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Weeks after Nordgold left, Burkina Faso’s mines chamber assures extra security for industries

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Following the shutting down of Russia’s Nordgold, a gold mine in the insurgent-hit country earlier this month, the president of Burkina Faso’s mines chamber said that extra measures are in place to avoid a future occurrence.

Nordgold subsidiary Société des Mines de Taparko (SOMITA) director-general, Alexander Hagan Mensa announced the decision to shut down in a statement that said access to the mining site has become ‘quasi-impossible’ in recent weeks, placing the lives of staff in danger at the site, which is located close to the tri-border area of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali.

The Russian firm said the decision was due to the deteriorating security situation in the West African nation where Islamist militants have gained ground and escalated attacks in recent years.

However, the closure prompted a meeting on April 14 between the head of the army and the mines chamber.

“Measures will be taken and strengthened on all aspects… to give us even more security,” the chamber’s president Adama Soro told journalists but did not reveal details of strategies discussed.

Improved security was the way to avoid a “spiral of suspensions,” he said and urged investors to stay in the country, noting 16 gold and one zinc mine felt protected enough by the army to continue their operations.

Nordgold closure is another in the recent wave of shutting down of foreign businesses in African African countries, many of which largely depend on foreign investment to drive their economy. Exit or lack of foreign investment are developments that threaten fragile economies like Burkina Faso.   Slamreportsafrica.com reported on Thursday that Ride-hailing company, Uber, has suspended its services in Tanzania as a result of regulations that are not business-friendly which has made its operation in the East African country.

Over the weekend, Standard Chartered Bank, another multinational, said it has decided to end its operations in seven countries in the Middle East and Africa to “accelerate its strategy, deliver efficiencies, reduce complexity and drive scale.”

Burkina Faso is currently under a military junta headed by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba who amongst other reasons seized power through coup in 2021 to address security challenges bedeviling the West African country, but the current development does not suggest not much has changed for now too.

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IMF, Egypt reach agreement for fourth review of Egypt’s $1.2 billion loan request

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Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement over the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility arrangement, which might lead to a $1.2 billion payout under the program.

In March, Egypt, struggling with rising inflation and cash shortages, consented to the $8 billion, 46-month facility. Its economic problems were made worse by a precipitous drop in Suez Canal revenue over the last year due to regional tensions.

Over the next two years, Egypt’s government has committed to raising its tax-to-revenue ratio by 2% of GDP, according to the IMF, emphasising removing exemptions rather than raising taxes.

According to a statement from the IMF, this would allow it to expand social expenditure to support vulnerable populations.

“While the authorities’ plans to streamline and simplify the tax system are commendable, further reforms will be needed to enhance domestic revenue mobilization efforts,” the statement said.

According to the IMF statement, Egypt had also committed to maintaining its commitment to a flexible currency rate and to taking more urgent action to guarantee that the private sector became the primary driver of development.

The IMF’s executive board still has to accept the fourth review’s staff-level agreement.

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Libya’s eastern govt accepts petrol subsidy elimination

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In a recent statement, the eastern government of Libya claimed it had reached a consensus on a plan to eliminate gasoline subsidies and would draft a mechanism to carry out the accord.

Additional information on the idea was not released by the administration led by Osama Hamad, a challenger to the internationally acknowledged Tripoli-based government.

However, it is uncertain if Hamad’s government would be able to carry out the plan in the divided nation.

According to the Global Petrol Prices online tracker, a litre of gasoline costs just 0.150 Libyan dinars ($0.03) in OPEC member Libya, making it the second-cheapest in the world.

Following an uprising against former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, smuggling networks have thrived in the ensuing political unrest and armed fighting. In 2014, conflicting eastern and western governments separated the nation.

A World Bank analysis estimates that the annual value of fuel smuggling from Libya is at least $5 billion.

In a meeting with Mari Barrasi, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), located in Tripoli, and four members of the bank’s board of directors, Hamad in Benghazi supported the idea of removing subsidies.

The CBL’s Benghazi branch offices served as the venue for the conference.

The eastern parliament appointed Hamad in 2023 to succeed Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who had been put in position in 2021 under a U.N.-backed procedure that the parliament said had lost its legitimacy.

Dbeibah, who is located in Tripoli, stated in January that he will conduct a public poll on the topic of eliminating gasoline subsidies, but he hasn’t done anything about it since.

According to CBL figures, gasoline subsidies cost 12.8 billion Libyan dinars between January and November of this year. 4.8 Libyan dinars to $1 is the official exchange rate.

 

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