🔅 Tragedy in Uganda, Mali's UN Controversy, Nigeria's Reform Path, Global Income Inequality, and President Lula's African Journey
A tragic school attack in Uganda, Mali's ongoing dispute with the UN, Nigeria's economic reform initiatives, the evolving dynamics of global income inequality, and more.
Photo of the day: Cankuzo, Burundi
Markets — Year to Date:
🟢 Nigerian SE: 59,000.96 (+15.12%)
🟢 Johannesburg SE: 78,531.81 (+7.51%)
🟢 Ghana SE: 2,646.29 (+8.28%)
🔴 Nairobi SE: 100.35 (-21.28)
🟢 US S&P 500: 4,409.59 (+15.13%)
🟢 Shanghai Composite: 3,273.33 (+5.03%)
Tanzania's Budget: Tanzania is keeping the cash flowing—with a 7% overall spending increase for fiscal 2023/24. The country’s Finance Minister Mwigulu Nchemba said the bulk of the money will go towards railway construction, Air Tanzania, electricity production, and natural gas projects. To make it happen, Tanzania plans to collect 26.73 trillion shillings from taxes, 4.66 trillion shillings from non-tax revenue, 5.44 trillion shillings from domestic non-concessional sources, and 2.1 trillion shillings from external non-concessional sources. In addition, Nchemba also announced that electric vehicles will be exempt from value-added tax and excise duties. The goal is to promote the use of electricity and natural gas in Tanzania to save foreign reserves. Tanzania’s debt stock is at 79.10 trillion shilling and its economy is expected to grow 5.2% in 2023 from 4.7% last year.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five Highlights
🇺🇬 Ugandan School Attack: A Horror Story That's Not Quite Over Yet | It’s a tragedy of the worst kind: over 40 people, mostly students, were killed at a school in western Uganda by Islamic State-linked rebels. Another 8 people are in critical condition, and a number of students have been abducted. Bodies have been transferred to a nearby hospital, and DNA tests will need to be carried out to identify them. The attack was carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) - a Ugandan group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ugandan forces are currently pursuing the rebels towards the DRC’s Virunga National Park, while planes have been deployed to track the group. This is the first such attack on a Ugandan school in 25 years, and follows a similar attack last week in a village in the DRC near the Ugandan border.
🇲🇱 Mali's Minister Asks UN to Get Out | Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop is sending the UN a not-so-subtle message: Get out. He accused the UN’s Minusma peacekeeping force of “fuelling intercommunal tensions” and said it had become “a part of the problem”. Diop is also criticizing France’s involvement in the African nation and calling for the UN’s mandate to end on June 29th. The Foreign Minister’s move comes after reports of Russian mercenaries (the Wagner Group) assisting the Malian military. The US recently sanctioned the group’s top official in Mali, but the Russians have yet to comment on the allegations of human rights abuses. The UN is weighing its options, and the Special Envoy to Mali said it would be “challenging, if not impossible” to operate without the host country’s consent. But the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights accused the Malian Armed Forces and “foreign security personnel” of killing more than 500 people in a single village last year—a report both the Malian and Russian governments have condemned.
🇳🇬 Nigeria's Reforms Get Investors Excited | Is Nigeria finally ready to join the world of big-time investors? It looks like the country’s new president, Bola Tinubu, is taking some bold steps to make that happen. Since taking office less than a month ago, Tinubu has removed restrictions on the naira currency, removed subsidies on petrol prices, and suspended the controversial Central Bank chief. All this has investors pretty excited—but they’re still hesitant to put their money down. There’s still corruption and low tax receipts to worry about. Plus, the biggest provider of foreign exchange is still the Central Bank of Nigeria, so it’s unclear if they’ll be able to keep up with demand. Only time will tell if Tinubu can make good on his promises, but for now, investors are watching and waiting. And although his decisions may be a hit with them, that's not the case with locals, who are feeling the strain of rising petrol prices, inflation, and debt.
💰 Global Inequality At Historic Lows: Where Does Africa Fit In? | If you thought the US had the monopoly on wealth, think again. A recent report from Foreign Affairs shows that income inequality around the world has plummeted to levels not seen since the 1800s. That means that people in countries like India and China have been catching up to their American counterparts in terms of earnings—and fast. In 2018, for every 100 Americans earning more than the median US income, there were about 25 Chinese people earning that much. That number is only going to get bigger, with the number of Chinese people earning more than the US median predicted to surpass the number of Americans in the next 20-30 years. But the declining inequality isn't just because of China. It's also because of improvements in inequality between countries. In 1988, inequality between countries was at a high of 63, but it's now dropped to 47. As for Africa? It's not the greatest news. For the global Gini coefficient to keep dropping, Africa needs to get substantially richer—which isn't likely to happen anytime soon, according to this study. What are your thoughts?
🌍 President Lula's African Tour | The Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva is planning a grand tour of Africa. He’s packing his bags for a journey to eight African countries—South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Senegal, Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and São Tomé and Principe—to explore trade and business opportunities. The trip could potentially start in South Africa in August, where the BRICS summit will be held.
Food for Thought
“If you pick up one end of a stick, you also pick up the other.”
— Ethiopian Proverb.
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