Africa Briefs

SA lifts booze, tobacco sales banSouth Africa yesterday lifted its coronavirus-linked ban on the sale of alcohol and tobacco products this week, president Cyril Ramaphosa said Saturday, announcing the removal of "nearly all restrictions" on economic activities.The virus-related ban on the purchase of booze and cigarettes has been controversial, and no other country has introduced both measures together."Restrictions on the sale of tobacco will be lifted, the suspension of the sale of alcohol will be lifted subject to certain restrictions," Ramaphosa said as he addressed the nation, adding that significant progress had been made against the disease.Ramaphosa noted that the number of new daily confirmed cases had dropped from a peak of over 12 000 to an average of 5 000 over the past week. Hospitalised Covid-19 patients have decreased from 10 000 to 4 000 since the start of August.The president announced the sweeping removal of "nearly all restrictions" on economic activity and the resumption of inter-provincial leisure travel. – Nampa/AFPZim inflation jumps to 840%Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate soared to almost 840% in July, the statistics agency said Saturday, adding to the country's desperate economic woes even as the government refused to acknowledge a growing sense of crisis.The southern African nation has been grappling with more than a decade of hyperinflation triggered by economic mismanagement under former president Robert Mugabe, who was ousted by a military coup in 2017.The figures were published shortly after a government statement was issued saying that president Emmerson Mnangagwa had implemented policies "that result in a robust economy" and had kept the country "commendably stable", denying any crisis.The government statement was a response to a letter by Zimbabwe's Catholic Bishops on Friday that deplored a recent crackdown on dissent by Mnangagwa's administration and a deepening crisis in the country.They said the "struggle in Zimbabwe" resulted "in a multi-layered crisis of the convergence of economic collapse, deepening poverty, food insecurity, corruption and human rights abuses". – Nampa/AFPDRC hikes rates to 18.5%The central bank of Democratic Republic of Congo has raised the main interest rate to 18.5% from 7.5%, central bank official Plante Kibadhi said on Saturday.The regulator had lowered the rate from 9% in March in order to cushion the economy from the impact of the coronavirus crisis, following similar actions by African central banks as the virus spread across the continent.The latest rate hike was carried out to re-anchor inflation expectations, the International Monetary Fund said.Year-on-year inflation in Congo stood at over 14% as of end-July, around 10 percentage points higher than at the same point last year, according to central bank figures.The central bank has previously said it expects the economy to contract 2.4% this year compared with growth of over 4% in 2019 partly due to coronavirus-linked disruptions to mining, which accounts for a third of national output. – Nampa/ReutersTalks on Ethiopia's mega-dam todaySudan, Egypt and Ethiopia agreed Sunday to present draft proposals over the management of Addis Ababa's massive and controversial Nile dam within two days, Sudan's water ministry said."After lengthy discussions, the attendees decided to resume negotiations on Tuesday ... to work on unifying the texts of the agreements submitted by the three countries," the ministry said in a statement.The decision came during an earlier round of talks between water and foreign ministers from the three countries on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).Talks organised by South Africa, the current chair of the African Union, resumed Sunday after a short suspension, one day after Egypt and Sudan voiced optimism that a deal could be reached.The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), situated in western Ethiopia on the Blue Nile River, has been contentious ever since Ethiopia broke ground on the project in 2011.Egypt and Sudan view it as a threat to vital water supplies, while Ethiopia considers it crucial for its electrification and development. – Nampa/AFP

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