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South Sudan, Japanese govt sign $23m deal for infrastructural development

Published

1 year ago

April 28, 2022

The South Sudan government has penned a $23.3m deal with the Japanese government to develop infrastructure in the world’s youngest nation.

The multi-year project grant deal which was signed on Wednesday will include the reconstruction of four bridges, approach roads, revetment, and consulting service to ensure the road traffic safety and expand the traffic volume through reconstructing bridges in the country’s capital, Juba City.

The deal was signed on behalf of the South Sudanese government by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Mayen Dut Wol, and Toyama Mitsuhiro, Chargé d’affaires ad interim of Japan, in Juba.

“Without the improvement of infrastructure, sustainable development and economic growth cannot be achieved”, Mr. Mitsuhiro said during the signing ceremony for new grant aid from Japan.

He said the project will also see many South Sudanese engineers train on various technologies necessary for the development of the African youngest nation.

“Once this project is completed, the reconstructed four bridges will contribute to improving the traffic convenience and logistics in the capital city Juba.

“In addition to the Freedom Bridge over the Nile, which will be available in the coming weeks, we expect these bridges also improve the lives of all Juba citizens,” Mitsuhiro said.

Amb. Wol said the grant will be utilised for the “construction of four bridges located in Juba, named Shuhada, Albino, Salakana, and Kokora bridges will reduce traffic congestion and help the overflow of the traffic.”

Related Topics:Featured Infrastructure Japan South Sudan

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

Published

18 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.

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

Published

18 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.