NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Google, said on Monday it would offer Motorbike Mode on Google Maps in Kenya, offering the voice navigation service for bike riders in Africa for the first time.
Kenyan roads are full of motorcycles taxis, known as boda bodas, that are much cheaper rides to car taxis.
Google, part of the U.S. firm Alphabet Inc, already provides the service in Asian nations, such as India.
“For over a million Kenyans, boda bodas are a convenient and affordable way to move and transport goods from one place to another,” Google said in a statement.
“With Google Maps’ new Motorbike Mode, users across Kenya will now be able to get directions and turn-by-turn navigation, to suggest routes that are more efficient,” it said.
Streets in Kenyan cities and towns are often poorly signposted and frequently congested, making it hard for boda boda drivers to pick up customers when they hail them by phone.
“What prevents us from picking some clients is lack of navigation. If the road doesn’t have a clear name and you are new to the area, you get lost,” said Ben Chelule, a 24-year old boda boda driver in Nairobi.
Google also said it was launching its Street View service in Kenya for the first time, allowing users to virtually explore via its images 9,500 km (6,000 miles) of roads in cities such as Nairobi and holiday destinations such as Malindi on the coast.
The company has also set aside 100 million shillings ($992,000) to train Kenyan farmers in digital skills, it added.
Google’s Kenya manager, Charles Murito, said the company had targeted farmers because it employed 40 percent of the population and accounted for a third of gross domestic product (GDP).
“We want to see the power of technology elevate small scale farming. We hope that through this initiative, we will see a positive impact in food security, job creation and GDP growth in Kenya,” he said.
($1 = 100.8500 Kenyan shillings)
Additional reporting by John Ndiso; Editing by Edmund Blair

What you need to know about Google launching Motorbike Mode navigation in Kenya, first for Africa

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s Safaricom lost 1.6 percent of its telecom subscribers’ market share in the quarter ended June, the industry regulator said, marking the third straight quarterly drop for the country’s biggest operator.
The firm, part-owned by South Africa’s Vodacom and Britain’s Vodafone, had 29.7 million subscribers during the period, data from the regulator Communications Authority (CA) seen by Reuters on Monday showed.
While the users’ base was up 0.7 percent from the previous quarter, Safaricom’s rivals, including Bharti Airtel’s Kenyan unit added more subscribers, resulting in the company’s reduced market share.
Airtel’s subscribers rose 11.9 percent to secure a market share of 21.4 percent. Safaricom subscribers’ market share has plunged to 65.4 percent from 72.6 percent in June last year.
Investors were unlikely to be concerned by the market share drop as Safaricom grew its user base, and it commands a big lead in revenue, said Eric Musau, a research analyst who covers the company at Nairobi-based Standard Investment Bank.
Safaricom and the regulator have been tussling over a report on competition in the industry, which among other things calls for price controls on Safaricom to help smaller operators.
According to regulator data in 2015, Safaricom had enjoyed the lion’s share of revenue, with more than 90 percent in key categories such as voice calls. The latest revenue data was not available.
The fall in Safaricom’s market share comes in the backdrop of a nine-month absence by its Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore for medical treatment.
Collymore returned to Kenya in August and attended at least two public events soon after he resumed work.
“Safaricom is one of the companies which you are quite confident that the CEO isn’t the only person who can run the business. He was ably represented and the organisation generally is quite well-structured,” Musau added.
Reporting by Duncan Miriri, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips

Why Kenya’s Safaricom lost 1.6 percent of its telecom subscribers’ market share in Q2

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s Nedbank Group Ltd said on Monday it will buy back its stock from shareholders who hold less than 100 Nedbank shares as a result of a spin-off by its biggest shareholder Old Mutual.
Old Mutual, which holds 52 percent of Nedbank, has been dismantling its conglomerate structure, created after a series of acquisitions, since it moved its headquarters and primary listing to London in 1999.
As part of the plan, it spun-off a majority stake in Nedbank on Monday and now holds around 19.9 percent.
Nedbank, whose businesses include retail banking and asset management, said in September it had estimated that after the spin-off, it will have a large number of shareholders, increasing from about 20,000 to 500,000.
“For Nedbank Group it will, inter alia, reduce the complexity and ongoing administration costs associated with a significantly larger shareholder base including a sizeable number of Odd-lot holders,” it said in a statement.
Odd-lot holders are shareholders who hold less than 100 Nedbank shares, estimated to be 1.5 percent of its ordinary shares in issue.
Nedbank’s offer price will be at a 5 percent premium to the 10-day volume weighted average price of a Nedbank share at the close of business on Dec. 3, it said. The deal is subject to shareholder approval.
The minority shareholders will be given an opportunity to decide whether to sell their holding or retain it.
Reporting by Nqobile Dludla, editing by Louise Heavens

Why South Africa’s Nedbank is buying back shares from minority shareholders

<figure><img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240075/original/file-20181010-72121-1cn15os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="File 20181010 72121 1cn15os.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1" /><figcaption>A significant number of South Africans can’t find jobs and scrounge for a living on the sidelines of the economy. 
Shutterstock</figcaption></figure>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alan-hirsch-170889">By Alan Hirsch</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-cape-town-691">University of Cape Town</a>
Nearly a week has passed since South Africa’s <a href="http://jobssummit.co.za/">2018 jobs summit</a>. The two-day gathering produced some useful agreements between the social partners: government, organised labour and business (essentially, big business).
This was the fourth jobs summit in 20 years. The frequency of attempts to find a solution to the country’s unemployment problems isn’t surprising given that South Africa has one of the <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-09-03-more-adults-not-working-than-working-in-south-africa/">highest jobless rates</a> in the world. The unemployment rate has increased from under 22% in 2008 to the current rate of <a href="https://ewn.co.za/2018/07/31/sa-unemployment-rate-rises-to-27-2-in-q2">27.2%</a>.
But the record on delivering results has been mixed, to say the least.
The <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/1998-05-29-threats-to-job-summit">first jobs summit</a> in the post 1994 era was held in 1998 when Nelson Mandela’s presidency was nearing its end and amid a developing country debt crisis. It achieved very little. The next one – <a href="http://www.polity.org.za/article/mbeki-growth-and-development-summit-07062003-2003-06-07">the 2003 Growth and Development Summit</a> – achieved significant agreements. But these were poorly monitored and implemented.
Six years later in 2009 social partners agreed on a <a href="https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/10717/">framework</a> to respond to the global financial crisis. In spite of the measures introduced by agreements reached at the gathering, South Africa <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09765239.2014.11884980">lost</a> nearly a million jobs.
Undoubtedly the outcome of the recent summit is positive. Job-saving elements of the 2009 agreement have been revived. There are forward-looking commitments such as finance for the black industrialist scheme and a focus on the export of manufactured products. There are initiatives for small business support, technical training and a mechanism for the absorption of <a href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/print-version/jobs-summit-2018-10-04">graduates into the economy</a>.
But perhaps the most important outcome was that a Presidential jobs council will be established to <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_documents/Jobs_Summit_FrameWork_Agreement.pdf">monitor progress</a>.
As welcome as these developments are, the agreement doesn’t explicitly acknowledge that there might be some fundamental issues in the approach to development and job creation in South Africa. In a <a href="http://www.effective-states.org/wp-content/uploads/working_papers/final-pdfs/esid_wp_105_hirsch_levy.pdf">paper just published</a> Brian Levy and I identify what these might be.
We argue that the <a href="http://www.effective-states.org/wp-content/uploads/working_papers/final-pdfs/esid_wp_105_hirsch_levy.pdf">implicit social compact</a> of the 1990s laid a poor foundation for job creating growth in South Africa. Our view is that unless South Africa revisits the implicit and explicit deals struck at that time, the chances of making serious inroads into unemployment are remote.
But is South Africa in the kind of crisis as Mauritius was in 1968 and Ireland in 1988, where key social players were forced to review the social compact and work together towards a coherent developmental model? And do the social partners have strong enough leaders to arrive at suitable agreements?
These are the questions excitingly raised by the outcome of jobs summit, and should, in our view, be the preoccupation of the President’s jobs council.
<h2>The 1990s compact</h2>
An elite bargain over the country’s economic framework formed an essential part of the foundation for a democratic South Africa. The context of the bargaining process included the capitulation of the communist block, economic stagnation in most African countries, and a relentless campaign by the white South African business community for government not to intervene in the economic framework.
There was the threat of flight of capital and white citizens who were virtually monopoly owners of wealth and key economic skills and networks. What emerged was an apparently strong commitment to market-opening reforms.
The result is well known. The economic policies emphasised what was then called “getting the prices right and what we call &#8220;disciplining reforms”. This included: trade and financial liberalisation, fiscal restraint, tougher competition laws and a conservative mandate for the central bank.
Conversely, policies lacked on the side of interventionist mechanisms that were effective in some more successful developing countries. These included support for industrial innovation, cluster development and industrial policy which would have encouraged domestic investment in job creating growth.
Policy choices weren’t the only problem. Key players in the economy were pursuing new agendas as their options had broadened with the end of South Africa’s economic isolation and the repression of apartheid.
<a href="https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3350068/aghion_southafrica.pdf?sequence=2">South African corporations</a> were focused on narrowing their South African operations and spreading their activities and assets abroad. While they cast off some non-core assets, the corporations remain extraordinarily powerful.
At the same time, the trade unions used their bargaining power with government to strengthen worker rights. All labour laws had to go through the newly formed National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) and could not go through until all parties were happy. The result was that big business, which always dominated the business delegation, agreed to labour laws that they could manage with their sophisticated human resource departments and because of the choices they could exercise. However, these laws were not all easy to implement for small and medium companies.
In addition, the reformed industrial training system was poorly designed which set back industrial training for many years.
The market opening reforms combined with the labour reforms achieved very little in the way of supporting dynamic investment and innovation. So, the elite pact that emerged reflected what powerful stakeholders were prepared to agree too – not a coherent package derived from carefully thought out trade-offs.
Compared with outcomes of more successful social pacts like Mauritius in the late 1960s and Ireland in the late 1980s, South Africa’s social compact failed. And over time commitment to the elements of the compact waned.
<h2>In a different world</h2>
In a different world, perhaps, had South African elites agreed on a clear developmental model and had they strived for suitable strategies, the outcome might have been very different. There would have been a much stronger emphasis on the more interventionist kinds of supportive industrial policies.
It’s not too late. More recently, industrial policy has formed part of the approach of government as seen in major initiatives in several sectors.
Informed analysts in South Africa are now asking “Where is growth going to come from?” Skilled people are streaming out the country as they did in Mauritius in the 1960s and in Ireland in the 1980s. Could it be that this is the moment for a coherent, developmental social compact?<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104591/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alan-hirsch-170889">Alan Hirsch</a>, Professor and Director of The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-cape-town-691">University of Cape Town</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-wont-create-jobs-unless-it-settles-on-a-new-social-compact-104591">original article</a>.

What South Africa needs to do to create jobs

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/victor-odundo-owuor-460341">Victor Odundo Owuor</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-colorado-733">University of Colorado</a>
A recent <a href="http://www.somaliampf.net/files/Mobile_Money_in_Somalia.pdf">World Bank report</a> showed that Somalia has one of the most active mobile money markets in the world, outpacing most other countries in Africa. It’s even superseded the use of cash in the country of <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/country/somalia">14 million</a> people. Victor Owuor asked Tim Kelly, an information and communications technology policy specialist at the World Bank and the report’s author, to explain the findings and what they mean for the country.
Why is mobile money so successful in Somalia?
Mobile money initially started as a simple exchange of airtime credit between users. <a href="https://www.ictworks.org/the-rise-of-mobile-money-services-in-somaliland/#.W7txcNWFPs0">Over</a> ten years ago, mobile network operators formalised this by offering mobile money services. It was quickly perceived as a convenient and safe way of making transactions and storing money.
Unlike Kenya’s famous <a href="https://www.safaricom.co.ke/personal/m-pesa/do-more-with-m-pesa">Mpesa mobile money</a> transfer services, Somalia’s transfers are mainly available in US dollars. Though the companies offering mobile money services are mobile network operators, as in Kenya, they are increasingly forming part of large conglomerates that also offer banking and money transfer services.
In Somalia mobile money transactions are worth <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/997391521473972031/pdf/124406-REVISED-MPFProgressReportFINAL.pdf">about</a> $2.7 billion a month.
Several factors have encouraged the impressive uptake of mobile money:
Many Somalis own mobile phones – <a href="https://wb-mme-dev.masae-analytics.com/Penetration">about</a> nine out of ten Somalis, above the age of 16 own one.
Nearly 60% of Somalia’s population <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28470">is nomadic, or semi-nomadic, and move around a great deal</a>, to find adequate grazing and water for their livestock. So mobile money suits their lifestyle and is also used to facilitate trade.
Concerns over the high prevalence of fake money, absence of monetary regulation, capacity, and limited access to traditional banking services also make mobile money an effective substitute for cash.
Today, mobile money also facilitates vast remittance flows which are critical to most Somali households due to a <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/28470/Output-P160456-v7.pdf?sequence=5&amp;isAllowed=y">lack of</a> opportunities in the Somali labour market. Taking advantage of this trend, remittance companies are increasingly partnering with mobile operators to transfer funds directly to recipients’ mobile money accounts.
How many people are using it and what is it mostly used for?
Our household <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/975231536256355812/Rapid-Growth-in-Mobile-Money-Stability-or-Vulnerability">survey data</a> suggests that about 73% of Somalis above the age of 16 use mobile money services at least once a month – though most use it a few times a month, and high income earners use it a lot more. About 155 million mobile money transactions take place every month.
It’s used for a wide range of things.
One of the most common is to pay bills – for purchases between $2 and $300. Mobile money is thus far more widely used than cash. Two thirds of those surveyed use it to pay for items like water, electricity and charcoal. A third claim to use it to buy groceries, durable goods and livestock.
Close to 40% use mobile money to pay their children’s school fees. It’s also frequently used to send money to friends and family.
We also found that it’s being used to save.
Currently, transactions made are mainly person-to-person payments, but there is growing uptake among businesses. We have seen that receiving salaries through mobile money has, for example, been an important factor encouraging further uptake.
What have the benefits and the risks of this growth been?
Somalia lacks a strong formal banking system. Only <a href="https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/resource-documents/12258.pdf">about</a> 15% of the population has a bank account. Mobile money has helped to expand financial inclusion.
For vulnerable groups, it’s a convenient and fast way to access money quickly. And because it’s viewed as faster and safer than cash handouts, many aid agencies use it to reach remote villages.
As most shops accept mobile money, it also offers beneficiaries more flexibility, and avoids a requirement to travel, which can in turn minimise risk of security incidents.
Nevertheless, there are some considerable risks in the mobile money system. The biggest is a lack of regulation which makes the system fragile and fragmented.
It is also vulnerable to money laundering and terrorism financing. This is because there is a weak “know your customer” compliance, in line with global banking standards, meaning few SIM cards and mobile money accounts are registered using a valid form of identification. Ultimately, this results in limited accountability and tractability.
Another risk is the fact that there’s no assurance that the funds will always be available, as they would be in a normal bank account. That’s because there’s no guaranteed parity between the mobile money balances held by mobile operators and those held in individual and business accounts.
Transfers in Somalia are predominantly available in US dollars, which isn’t healthy for the country’s economy. This is changing – for example, Somaliland obliges that sums under $100 be made in Somali shillings.
The industry also remains largely untaxed, meaning it fails to help raise critical government revenue.
How is mobile money in Somalia different from other African countries?
A few things are different.
Banking, telecommunications and money transfers are so closely intertwined that its resulted in the <a href="https://www.altaiconsulting.com/insights/mobile-money-ecosystem-somalia/">emergence of two</a> large conglomerates, with partnerships between a mobile network operator, bank and money transfer organisation. This is not really the case elsewhere in Africa.
Also, operators have adopted a different business model, based on indirect revenue generated from other services – like the sale of airtime. They are therefore able to offer mobile money between users as a “free” service (without transactions charges or taxes). This is not the case in many other countries in the region.
Another factor that’s different is the virtual absence of regulatory supervision despite the fact that mobile network operators control vast sums in circulation.
Operators also rely on their own distribution network, not external agents (as they do in Kenya). This means that coverage is more limited.
An earlier version of this article carried an incorrect number for total mobile money transactions in Kenya. It has been removed.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104162/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/victor-odundo-owuor-460341">Victor Odundo Owuor</a>, Senior Research Associate-One Earth Future Foundation, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-colorado-733">University of Colorado</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/mobile-money-transfers-have-taken-off-in-somalia-but-there-are-risks-104162">original article</a>.

The risks in Somalia’s growing mobile money market

<h6>By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/melba-k-wasunna-441896" rel="author">Melba K. Wasunna</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/strathmore-university-2081">Strathmore University </a></h6>
&nbsp;
Six years ago, Kenya <a href="https://theconversation.com/oil-discoveries-in-turkana-six-years-ago-havent-delivered-benefits-for-women-100101">discovered</a> commercially viable oil deposits in the Turkana region. The find is <a href="http://www.coastweek.com/3628-latest-news-kenya-oil-finds-improve-economy.htm">expected</a> to boost economic growth as about <a href="https://www.tullowoil.com/operations/east-africa/kenya">560 million barrels</a> of oil are expected to be recovered from the South Lokichar Basin. Commercial oil production <a href="https://www.tullowoil.com/operations/east-africa/kenya">is expected</a> in about three to four years.
But not all Kenyans are happy. Earlier this year, as road transfers of oil to Mombasa <a href="https://www.tullowoil.com/operations/east-africa/kenya">started</a> under the ‘early oil pilot scheme’, the operations faced <a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2018/06/27/no-oil-will-leave-turkana-without-security-and-jobs-protesters-say_c1778927">opposition</a> from local communities in Turkana. As a historically underdeveloped part of Kenya, the find was <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001234391/lokichar-oil-a-blessing-or-curse-for-turkana">expected</a> to bring great benefits to the Turkana people. But they have largely been excluded and are demanding jobs, business opportunities, security and a share of oil proceeds.
Some Kenyans and businesses <a href="https://theconversation.com/oil-discoveries-in-turkana-six-years-ago-havent-delivered-benefits-for-women-100101">have</a> gained employment or business contracts, but it’s not enough. British oil exploration company, Tullow Oil, the first to discover oil in Kenya, has <a href="https://www.tullowoil.com/operations/east-africa/kenya">a history</a> of discovering significant oil resources in East Africa. By the end of 2017, 30% of the company’s supplier spend was with <a href="https://www.tullowoil.com/Media/docs/default-source/3_investors/tullow-oil-plc-2017-annual-report.pdf?sfvrsn=2">Kenyan businesses</a>, down from 33% in 2016. The bulk goes to foreign companies. Though Tullow Oil does work with some Kenyan firms – like Kapese Transporters and Lopii Contractors – the company has <a href="https://www.tullowoil.com/Media/docs/default-source/3_investors/tullow-oil-plc-2017-annual-report.pdf?sfvrsn=2">slowed down</a> on contracting local suppliers.
It is crucial that Kenya figures out how to encourage <a href="https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=87a225c8-cb72-47d2-929c-6c8ab8324383">the participation of Kenyans</a> in the oil sector through the use of local labour, goods and services. This was the topic at a <a href="http://www.extractives-baraza.com/assets/content/PDF/epwg/Kenya-Extractives-Policy-Dialogues-2-Local-Content-Discussion-Paper.pdf">recent forum</a> hosted by the <a href="https://www.extractives-baraza.com/">Extractives Baraza</a> – an information centre for the extractives sector based at Strathmore University – in Nairobi.
Major constraints that prevent Kenyans – particularly communities around the oilfields – from benefiting from the oil sector include: a <a href="https://www.giz.de/de/downloads/E4D_SOGA_Brochure-Web-high_resolution.pdf">lack of</a> specialised training or technical skills, <a href="https://www.extractiveshub.org/servefile/getFile/id/4209">a lack of</a> access to credit which would increase the competitiveness of small-to-medium businesses, low quality of local goods and services and a <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000207205/no-road-no-oil-turkana-leaders-threaten">lack of modern roads and highways</a> to link the Turkana region with other parts of the country.
<h2>The challenges</h2>
In terms of human capital, Kenya <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Human_Capital_Report_2017.pdf">ranks poorly</a> in the development of future skills (101 out of 130 countries according to the World Economic Forum) and in the use of specialised skills at work (74 of 130).
Tullow Oil <a href="https://www.tullowoil.com/Media/docs/default-source/3_investors/tullow-oil-plc-2017-annual-report.pdf?sfvrsn=2">cited this</a> burgeoning skills gap as the main reason for not including more locals in its workforce. This challenge is most <a href="https://theconversation.com/kenya-has-a-massive-skills-gap-how-it-can-fix-the-problem-91170">severe for technical and vocational skills </a> like welding, drilling, repair of heavy equipment and <a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2018/05/31/tullow-picks-uk-firm-for-key-oil-pipeline-job_c1765859">pipeline design</a>– all in <a href="http://www.lundinfoundation.org/education-and-skills-training">demand</a> in the oil sector.
But human capital isn’t the only problem. <a href="https://set.odi.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Manufacturing-in-Kenya-Anzetse-Were.pdf">The low quality</a> of locally manufactured or available goods and services, compared to their high costs, has <a href="http://kam.co.ke/sme-development/">allowed</a> imported products to take over a large market share in Kenya. This could be attributed to a <a href="https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/analysis/Why-we-need-local-content-policy-now/539548-2754394-doyou4z/index.html">lack of understanding</a> as to what the oil sector needs in comparison to what is locally available. Local manufacturers also <a href="http://kam.co.ke/sme-development/">use obsolete technology</a> and there’s a low level of innovation.
A final, big challenge is the <a href="https://www.dentons.com/en/insights/alerts/2015/february/24/local-content-in-kenyas-oil-and-gas-industry">lack</a> of a robust legal framework to promote local participation. For instance, the <a href="http://www.kenyalaw.org/lex//actview.xql?actid=CAP.%20308">Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act 1986</a> includes an obligation for contractors to give preference to locally available goods and services, and that Kenyan nationals be prioritised in employment and training. But the Act doesn’t provide for targets, outlining how much local representation is needed. It also doesn’t provide for monitoring or reporting.
<h2>The way forward</h2>
There needs to be a clear strategy to ensure <a href="http://www.extractives-baraza.com/assets/content/PDF/epwg/Kenya-Extractives-Policy-Dialogues-2-Local-Content-Discussion-Paper.pdf">local participation</a> in the oil sector.
To start with, the entire oil value chain must be assessed to identify which areas need to be focused on. This will reveal the size and capacity of local businesses, the capabilities of the local workforce, level of participation, and supplier landscape.
Skills need to be developed and there must be a requirement for investors to publicly certify that a local expert is not available before importing skills.
Local manufacturers must adopt modern technology and innovative solutions to produce products that align with the quality of goods and services needed in the sector.
Partnerships between the private sector, government (national and county) and academia are critical to bridge the knowledge gap. This will create awareness, ensure that training curricula and facilities are fit-for-purpose, and pool available skills and expertise.
Joint ventures between international companies and local companies are also critical for building links and transferring technology and skills.
Finally, the government must offer legal protection against unfair contractual arrangements, and guarantee recovery of delayed payments for local businesses. It should create a level playing field for local businesses to participate, for instance; by simplifying and fast-tracking business registration processes and ensuring equal access to project information for local businesses. Norway, for example, <a href="http://ella.practicalaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160526-Grupo-Faro-Local-Content-Frameworks-in-Latin-America.pdf">included</a> a requirement for oil companies to split up supply contracts into smaller parts suitable for local companies.
James Ombaki Kirwa, a Legal Researcher at Strathmore Extractives Industry Centre, contributed to this article<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103789/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/melba-k-wasunna-441896">Melba K. Wasunna</a>, Director and Lecturer, Extractives Baraza, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/strathmore-university-2081">Strathmore University</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-kenya-can-do-to-ensure-local-people-benefit-from-its-oil-industry-103789">original article</a>.

What this East African needs to do to ensure oil industry benefits for its citizens

LUANDA (Reuters) &#8211; Angola has secured $2 billion in Chinese financing from the China Development Bank for infrastructure projects on President João Lourenço’s first visit to Beijing, Angola’s state newspaper Jornal de Angola reported on Wednesday.
Details of the terms of the financing were not released. The finance ministry did not immediately respond to a request to confirm the information.
China is increasingly flexing its financial muscle in Africa, funding massive infrastructure projects across the continent.
Angola, Africa’s second largest oil producer, is in the process of trying to diversify its economy since a fall in the price of crude in 2014 plunged it into recession. Inflation is running at more than 20 percent per year and at least one in five of workers are jobless.
Lourenço, who took power a year ago after the 38-year rule of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, has promised to oversee an “economic miracle” by opening up the country to foreign investment and prioritising sectors such as agriculture and tourism. So far growth has remained sluggish.
Investors are increasingly concerned by Angola’s growing debt burden, which the government said earlier this year will rise to $77.3 billion, or 70.8 percent of GDP, by the end of 2018. Of that, around $21.5 billion was already owed to China before Lourenço’s visit there.
Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Ed Stoddard and Peter Graff

What you need to know about Angola securing a $2 billion infrastructure financing from China

Media Press Release
Sanlam has and always will call Africa home. For the last 100 years, the Group has been 100% committed to investing in Africa’s potential, which is evident in its expansion across 33 African countries and counting. This shows its mission to create a continent of WealthsmithsTM and an Africa full of potential for emerging generations to inherit.
From small beginnings with just seven founding members to being the financial services group with the biggest insurance footprint on the continent, the Group is constantly evolving, but its core belief remains the same: with hard work and dedication, anything is possible. This attitude, combined with a trailblazing partnership approach, has secured the success of Sanlam’s expansion strategy.
CEO Ian Kirk says that while others have come and gone, Sanlam has chosen to stay. “While some things may change, certain things will always be prioritised in our decision-making: our people, our continent and creating a legacy we’re proud of.”
All the decisions the centenarian has made – from demutualising and listing on the JSE 20 years ago to acquiring African Life in 2005 and the SAHAM acquisition that’s currently underway – have demonstrated its unwavering commitment to the continent.
It’s a strategy that’s paid off. And one few other companies have been able to get right. Kirk says the secret is in Sanlam’s approach to entering new markets, which is largely partnership-based, with a focus on upskilling and investing in local talent and enterprises. This is primarily driven by the group’s Emerging Markets division.
Junior Ngulube, CEO of Sanlam Emerging Markets, says that being African means creating strategic partnerships across the continent. “We have a win-win business model. We grow and so do our in-country partners. Our philosophy is not to come into a country and take over. It’s to work with relevant and trusted partners on the ground. To let local managers and boards run their businesses with our support. This way we create jobs, upskill individuals and invest in the countries we enter in – and Africa as a whole.”
This approach has helped fuel Sanlam’s consistently strong results. From January to April 2018, Sanlam Emerging Markets’ (SEM) net result from financial services increased by 34%, with the net value of new business improving by 14%, excluding structural activity. Overall, SEM recorded new business growth of 19%.
Much of the SAHAM acquisition has already been approved and enforced across the continent with game-changing results for Sanlam’s pan-African expansion vision. Currently subject to final regulatory approvals, the pending balance of the acquisition should be concluded soon. Ngulube said the acquisition makes perfect business sense, “SEM is strong in life insurance, while SAHAM is more focused on short-term insurance. The two businesses complement each other and so are a natural fit. We’ve always been partnership-focused and this is a way to bring our two organisations together to extract all possible synergies and facilitate the cementing of our unique footprint across Africa.”
Ngulube says the tri-partnership between Sanlam, SAHAM and Santam has positioned Sanlam as the go-to partner for multinationals in Africa and abroad. He says the group is increasingly finding opportunities to support other international insurers who are not based in Africa but have African clients. Potential he sees growing as Africa naturally takes its place as a global superpower.
Next up, Ngulube and Kirk have set their sights on the strong emerging markets of Egypt and Ethiopia. Kirk concludes, “It’s impossible to stress how deeply our vision is interwoven with our roots in Africa. As WealthsmithsTM, we’re focused on ongoing opportunity creation for all Africans. There’s unrivalled ingenuity and potential here, which we have the privilege of investing in.”
In its 100 years in Africa, Sanlam has: 
&#8211; Demutualised and listed on the JSE (20 years ago) – the largest initial public offering in the country’s history at the time, more than trebling the number of JSE shareholders overnight 
&#8211; Shown sustained share price growth. In 1998, a share of SLM was worth R5.85. Today it’s more than ten times higher at R79.21 (April 2018) 
&#8211; Increased its market cap by R161bn, since 1998 
&#8211; Championed SA’s first major black empowerment deal 
&#8211; Expanded into 33 African countries through the USD1050-billion acquisition of SAHAM Finances, which is subject to final regulatory approvals
&nbsp;
This article was paid for by Sanlam

This is what Sanlam has achieved in its 100 years of investing in Africa

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) &#8211; A Tanzanian businessman and former member of parliament for the ruling CCM party was seized by unidentified men in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, the regional commissioner said.
Mohammed Dewji, the owner and president of the multi-billion dollar revenue Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Ltd (METL Group), was seized as he arrived for a morning workout at a luxury hotel in the country’s commercial capital.
Dar es Salaam regional commissioner Paul Makonda said the businessman was kidnapped by two men as he entered the hotel.
“They fired a gun and then they opened the gate,” Makonda said, adding that security personnel had started a search for Dewji.
Witnesses, including the guards manning the gate at the hotel, were being questioned, he said.
Dewji was elected to parliament on the CCM ticket but did not seek re-election to his seat in the 2015 election.
The METL Group has more than 30 factories making consumer products ranging from bicycles and detergents to edible oil and beverages. Other investments cover the agriculture, infrastructure, energy and mobile phone sectors.
The company operates in 11 African nations, mostly in East Africa. Dewji said in 2015 that it had revenues of $2 billion and employed 24,000 people.
Reporting by Nuzulack Dausen; Writing by Clement Uwiringiyimana and Duncan Miriri

Mohammed Dewji, Africa’s youngest billionaire, kidnapped in Tanzania

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; The World Bank and IMF have endorsed Zimbabwe’s road map to clear more than $2 billion in foreign arrears at a meeting in Indonesia on Wednesday, the finance minister said, adding that the lenders had also backed his two-year economic recovery plan.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has promised to revive the struggling economy, pay foreign debts that the country has defaulted on since 1999 and restore ties with West after becoming a pariah under Robert Mugabe’s near four-decade rule.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, who is attending the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings in Bali, Indonesia, said in a statement his plans to clear the arrears to the World Bank, African Development Bank and European Investment Bank had been accepted.
“All the cooperating partners and creditors present uniformly expressed their support for Zimbabwe and its arrears clearance Road Map,” Ncube said.
The lenders and Western donors also urged Ncube to “judiciously” implement his two-year economic recovery plan announced last Friday.
Ncube’s plan will see cuts on spending and the government’s wage bill and privatisation of loss-making state-owned firms.
Zimbabwe, which adopted the U.S. dollar after hyperinflation left its own currency worthless in 2009, is gripped by acute shortages of cash dollars. Prices of basic goods and medicines have risen in the last few days.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia

World Bank, IMF support Zimbabwe’s plans to clear more than $2 billion in foreign arrears, what you need to know

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s state-owned rail service PRASA has lost around 636 million rand ($42.5 million) over the past three and a half years due o deliberate train fires, parliament heard on Tuesday.
Most of the fires have occurred in the Western Cape province, which accounted for 71 percent or 451 million rand in damages, a report from the Passenger Rail Agency SA showed as it rolls out drones, armoured vehicles and extra manpower in a bid to halt the wave of arson.
The report did not suggest the reasons for the deliberate sabotage, although poor and late services have at times been enough for frustrated passengers to set trains alight.
South Africa has the continent’s largest railway network, but it has been plagued by mismanagement and under-investment that has seen train use dwindle despite it being the cheapest form of public transportation.
“Commuter service is at its lowest performance levels of all time and is characterised by declining passenger numbers, from 543 million paying passenger trips in 2013/14 and 269 million in 2017/18,” PRASA wrote in a regular performance update to parliament’s transport committee.
PRASA also faces having its operating licence revoked by the regulator after a collision between two trains injured at least 320 people last week.
PRASA approached the courts for an interim order to lift the suspension of the safety permit imposed by the Rail Safety Regulator (RSR) and the matter is due to heard on Oct. 11.
($1 = 14.9393 rand)
Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Ed Stoddard and Alison Williams

Deliberate train fires in this African country are costing state owned rail service $42.5 million

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s top anti-graft body said it would investigate whether the finance minister breached ethics guidelines over a state pension fund investment, piling pressure on Nhlanhla Nene as he faced questions about his future.
The office of the Public Protector said on Tuesday it would look into a complaint by the main opposition Democratic Alliance party about the investment, carried out when Nene was chairman of the fund and deputy finance minister.
There was no immediate comment from the minister who was due to travel to an International Monetary Fund meeting in Indonesia. He has in the past denied any wrongdoing connected to investments by the Public Investment Corporation fund.
On Monday, the rand initially sank more than one percent on a newspaper report that Nene had asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to sack him.
Business Day newspaper said the minister made the request after acknowledging in a hearing that he had visited the Gupta family, friends of former leader Jacob Zuma accused of unfairly winning state contracts.
Both Zuma and the Guptas have denied any wrongdoing.
Nene, who publicly apologised for not previously reporting the visits to the Gupta brothers, has not made any statements confirming or denying the report by Business Day newspaper.
The president’s spokeswoman told Reuters his office was not aware of any such request from Nene.
Asked repeatedly at a media event in Cape Town whether Nene still enjoyed his confidence and what the future might hold for the finance minister, President Ramaphosa made light of the questions and pretended there was something wrong with his hearing.
“I am hard of hearing. I actually have go to an ear (specialist) &#8230; see you later,” he said.
The rand later recovered some ground on Monday was flat in the morning session on Tuesday.
Additional reporting by Nomvelo Chalumbira and Ed Stoddard in Johannesburg; Editing by Andrew Heavens; Writing by James Macharia

South Africa’s finance minister to be investigated by country’s anti-graft body, what you need to know

By Genevieve Jozaffe-Naidoo, Training Management and Organisational Development (TMOD) Manager
Care is a verb at Continental Tyre South Africa, which is why the company has consistently been named a Top Employer in South Africa.
It is critical for all employees to know and understand how wealth is created and distributed within the organisation.
Equally, every employee needs to appreciate their individual contribution towards common goals. To this end, our leadership team has established line-of-sight for each employee. 
Growth and profitability can only be achieved through shared purpose and values (Trust, Passion to Win, For One Another and Freedom to Act), coupled with employees’ talents, motivation and willingness to learn.
Our values unify how we engage and challenge our actions, results, successes and opportunities. Trust and transparency talk to just some of the lived values of our leadership team – sacrificing short-term gains for long-term growth. The leadership team have committed their time, efforts and minds being of service down the line to create “one Continental”.
Over the past few years, there has been significant investment in building our people capability. Hosting development programmes aimed at enhancing critical skills was just one of the interventions we undertook.
2018 has certainly challenged our business. This year – in the spirit of building capability – business sustainability and humanising the scoreboard has been our priority. Political and economic uncertainty, both locally and globally, has created added pressure to deliver affordable, quality products consistently. These challenges have brought us full circle to our values.
Our people have responded well to these challenging times. Dialogues and joint action planning define our culture, with various platforms accommodating multi-faceted conversations. We are motivated to change our lived experiences by creating alliance and value, striving always to be an attractive and progressive employer.
Participating in the Top Employer awards has been of tremendous use in raising our awareness on policy, process and practice. Additionally, it has added value to our brand. Continental Tyre South Africa’s 70-year presence in South Africa is evidence of our leadership and learning agility. Our organisation is fully geared toward shaping our future in motion.
OUR PEOPLE, OUR CULTURE, OUR FUTURE.
&nbsp;
Content supplied by Continental Tyre South Africa

How Continental Tyre’s values are creating value

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; MTN has received a counterclaim from Nigeria’s central bank to its request for an order to stop the bank forcing it to repatriate $8.1 billion it claims was illegally sent out of the country, the South African telecom’s lawyer said on Friday.
MTN has received the central bank’s response to its court filing, Wole Olanipekun said, adding that MTN will file a reply to the bank’s claim.
The central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in August ordered MTN and its lenders to bring back the funds which it alleged the company had sent abroad in breach of foreign exchange regulations.
“MTN had gone to court, sued the central bank and the attorney general. The central bank has filed a response and a counter claim, meaning that nobody can resort to self-help in the matter any longer,” Olanipekun told Reuters.
“With this development everybody has now surrendered &#8230; the greviances to the court. Everybody has to wait for the decision of the court.”
CBN spokesman Isaac Okorafor said: “Although there’s a case in court, the CBN is aggressively engaging MTN and the banks and I’m hopeful that an amicable resolution will soon be achieved.”
Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Jan Harvey and Emelia Sithole-Matarise

Nigeria’s central bank responds to MTN with a counterclaim, what you need to know…

By Francois Conradie – Head of Research at NKC African Economics
Gabon is about to finally hold its legislative election, a poll that was originally scheduled for December 2016, but which has been delayed repeatedly owing to President Ali Bongo’s efforts to defuse political tensions that followed his dodgy win in that year’s presidential poll.
The first round is to take place on October 6 (the same day as local authority elections) and the second round on October 27. Mr Bongo’s Gabonese Dlegislative electionemocratic Party (PDG) is the very strong favourite to retain its majority (in the outgoing Parliament, 113 out of 120 deputies), but we expect its majority will shrink.
In 2011, the year of the last legislative election, the opposition called for a boycott so the PDG won the lion’s share of seats, and parties allied to it won another five seats, leaving only two for the opposition. This time, however, a significant part of the opposition will participate.
Although Jean Ping, the probable real winner of the 2016 presidential election, is still keeping out of the fray and calling for a boycott, many senior politicians who were in his camp two years ago are going to contest the election.
The two important opposition parties that are contesting are the National Union (UN) of Zacharie Myboto (which is the party of Mr Bongo’s late political rival, André Mba Obame) and the Heritage and Modernity Rally (RHM) of Alexandre Barro-Chambrier.
Mr Myboto was general secretary of the PDG under Mr Bongo’s father Omar, while Mr Barro-Chambrier has held several ministerial positions and is a member of the outgoing Parliament.
The UN and RHM arrived at a national-level agreement not to compete with each other, but this deal has broken down in about 20 constituencies, where they will put up competing candidates.
Guy Nzouba-Ndama, also a former PDG heavyweight and National Assembly Speaker, is leading a party called The Democrats, and has committed not to compete against opposition candidates in the second round.
The elections are taking place in an environment of heated public opposition to austerity policies Mr Bongo is introducing, on advice from the IMF, to deal with stressed public finances.
Strikes and marches are more common than usual, and there are reports of civil servants not receiving their salaries.
We expect the PDG to easily retain its majority, but for more opposition candidates, including some of the bigger names, to win seats.
We also expect Mr Bongo to include a few opposition bigwigs in the government he will name after the vote. This will increase the political capital he has to push through reforms, so we will then expect further welcome action to cut government spending, but opposition to these measures from trade unions will not diminish, and we expect to keep reading about public-sector strikes.
The threat of strike action is lower in the private sector, including at Total Gabon, where some recent unhappiness among workers seems to have been quelled.

OpEd: The outlook for the legislative election in Gabon

<figure><img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238442/original/file-20180928-48653-n3qtif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="File 20180928 48653 n3qtif.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1" /><figcaption>A humanities degree can open people’s minds in the fourth industrial revolution. 
Shutterstock&nbsp;
</figcaption></figure>
By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ruksana-osman-170385">Ruksana Osman</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-the-witwatersrand-894">University of the Witwatersrand</a>
The term “<a href="https://www.weforum.org/about/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-by-klaus-schwab">fourth industrial revolution</a>” is understood in various ways. Some people are excited about it. Others are cautious. Some assume it means that technology and robots will take over every human activity. And still others imagine that this “revolution” will lead only to joblessness and automation.
There are also those who are sceptical and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/there-s-no-such-thing-as-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-a7441966.html%20and%20insist%20that">insist</a> it’s no revolution at all. They argue that it’s just an improvement and fusion of various technologies – like artificial intelligence and 3D printing – and acceleration in productivity.
In all these instances, the interaction of technology with humans and humans with technology is underestimated. The emphasis on interaction is key to understanding the fourth industrial revolution. And this epoch will, like all times of change, require universities to push the boundaries of teaching and learning.
Universities will need to ensure that students are equipped with approaches to learning that involve agility, adaptability and curiosity. It will be a challenge for us all.
The fourth industrial revolution will also raise many questions for universities to consider. What needs to shift in how lecturers teach and how students learn and will be learning? What does the blurring of the lines between the physical, digital and technological mean for social relationships and for student learning? What do these shifts mean for different countries? Is learning in an environment with peers (virtually or in a class) better than learning online?
In seeking answers, societies must create the space to have conversations across social, academic, industry and community boundaries. The purpose of these conversations is to determine priority areas that need to be improved by the rapid technological changes we are currently experiencing as well as thinking about how we redefine the human condition.
Universities have a crucial role to play in these conversations. And a humanities education has a lot to offer when it comes to preparing students for the fourth industrial revolution.
<h2>Harnessing the humanities</h2>
A humanities education inculcates the importance of reflecting on the vast array of methodological and societal issues that arise from any practices. These include the technological and computational practices that underpin the fourth industrial revolution.
Critical thinking, debating and creative problem solving are taught in the humanities. This kind of critical orientation allows students to explore the complex human-to-human relations and the <a href="http://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/research-news/2017/2017-09/human-vs-machine.html">human to robotic relations</a> that we are already encountering and that will become ever more common.
This isn’t to suggest that only the humanities are relevant. Cross-disciplinary communities of researchers and educators matter and will matter now more than ever.
This is particularly true in South Africa where the education system hasn’t provided for the breaking down of boundaries between the sciences, let alone between the disciplines in the humanities. Collectively we will need to do more when it comes to drawing on approaches from various disciplines, which will allow for quantitative reasoning, problem solving and systems thinking that are socially relevant.
Such partnerships are already happening in small pockets, and are yielding promising results.
<h2>Collaborating and mutuality</h2>
For instance, the Faculty of Humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg collaborates with the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment to offer a <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/wsoa/digital-arts/undergraduate/game-design-/">joint undergraduate programme</a> that meshes engineering with arts to make a programme in game design and digital arts.
Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Engineering students work alongside each other in courses that are team-taught to design innovative high tech games. It’s not all fun: games, after all, are a means of challenging ourselves, controlling outcomes, competing, and figuring out successful strategies of doing things.
Students from this programme draw on a variety of skills like problem solving, inferential thinking and visualisation. They have produced games that are frequently downloaded from various app stores.
Similarly, the university’s faculties of science and humanities offer a postgraduate programme on <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/course-finder/postgraduate/humanities/e-science/">e-Science</a> or Data Science. The programme brings together science and humanities students and staff to work on complex, big data problems. They’re also taught to think of ways to visualise and communicate this information and to question the predictive powers of big data.
Students are exposed to various interdisciplinary approaches like statistical computing and modelling, data visualisation, text analysis, and geographical information systems. Master of Arts students take courses in data privacy and ethics alongside MSc students. This course is team-taught and students engage with complex problems from two or more science and humanities disciplines.
These and other examples of innovative teaching and learning help to disrupt the current techno talk that dominates conversations about the fourth industrial revolution. It’s essential that we bring our ideas to the fore and reshape the conversations in ways that resonate with who we are, where we are located and what this means for us and our futures.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103925/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ruksana-osman-170385">Ruksana Osman</a>, Professor and Dean of Humanities, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-the-witwatersrand-894">University of the Witwatersrand</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-humanities-can-equip-students-for-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-103925">original article</a>.

Can the humanities prepare African students for the fourth industrial revolution?

By World Bank 
WASHINGTON, October 3, 2018 — Sub-Saharan African economies are still recovering from the slowdown in 2015-16, but growth is slower than expected, according to the October 2018 issue of <a href="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/WB_AfricasPulse_Fall2018_vol18_Web.pdf">Africa’s Pulse, the bi-annual analysis of the state of African economies by the World Bank</a>. The average growth rate in the region is estimated at 2.7 percent in 2018, which represents a slight increase from 2.3 percent in 2017.
“The region’s economic recovery is in progress but at a slower pace than expected,” said Albert Zeufack, World Bank Chief Economist for Africa. “To accelerate and sustain an inclusive growth momentum, policy makers must continue to focus on investments that foster human capital, reduce resource misallocation and boost productivity. Policymakers in the region must equip themselves to manage new risks arising from changes in the composition of capital flows and debt.”
Slow growth is partially a reflection of a less favorable external environment for the region. Global trade and industrial activity lost momentum, as metals and agricultural prices fell due to concerns about trade tariffs and weakening demand prospects. While oil prices are likely to be on an upward trend into 2019, metals prices may remain subdued amid muted demand, particularly in China. Financial market pressures intensified in some emerging markets and concern about their dollar-denominated debt has risen amid a stronger US dollar.
The slower pace of the recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa (0.4 percentage points lower than the April forecast) is explained by the sluggish expansion in the region’s three largest economies, Nigeria, Angola, and South Africa. Lower oil production in Angola and Nigeria offset higher oil prices, and in South Africa, weak household consumption growth was compounded by a contraction in agriculture.  Growth in the region &#8211; excluding Angola, Nigeria and South Africa &#8211;  was steady. Several oil exporters in Central Africa were helped by higher oil prices and an increase in oil production. Economic activity remained solid in the fast-growing non-resource-rich countries, such as Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, and Rwanda, supported by agricultural production and services on the production side, and household consumption and public investment on the demand side.
Public debt remained high and continues to rise in some countries. Vulnerability to weaker currencies and rising interest rates associated with the changing composition of debt may put the region’s public debt sustainability further at risk. Other domestic risks include fiscal slippage, conflicts, and weather shocks. Consequently, policies and reforms are needed that can strengthen resilience to risks and raise medium-term potential growth.
This issue of Africa’s Pulse highlights sub-Saharan Africa’s lower labor productivity and potentials for improvement “Reforms should include policies which encourage investments in non-resource sectors, generate jobs and improve the efficiency of firms and workers,” said Cesar Calderon, Lead Economist and Lead author of the report.

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The risks in Somalia’s growing mobile money market

What this East African needs to do to ensure oil industry benefits for its citizens

What you need to know about Angola securing a $2 billion infrastructure financing from China

This is what Sanlam has achieved in its 100 years of investing in Africa

Mohammed Dewji, Africa’s youngest billionaire, kidnapped in Tanzania

World Bank, IMF support Zimbabwe’s plans to clear more than $2 billion in foreign arrears, what you need to know

Deliberate train fires in this African country are costing state owned rail service $42.5 million

South Africa’s finance minister to be investigated by country’s anti-graft body, what you need to know

How Continental Tyre’s values are creating value

Nigeria’s central bank responds to MTN with a counterclaim, what you need to know…

OpEd: The outlook for the legislative election in Gabon

Can the humanities prepare African students for the fourth industrial revolution?

Sub-Saharan Africa is not growing as fast as expected, here’s why

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Special Report

What you need to know about Google launching Motorbike Mode navigation in Kenya, first for Africa

Why Kenya’s Safaricom lost 1.6 percent of its telecom subscribers’ market share in Q2

Why South Africa’s Nedbank is buying back shares from minority shareholders

What South Africa needs to do to create jobs

The risks in Somalia’s growing mobile money market

What this East African needs to do to ensure oil industry benefits for its citizens

What you need to know about Angola securing a $2 billion infrastructure financing from China

This is what Sanlam has achieved in its 100 years of investing in Africa

Mohammed Dewji, Africa’s youngest billionaire, kidnapped in Tanzania

World Bank, IMF support Zimbabwe’s plans to clear more than $2 billion in foreign arrears, what you need to know

Deliberate train fires in this African country are costing state owned rail service $42.5 million

South Africa’s finance minister to be investigated by country’s anti-graft body, what you need to know

How Continental Tyre’s values are creating value

Nigeria’s central bank responds to MTN with a counterclaim, what you need to know…

OpEd: The outlook for the legislative election in Gabon

Can the humanities prepare African students for the fourth industrial revolution?

Sub-Saharan Africa is not growing as fast as expected, here’s why

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