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  • IMF Executive Board Approves 1st Performance Review of PSI

    IMF Executive Board Approves 1st Performance Review of PSI

    {{The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed on May 30, 2014, the first review of Rwanda’s economic performance under the second Policy Support Instrument (PSI), a non-lending program which provides policy advice. }}

    The Executive Board’s decision was taken on a lapse of time basis.

    The Board announced that performance under the PSI has been satisfactory and most assessment criteria and structural benchmarks were met.

    The projected growth may be slowed by delays in Government financed projects and a weak second season for agriculture.

    IMF noted that the country continues to face the challenge of sustaining high inclusive growth while reducing its reliance on aid and preventing the build-up of imbalances.

    The Board advised the implementation of accelerating domestic revenue mobilization and a cautious fiscal stance through maintaining priority spending whilst also creating an enabling environment for private sector credit expansion.

    It acknowledged that National Bank of Rwanda’s prudent monetary policy stance of maintaining exchange rate flexibility and preventing a build-up of pressures in the foreign exchange market are appropriate.

    The Rwandan government, in the Letter of Intent sent to IMF, noted that the economy is expected to grow by 6% in 2014 recovering from the 4.6% growth rate registered in 2013 while Inflation is expected to remain contained in single digits.

    Rwanda has accelerated its domestic revenue mobilization efforts to support the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS2).

    Additionally, given the significant scaling up of investment, government has embarked on careful project selection and prioritization in a bid to contain fiscal risks and maintain debt sustainability.

    PSI is an instrument of the IMF designed for low-income countries that have matured stability and may not need balance of payments financial support but seek to maintain a close policy dialogue with the IMF through its endorsement and assessment of their economic and financial policies.

    The PSI, once approved by the IMF’s executive board, signals to donors, multilateral development banks, and markets, the strength of a member’s policies

  • GE to Sell Angola $1Bn of Rail, Energy Equipment

    GE to Sell Angola $1Bn of Rail, Energy Equipment

    {{General Electric (GE) will supply railway and energy equipment to Angola in a $1 billion deal financed by the U.S.-run Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im), officials and state-run media said on Wednesday.}}

    The state-owned Jornal de Angola newspaper said the agreement would involve $650 million of energy equipment and the remainder on railway machinery.

    A spokesman for President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos confirmed the deal, which was struck with Ex-Im chairman Fred Hochberg this week.

    Angola, Africa’s second-biggest oil producer, has posted rapid economic growth since the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002.

    Dos Santos’ government is spending billions to rebuild transport, electricity and communications networks devastated by the conflict.

    Hochberg told Reuters this week that Ex-Im wanted to increase activity in Angola, which until now had been mainly $600 million of financing for state airline TAAG to purchase aircraft from Boeing.

    “Frequently we go to a country and companies like Boeing or GE will be the first ones to go in and then others follow,” he said. “We are open to looking at all sectors now, oil and gas, infrastructure, transport, mining and small businesses.”

    Angola is trying to diversify its economy, which depends on crude production for over 95 percent of its export revenues.

    Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to Luanda last month that the United States want to widen economic ties beyond the oil sector, where U.S. firms such as Chevron and Exxon Mobil are already important players.

    Kerry said he had discussed with Dos Santos the possibilities of increasing cooperation in agriculture, technology, energy and infrastructure.

  • Kenya Imposes New Rules to Rein in Commercial Loan Costs

    Kenya Imposes New Rules to Rein in Commercial Loan Costs

    {{Kenya will introduce a new formula for banks to use in pricing loans, seeking to bring down high interest rates that have stifled lending to businesses and home buyers, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.}}

    Commercial lending rates in the east African nation stand at 21% on average, while deposit rates average under 10%, angering consumers who accuse banks of taking too much profit. Customers in other African markets make similar complaints.

    Kenyan banks say their operating costs are higher than those in more advanced markets and that they lack a developed credit rating system for screening customers.

    Under the new system, the Treasury, or finance ministry, said bank lending rates would be linked to the Kenya Banks’ Reference Rate (KBBR), which is based on averages of the monetary policy rate and the 91-day Treasury bill yield over six months.

    They would be allowed to add a premium based on business costs, such as electricity, and the borrower’s credit profile, the ministry said in a statement, adding the system was based on proposals by a committee appointed by the presidency.

    Kenya has been slowly improving its credit rating system.

    The Treasury did not specify by how much this would lower lending rates on average but said the aim was to lower commercial borrowing costs.

    New loans issued from next month would be priced using the formula while banks would have a year to recalculate the interest on existing loans, the Treasury said.

    There was no immediate comment from bankers, who said they still wanted to see the KBBR level before reacting.

    {reuters}

  • Lupita Nyong’o Joins Star Wars Cast

    Lupita Nyong’o Joins Star Wars Cast

    {{Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave actress Lupita Nyong’o has joined the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII, it has been announced.}}

    British actress Gwendoline Christie, who currently stars in Game of Thrones as warrior Brienne of Tarth, has also been cast in the production.

    The news was announced on the Star Wars website, although it did not say what roles the actresses would play.

    Star Wars: Episode VII is due in cinemas on 18 December 2015.

    “I could not be more excited about Lupita and Gwendoline joining the cast of Episode VII,” Lucasfilm president and producer Kathleen Kennedy said.

    “It’s thrilling to see this extraordinarily talented ensemble taking shape.”

    Nyong’o and Christie join the already announced cast of John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow.

    They will join original stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

    Meanwhile, gossip websites have posted a series of leaked pictures from the set of Episode VII, which began filming in Abu Dhabi last month.

    The pictures appear to show a Tatooine-like marketplace and a new alien creature.

  • Mers Virus: Saudi Arabia Raises Death toll to 282

    Mers Virus: Saudi Arabia Raises Death toll to 282

    {{Saudi Arabia says 282 people are now confirmed to have been killed by the Mers virus, almost 100 more than initially thought.}}

    The increase came after a national review of hospital data from the time the virus emerged in 2012.

    The deputy health minister, who has been criticised for his handling of the crisis, was sacked on Monday.

    Cases of the virus, for which there is no known cure, have been confirmed in almost a dozen other countries.

    Saudi authorities said there had now been 688 confirmed Mers (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) infections in the kingdom. Before the revision the number of cases was believed to be 575.

    Saudi health ministry spokesman Tariq Madani said that despite the revised figures, fewer people were now contracting the disease.

    “Though the review showed confirmed cases that needed to be added, we are still witnessing a decline in the number of newly registered cases in the past few weeks” he said.

    {{The Mers virus has been indentified in almost a dozen countries but has hit Saudi Arabia the hardest}}

    wirestory

  • EALA to Decide Impeachment Motion

    EALA to Decide Impeachment Motion

    {{The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is slated to decide today whether to proceed with a motion to censure Speaker Margaret Zziwa, after Court decided it is within its ambit.}}

    In its recent ruling, Principal Judge Jean Bosco Butasi, Deputy Principal Judge Isaac Lenaola and Justice Monica Mugenyi said the decision on such motion is provided for in the rules of the assembly.

    The first instance division of the East African Court of Justice further contended that no material was adduced before it to suggest that impeachment of the Speaker was an infringement of the EAC treaty.

    Reacting to the ruling, EALA MP Mukasa Mbidde, who filed the application to refrain the assembly from proceeding with the matter, said the ruling gives EALA the latitude to determine how to proceed over the matter.

    Mbidde further revealed that EALA yesterday had a debate, which was paralysed because the Tanzanian MPs had withdrawn their signatures.

    “Considering the ruling, EALA has been given full powers to determine the censure or not of the Speaker. Today (Tuesday) we had a full debate which suffered paralysis due to the withdrawal of signatures of Tanzanian MPs.

    In effect, the motion no longer exists. It is dead and has been buried in the history of the community,” he said.

    The rules require the motion to be endorsed by not less than four MPs from each member state.

    Zziwa said it was as well that members withdraw, because what she was being accused of was malicious. “They were just self-seeking individuals,” she said.

    NV

  • UN Says 50% of World’s Forest Species at Risk

    UN Says 50% of World’s Forest Species at Risk

    {{Half of the world’s forest species are at risk from climate change and farming, the United Nations warned on Tuesday, as it called for “urgent action” to manage them better.}}

    In its first global study of forest genetic resources, the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) said woodland was shrinking fastest in Brazil, Indonesia and Nigeria.

    “Forests provide food, goods and services, which are essential to the survival and well-being of all humanity,” the FAO’s forestry director Eduardo Rojas-Briales said in a statement.

    “These benefits all rely on safeguarding the rich store of the world’s forest genetic diversity, which is increasingly at risk.”

    The report found that around half of the 8,000 reported species and subspecies were perceived as being endangered.

    The ten countries that lost the most forest area between 1990 and 2010 were Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Bolivia, Venezuela and Australia, it said.

    FAO said biodiversity boosted both the productivity and nutritional value of forest products like leafy vegetables, honey, fruits, seeds, nuts, roots, tubers and mushrooms.

    Genetic diversity also protects forests from pests and ensures they can “adapt to changing environmental conditions, including those stemming from climate change”, the FAO said.

    The FAO called for more efforts to raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity and to combat invasive species, as well as the development of national seed programmes to ensure the availability of genetically-appropriate tree seeds.

    NV

  • S.Sgt. Robert Drops Music Turns to Preaching

    S.Sgt. Robert Drops Music Turns to Preaching

    {{A serving RDF renowned artist Sgt Kabera Robert is now a preacher at Kigali based “Winners Shaple International Church”.}}

    Robert has released several songs from which his popularity shot up. Songs include; Impanda, Njo kwa Yesu, Kama Jeshi among others.

    In an Interview with IGIHE, Sgt. Robert confirmed that he became a Church Preacher after completion of a one year Bible course.

    “That’s true I am now a Preacher. I was introduced to this duty after completing one year bible course”

    He added that apart from bible course he has been also trained in teaching people who want to be baptized.

    Due to defense and security duties, He said he doesn’t get enough time to preach on daily basis but the church allows him to teach while he gets spare time.

  • Survey Finds Discontent in World Cup Host Brazil

    Survey Finds Discontent in World Cup Host Brazil

    {{A survey released on Tuesday paints a grim picture of Brazil as it gears up to host the World Cup, showing widespread frustration with the economy and with President Dilma Rousseff.}}

    The level of general dissatisfaction in Brazil is 72% according to the poll by the Washington-based Pew Research Center.

    That is up from 55% a year earlier in a Pew survey that was taken just before the largest street protests in two decades broke out.

    Six in 10 respondents said hosting the World Cup, which starts next week, is bad for Brazil, taking the view that the billions of dollars poured into the soccer tournament would be better spent on services such as healthcare, schools and public transportation.

    The findings dovetail with other recent surveys by Brazilian pollsters, which have also shown that support for the World Cup has eroded over the past couple of years as Brazil’s government has failed to deliver promised roads, airports and many other investments that could have yielded long-term benefits.

    In the Pew survey, respondents were less pessimistic about how the World Cup would be seen overseas, with 39% saying it would hurt Brazil’s image abroad and 35 percent saying it would help.

    The month-long tournament kicks off on June 12 at a controversial new stadium in Sao Paulo.

    The Pew Center found Brazilians were particularly worried about their country’s economy, which has slowed to a crawl in the last three years after a decade-long boom.

    Two-thirds say the economy is in bad shape, while just 32% believe things are going well.

    That is an about-face from a year ago, when 59% thought the country was in good shape economically.

    Hopes that the World Cup would provide a much-needed boost have also faded, with data on Friday showing gross domestic product barely grew in the first quarter.

    Inflation, an age-old villain in Brazil, is considered the top economic problem, the survey found.

    That could be bad news for President Rousseff, who is up for re-election in October. Crime, health care and political corruption topped the list of noneconomic concerns in the poll.

    Under half, or 48%, of Brazilians said they believe Rousseff is exerting a “good influence” on Brazil and 52% described her influence as “bad”.

    Her marks were particularly poor on her handling of corruption and crime although they were slightly higher among lower-income groups, her political base.

    Still, 51 percent of respondents said they had a favorable view of Rousseff, much higher than the result for her two likely election opponents.

    Just 27% had a favorable view of Aecio Neves of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, and 24 percent responded favorably to Eduardo Campos, of the Brazilian Socialist Party.

    The Pew survey was based on 1,003 interviews done with adults 18 and older between April 10 and 30, nationwide. It has a margin of error 3.8 percentage points either way.

    reuters

  • India to Ease Restrictions For Foreign Online Retailers

    India to Ease Restrictions For Foreign Online Retailers

    {{India could allow global online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc to sell their own products as early as next month, removing restrictions that could boost competition in one of the world’s biggest, and most price-sensitive, retail markets.}}

    The decision, which is likely to be announced in the budget, is one of the first tangible signs of economic reform by the business-friendly government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was sworn in 10 days ago.

    The move is also likely to allow the government to circumvent political opposition to opening up India’s $500 billion retail sector to global retail giants such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

    Four people privy to discussions within the government told Reuters that officials believed a more robust online retail sector would spur manufacturing and consumption, helping revive an economy that has been growing at below 5% for two years, the longest period of sub-par expansion since the late 1980s.

    “Most stakeholders support FDI (foreign direct investment),” said a senior government official, referring to e-commerce. “We have pitched for opening it up completely.”

    Industry surveys say e-commerce could contribute as much as 4% to India’s economy by 2020.

    The official, like the people who spoke to media, declined to be named as the matter was confidential.

    When asked about the decision, a spokesman for India’s commerce and industry ministry declined to comment.