Africa Briefs

SA economy may grow 2% in 2018South Africa's economy may grow 2% or more this year if the government takes the right policy decisions, finance minister Malusi Gigaba said on Thursday.The country's economy slipped into recession in the first quarter of 2017, then recovered in the next two quarters, although it is expected to lag a global growth recovery, mainly because of policy and political uncertainty."We need to ensure that Moody's does not downgrade us in February this year. We will outline a programme to stabilise the debt at the same time as we outline a programme to grow the economy and create jobs," he said. – Nampa/ReutersChad shelves bid to cut civil service salariesThe cash-strapped central African nation of Chad has suspended a plan to reduce the salaries of its civil servants, Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke announced last week.Trade unions had angrily opposed the scheme. Chad is under pressure to cut costs to meet performance targets under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) aid programme.Civil service salaries in 2017 totalled 376 billion CFA francs (about US$720 million), roughly the equivalent of the combined revenue from income tax and customs duties.The country is one of the poorest in the world. Nearly half of its population lives under the threshold of poverty. – Nampa/AFPUnauthorised gold mining in Cameroon reaps deathly tollForty-three gold diggers died in abandoned mines in Cameroon in the first 10 months of last year, a watchdog group, Foder, has said.The group said much of the blame lay with corporations, many of them Chinese, which abandon open-cast gold mines after profitable seams run out.Foder said the problem is worst in eastern Cameroon, where from 2012 to 2014, 250 mines were opened and then abandoned by their operators. It is campaigning for mining companies to cover over open-cast operations with earth when they pull out. – Nampa/AFPZambia sees mining revenue risingZambia expects to collect more revenue from mining companies this year compared to 2017 after copper prices rose above US$7 000 per tonne, the revenue authority (ZRA) said.The authority is targeting a revenue-to-GDP ratio of 17% this year, higher that 16.8% in 2017. It collected net revenue amounting to 39.1 billion kwacha (US$54.60 million), which was 4.1% above the annual budget target of 37.6 billion kwacha.The 2018 net revenue target had been set at 44.6 billion kwacha. – Nampa/ReutersTunisia's trade deficit at record highTunisia’s trade deficit widened in December 2017 to 15.592 billion Tunisian dinars (US$6.25 billion), a record level, the State Statistics Institute said.The growing deficit is one of the main problems facing the government of Prime Minister Youssef Chahed.The deficit was 12.6 billion dinar in December 2016. – Nampa/Reuters

Africa Briefs

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