| Welcome to Next Africa, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it's headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. Members of South Africa's coalition government have been wrangling for weeks about the national budget and are running out of time to strike a deal. On Wednesday, lawmakers are due to vote on the nation's fiscal framework that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana proposed last month. The African National Congress, the biggest party in the alliance, lacks the numbers to pass the budget on its own and has so far failed to persuade its main partner to back it — although talks remain ongoing.  Godongwana presents his revised budget to parliament in Cape Town on March 12. Photographer: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg The Democratic Alliance has objected to plans to raise the value-added tax rate by 1 percentage point over two years and accuses the minister of not doing enough to fire up the economy. The country's second-largest party also wants a contentious land-expropriation law to be reworked and private companies to be enlisted help run the main ports — demands the ANC says fall outside the budget process. If a compromise isn't reached and parliament fails to approve the fiscal plans, the finance minister will have to revise them again (he has already done so once before). The law allows for some interim funding to be made available for up to four months if they are rejected. That would enable the government to continue providing essential services, but there's a risk the implementation of other programs will be delayed. President Cyril Ramaphosa could call early elections if the deadlock persists, while there's also scope for the Constitutional Court to intervene and compel parliament to approve an emergency budget. The biggest risk, though, to investor sentiment is that the unity government folds. That could see the ANC seeking a pact with more populist parties, including the Economic Freedom Fighters, which espouses widespread nationalization. The fledging coalition is facing its toughest test yet and leaders need to find each other fast if it's to endure. — Ntando Thukwama Key stories and opinion:
Rand Slips as Standoff Over South African Budget Nags Investors
South Africa's DA Slams ANC Lack of Compromise Over Budget
Standard Bank Sees South African Coalition Surviving Budget Saga
Budget Fiasco Is a Lesson for South Africa's ANC: Justice Malala
South Africa Proposes Smaller VAT Hike to End Budget Impasse Please note that Bloomberg's inaugural Next Africa event with speakers including Parks Tau, South Africa's trade minister, has been postponed to April 10. Please message gbell16@bloomberg.net if you would like to join the discussion. South Sudan, the world's newest nation, stands on the brink of another civil war. Vice President Riek Machar's party warned that his house arrest last week collapsed a 2018 peace deal that ended a six-year conflict following independence from Sudan in 2011. Machar's detention signals severe strain in his relations with President Salva Kiir, with whom he has shared power since the war ended. Tensions have escalated since early last month, when a militia loyal to Machar overran a military base.  Salva Kiir. Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images The Chinese government said three of its nationals kidnapped by suspected pirates while fishing off the coast of Ghana have been safely recovered. Seven armed men boarded a boat off the West African nation's coast on March 27, fired warning shots and seized the crew's mobile phones, according to Ghana's military. The vessel's captain, chief mate and chief engineer were then abducted. Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso introduced tariffs on imports from neighboring countries, ending a decades-long regime of free movement of goods in West Africa. The 0.5% levy takes effect immediately, according to a decree signed by Mali's military leader Assimi Goita. The revenue will help finance projects such as an investment bank and a planned railway within the Alliance of Sahel States, as the confederation between the three junta-led states is known.  A billboard reading: "General Assimi is for Mali what General de Gaulle was for France" in Bamako, Mali's capital. Photographer: AFP/Getty Images Calls by Emmerson Mnangagwa's opponents for Zimbabweans to protest against any bid to extend his tenure as president beyond his current term went largely unheeded. Harare, the capital, and Bulawayo, the second-largest city, were both quiet on Monday as the police stepped up their presence in anticipation of unrest. While Mnangagwa's supporters pushed through a resolution at a ruling party conference in October calling for him to stay in power beyond 2028, he has said he will step down after the nation's next elections. Angola's stock exchange confirmed Cristina Dias Lourenço as its new chief executive officer. The daughter of the country's president was appointed for a four-year term. The move takes place as the government prepares to sell stakes in its biggest telecommunications company, Unitel, through an initial public offering and two lenders in the coming months. There are also plans to sell shares in state-owned oil company Sonangol and diamond firm Endiama.  Sonangol's refinery in Luanda, Angola's capital. Photographer: AFP/Getty Images Weeks after US President Donald Trump's administration gutted aid programs, canceling billions of dollars of funding used to fight HIV, South African mining companies are stepping in to fill the gap. The health department asked the firms to consider helping distribute drugs and be more involved in community outreach services, according to the Minerals Council, an industry group, with talks planned for this week. Discovery, the country's largest medical-insurance provider, has offered technical support. Thank you for your responses to our weekly Next Africa Quiz and congratulations to Sammy Kibet who was first to identify Ethiopia as the African nation whose prime minister invited residents to submit nominations for a regional president by email. Mozambique's dollar bonds slid after Moody's Ratings cut its assessment of the southeast African nation's local currency debt and warned of a severe liquidity crunch. "Liquidity pressures for Mozambique have been elevated in the past two years and increased further due to the combined effect of debt-refinancing needs and the economic and fiscal impact of the social unrest following the early October general elections," the ratings company said. "Mozambique's fiscal and external vulnerabilities remain elevated due to high debt." Thanks for reading. We'll be back in your inbox with the next edition on Friday. Send any feedback to mcohen21@bloomberg.net | 
No comments:
Post a Comment