The economic recovery that has followed COVID pandemic impacts in sub-Saharan Africa has been disrupted by the impacts of war in Ukraine, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) now trimming back its 2022 projected growth estimates to a slower 3.8%. “The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered a sharp rise…
President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo co-hosted a summit on financial assistance for African economies on Tuesday, joining French President Emmanuel Macron at the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris to discuss strategies for boosting recovery aid following the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. Tshisekedi, speaking in his…
There are at least 32 million more people living in extreme poverty across sub-Saharan Africa because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and countries in the region will need about $425 billion in additional external funding over the next five years, the IMF said on Thursday. “The outlook for sub‑Saharan Africa is…
With Zambia’s recent default on debt repayment and global concern over pandemic-related economic impacts, the G20 meeting in Riyadh wrapped up Sunday with a commitment through June for the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) to allow developing nations to defer debt payments. “The coronovirus pandemic is not only the greatest…
Sub-Saharan Africa will see its 2020 economic growth so impacted by the coronavirus pandemic that the International Monetary Fund warns of the worst performance in 50 years. That’s according to IMF African director Abebe Aemro Selassie, who participated in a press briefing Wednesday at the IMF spring meetings, which are…
The African Development Bank delivered a forceful response on Thursday, after World Bank President David Malpass suggested the AfDB was among multinational development banks that are too quick to lend and therefore adding to the debt burden in African nations. Malpass specifically mentioned AfDB loans to Nigeria and South Africa…
For many African nations, the economic challenges remain enormous. Zimbabwe, for example, saw its extreme poverty rate increase by 5 percent in 2019, leaving a third of the nation – some 5.7 million people, according to World Bank – to deal with sharp inflation and shortages, all from the most…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Who’s running the show at the International Monetary Fund, now that former managing director Christine Lagarde has stepped down temporarily while she is a candidate for head of the European Central Bank? Right now it’s David Lipton, who has served as deputy managing director since 2011 and is completing a…
The United States on Thursday announced the launch of the new Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (WGDP) with the aim of reaching 50 million women across the world by 2025. The White House rolled out the plan as U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka promoted it in a Wall…
Christine Lagarde, managing director for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), completed a recent visit to Angola with a warning that the OPEC nation – Africa’s second largest oil producer, behind Nigeria – needs to shift away from its oil reliance. “Angola has come a long way since the end of…
The new World Economic Outlook report projects that global growth will remain steady over 2018–19 at last year’s rate of 3.7 percent, but that’s revised down from 3.9 percent earlier this year. “There are clouds on the horizon. Growth has proven to be less balanced than hoped,” said Maurice Obstfeld, chief economist…
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced Thursday that it will integrate Islamic banking, which now has a presence in more than 60 countries, into its financial stability assessments in nations where Islamic finance commands at least 15 percent of the banking sector market. Beginning in 2019, they’ll use the Core…
President Adama Barrow of The Gambia is in Brussels Tuesday for a donor conference to help support the country’s democratic transition from the decades of rule under former dictator Yahya Jammeh. The conference, jointly organized by The Gambia and the European Union, will see Barrow co-chair the meeting alongside High…
Côte d’Ivoire continues its fast-paced economic growth, and its medium-term outlook remains favorable although some risks remain, according to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team that’s just wrapped up a visit to Abidjan. The IMF team led by Dhaneshwar Ghura met with, among others, President Alassane Ouattara, Prime Minister…
Nigeria’s Minister of Finance has appealed to global leaders to treat practices of tax evasion by multinational corporations in her country as foreign corrupt practices. Kemi Adeosun made her case during the first global conference of the Platform for Collaboration on Tax in New York City. The platform partners –…