VenturesNow

Congo to grant Rwanda 12,000 hectares of exploitable land after new agric field concession

Published

1 year ago

April 13, 2022

In a move that is hoped to end the land dispute between the Republic of Congo and Rwanda and ultimately strengthen bilateral relations, the two East African countries have signed two memorandums of understanding and a concession agreement over agricultural fields.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda is currently on a 3-day work visit to the Brazaville where he signed a series of MoUs which included the agricultural field concession.

According to the new agreement, although the duration of the concession has not been specified, Congo will reportedly grant Rwanda 12,000 hectares of exploitable land in at least three Departments in the south of the country.

With that move, land dispute between the East African neighbours might be reaching a lasting end as the two countries have enjoyed a smooth relationship lately as seen in their cooperation and aspirations in trade, security, partnership, and Covid-19 vaccination goals.

Rwanda and Congo enjoy cordial bilateral relations. The growth of bilateral ties as evidenced by the 2021 agreements to remove double taxation and visa requirements to ease trade between both countries. They also signed agreements regarding military, education, and land management at the time.

VenturesNow

Kenya: Parliament approves appointment of Kamau Thugge as central bank governor

Published

7 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Months after throwing open the position for the country’s top banker, Kenya’s parliament has approved the appointment of Kamau Thugge as the country’s central bank governor.

The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the
appointment of economist and senior civil servant who was nominated by President William Ruto as the next apex bank chief.

Thugge, who served as principal secretary in the finance ministry until mid-2018, was nominated after serving as one of the president’s senior economic advisers since late last year.

He shook off competition from others shortlisted candidates like Adan Mohamed, who served in the cabinet from 2013-2022, with four others also interviewed for the role.

The new central bank governor will be faced with the immediate pressure of stabilizing the country’s monetary policy as the East African giant currently faces a shortage of funds amidst rising public debt.

Despite the odds, the World Bank in a report earlier today expects growth to edge up to 5.0% in 2023, underpinned by a recovery in agriculture.

VenturesNow

Ghana presents ‘working proposal’ for debt restructuring— IMF sources

Published

7 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

West African country, Ghana has made a major move at resolving its debt crisis as the country has presented debt restructuring proposal to its creditors.

According to sources quoted by Reuters, a “working proposal” has been submitted to help the country escape its worst economic crisis in a generation.

One of the sources revealed that the proposal was a first attempt to engage the official creditor committee after its formation in May. It should be recalled that the Paris Club last month announced that official sector of creditors of Ghana had formed a committee co-chaired by China and France for debt restructuring talks.

The plan is to end restructuring of domestic debt before turning to negotiations with its official bilateral creditors and international bondholders, a government official said.

Ghana is one of several cash-strapped countries facing unprecedented delays in getting bailouts as China, its biggest bilateral creditor with about $1.7 billion of debt and Western economies disagree over how debt relief should be structured.

The first formal review of the programme will hold in the coming months as an IMF team will visit Ghana between 8th and 15th of June.