance in the first quarter of the year continues the sector’s recovery from the COVID-19 hit, which saw their collective after-tax profits declining by 13% in 2020 to P1.6 billion…