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Zanzibar President, Hussein Mwiny, takes side as controversy around airport terminal continues

Published

2 years ago

January 29, 2023

Dubai-based firm, Dnata has gained the support of Zanzibar’s President Hussein Ali Mwiny, in a row over ground handling services at Terminal 3 of Abeid Amani Karume International Airport.

President Mwinyi at the the opening ceremony of duty-free shops during which he stressed that the Dubai firm has all the necessary qualities to serve at the facility.

“The government decided to enter into partnership talks with multinationals — Dnata, Emirates Leisure, and SEGAP — with the aim of cooperating for the provision of quality services which are up to international standards. Dnata is providing the ground handling services and operates the in-house business lounge called Marhaba (at the Terminal),” President Mwinyi said.

Dnata position is hoever being contested by rival firms. In one instance, Mr. Peter Madeleka of the Arusha-based Stalwart Law Chambers, who is the legal representative of Transworld Aviation in the arbitration case in Paris, said he will fly to the French capital in the next couple of days to make a follow up of the matter.

Madeleka is also the firm’s director for legal affairs and investment.

“We were already there for about seven years before the terminal came to existence and our contract does not state and restrict us to only work on other terminals,” said Mr Mohamed Majid, the general manager of Transworld Aviation.

A directive that gave Dnata exclusive access to the contested terminal which was built at a cost of $120 million was issued by the Zanzibar Airports Authority (ZAA) last September.

Related Topics:Featured President Hussein Mwiny Zanzibar

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

13 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.