Mumbai, India | AFP | Months of planning by a select few sworn to secrecy and then cash-laden trucks on the streets. But this was no bank robbery — rather an audacious plan to issue new notes across India. There are 1.25 billion people in India but only a handful …
Read More »Tension as India withdraws 500, 1,000 rupee notes to fight graft
New Delhi, India | AFP | Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the withdrawal of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes from circulation on Tuesday in a shock announcement designed to tackle widespread corruption and tax evasion. Modi said that while people could exchange their old notes for new bills at …
Read More »Uganda rises on 2017 World Bank Doing Business rankings
Better business climate Uganda’s ranking in the 2017 World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business has improved by seven places, a development that shows that ongoing business environment reforms being implemented by the government are starting to bear fruit. Uganda now ranks 115th out of the 190 assessed economies, which is …
Read More »China replaces finance minister Lou Jiwei
Shanghai, China | AFP | China Monday replaced finance minister Lou Jiwei, state media reported, with some analysts predicting more fiscal stimulus in the world’s second-largest economy. Lou was relieved of his duties and replaced by 59-year-old Xiao Jie, the deputy secretary-general of the State Council, or cabinet, Xinhua news …
Read More »Rethinking the banking industry
THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M. Mwenda Lesson for Central Bank from the experience of the takeover of Crane Bank This week, the government injected Shs 200 billion into Crane Bank to bolster its liquidity position. This is only 40% of the Shs 500 billion needed to bring the bank …
Read More »Sudan arrests opposition leader over fuel price speech
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese security agents arrested a senior opposition politician on Friday for giving a speech that criticised a government decision to raise fuel prices, his party said. Agents from the all-powerful National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrested Khaled Omar, deputy chief of the Sudanese Congress …
Read More »African Development Bank okays $600 million loan for Nigeria
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | The African Development Bank has approved the first installment of a $1 billion loan to Nigeria to help President Muhammadu Buhari combat a “crisis situation”. In a Wednesday press release, the AfDB said that the $600 million loan was the “first tranche of a US …
Read More »Qatar must tackle ‘culture of consumption’, says emir
Doha, Qatar | AFP | Qatar’s emir said Tuesday that the super-rich Gulf state must tackle its “culture of consumption” as it deals with the sharp decline in world energy prices. In a speech to mark the opening session of Qatar’s Advisory Council, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani also called …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Without reform Ethiopia risks a deepening crisis
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Faced with its most serious challenge yet, the Ethiopian regime, a crucial Western ally in the fight against terrorism, risks a deepening crisis if promised reforms do not come, researchers and analysts warn. A nationwide state of emergency since October 9 combined with the …
Read More »ANALYSIS: How Crane Bank fell
ANALYSIS: Why President Yoweri Museveni’s behind- the-scenes-maneuvers to save Sudhir’s bank hit a snag On Oct.10, President Yoweri Museveni directed the Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda to find an immediate solution to Crane Bank’s problems with the Bank of Uganda (BoU). Apparently, this was expected to mark an end a …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price