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Ukraine promises more grain exports to African countries to tackle food crisis

Published

2 years ago

October 4, 2022

Ukraine has promised to send more grain to African countries in a bid to tackle growing food insecurity on the continent, the European country’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said in Senegal on Tuesday as he begins a tour of selected African countries.

Kuleba who held meetings with Senegal’s President Macky Sall and Foreign Minister Aïssata Tall Sall in Dakar, said despite the war ravaging his country, that would not stop it from sending “boats full of seeds for Africa”.

“We will do our best until the last breath to continue exporting Ukrainian grain to Africa and the world for food security,” Kuleba said at a joint press briefing with Sall after the meeting.

“I do not come to Africa against anyone. We must strengthen our cooperation. Our future depends on the relationships we build and what happens every day.

“The Senegalese may be surprised if they listen to Russian propaganda. Russia wanted to make believe that the war is because Ukraine wants to be a member of NATO. Finland wants to be a member. And yet Russia did not attack it.

“Russia also believes that we are one people. This is not true. The language we speak is not the same. We have a different culture and a different people. If someone tries to impose a doctrine on you, you would reject it,” he added.

Since Russian-Ukraine war began in February, many African countries who depends on Ukraine for most of their wheat imports have been battling with shortages following blockades by Russia.

Many African nations have also maintained stoic neutrality in the war with more than 25 countries refusing to vote or abstaining from voting on United Nations resolution condemning the war earlier this year.

Senegal was among those that abstained with Sall who is the Chairperson of the African Union, telling the UN General Assembly last month that Africa “does not want to be the breeding ground of a new Cold War.”

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VenturesNow

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

Published

3 days ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

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.

VenturesNow

Libya’s eastern govt accepts petrol subsidy elimination

Published

3 days ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

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.