Browsing: Zambia

• Drought-hit Zambia will get immediate access to about $184 million from the IMF.
• Lender says authorities in the southern African country remain committed to maintaining macroeconomic stability and restoring fiscal and debt sustainability.
• Worsening impact of drought is, however, set to see Zambia’s economy decline to 1.2% growth this year.

Zambia has secured about $184 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to provide budget support to the southern African country that is reeling from adverse effects of drought, which now threatens to see the economy grow by marginal 1.2 per cent this year.

The funding brings Zambia’s total disbursement under its 38-month Extended Credit Facility ECF-supported program to SDR 992.86 million or about $1.3 billion.

According to the IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke, policymakers in the country must implement a number of reforms to drive resilience in the face of looming economic slowdown.

“Governance and structural reforms are …

• Food security, livelihoods, and economies are threatened as extreme weather conditions hit Africa hard.
• Citizens are now calling for bold action from their governments and the global community to combat this worsening crisis.
• Over 82% of Africans advocate for measures to protect communities against extreme floods, droughts, and environmental degradation.

 As climate change tightens its grip, the African continent is bearing the brunt of extreme weather conditions that have profoundly impacted food security, livelihoods, and economies.

A recent Afrobarometer survey paints a stark picture of the hard reality for millions of Africans: worsening droughts and crop failures are threatening their very survival. Citizens are now calling for bold action from their governments and the international community to combat this worsening crisis.

A decade of declining agricultural yields

Over the past decade, the majority of Africans report an alarming increase in the severity of droughts and crop failures. According to Afrobarometer…

• Zambia’s economic growth projections have dropped to 1.2 per cent, down from an earlier estimate of 2.3 per cent.
• Key sector agriculture has shrunk by over 20% YoY even as energy output dropped by nearly 10%, affecting electricity supply.
• Compounding the challenge, inflation in Zambia rose sharply, reaching 15.7% in October 2024.

Zambia’s economic outlook for 2024 has suffered a downturn, with the main sectors facing substantial contractions that could weigh on the South African country’s overall recovery.

According to the latest review by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Zambia’s economic growth projections have dropped to 1.2 per cent, down from an earlier estimate of 2.3 percent. This is largely due to wide-ranging electricity shortages and declining activity across critical industries such as agriculture and energy.

After completing the IMF review, Zambia will access about $185.5 million in financing (SDR 139.9 million) for budgetary support in a tough economic year.…

• The 1,300Km of railway from Zambia to Tanzania will be completed by 2029.
• The US, UK, and others sign MoU to develop the Lobito railway project.
• Top nickel producer Lifezone Metals secures project tender.

Nickel prospects in Tanzania have spurred the US to extend the Washington-backed Zambia-DRC railway project to the East African nation, creating a strategic link between West and East Africa. Helaina Matza, the US acting special coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment has announced US plans to expand its West and Central Africa railway project to the shores of the Indian Ocean through Tanzania.

Known as the Lobito Corridor, this US-funded railway project that originally ran from Angola to Zambia through the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) envisions adding 1,300 kilometers of railway from Zambia to Tanzania and is slated to be completed in just five years, by 2029.

Former Deputy Chairperson of …

• Google is rolling out Umoja cable, the first-ever fibre optic link directly connecting Africa with Australia, aiming to enhance global digital infrastructure and foster economic growth.
• The Umoja project, developed in collaboration with Liquid Technologies, will improve connectivity and drive digital inclusion across Africa.
• This initiative is part of Google’s long-term commitment to Africa’s digital transformation, with investments in infrastructure, cybersecurity, and AI innovation to support growth.

In a deal set to revolutionize digital connectivity across continents, tech heavyweight Google has announced the launch of Umoja, the first-ever fibre optic link directly connecting Africa with Australia. This project is poised to enhance global digital infrastructure, foster economic growth, and drive digital inclusion on a new level scale.

The Umoja cable, anchored in Kenya, will traverse a diverse array of African countries, including Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, before crossing the Indian Ocean …

• A total of 77 people, including 22 Chinese and a Cameroonian, all suspects in an elaborate cybercrime ring in Zambia targeting thousands of people across the world, have been arrested in a crackdown. 
• Masquerading as call centre agents, Zambian youth were recruited into conning people via Telegram and WhatsApp platforms.
• Authorities in Zambia say the scam affected people in Singapore, Peru, the UAE, and some African countries.

In Zambia’s posh Roma district, the morning African sun barely peeked through the offices of Golden Top Support Services. This company had promised scores of respectable jobs to young Zambians as call centre agents.

Instead, it had covertly plunged them into the depths of a sprawling cybercrime syndicate. This chilling reality came to light following a decisive raid led by the country’s Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), exposing a narrative that conjures up the global challenges of cybercrime.

This operation was a huge score …

• Expensive loans remain a significant issue across populations engaged in agriculture in Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia.
• A report by the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) says capital injection is a significant strategy agribusinesses use to survive.
• Moreover, agribusinesses face high operational costs from fuel prices and low-profit margins driven by currency devaluations.

The lack of agriculture-friendly financial systems saw agribusinesses turn down expensive loan options in the market, with only 15 per cent taking on commercial capital in 2023 and the rest sourcing capital from friends, family and their business savings.

The incentives by the government channelled towards agriculture failed to adequately cushion Agribusinesses from economic shocks, a new report by Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has revealed.

The African Agribusiness Outlook survey is conducted annually to gain insights into the sector’s top priorities, how they address challenges, and what SMEs see as opportunities.

A reflection …

• Cholera fatalities in Zambia have now surpassed 150 cases since the onset of the latest outbreak in October 2022.
• Authorities are also prohibiting the sale of food along urban streets as Zambia cases hit past 4,000.
• A cholera resurgence in October has spread across the country, with reported cases spanning 16 districts across six of Zambia’s 10 provinces.

Authorities in Zambia have postponed the start of the 2024 academic year to January 29th, underscoring the escalating death toll attributed to the Cholera outbreak in the country. This drastic decision follows the alarming statistics of Cholera fatalities, which have now surpassed 150 cases since the onset of the latest outbreak in October 2022.

This rescheduling of school reopening reflects a prudent response to the risks imposed by the growing public health crisis, underlining the gravity of the situation gripping the southern African country and the necessity to prioritize the population’s well-being.…

• Airtel Africa CEO Olusegun Ogunsanya has retired and will be replaced by Sunil Taldar, the new Managing Director and CEO.
• For the six months ending on September 30, the group reported a net loss of $13 million,
• Mittal further announced Ogunsanya’s post-retirement role as the Airtel Africa Charitable Foundation Chair.

Airtel Africa CEO set to retire

Airtel Africa PLC has announced that Chief Executive Officer Olusegun Ogunsanya will retire on 1 July 2024 and take an advisory role.

Ogunsanya, who joined Airtel in 2012, ran the Nigeria Operations of the Telecommunications and Mobile Money Company for nine years before he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Group in 2021.

He led the company to maintain double-digit revenue growth and deliver new products to its customers across the continent.

Building on the work undertaken during his time as CEO, including the launch of the Company’s first Sustainability Strategy, and given …