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

Published

3 years ago

April 18, 2022

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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VenturesNow

IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

1 hour 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.

VenturesNow

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.