Browsing: East Africa

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Somalia, World Bank Burying the Hatchet

Countries

After three decades of austerity measures on Somalia, the otherwise economically embattled East African nation is now, 30 years later, in good standing with the World Bank.

Well, before we start tipping our hats, let’s put ‘good standing’ in perspective, Somalia is now in good enough standing to receive grants but it is yet to get to economic stability that would warrant it WB loans.

To put it in the words of the World Bank, the international lender is now ready to ‘normalize relations’ with Somalia. The bank credited turning the new leaf with Somalia on its reasonably strong record of fiscal and political reforms over the last few years.

As World Bank’s Country Manager for Somalia, Mr. Hugh Riddell was quoted mid this month, good relations means that “…going forward, Somalia will be able to access grants to finance poverty reduction.”

In his media brief, the WB country executive…

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Curbing illegal fishing needs private sector hand

Countries

There is need for Tanzania to involve the private sector to help it fight against illegal fishing if the country is to curb the devastating economic sabotage.

The country is now grappling with illegal fishing, but with the ever depleting amount fish in Lake Victoria and other inland water masses as well, it seems to be a losing battle this far.

The already trouble sector, contributing an average of 2.2 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is taking more hits from illegal fishing. (https://mrghealth.com/)

So bad is the crisis that last month, while addressing the nation from the Lake City of Mwanza, the country’s President John Magufuli made a public appeal in to end the detrimental practice.

The president described illegal fishing as economic sabotage and warned that the nation is losing a vital natural resource, a key economic activity that provides daily livelihood for many

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TO LET: Empty offices, amidst a real estate boom

Tanzania

Tanzania is well on its way to achieving its long coveted middle income status, and the mushrooming skyscrapers in most all its major cities are evidence. Well that’s one way to look at it.

You see, where investment is on the raise, it is safe to say the economy is stable and even growing. That is Tanzania for you, a stable growing economy where investment, especially in the real estate sector is growing, and growing exponentially.

Tanzania has been enjoying a steady economic growth over the last few years averaging an impressive 7% annually. However, for the sake of this article, lets leave the data in the papers for now and take to the streets, on the ground, what is actually happening?

In major cities like the capital Dodoma, development is hands on, on the ground right in front of you. Empty stretches of land are now housing complexes complete…

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Uganda, EU trade challenged as more African borders open

Countries

The European Union is one of Uganda’s major trading partners with annual trade balance books exceeding USD 1 billion every year.

However, more and more free trade pacts are been signed across Africa, opening ever more doors to new markets right within the country and this may upset the traditional foreign trade reliance.

For, now, international trade remains business as usual, why only last month, the EU announced that it is extending Uganda some USD97.5 million as grant financing to fund development projects in this financial year.

This latest grant pact further strengthens bilateral relations between the two even as EU investments in Uganda surpass the USD 2 billion mark per year.

To put icing on the cake, the Pearl of Africa is also expected to get foreign direct investments worth USD 733.3 million that EU firms, according to local media intend to invest over the course of the next…

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Digital Code lifting Africa out of poverty

Tech & Business

Binary code is a series of 0’1 and 1’s and thanks to the digital revolution that has since unfolded, these series of 0’s and 1’s and is, in multiple digits, lifting Africa out of poverty.

Take Tanzania for instance, a low income East African nation that now has the capacity to increase its annual tax base by a whopping USD 477 million should it better regulate, promote and develop the digital money industry in the country.

Other than the financial gains that are all too obvious, using digital transactions allows for increased transparency in government payments and reduced bureaucratic inefficiencies across most all government ministries and agencies.

Tanzania ranks way up there in Africa’s digital money penetration. In just a handful of years, Tanzania’s mobile money penetration has been unprecedented. With it, “Tanzania is building a firm foundation for strong and inclusive growth and we look forward to further progress,”…

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Africa goes cashless to beat coronavirus

Countries

The deadly coronavirus has brought the World to a standstill, spread through touch, African financial institutions are now going cashless to beat the virus.

The exchange of money, in cash, risky further spread of the virus, an obvious solution is to go cashless, use digital payments only. However is Africa ready?

In the face of this global tragedy, Africa’s fast digital penetration seems to have come in the nick of time. Led by the telecom companies, Africa leads the globe in use of mobile transactions.

Even in the most remotest corners of the continent, peasant farmers, pastoralists herding cows, all can be found with a mobile phone registered for mobile money transactions. Even the smallest shops accept mobile money payment for even the smallest purchases. The only limitation has always been the expensive cost of the service, however that cost is irrelevant if the money is not withdrawn to cash.…

Tanzania anti-corruption bureau recovers USD 36million

Tanzania

In just one year, Tanzania’s Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) has recovered close to USD 36 million (82.2bn/-) of embezzled public funds.

The funds were misappropriated during the 2018/19 financial year and the amount is actually USD 6million  (12.5bn/-) more than what was recovered last year.

That begs the question, were there more cases of embezzlement last year compared to the previous year? The authorities do not make that clear but they credit the recovery to increased efficiency of the bureau which they say is operating at a high efficiency rate of 82 percent.

Evidence to support the increased efficiency includes the increased number of project inspections by almost double the number of inspections that were conducted last year. The number of evaluated projects reached 1,106 up from only 691 that were conducted last year.

A total of 911 case were reviewed including 266 on alleged bribe cases …

Tanzania targets DRC to expand tobacco exports

Business

The Tanzania Cigarette Company (TCC), the country’s main tobacco producer, is looking to expand its sells to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The DRC is already TCC’s largest export destination that has seen the company grow its 2019 gross profit earnings by 56 percent, more than double compared to the previous year.

Nonetheless, the tobacco company enjoyed marginal growth when it came to annual revenue which inched up slightly by 5.2 percent to clock 309.8bn/- up from 294.3bn/- the year before that.

TCC is not the only company eyeing the DRC for business, increasingly, Tanzanian banks are reported to be making venture moves into the DRC. However, until now, it is small businesses that were enjoying the huge market of the central African state.

Many small businesses have been transporting goods to the DRC for years and enjoying lucrative returns. TCC is only the latest of manufacturing titans to …

Leading bank eyes Tanzania’s untapped insurance market

Banking

CRDB Bank, a leading bank in Tanzania, has announced plans to register its own insurance subsidiary firm.

The bank is currently already a broker and enjoying considerable premium back payments which almost double in the span of just 3 years (2016-2019).

In an interview with local media, CRDB’s Broker General Manager, Mr Arthur Mosha said in that short time, their premium levels is up from 44.2bn/- from 25bn/-

Not surprising, Tanzania’s insurance market grew by 8.6 percent in gross premiums over the course of the last financial year. As of 2018, Tanzania’s insurance industry had 31 insurance companies, 109 insurance brokers and 635 insurance agents.

For a country of 56 million people, the sector is hardly sufficiently serviced and there is enormous room for growth.

The bank’s brokage services target mainly their own customers who now represent 70 percent of all their insurance customers. At the moment, the leading products …

Coronavirus update: Sino-Tanzania trade falls

Countries

Trade between Tanzania and China has been adversely affected by the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

The turn for the worst between Sino-Tanzanian trade is only to be expected as movement of both goods and people is restricted the world over.

In a press release that was issued recently by the respective authorities, Tanzania’s Minister of Industries and Trade, Mr Innocent Bashungwa, told local press that trade volumes to and from the two countries has taken a significant blow.

Cargo flow between the two countries is now limited if not completely stopped and the picture is grim across the region. While it is estimated to cost both parties huge sums of money, neither the Tanzanian authorities nor the counterparts from the Chinese embassy have released any specific figures.

The closed borders owing to the coronavirus outbreak, is the direct cause of the dropped trade between the two nations. Until the outbreak, …