Monetary Policy

Ghana’s economic crisis was caused by government borrowing – the central bank did the best it could: economist

By Emmanuel Ameyaw, Tohoku University Ghana is going through its worst economic crisis in a generation. The past two years have seen record high inflation in the country. Ghana’s central bank (the Bank of Ghana) has been criticised in some quarters for its role in the country’s economic malaise, which has hit the profitability of Ghanaian banks. The Conversation Africa’s Godfred Akoto Boafo speaks to […]

June 17, 2024 14

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Africa

Zimbabwe urges swift adoption of new but ‘scarce’ currency

Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has ordered all government agencies to accept payments in the newly introduced gold-backed currency amid reports of acute shortage. Ncube in a statement said the Zimbabwe Gold, introduced last month, was now the official unit of exchange for transactions in the country. He the BBC that the government would soon introduce regulations to ensure businesses stick to the official rate.

May 9, 2024 10 2

Local

Bank of Namibia strengthens collaboration with central banks in the region

The governor of the Bank of Namibia, Mr. Johannes !Gawaxab, recently embarked on a diplomatic visit to foster enhanced collaboration and cooperation with central banks in the region. Accompanied by a technical team from the bank’s financial markets, strategy, projects & transformation, research, and international relations departments, the governor visited the Bank of Ghana, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, and the Bank of Botswana at the end of […]

April 24, 2024 12

Africa

Kenya’s shilling is gaining value, but don’t expect it to last – expert

By Odongo Kodongo, University of the Witwatersrand Shortly after Kenya’s 2022 elections, the shilling depreciated rapidly against the US dollar – the country’s main currency for international transactions – fuelling a wave of political discontent. More than a year later, the Central Bank of Kenya, taking its cue from the International Monetary Fund, said that the run on the shilling was a market correction for a […]

April 17, 2024 10

Africa

Zimbabwe’s banks caught off guard by new gold-backed currency

The Zimbabwe Gold officially started trading just days after it was announced it would replace the Zimbabwean dollar, which has tumbled in value over the past year, pushing inflation through the roof. But many in the country were not ready for the switch. Eddie Cross an economist from Zimbabwe says even the banks haven’t been fully able to translate their accounting systems.

April 10, 2024 41

Africa

Twin rate cuts set Mozambique apart as African currency rally

By Seth Onyango, bird story agency Mozambique’s central bank has decisively cut its benchmark lending rate to 15.75% from 16.5%, setting a precedent as the first African country to slash rates twice in 2024. The move highlights Maputo’s aggressive push for economic growth amid a wider trend of cooling inflation and currency stability against the US dollar across Africa. Rate cuts in the southeastern African nation, prompted […]

April 8, 2024 30

Business / Economics

South Africa’s Reserve Bank keeps repo rate unchanged

The South African Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 8.25 percent. This keeps the prime lending rate in SA at 11.75 percent. SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago.

March 27, 2024 42

Africa

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger hint at a new west African currency: what it’ll take for it to succeed

By Thierno Thioune, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar On 11 February 2024, the head of Niger’s ruling military junta, General Abdourahmane Tiani, spoke of the possible creation of a common currency with Burkina Faso and Mali. “The currency is a first step toward breaking free from the legacy of colonisation,” he said on national TV, referring to the CFA franc inherited from French colonisation. Burkina Faso, […]

March 15, 2024 16

Africa

Inflation in Nigeria is still climbing while it has slowed globally: here’s why

By Stephen Onyeiwu, Allegheny College Just as Nigerians were gradually digging out from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were hit by high inflation. The Nigerian economy contracted by 6.1% at the peak of COVID in the second quarter of 2020. Unemployment rate rose from 27% in the second quarter of 2020 to 33% in the fourth quarter of the same year. The World Bank estimated […]

March 14, 2024 22