Africa Briefs

SARB says unrealistic to target specific employment levelSouth Africa's central bank governor, Lesetja Kganyago, said on Wednesday that it is unrealistic for central banks to target specific employment levels, after the country's governing party said the bank should broaden its focus.The ANC, which is trying to woo voters before a May election, in January said that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) should try to boost employment and economic growth alongside its goal for price stability.The battle against unemployment has been a cornerstone of the presidency of ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa since he became South Africa's president in February last year."Employment levels are determined by many different things, so putting a specific target on it for the central bank to try to achieve is unrealistic," Kganyago said during a lecture at Stellenbosch University.Kganyago added that the case for the SARB's existing inflation-targeting framework was "very strong", according to a copy of the lecture distributed by the central bank. – Nampa/ReutersZim says rapprochement with West still onZimbabwe on Wednesday said the extension of US sanctions on its government was regrettable but Harare would keep talking to Washington and the European Union to remove the measures it says have stifled its economy.Sanctions were imposed under the rule of Robert Mugabe, who brought the country to near ruin during his 37-year tenure. The West accused him of rigging elections, rights abuses and oppressing opponents before he was ousted after a coup in 2017.US president Donald Trump on Monday extended by one year sanctions against Zimbabwe, saying that president Emmerson Mnangagwa's government's policies still posed an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to US foreign policy.Foreign ministry secretary James Manzou told a committee of parliament that the sanctions were unwarranted."While these [sanctions] regrettably remain in place, the ministry believes the new dispensation has laid a firm foundation for future relations with the United States," Manzou said. – Nampa/ReutersBashir names new Sudan central bank chiefSudan's president Omar al-Bashir Wednesday appointed a new central bank governor, pushing on with top level changes in his administration to quell nationwide protests triggered by a worsening economic crisis.Hussein Yahya Jangol was named to head the central bank, a presidential decree said.The change comes as the central bank grapples with an acute shortage of foreign currency, a key factor in triggering nationwide protests against the veteran leader's rule stretching back three decades.Bashir has launched sweeping changes in face of the protests, including imposing a year-long state of emergency across the country and dissolving the federal and provincial governments.Earlier Wednesday, parliament began discussing the state of emergency Bashir imposed on February 22. – Nampa/AFPDebts pile up as rival Libyan governments struggle for powerLibya's parallel government in the east has sold bonds worth more than US$23 billion to fund its wage bill, bypassing the central bank in Tripoli and creating a potential financial black hole if the country reunifies, bankers and diplomats said.The eastern government's finance ministry has been selling the debt to a parallel central bank in the east and the proceeds of the sales are used to pay eastern state employees via local banks, in large part using dinars printed in Russia.The debt has been piling up since 2014, when the country split into two administrations - one in Tripoli and the other in the east - as a result of the power struggle that followed the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.As the east is suffering a shortage of banknotes, its central bank has had 10 billion dinars printed in Russia – cash that has been used to pay wages and interest on the bonds, diplomats say.The bonds are sold by the eastern finance ministry to its own central bank branch, now installed in a new building in Benghazi. – Nampa/ReutersRebels in Chad refuse to lay down armsRebels in a region of northwestern Chad that has been hit by unrest since gold was discovered there said Tuesday they rejected government demands to lay down their weapons.Miski and neighbouring Kouri Bougoudi in the Tibesti region bordering Libya have been troubled by violence since gold was discovered there in 2012 and 2013.Miners have rushed in from around Chad and abroad, leading to friction over access to lucrative sites. At least 30 miners have been killed and more than 200 wounded, according to Chadian rights activists.The government has given authorisation to several mining companies to exploit the deposits.In August, it carried out a military operation aimed at "clearing out" illegal miners and stopping cross-border incursions from Chadian rebels holed up in Libya. – Nampa/AFP

Africa Briefs

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