Africa Briefs

Zim targets 3% growth in 2020Zimbabwe's finance minister Mthuli Ncube last week presented the 2020 budget, projecting 3% growth as he marginally reduced value-added tax to cushion the millions of poor.The budget reduced VAT on non-luxury goods from 15% to 14.5% in a move aimed at those who could no longer afford basic commodities "due to low disposable income"."The country's economic challenges are surmountable provided we put our heads together as a nation and continue taking bold and decisive steps to open up and grow the economy," Ncube said. "This includes seriously pursuing policies that enhance production".He said the government would set aside 380 million Zimbabwe dollars (US$24 million) to partially compensate thousands of white farmers who lost their properties."To date, 768 former farm owners have consented to the interim payment scheme with 500 farmers having been paid already". – Nampa/AFPArab fund offers loan to cash-starved SudanSudan said last week it would receive a US$305 million loan from an Arab fund to help tackle the country's worsening economic crisis led by soaring food prices and foreign currency shortage.Sudan's economic woes had led to nationwide protests that resulted in the ouster of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April.On Thursday a delegation from the Arab Monetary Fund met Sudanese finance minister Ibrahim Al-Badawi.Sudan will receive US$110 million this month, followed by US$45 million in the first quarter of next year and a third tranche of US$80 million by the end of 2020.A separate trade facility of US$70 million will also be offered as part of the overall package.The loan is the second such facility to Sudan this year from the Abu Dhabi-based lender, which previously pumped US$300 million into its economy in May. – Nampa/AFPUAE, Egypt launch investment programmeThe UAE and Egypt launched a giant US$20 billion joint investment programme Thursday to develop "economic and social projects", as Cairo seeks assistance to boost its sagging economy.Abu Dhabi crown prince sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan made the announcement while receiving Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on a visit to the Emirati capital.The UAE has been a firm regional backer of former army chief Sisi since the Egyptian military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.Cairo has been seeking investment to boost its sagging economy and create jobs.Poor and middle-class Egyptians have borne the brunt of harsh austerity measures since 2016 when the government secured a US$12-billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund in exchange for tough economic reforms.Nearly one in three Egyptians live below the poverty line, according to official figures released in July.Reforms have met with some pushback, fuelled by allegations of graft among the political and military elite. – Nampa/AFPKenya, Somalia, agree to normalise tiesKenya and Somalia have agreed to "normalise" relations and start reissuing travel visas to each other's citizens after a long-running dispute over marine borders strained ties between the neighbours.The agreement, announced by Kenya's presidency late Thursday, followed a meeting in Nairobi between president Uhuru Kenyatta and his Somali counterpart, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.The East African leaders "reaffirmed the invaluable relations that exist between Kenya and Somalia and agreed to explore avenues of strengthening bilateral and diplomatic ties" between them, a statement from Kenyatta's office said.Kenyatta and Mohamed, better known by his nickname Farmajo, were seen smiling and shaking hands in photographs posted by the Kenyan presidency on Twitter.The statement made no mention of a territorial dispute between Somalia and Kenya over a stretch of the Indian Ocean claimed by both nations believed to hold valuable deposits of oil and gas. – Nampa/AFP

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