Tag Archives: economy

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  Ramadan is a time for daytime fasting and lavish evening feasts, but Egyptians are scaling back preparations for the Muslim holy month this year after austerity measures fuelled decades-high inflation. At a Cairo supermarket, Rana, a web designer and mother of two, said she was …

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | AFP |  The renewable energy sector employed 9.8 million people worldwide in 2016, marking a sharp increase from 2012, the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency said on Wednesday. In its “Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2017”, IRENA says the sector employed …

Brazzaville, Congo | AFP | Congo broke ground on a new Chinese-funded parliament building in the capital Brazzaville on Monday estimated at over 52 million euros ($58 million). The investment from China’s government was criticised by opposition groups which pointed out that Congo is in the midst of an economic …

Dakar, Senegal | AFP |   West African schoolgirls, some not yet teenagers, have taken a starring role at an engineering competition in Senegal, busting stereotypes with robotics expertise and innovative projects for their communities. The Pan-African Robotics competition (PARC) in the Senegalese capital Dakar on Saturday reflects the growing …

Beijing, China | AFP |  Slapping import bans on products like mangoes, coal and salmon has long been China’s way of punishing countries that refuse to toe its political line. But Beijing has shown that it can also hurt others by cutting a lucrative Chinese export: tourists who normally flock …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Uganda’s gross domestic product growth to record anywhere between 3.5%-4% in FY2016/17, lower than 5% that had earlier been projected. This was announced on Tuesday by Axel Schimmelpfennig, the head of IMF mission that visited Kampala, Uganda from May 2-15, 2017 to conduct the …

  Nigerian economy glimpses dim light at end of tunnel Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  Suffering from rampant inflation, stalled investment and mass layoffs, Nigeria is still gripped by one of the worst economic crises in its history. But for the first time in months, the West African economic giant …

Former African Union Commissioner Tumusiime roots for increased agricultural funding as she launches her autobiography Former African Union (AU) Commissioner Rhoda Peace Tumusiime has demanded that Uganda’s finance ministry explains why the agricultural sector is underfunded. “When are you making the 10 percent budget allocation to agriculture? This is a decision at a …

Palma, Mozambique | AFP |  The small, palm-fringed fishing town of Palma was meant to become a symbol of Mozambique’s glittering future, transformed by one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas projects. But construction has fallen far behind schedule and the town’s fate is uncertain after gas prices fell …

Durban, South Africa | AFP |  African countries are becoming increasingly repressive and causing more people to leave their homes, British charity Oxfam said this week, as Germany warned of the destabilising effect migration is having on the continent. Political freedom and the problem of Africa’s brain-drain were among the …