KENYA

How budget chief plans to kill false unpaid bills

The Controller of Budget (CoB) will not accept fresh payment requests from counties and entities of the national government for the year ended June, in the latest move to curb a surge in fake claims that bleed taxpayers billions of shillings.

CoB Margaret Nyakango says counties, ministries, State departments and corporations had up to mid-last month to table all invoices for the 2021/22 financial year.

The decision comes amid growing cases of rogue officers across the two tiers of government who use the transition period to generate fake invoices long after the end of a financial year, exacerbating pilferage of public funds.

Data from the CoB shows that ineligible pending bills across the 47 counties stood at Sh108.01 billion as at March, a figure that Ms Nyakango says is higher than last year, pointing to the extent of the fake claims.

The value of ineligible pending bills at the national government remains unclear but the total unpaid bills rose to Sh434.5 billion in March this year from Sh307.8 billion a year ago.

“We gave them up to 15th August to take stock and give us what they had as of June 30th. We have closed that window and said that any invoice that did not come within that time will not be accepted. We are not accepting any new pending bills,” Ms Nyakango told

(Source: Business Daily)

TANZANIA

Optimism high on $470 million Nyanzaga gold project

Optimism is high on the Nyanzaga gold project expected to take Tanzania to another level in gold production.

The three mining sites near southwest of Mwanza city have probable ore reserves totalling 40 metric tonnes of gold.

Some $474 million will be injected as capital cost for underground development and open pit pre-strip.

Pre-production capital cost will also include plant and associated infrastructure while contingency will gobble up $36million.

Australian mining giant OreCorp announced yesterday that it was delighted the just concluded study has shown the project’s viability.

Tanzania is currently ranked the fourth largest gold producer in Africa after South Africa,Ghana and Mali and currently produces 40 tonnes a year.

(Source: The Citizen)

UGANDA

Reduce tax incentives, growth expert tells govt 

Government must reduce tax incentives if Uganda is to achieve an increase in tax to gross domestic product ratio, according to the International Growth Centre. 

Speaking during the sixth Economic Growth Forum in Kampala yesterday, Dr Richard Newfarmer, the International Growth Centre country director, said tax incentives reduce Uganda’s tax ratio to gross domestic product by 1.6 percent, which is a relatively high percentage. 

“This is really high. Government needs to reduce tax incentives. Uganda collects only about 11 percent of gross domestic product in tax revenue, well below the average for other countries at its level per capita income.  As a result, its level of public investment is relatively low compared to fast-growing low-income counterparts,” he said. 

A report, authored by Seatini and supported by USAID, which ws launched last month, indicates that over the last three financial years, government had foregone more than Shs5 trillion in taxable revenue, which translates into 3.6 per cent of gross domestic product. 

The foregone revenue had resulted from tax incentives and exemptions advanced to both local and mainly foreign investors, which at the same launch, Ms Izabela Karpowicz, the IMF resident country representative, said tax exemptions have less impact on the poor and vulnerable, which therefore, makes them more regressive than progressive. 

(Source: The Monitor)

RWANDA

BK Group registers Rwf28.3bn profit in six months

Bank of Kigali Group has recorded a net profit worth Rwf28.3 billion in the first half of 2022, representing an increase of 24.5 percent in comparison to the same period last year.

In the first half of 2021, the bank had Rwf22.8 billion profit.

The lender raked Rwf92.7 billion in net interest income supported by higher income from loans and advances.

Diane Karusisi, the Chief Executive of Bank of Kigali, attributed the stellar performance to the post-Covid-19 economic recovery where the country hosted a number of international conferences and businesses in the hospitality sector were able to pay back their loans.

The group registered notable performance across all its business lines and its four subsidiaries; Bank of Kigali, BK General Insurance, BK TecHouse and BK Capital, according to a statement.

“All our subsidiaries have contributed positively in the first half and we are very optimistic as we move to the second half,” Nathalie Mpaka, BK’s Chief of Finance

The operating costs rose by 32.9 per cent to Rwf36.4 billion mainly driven by the implementation of the co-banking system as part of digital transformation strategy, according to Mpaka.

(Source: The New Times)

ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia, South Korea Sign MOU to Work Together in Water Resources

Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy and South Korea Water Corporation have signed a memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together in water development sector.

Water and Energy Minister Habtamu Etefa  and  President and CEO of Korea Water Resources Corporation, Park Jae signed the MoU.

Park Jae said on the occasion that the relations between Ethiopia and South Korea is not only depended on the diplomacy and development but also tied in blood.

He also expressed his commitment to work in partnership with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Water and Energy in the sector.

Water and Energy Minister, Habtamu Etefa  on his part expressed keenness to work together with  Korea in the sector.

It was also indicated during the ceremony that  the President and CEO of Korea Water Resources Corporation, Park Jae is expected to visit Ethiopia in the coming October, 2022.

The Ethiopian Water and Energy Minister, Habtamu Etefa is in South Korea to participate in the 2022 Environment, Social and Governance Forum being held in Seoul.

(Source: Ethiopian News Agency)

SUDAN

Japan pledges $4.5 million to fund WFP emergency aid to Sudan displaced

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), which has faced a funding shortfall of $366 million until the end of 2022, has welcomed a contribution of $4.5 million from the government of Japan to provide life-saving food assistance to internally displaced people in Sudan. The funding will enable WFP to purchase 3,600 tonnes of sorghum to support 130,000 displaced in Blue Nile, South Kordofan, and Darfur for the next four months, the WFP says. The Japanese grant follows a similar announcement by the UK government this month to allocate £3 million in emergency humanitarian funding to the WFP.

We are extremely grateful for this generous funding from the government of Japan to support women, men, and children who have been driven from their homes by conflict,” said Eddie Rowe, WFP’s Representative and Country Director in Sudan. “Chronic funding shortages are forcing WFP to reduce food rations even for the most vulnerable such as displaced people and refugees. We appeal to donors to help restore full rations.”

Japan’s contribution comes at a time when the combined effects of conflict, extreme weather, economic and political crises, poor harvests and rising costs of food, energy and fertilizer, caused in part by the conflict in Ukraine, have left over 15 million people food insecure in Sudan according to WFP’s Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment (CFSVA). The assessment further warns that this number could rise to 18 million – or 40 per cent of the population – by September, as families struggle to cope through the lean season.

(Source: Radio Dabanga)

SOMALIA

Prime Minister Hamse meets World Bank director in Somalia

The Prime Minister of the Federal Government, Mr. Hamse Abdi Barre today received the Director of the World Bank in Somalia, Kristina Svensson, and discussed the cooperation between the World Bank and the Federal Government.

Kristina briefed the Prime Minister on the various development activities of the World Bank in Somalia – especially the effort and help they are giving in drought relief.

Prime Minister Hamse thanked the World Bank for the support given to Somalia, encouraging them to work closely with the government agencies – basing their work on the plans that are important to the government.

(Source: Radio Dalsan)