Africa Briefs

Liberia passes law securing ancestral land rightsLiberia has passed a landmark law that will help communities fight foreign land grabs by giving them ownership of ancestral territory.President George Weah signed the Land Rights Act into law on Wednesday after four years of debate in the legislature, his office said in a statement.The topic has been contentious since most of the population has no formal rights to their land, and the state has signed away more than 40% of national territory in concessions for logging, mining and agriculture, according to rights groups.However, the head of the government agency in charge of land policy said implementation would be difficult."The Liberia Land Authority has been given the authority to implement the act but we do not have resources, we do not have the technical expertise to implement this law," said executive director Stanley Toe.Under the law, communities can claim ownership of customary land by presenting evidence such as oral testimonies, maps, and signed agreements with neighbours, the government said.A maximum of 10% of the customary land in each community will be set aside as public land, it added, and a nationwide survey will be conducted within two years. – Nampa/ReutersZim needs 'fiscal shock' for reformNewly appointed Zimbabwean finance minister Mthuli Ncube would like to employ a "big bang" economic reform programme to the battered economy where unemployment is running above 80%, but recognises politics will limit the speed for change."My preference is a fiscal shock, but there is a what you call the political collar or the politics of policy making which then slows you down. My preference would be more of a big bang approach because every day counts in terms of cost," Ncube, a former banker, said in a briefing with journalists on the sidelines of an investor conference in New York on Friday.Lack of foreign investment, fiscal deficits and acute shortages of hard currencies like the US dollar are but some of the economic problems Zimbabwe, once known as Africa's breadbasket because of its agricultural exports, are enduring.The new government's focus on getting the economy back on track requires paying off the roughly US$2 billion in arrears to international financial institutions such as the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), European Investment Bank (EIB) and the $4 billion it owes the Paris Club of sovereign nations.John Mangudya, who is both governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and chairman of the government's arrears clearance committee, said the strategy is to clear the debts to the World Bank and AfDB first before approaching the Paris Club.Mangudya gave an economic growth forecast of between 4.5% and 6% for 2018. "Next year, in line with our vision to grow the economy to above US$3 500 per capita income by 2030, we think we need to grow above 7% in 2019," he said. – Nampa/ReutersZambia: Donors withholding millions over mismanagementBritain, Finland, Ireland and Sweden are withholding nearly US$34 million in budget support to Zambia's social welfare and education sectors due to concerns over financial mismanagement, finance minister Margaret Mwanakatwe has said.The government is confident it can address donor concerns so the aid can resume, she said. President Edgar Lungu fired a cabinet minister in charge of social welfare on Wednesday over suspicions that US$4 million of funding was misused.The countries suspended support to the Social Cash Transfer Programme in June, she told parliament. The programme enables government to relay money to vulnerable rural households.Britain is the only country offering budget support to the education sector and it froze its aid in June, she said. – Nampa/ReutersChad names fourth finance minister in a yearChadian President Idriss Deby has sacked his finance minister and replaced him with another ministry official, a government decree showed, the third change to the post since December.Mahamat Allali Abakar, who previously served as the ministry's secretary of state, replaces Issa Mahamat Abdelmamout, who has held the job since May, according to a decree read on national television late on Thursday.It gave no explanation for the decision.Chad's finance ministry plays a key role in overseeing more than US$1 billion in oil-backed loans the country took out with Glencore and other lenders in 2014.Falling oil prices made the debt load unmanageable and forced sharp cutbacks in public services. Chad and its lenders agreed in February to a restructuring that extends the loan and lowers the interest rate. – Nampa/ReutersGhana's pulls planned five-year bondGhana's government decided not to proceed with a planned 5-year local currency bond slated for final pricing on Thursday due to unfavourable market conditions, according to a note to investors seen by Reuters.The finance ministry had planned to issue the bond to roll-over maturing debts through book-building which opened on Wednesday with initial pricing guidance set at 20.5% - 21.5% and later revised to 19.75% - 21%.A senior finance ministry official told Reuters pricing for the bond was too high. "Markets too volatile," the official said. Another person close to the transaction told Reuters that investor demand was poor.Ghana, which exports cocoa, gold and oil, is in its final year of a US$918 million aid deal with the International Monetary Fund to narrow fiscal deficit, stabilise its currency and reduce debt which ratings agency Moody's estimate will rise above 70% of gross domestic product by the end of December. – Nampa/Reuters

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