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Kenya to increase borrowing as budget gap grows

Published

6 years ago

September 14, 2018

Kenya is likely to borrow another Sh600 billion this financial year after revenue shortfalls, pushing the country deeper into the debt trap.

It had earlier been forecast that borrowing would be capped at Sh558.9 billion.

Despite a pinching tax on fuel, the gap between spending and revenues has continued to increase, prompting the Treasury to revise targets for the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

The budget deficit has grown to Sh600 billion, with tax revenues expected to drop to Sh1.8 trillion, down from Sh1.9 trillion projected in the 2018/19 Budget.

Finance Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge said the dismal results from the taxman made the Government to revise its expectations.

Read also: UK gives Ghana £20m grant

“We had made projections based on what we expected KRA would collect but performance was bad, especially the last three months and so we had to adjust,” Dr Thugge said.

This means that Kenya’s targeted fiscal deficit will rise to six per cent, from a targeted 5.7 per cent, which was still seen as high by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and formed its basis to push for debt management.

Kenya’s financing deficit over the past few years has been oscillating between 8.4 per cent in 2014 to 7.4 per cent in 2015, then 8.8 per cent in 2016 and last year, it stood at 6.9 per cent. The plan was to cut it to 5.7 per cent this year and then 4.3 per cent next year.

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Ezz al-Arab appointed as Egypt’s CIB chairman

Published

1 day ago

September 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Commercial International Bank (CIB), Egypt’s largest private bank, announced on Monday that long-time chairman and previous CEO Hisham Ezz al-Arab will become CEO.

Neveen Sabbour, a board member, will take over as chairman, according to a statement. Hussein Abaza, the outgoing CEO, will be replaced by Ezz al-Arab, who will hold the role for three years.

In Egypt, the market share held by traditional banks is expected to reach US$35.84 billion. As more clients choose online and mobile banking options, Egypt’s banking industry is seeing an increase in digital banking services.

The new appointments are part of “to lead the bank’s multifaceted business transformation and continue its programme to support recognised potential future leaders,” the announcement stated.

Ezz al-Arab, chairman and managing director since 2002, resigned in October 2020 due to “compliance concerns” from the national bank.

In August 2022, a year before his tenure expired, central bank governor Tarek Amer resigned due to a currency crisis. Ezz al-Arab was requested to rejoin as chairman in December.

VenturesNow

Nigerian inflation falls again, drops to 32.15% in August

Published

1 day ago

September 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s August inflation rate declined for a second month to 32.15% from 33.40% in July, the statistics office reported on Monday. This comes after the month of July saw the first decrease in consumer inflation in Africa’s largest country in almost a year.

Analysts predict August’s slowdown may be short-lived after two gas price increases this month enraged citizens facing the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

The removal of a decades-old gasoline subsidy, devaluation of the naira currency, and increase in energy costs by President Bola Tinubu have raised prices.

Reforms attempt to boost economic growth and public finances.

The central bank’s next interest rate decision next week may be influenced by inflation figures. The apex bank has hiked rates four times this year to curb inflation, and economists say July’s hike may be the last.

Further petrol price increases and northern flooding that swept away crops could raise food prices.

“On the whole, disinflation should continue with the headline rate falling below 30% by year-end, but upside risks remain,” Capital Economics Africa analyst David Omojomolo wrote.

He claimed rising petrol prices might “slow the pace of the disinflation process” and that the central bank would not drop rates until early next year.

Food inflation dropped from 39.53% to 37.52% in August. It remained the greatest inflation driver in August.