Africa Briefs

S&P, Fitch grill SA budgetThe direction of South African politics will probably trump near-term macro-economic performance, particularly for the country's still-investment grade local currency credit rating, S&P Global has said."I think the committee will take the view that political and institutional developments matter the most in determining South Africa's longer term economic prospects and will answer difficult questions about rising contingent liabilities and corruption," Frank Gill, one of S&P's top EMEA sovereign analysts, said.South Africa's medium term budget signals a policy shift by the Treasury away from commitments to cut down deficits and debt and contains no plans to limit the damage to the economy, ratings firm Fitch said.A downgrade to South Africa's local currency debt by either S&P or Moody's would push the country's bonds out of widely used global bond indexes that rely on investment grades only. – Nampa/ReutersAngola, IMF agree about money launderingAngola’s central bank has signed agreements with the International Monetary Fund to be provided with technical assistance to strengthen its banking supervision, the prevention of money laundering and the illegal financing of militant groups.In a statement on its website, the central bank said the contracts would run for about two years and were aimed at restoring credibility in the Angolan banking sector and re-establishing relations with international financial institutions. – Nampa/ReutersTunisia to lay off 16 500 civil servantsTunisia will ask the United States for a US$500 million loan guarantee as it seeks to lay off about 16 500 public sector workers in 2017 and 2018.The layoffs, which the government aims to make voluntary but which are demanded by its international lenders, come from a public sector workforce of around 700 000.Tunisia is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its partners to speed up reforms to create jobs and cut its deficit after its tourism sector was hit by militant attacks in 2015. It hopes the public sector wage bill will reach 12% of GDP in the next three years versus 14.5% now. – Nampa/ReutersSudan hopes for quick turnaround after sanctionsSudan's government and its businesses have begun introducing financial reforms and lobbying for new investment to revive the economy after Washington lifted 20-year-old trade sanctions earlier this month.Khartoum businessmen say they have begun closing deals with US companies, and President Omar al-Bashir began a trip to Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia last week, seeking new markets for Sudanese exports and Arab investment in Sudan.The central bank has also started pushing Sudan's banks to circulate US dollars, to alleviate a shortage of foreign currency. Inflation hit 35.13% in September year-on-year and unemployment is estimated at 19%. – Nampa/Reuters

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