Tag Archives: economy

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | The World Bank will provide Ivory Coast $1 billion for development, in particular to help it get more value out of its agricultural exports, a top official for the bank’s Africa region has said. Of that figure, $300 million would be set aside for the …

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Japanese automaker Toyota said Thursday it was suspending tests of its self-driving cars so staff could “emotionally process” after an autonomous Uber car killed a pedestrian in an accident. Ride-sharing giant Uber has already suspended use of self-driving cars after one of its vehicles struck …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday named hundreds of mines, Chinese businesses and individuals who had illegally transferred foreign currency abroad during Robert Mugabe’s rule and warned they would be prosecuted. The announcement came after the expiry of a three month amnesty for the return of …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP | One of Gabon’s biggest trials for corruption got underway on Thursday, in a case featuring senior civil servants and former ministers. The trial is taking place in a recently-created judicial unit, the Special Criminal Court, in the capital Libreville. The high-profile case follows from an …

Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA | AFP | South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who came to power last month, vowed on Wednesday to “escalate the pace” of redistributing land from wealthy whites to poorer blacks. Land ownership is a sensitive subject in South Africa, 24 years after the end of apartheid rule, and …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo President Joseph Kabila enacted a law to hike taxes on so-called strategic metals and ordered government consultations with foreign companies worried by the change, an official said Sunday. “The law has been promulgated in the same form as was adopted by parliament,” …

Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Stanbic Bank’s Purchase Managers Index (PMI) posted 51.1% growth in February down from 52% in the previous year, signaling a moderate improvement in business conditions in the private sector. Commenting on February’s survey finding, Jibran Qureshi, Regional Economist East Africa at Stanbic said, “business conditions …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday met with Zimbabwe’s new President Emmerson Mnangagwa and discussed possible military co-operation as well as plans to boost economic ties. Lavrov, who is on a tour of Africa, is the first high-profile Russian official to visit Zimbabwe since veteran …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo President Joseph Kabila has promised to have “constructive dialogue” with mining companies worried over plans to hike taxes on so-called strategic metals, a category expected to include the booming market for cobalt and copper. Kabila on Tuesday held more than seven hours of …

Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump vowed Monday not to exempt Mexico and Canada from new steel tariffs without a “fair” trade deal, but his chief negotiator warned the trio’s talks were not living up to expectations. Speaking as US, Mexican and Canadian trade officials gathered …