External debt complicates Africa’s COVID-19 recovery
“For sub-Saharan African economies, interest repayments constitute the highest expenditure portion – and fastest-growing expenditure – of budgets.”
News & Analysis: Angola
The promise of digitising cash transfers in sub-Saharan Africa during COVID-19 and beyond
Analysis and Opinion Angola / Benin / Botswana / Burkina Faso / Burundi / Cameroon / Chad / Cote d'Ivoire / Eritrea / Ethiopia / Gabon / Gambia / Ghana / Guinea / Guinea-Bissau / Kenya / Lesotho / Liberia / Madagascar / Malawi / Mali / Mauritania / Mauritius / Mozambique / Namibia / Niger / Nigeria / Rwanda Africa Portal by Gaby“This year, the coronavirus pandemic has forced governments to grapple with difficult questions regarding lockdowns, contact tracing and the provision of emergency financial assistance to citizens now without work. In developing countries, these hardships are magnified with the World Bank estimating that remittances – money transfers sent from foreign workers to their home countries – to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are projected to fall by 19.7 percent (from $554 billion in 2019 to $445 billion in 2020). Considering the significant role that remittances play in alleviating poverty and improving nutrition, many governments have turned to mobile cash transfers for vulnerable citizens to use while minimising COVID-19 exposure.”
China dithers on Africa debt forgiveness over ‘complex’ loans
Analysis and Opinion Angola / Ghana / Kenya / Zambia The East African Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“In June, President Xi said China would cancel interest-free debt owed by ‘relevant’ African countries as part of Beijing’s move to help the continent during the COVID-19 pandemic. But most of China’s debt is concessional or issued by private entities meaning the credit is harder to forgive.”
Fitch: Sub-Sahara African debt burdens rising faster than elsewhere
Latest Developments Angola / Gabon / Nigeria / Republic of Congo Reuters Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“Government debt burdens across sub-Saharan Africa are rising at a faster pace and to higher levels than elsewhere in emerging markets, heightening the risk of further rating downgrades and defaults, ratings agency Fitch warned.”
Africa free-trade vision clouded by virus and pace of talks
Latest Developments Algeria / Angola / Cote d'Ivoire / Egypt / Eritrea / Kenya / Morocco / Nigeria / South Africa The East African Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“AfCFTA was supposed to take operational effect on Wednesday, July 1, but the timeline has slipped, under the complications caused by the COVID-19 outbreak but also the slow pace of negotiations themselves.”
The Day After COVID-19: Overcoming the Novel Coronavirus double jeopardy in Central Africa
Analysis and Opinion Angola / Cameroon / Central African Republic / Chad / Equatorial Guinea / Gabon CNBC Africa Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“Central Africa countries announced various stimulus packages to alleviate the impact of the crisis on the population and on the economy. However, those measures had only redistributive impacts in the very short term, without significant effect on the overall production level.”
Is Africa drowning in COVID-19 debt?
Analysis and Opinion Angola / Djibouti / Mauritius / Mozambique / Nigeria / Zambia Development Reimagined Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“Our analysis shows that the total debt repayments owed by African countries in 2018 were 1.4 times larger than the budgets that African countries have now put aside to address the effects of COVID19 (which, incidentally, have risen by US$9bn since our last estimate two weeks ago, to US$53bn in total now).”
COVID-19 and the future of work in Africa: How to reduce income loss for formal sector employees
Analysis and Opinion Angola / DRC / Equatorial Guinea / Gabon / Ghana / Kenya / Nigeria / South Africa / South Sudan / Uganda / Zambia Brookings Institution Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“‘While the scale and reach of the impact on employment will differ among countries and sectors, the main effects will be a drop in earnings (income) and increased underemployment (reduced hours) rather than unemployment.”
Meeting Africa’s urgent liquidity needs while protecting its access to international markets
Analysis and Opinion Angola / Cameroon / Djibouti / Egypt / Ethiopia / Gambia / Ghana / Kenya / Mali / Namibia / Niger / Rwanda / Senegal / Seychelles / Sierra Leone / Tunisia New African Magazine Op-ed by John Schellhase“A solution to finance Africa’s commercial debt service could free up over $44bn of fiscal space for Africa in 2020, providing immediate liquidity to governments – a much needed immediate bridge to renewed growth for Africa and the global economy.”
African COVID-19 Aid Re-Emerges as a Top Chinese Foreign Policy Priority
Global Response Angola / Djibouti / Ethiopia China-Africa Project Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“China’s once again ramping up its COVID-19 donation diplomacy efforts in Africa. After dialing down their efforts for a couple of weeks, the pace of announcements of new medical team deployments, PPE donations and charitable contributions from Chinese private sector stakeholders have all gone up considerably this week.”
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