Kenya

EPRA reveals second plan to increase cost of power

The Water Resources and Management Authority (WARMA) is the latest State entity to seek a bigger pie of the electricity bills in what looks set to further increase the cost of power. WARMA has applied to the energy regulator for a review of the levy to Sh2 per unit of power, from the current Sh0.01 per unit.

The push for the upward review of the WARMA levy is separate from the application made by Kenya Power on behalf of other State energy agencies to increase electricity bills by up to 78 percent from April.

(Source: Business Daily)

Tanzania

Nala, M-Pesa expand payment services to EU

Nala, a Tanzanian fintech startup, and Vodacom’s M-Pesa yesterday announced a partnership that would expand its International Money Transfer (IMT) services to the European Union (EU).

Nala has expanded in Europe by adding 19 new Eurozone nations to its list of send markets after expanding from the UK to the US earlier this year. The move is in line with Nala’s vision of connecting Africans globally by enabling members of the diaspora across Europe to send money to Tanzania and other African countries.

(Source: The Citizen)

Uganda

Gov’t routes for interest free loans to farmers

The Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Frank Tumwebaze, has implored Members of Parliament to support the ministry’s drive for interest free loans to institutions and farmers with large tracts of land.

Tumwebaze said a newly piloted food security project targeting government institutions with idle and large chunks of land produced promising results. He said that the ministry is seeking for interest free loans to extend the project to private institutions which he said are many.

(Source: The Independent)

Rwanda

Kagame rallies private investments in Africa’s infrastructure development

President Paul Kagame has emphasized the role of private sector investment in developing Africa’s infrastructure to attain sustainable development. He was speaking during the second Dakar Financing Summit for Africa’s Infrastructure Development in Senegal, on February 2.

The forum, themed “Maintaining the momentum towards world-class infrastructure in Africa”, seeks to catalyze public, private, and blended funding for identified priority infrastructure regional projects. Different continental heads of state, government officials, and members of the private sector gathered to discuss ways of securing funding for regional infrastructure projects under the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), an AUDA-NEPAD initiative.

President Kagame noted that there has been progress over the years but Africa’s infrastructure gap remains significant. To close this gap for good, mobilizing domestic resources is very critical, he said, adding that this is why, in 2018, AUDA-NEPAD launched the ‘5 percent Agenda’ on increasing institutional investment in Africa’s infrastructure.

(Source: The New Times)

Ethiopia

Ethiopian Capital Markets Authority to issue license to capital markets service providers

Ethiopian Capital Market Authority announced that it is undertaking the necessary preparations to issue licenses to capital market service providers over the coming six months. It is to be recalled that Ethiopia had approved Capital Markets Establishment Proclamation in 2021 to provide the legal foundation for the development of capital markets in the country.

(Source: ENA)

Sudan

Finance minister criticised for lack of clarity in new Sudan budget

As Sudan witnessed protests demanding improvements in health and education, Economist Haisam Mohamed Fathi told Radio Dabanga that the 2023 national budget, approved by the Council of Ministers two days ago, “far from heralds a transition to a new phase for the Sudanese economy.”

“The Minister of Finance has not clarified the percentages of the budget deficit and other deviations,” he said. New future services and industries, investment opportunities, and laws that stimulate investment were also left out of Sudan’s new annual budget, which was leaked earlier this month.

(Source: Radio Dabanga)