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Kenya: President Ruto appoints Susan Koech as second cenbank deputy governor

Published

2 years ago

March 10, 2023

The spokesperson of Kenya’s president, Hussein Mohamed has revealed that the president, William Ruto has appointed Susan Koech, a career banker who has also worked in top government posts, to be the second deputy governor of the central bank.

President William Ruto filled the role which had been unoccupied for more than five years after his predecessor failed to fill it when its previous occupant left. The bank has been led by Governor Patrick Njoroge and one deputy, Sheila M’mbijiwe.

Koech holds a doctorate in business from Kenya’s Moi University. She previously worked in various positions with the local top lender KCB Group for nearly two decades, before joining the government in 2018, where she worked as a senior official in two ministries.

Mohamed, said on Twitter late on Friday Ruto had made the appointment, using a legal notice.

Senior officials at the central bank, Njoroge’s and M’mbijiwe’s terms are to end in June, meaning Koech could serve as acting governor if their replacements are not appointed by then.

The country’s statistics office revealed recently that the inflation rate in Kenya rose to 9.2% year-on-year in February from 9.0% a month earlier as the increase was largely driven by food and transport prices. The February rate is still above the government’s preferred range of 2.5% to 7.5%.

Related Topics:Featured Kenya president William Ruto

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Angola’s draft budget estimates 1.65%/GDP deficit in 2025

Published

7 hours ago

November 1, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Draft budget documents show that Angola’s government expects a 1.65% GDP budget deficit in 2025, up from 1.46% this year.

According to finance ministry records on its website, Africa’s second-largest crude oil exporter’s 2025 budget is predicated on $70 per barrel of oil. Brent crude futures were around $74 per barrel on Friday.

In an interview with Reuters last week, Vera Daves de Sousa, the finance minister of Angola, stated that the southern African nation was under a lot of strain due to the possibility of declining oil prices.

Additionally, according to the draft budget, economic growth would pick up speed in the non-oil sectors, increasing from 3.3% this year to 4.1% next year.

According to the finance ministry, yearly inflation will drop from nearly 29% to 16.6% by the end of next year.

Last week, Daves de Sousa told Reuters that Angola was considering asking the International Monetary Fund for a funding program.

Its most current IMF program, worth $3.7 billion, was authorised in 2018 after the country’s earnings were severely damaged by the collapse of global petroleum prices.

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IMF predicts 4% Middle East, North Africa growth next year

Published

8 hours ago

November 1, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that Middle East and North Africa growth would rebound to 4% next year if oil output curbs were phased out, and headwinds, including wars, subsided.

As geopolitical and macroeconomic concerns remain, the IMF’s latest Regional Economic Outlook, launched in Dubai, predicts “sluggish” growth of 2.1% in 2024.

The IMF noted that risks to the outlook for the overall area, including the Caucasus and Central Asia, “remain tilted to the downside,” and called for an acceleration of structural reforms, notably in governance and labour markets, to raise chances for medium-term growth.

Jihad Azour, the IMF’s director for the Middle East and Central Asia department, said in an interview that the MENA growth estimate for 2024 has been revised downwards by 0.6% from April’s report, mainly due to the extension of the Israel-Hamas conflict and further extensions of OPEC+ voluntary oil production cuts.

He said the “good news” was that inflation was gradually being brought under control across the region. He predicted that the region would average the 3% goal rate in 2024, except for Egypt, Iran, and Sudan.

The outlook, however, differs significantly throughout the region. According to Azour, oil-exporting nations should be better equipped to handle such threats thanks to “strong” growth in the non-oil sector.

Non-oil growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region has mostly outpaced overall growth despite lower oil prices and production this year, thanks to government-led investment programs that support domestic demand. The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.

Oil importers from the Middle East and North Africa are still more susceptible to protracted hostilities and significant funding requirements.

“Even as these issues gradually abate, uncertainty remains high and structural gaps will likely hold back productivity growth in many economies over the forecast horizon,” the IMF report said.

Since January 2024, the IMF has authorised $13.4 billion in fresh investment for Middle Eastern and Central Asian nations, including initiatives in Jordan, Pakistan, and Egypt.