06 May.
Standard Bank Africa Telegraph.
Selected news events for 26 Apr – 3 May 11.
Botswana Gaborone – The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Botswana decided to maintain the bank rate at 9.5% at its meeting on 26 Apr. The MPC believes that the increase in food, fuel and administered prices will drive inflation higher than the target in the short term but will revert to the 3-6% target range in the medium term. (Source: BOB, 26/04).
Côte d’Ivoire Abidjan – The post-electoral crisis in Côte d’Ivoire may have ended but thousands of civilians are still suffering the consequences of the four months of turmoil that engulfed the world’s largest cocoa producer. According to the United Nations (UN), aid officials have estimated that up to 1m Ivorians have been displaced by the violence, with some internally displaced and others forced to flee into neighbouring countries – particularly Liberia – which is currently hosting about 135,000 Ivorians. The crisis ended on 11 Apr when Laurent Gbagbo was arrested by French forces, ending months of chaos that erupted in the wake of his refusal to step down after he lost the UN-certified presidential run-off election last November to Alassane Ouattara. In early Apr, UN agencies and their partners launched an appeal for USD160m to provide food security, nutrition, education, protection, water, health care and sanitation to as many as 2m people throughout Côte d’Ivoire, an appeal that to date is 20% funded according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. In any case, the French government has pledged a EUR400m emergency facility, EUR200m of which has been disbursed to the government. Following the finalisation of a recovery plan, IMF funding is also a possibility. (Source: UN, RFI, N24, 03/05).
Ghana Accra – Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Ghana for Q1:11 have recorded significant growth of GHS527.6m from GHS225.9m in Q1:10, according to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre. A total of 109 projects, with an estimated value of GHS567.7m were recorded during Q1:11, which are expected to create 7,004 jobs in the country. The estimated value of registered projects in Q1:11 grew by 101.3% y/y, the FDI component of the estimated value of projects also went up by 118.0% y/y, while the initial capital transfer increased significantly by 363.7% y/y. (GC, 28/04).
Kenya Nairobi – Inflation increased to 12.1% y/y in Apr 11 from 9.2% y/y in Mar 11. Food inflation soared to 19.1% y/y from 15.1% y/y the previous month.Transport inflation also increased significantly to 20.4% y/y from 15.9% in Mar 11. Core inflation, which excludes food, energy and transport, increased to 1.3% y/y from 0.9% y/y the previous month. (Source: KNBS, 03/05). …
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