Electron Native

Kenyan online betting firm SportPesa on Saturday says it will be halting operations due to a drastic hike in taxes on betting stakes.   Sports betting Source: BettingShamnam Online sports betting companies such as SportPesa have grown rapidly in the East African nation in recent years, riding a wave of enthusiasm for sports, with the government saying the gaming industry achieved a combined revenue of 204 billion shillings (2 billion U.S. dollar) last year. That sparked government concern about the social impact of betting, and in May Kenya introduced new gambling regulations, including a ban on advertising outdoors and on social media. This week, parliament voted an amended proposal raising the excise duty proposed in the 2019/20 (July-June) budget on the amount wagered at the time a bet is placed on all betting platforms to 20% from an initial 10percent. SportPesa says it is “disappointed” by the move and that it would s...

Sudan’s transitional government has ordered the immediate closure of the nation’s borders with Libya and Central African Republic at end of last week, citing unspecified security and economic “dangers”.   Sudan Source : en.wikipeadia.com A statement by the Sovereign Transitional Council says vehicles had been illegally crossing the borders from the two nations. And considering the internal unrest of both nations conflict they pose serious risk to the stability of Sudan. The announcement followed a meeting between the council and the government of South Darfur State, part of Sudan’s western Darfur region that has suffered from violence since 2003 when a conflict erupted between mainly non-Arab tribes and the Arab-led national government of ousted President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Sudan has often complained about arms trafficked through its borders with Libya and Central African Republic. Conflicts in both nations have left their g...

The International Monetary Fund or IMF says that Zimbabwe needs to intensify reform and meaningfully improve transparency. These will boost the country’s integrity as the government faces growing criticism about its dedication to delivering economic and political change.   President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe Source: enca.com President Emmerson Mnangagwa and senior officials say they are doing their best to lay the foundations for future growth and blame Western sanctions for hampering recovery and deterring investment.     But the opponents say of the government are saying he is reverting to the authoritarian tendencies seen under former leader Robert Mugabe, who died early this month. They also criticise Mnangagwa for presiding over soaring prices and shortages of foreign currency and fuel price hike that have sparked anger among a restive population.   The IMF said in a statement, after visiting Harare th...

Tanzania’s central bank says it has fined five commercial banks for breaching the country’s anti-money laundering regulations. The banks hit with the regulatory penalties are African Banking Corporation Tanzania Ltd, Equity Bank Tanzania Ltd, I&M Bank Tanzania Ltd, UBL Bank Tanzania Ltd and Habib African Bank Ltd. The Bank of Tanzania in a statement says the fines were imposed “for failure to conduct proper customer due diligence and file suspicious transaction reports to the (state-run) Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).”

Somalia and Kenya on Wednesday have agreed to work towards normalizing relations. This will happen without any implications on the maritime border dispute case. The agreement was reached after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called a tripartite meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Kenya and Somalia have been involved in a maritime border dispute for years. The disputed area is off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. This piece of beachfront covers about 100,000 square km and is rich in oil and other minerals. Kenya says the boundary should lie parallel to the line of latitude thus marking the land Kenyan territory. Somalia disagrees saying their border extends diagonally to the southeast. Presidents of Kenya, Egypt and Somalia on the sidelines of the UNGA Source : the-star.co.ke Kenya has warned that the decision of ICJ, which is binding on both sides, could offer little room for a win-win solution an...

Banking activities looks set for a nationwide strike this Friday. The South African Society of Bank Officials (SASBO) says it is planning a nationwide on September 27, 2019. South African Banks Source : businessteck.co.za This industrial action is due to the job losses and retrenchments at South African banks, which have directly led to branch closures and increased adoption of digital banking services. Around 40,000 bank workers will be involved in the strike. But the courts may save the economy from this imminent collapse. Business Unity South Africa (Busa) have applied for an urgent interdict against the bank strike. This crisis reaction is a direct attempt to avert chaos at the eleventh hour. If their efforts are unsuccessful, the banks of South Africa seem well prepared for the demonstrations: What are the banks saying? Standard Bank: They have taken precautionary measure, sending text messages to warn customers of the potential bank strike. They maintain that onl...

Sudan is starting a nine-month economic rescue plan from October. The transitional government says this will curbing rampant inflation while ensuring supplies of basic goods.  Sudan is asking the World Bank for 2 billion US dollar. Shortages of bread, fuel and medicine coupled with hefty price rises sparked protests that led to the toppling of former president Omar al-Bashir in April. The economy has remained in turmoil as politicians negotiated a power-sharing deal between the military and civilians. The government was appointed this month. Finance Minister Ibrahim Elbadawi told reporters the new plan would restructure the budget and tackle inflation but leave bread and petrol subsidies in place until at least June 2020. The transitional government, led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, is Sudan’s first since Bashir’s overthrow. The government needs billions of dollars to import basic goods such as fuel and flour. Fuel sub...

Japan has announced nearly 860 million U.S. dollar in concessional loans and grants for construction in Kenya. This is to boost infrastructure in the port city of Mombasa and other projects to support an economic zone there. Japan’s ambassador to Kenya, Katsutoshi Komori told a news conference that a loan of about 450 million US dollar will go towards building a 1.3 km bridge linking Mombasa’s mainland to an island in the city. Another 350 million U.S. dollar loan and a 57 million U.S. dollars grant will go towards developing a port, road, electricity and water supply and drainage in the special economic zone known as Dongo Kundu in Mombasa. Japan is looking to boost its investment in Africa, much as its rival China has been doing for years. At a conference in Tokyo last month attended by a few dozen African leaders, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan would expand its private-sector investment in Africa, which came to $20 billion U.S. doll...

Tanzania has started shipping maize to Zimbabwe. The first cargo loaded last Friday. Zimbabwe is still battling the aftermath of an El Nino-induced drought. This wilted crops and triggered food shortages in the southern African nation. Tanzania plans to export about 700,000 tonnes of the staple food to Zimbabwe.   Maize for export Source : Daily-mail.co.zm A United Nations agency has said up to 5 million Zimbabweans, one-third of the population, need food aid. Tanzania’s agriculture minister Japhet Hasunga confirmed that “The first shipment comprising 1,200 tonnes of maize has beenexported by rail to Zimbabwe. A report which has been attested to by  yesterday his Zimbabwean counterpart Perrance Shiri in Dar es Salaam. Hasunga said Tanzania was negotiating the modalities of payment for the food exports with the cash-strapped Zimbabwean government. Tanzania, which has around 3 million tonnes of surplus food after a b...

Trading on Egypt’s stock exchange halted on Sunday after the EGX 100 dropped by 5 percent. The fall according to analysts is linked to protests which broke out in Cairo and other cities over the weekend.   Stock Exchange of Egypt Source : Reuters It is the first suspension since 2016, when Egypt embarked on a three-year economic reform programme that obtained the backing of the International Monetary Fund. It led to the devalution of the Egyptian Pound and undertaking austerity measures. When trading was suspended shortly after 1030 GMT, stocks such as Orascom Investment had fallen by 9.89 percent, Ezz Steel sank by 9.91 percent and Pioneers had dropped 9.65 percent. Orascom Construction fell by 8.04 percent and Palm Hills lost 9.63 percent. Before the latest selloff, Egyptian stocks had rallied this year on the back of economic growth and a recent interest rate cut. The benchmark index is up 8 percent so far this year. O...