In a bid to use internet as a growth driver, in June 2019, Kenya will add an additional 9, 100 kilometers of optical fiber to its network. The extension will cost Ksh20 billion (about $196 million) and add to the existing 8,000 kilometers.   The project was disclosed by president Uhuru Kenyatta (photo) last week during the launch of a digital economy plan aimed at guiding Africa...

Egypt’s public debt culminated to $339 billion at the end of the 2018 fiscal year, the central bank indicated on May 21, 2019. During the period under review, the country’s external debt recorded a 16.6% rise to reach $96.61 billion. As for the domestic debt, it rose 20.25% year to year to $242 billion, the same source revealed. According to the draft budget submitted in...

The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), managed by the African Development Bank on 17 May 2019 approved a $995,000 grant to support the roll out of a sustainable procurement framework for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in Ethiopia. The SEFA grant will encourage private investments into hydropower projects through Ethiopia’s Renewable Energy Programme. It will strengthen the...

Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA) has initiated a strategy to reduce the volume of counterfeited phones in the national telecom market.   On May 17, 2019, during the celebration of the World Telecommunications and Information Society Day, the regulator announced that it would authenticate imported phones before their introduction into the local market. Even though the...

Tunisair will cut 1200 jobs within three years under a restructuration plan aimed at reducing its operating costs, Tunisian minister of transport Hichem Ben Ahmed indicated on May 20, 2019.   “The reduction of the public firms’ workforce will be conducted in strong coordination with Union générale tunisienne du travail [UGTT, a labour congress],” he explained during a press...

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Senate has approved the proposed restructuration of a $2.5 billion debt owed to Exim Bank China. This approval is the ultimate step of a process that will allow the Central African country solve its debt problem, which was a roadblock for its agreement with the IMF. Neither the financing terms nor the volume of DRC’s debt toward China was clearly...

Ghana has signed a partnership agreement with Ethiopian Airlines to launch a new public airlines company. This was announced by Tewolde Gebremariam (photo), Ethiopian Airlines’ CEO, last week. The new entity will be 51% owned by Ghana and its private sector while 49% will go to Ethiopian Airlines. In a bid to restrict the government's authority on the new company, Ghana’s stake in it...

Côte d’Ivoire’s economy should rise from 7.4% in 2018 to 7.5%, finance minister Adama Koné (photo) indicated on May 17, 2019. During a conference on "Croissance économique et bien-être social" (economic growth and social welfare), the official explained that the said forecast was in line with those published with international backers such as the World Bank Group and the IMF.   He...

Ghana recently signed a $500 million agreement with China Railway Wuju Group Corporation (CRWG) for the construction of a new railway, the Global Construction Review reveals. The new railway is a 100 km standard-gauge railway linking Manso and Dunkwa. The Railway, planned to be completed within a maximum of 12 months, will complement the 22 km Kojokrom-Manso railway being constructed...

Angola will rely on French aircraft manufacturer Airbus’ earth observation satellite to monitor its territory. An agreement was signed in that regard on May 17, 2019, in Paris, by Angolan minister of foreign affairs Manuel Augusto and his French peer Jean-Yves le Drian.  Angola will use Airbus’ satellites for military reconnaissance, meteorology, natural resource inventory, climate...