KENYA

New NHIF premiums capped at Sh5,000 for top earners

Workers earning Sh181,818 and above have been spared from paying higher contributions to the yet-to-be-formed Social Health Insurance Fund after the State opted to cap the premiums at Sh5,000. An earlier proposal in the Social Health Insurance Bill, 2023 to have graduated contributions pegged at 2.75 per cent of gross monthly pay would have seen high-income earners pay upwards of Sh22,000 a month. Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha and National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) acting CEO Samson Kuhora separately said the premiums will be reviewed, with the minimum contribution for formal workers capped at Sh300.

(Business Daily)

TANZANIA

Three-year fiscal policy framework in the offing

The Government of Tanzania will adopt a three-year fiscal policy framework to enhance predictability, the Minister for Finance, Dr Mwigulu Nchemba, has said. He said during the launch of World Bank’s 19th Tanzania Economic Update in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday that the government had taken on board recommendations from the private sector to enhance the predictability of its fiscal policy to improve stability and certainty in tax policies. “On predictability of fiscal policies, we will start with three years. We have approved a three-year fiscal regime,” said the minister after the launch of the report responding to concerns raised by the Chief Executive Officer of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation, John Ulanga about the unpredictability of fiscal policies which brings uncertainties to the business community.

(The Citizen)

UGANDA

FDC nominations go ahead at Najjanankumbi. 

A day after an extraordinary national delegates’ conference of the Forum for Democratic Change elected interim top leaders, nominations for the same positions went ahead at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi yesterday. With the nominations ongoing, it is likely now that the opposition party could end up in exactly the same leadership controversy that has bedevilled the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) since July 2015 when Lira Municipality MP Jimmy Akena conspired to topple the party president.

(Monitor)

RWANDA

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame confirms fourth-term bid.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has confirmed that he will run for a fourth term next year, which could extend his presidency to nearly three decades. “I am happy with the confidence that Rwandans have in me,” President Kagame told French-language magazine Jeune Afrique on Tuesday. He has faced criticism from rights groups, which have accused him of cracking down on the opposition. But the president said he was not bothered by the opinion of outsiders.

(BBC)

ETHIOPIA

Guterres Says He is Committed to Strengthen Ties between UN and Ethiopia.

United Nations Secretary-General, Antonia Guterres said he is committed to further strengthening the UN’s ties with Ethiopia. The secretary-general, received Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, Demeke Mekonnen at his office in New York, on the margins of the 78th General Assembly of the UN, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Recalling his days at UNHCR, Guterres said he feels deep solidarity with the people of Ethiopia and wishes Ethiopia the best success in addressing its socio-economic challenges.

(ENA)

SUDAN

Sudan army chief warns war could spill over into neighbours.

Sudan’s de facto leader has warned the UN that his country’s war could spill over into neighbouring African nations. In a speech, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan also urged the international community to designate his opponents, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a terrorist group. Meanwhile, RSF leader Hamdan Dagalo said he was prepared for a ceasefire.

(Dabanga)

SOMALIA

Somali PM Optimistic About Winning Stronger International Support Against Al-Shabab

New York and Washington — Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said Thursday that his government is appealing for more international support in its long-running war against al-Shahab militants. In an exclusive interview with Voice of America, Barre says he will appeal to the U.N. General Assembly this weekend about removing an international arms embargo so Somalia is capable of eliminating al-Shabab, a U.N. and U.S.-designated terrorist organization that has fought the Somali government for 16 years. Barre said Somalia’s first priority is security, which he said cannot be fully achieved without a well-trained and well-equipped Somali national army.

(allAfrica)