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Kenya urges IMF to probe corruption after Western pressure

Published

24 hours ago

October 4, 2024

Following pressure from Western countries, Kenya’s government has requested that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conduct an official evaluation of the country’s governance and corruption problems.

Kenya has battled debt that has risen to dangerous levels in recent years. Its decision to back out of planned tax increases earlier this year in response to violent protests made it more difficult for the country to receive a $600 million payment from the IMF.

The countries must request the so-called “governance diagnostic,” which examines if corruption and governance flaws are sapping revenue or causing other issues with state finances.

“We have received a governance diagnostics request from the authorities,” an IMF spokesperson said in response to written questions.

“The government of Kenya aims to strengthen its governance and anti-corruption policies. They intend to utilize these diagnostics to enhance public spending efficiency, boost competitiveness, foster growth, and inclusively reduce poverty.”

According to a person with knowledge of the matter, the assessment would be a gesture of goodwill in the nation’s attempts to get its finances back on track even though it was unrelated to the payment.

President William Ruto was forced to rescind $2.7 billion in proposed tax increases in June as a result of widespread protests centred around perceived waste and corruption in the government.

Requests for comments were not answered by Kenya’s finance ministry. The news that Western countries were pressuring for the IMF review was originally broken by Reuters on Tuesday.

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TotalEnergies CEO to meet Mozambique president for further project discourse

Published

2 days ago

October 3, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

To discuss the company’s proposed LNG project in Mozambique with the nation’s new president, CEO Patrick Pouyanne has announced he will travel to Mozambique later this month.

“The project remains profitable, we remain committed,” Pouyanne said at an investor presentation.

The $20 billion Mozambique LNG project has been delayed because of worries about violent upheaval in the area, although Pouyanne claimed there had been “progress on security” recently.

On October 9, Mozambicans will cast their votes in presidential and legislative elections that will almost certainly prolong the fifty-year rule of the ruling Frelimo party, which is fighting a protracted Islamist insurgency in one of the largest gas reserves in Africa.

Pouyanne went on to say that lenders had affirmed between 70% and 80% of a $14 billion finance package that supports the project.

“We are waiting on the green light on financing from three credit agencies, some are in Western countries where rules on gas have changed … as soon as that is in place we will move,” Pouyanne said.

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Tanzania’s central bank maintains 6% lending rate

Published

2 days ago

October 3, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Tanzania’s central bank announced on Thursday that it had left its benchmark interest rate at 6% unchanged.

The benchmark rate was maintained by the central bank at 6% in the two quarters leading up to September, up from 5.5% when the rate was first published in January.

Agriculture, construction, and manufacturing led real GDP growth to 5.3% in 2023, up from 4.7% in 2022. Private investments drove demand.

Tight monetary policy and food and energy price moderation reduced inflation from 4.3% in 2022 to 3.8% in 2023. Due to foreign cash shortages, the Tanzanian shilling fell 8% in 2023.

Despite mounting pressure on the shilling, consumer inflation has remained comfortably below the bank’s objective of 5%. August saw a rise in inflation from 3.0% year over year to 3.1%, according to information from the statistics office.

In recent weeks, many African countries announced monetary policy decisions. Nigeria raised its benchmark interest rate by an additional 50 basis points, to a new record high of 27.25%, Ghana reduced its benchmark monetary policy rate by 200 points to 27% at a normal meeting. while South Africa decreased its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 8% after holding seven consecutive meetings at a 15-year high of 8.25%.