Author: furtherafrica.com

Entered into force the Presidential Decree 184/20, that foresees exceptional and temporary measures that will be in force when the Sanitary Enclosure is declared in any Angolan Province or Municipality.

Also Read: Angola – Important amendment to the Private Investment law

The main measures are the following:

• Use of face mask is mandatory in the public road, markets, commercial establishments, places of worship, educational establishments, public transports and, in general, all the enclosed spaces that are open to the public.
• If the facial mask is not used when mandatory, the person is not permitted to enter in that space/establishment and may be sanctioned with a fine from AKZ 5.000,00 to AKZ 10.000,00.
• Citizens shall stay in their houses, except in case of necessary and indispensable travel.
• People with 60 or more years old, with chronical diseases (as renal, cardiovascular, oncologic, diabetes or other diseases), who are pregnant or take care

Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Ethiopia, Zambia, Rwanda, Uganda, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

These are the African countries set to be allowed to enter the EU territory as the borders reopen in July, according to a draft list of the countries obtained and reported by euronews.

As the European Union gets ready to reopen its borders, officials in Brussels are debating behind closed doors, the draft of two lists; one with those countries that will be accepted, and one for those which will not, as the territory struggle to meet their previously announced July 1st goal.

The euronews sources also reported that officials “could not reach an agreement”, that talks would continue and that the deadline to open the borders may very well be extended beyond July 1st, suggesting agreements will not be forthcoming in time.

Also read: Air passengers travel confidence key to salvaging African airlines

Notably, Brazil, Qatar, …

Following recent announcements from the government, Mozambique’s BNI (Banco Nacional de Investimentos) is about to launch two credit lines to assist the country’s SMEs to mitigate the effects of the COVID19 pandemic.

Small and medium companies represent the core of the country’s formal/ informal economy and have been heavily affected by the pandemic. The new credit lines are due to be officially announced by BNI this week and will address specifically SMEs, hospitality and education with an expected interest rate below the market rates.

Also Read: Legal pointers for Mozambique SMEs

The credit lines are meant to assist companies affected by COVID-19 in the entire country and are being financed by the government and the INSS. BNI expect the credit lines to address such issues as maintenance, restitution and the increase of jobs and household income as well as to provide some much breathing room cashflow in affected companies.

Although …

Bearing in mind the Law number 10/2018, of June 26 (Private Investment Law), which adjusted the legal and institutional framework to perform private investments in Angola, the Angolan Government approved the Private Investment’s Legal Proceedings Regulation in order to allow the capture and execution of investments with faster and easier procedures.

The above mentioned regulation establishes the procedures for the legal registration of proposals of private investment projects, the attribution of benefits and advantages, monitoring, supervision, as well as penalties and extinction of rights granted under the Private Investment Law.

The Private Investment projects begin with the delivery of all the relevant documents besides the competent body of AIPEX (Agency for Private Investment and Promotion of Exports of Angola).

Also Read: Angola set to attract more FDI into oil and gas sector

After receiving the private investment project, AIPEX has 5 working days to communicate the decision.

It is, …

Withholding Tax (WHT) is an advanced payment on income tax deducted directly from source by a service provider. The taxpayer could be a company or an individual and the rate of WHT ranges from 2.5% to 10%, depending on the nature of the transaction.

WHT is not a separate tax but serves as a credit against the tax liability of the taxpayer. For example, companies are required to pay Companies Income Tax (CIT) at the end of their accounting year and after their audited accounts have been filed. At the point of the assessment of their CIT liabilities, the WHT deducted from their invoices to service providers during the year would be deducted from the CIT payable for that financial year.

WHT and Non-Resident Companies
Non-resident companies are companies not incorporated in Nigeria. Under the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA), non-resident companies which have a “fixed base” in Nigeria are …

FurtherAfrica Insights – COVID19 series with João Sousa from Xynteo.

A conversation about the role of different stakeholders in the development process and the opportunities to reshape inclusion particularly from the private sector in a post COVID19 world.…

Any predictions regarding what economies are going to look like after this crisis, have to be taken at face value by the best buyer. In other words, I believe that any forecast carries a great deal of speculation, as we are sailing uncharted waters and the last few months have proven that, so to compare the current situation to any past crisis is not very efficient to say the least.

Nevertheless, speculation is what we have at hand, and much like everyone else locked up in quarantine, I have been observing the developments and formulating some theories. I’ve also had the privilege of speaking to some very insightful people as I moderated and shared my opinion in a number of webinars and other online platforms, particularly as to the key changes African economies may face in this new reality.

It goes without saying that with over 50 countries on the …

The UK will invest up to £20 million in the new ‘African Union Covid19 Response Fund’ to tackle coronavirus and save lives.

This makes the UK the largest national donor to the fund, which was announced by Cyril Ramaphosa, Chairperson of the African Union (AU) and President of the Republic of South Africa last month. It will support African leaders and technical experts to slow the spread of coronavirus and save lives in Africa and worldwide.

The fund will tackle the pandemic by recruiting African health experts and deploying them where they are needed most, strengthening global tracking of the pandemic, combatting potentially harmful misinformation, providing specialist coronavirus training for health workers and making information about the virus more accessible to the public.

Announcing the funding on May 20th, International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

“As the UK faces its biggest peacetime challenge in tackling coronavirus, it’s never been more

For those investing and particularly interested in Africa, Guinea-Bissau is a country which, so far, has been “under the radar” for most of the investors.

Located in West Africa, bordering with Senegal and Guinea Conakry, Guinea-Bissau is a relatively small country, with 36.125 sq. Km. Around 25% of the total population (estimated in 2.072.000, by figures of April 2020) is based in the capital (Bissau).

The official language is Portuguese, with some other native languages been used (like Balanka, Fula and Mandinka). French is also spoken, due to the influence of the two neighboring countries. Most of the population is Muslim (45%), with 22,1% of Christians and the outstanding percentage spread by indigenous traditional popular religions. Guinea-Bissau is also characterized by a very high level of young population (the medium average age is only 18 years).

Politics in Guinea-Bissau

The political regime is a constitutional democracy, with …

For some time, investors rely on rating agencies to determine the investment risk of countries. It is a trend that developed economies usually receive high marks and a promising grade, while many emerging economies and bonds are poorly graded, even given sometimes the infamous “Junk” rating.

With the current pandemic crisis that the world is present, markets have seen price shocks in all areas. If the agencies in charge of the economies handle these shocks properly , many economists suggest that the consequences may only be seen in the short-run. However, countries that might fail to act properly and that take actions once it’s too late, might be on the brink of a recession much like the one seen in 2008. Much like the 2008 global financial crisis, rating agencies were accused of aggressively downgrading countries whose economies were already strained. American Economist, Joseph Stiglitz, has previously accused rating agencies …