Day: April 28, 2022

• A promising regional recovery has been disrupted by the war in Ukraine. Last year, activity surprised on the upside, lifting projected growth from 3.7 to 4.5 percent. But the war has introduced a new and tragic development, with the result that growth in 2022 will slow to 3.8 percent.

• The new crisis comes on top of an already-protracted pandemic, and prospects for borrowing costs and global demand are increasingly uncertain, presenting policy makers with a challenging and complicated policy outlook—one with rising needs, greater risks, and fewer options.

• Aside from accelerating vaccination, policymakers face three immediate priorities: i) addressing the local impact of the war; ii) balancing inflation versus growth; and iii) managing exchange-rate adjustment.

• Also, looking beyond the current set of crises, decisive policy action is needed to enhance economic diversification, promote regional integration (including through AfCFTA), unleash the private sector’s potential, and address the challenges posed by climate change. In all these areas, continued international solidarity and cooperation will remain vital. Washington, DC: A promising regional recovery has been disrupted by the war in Ukraine .

The recovery in sub-Saharan Africa picked up in the third quarter of 2021 and held up despite the onset of a fourth COVID-19 wave at the end of the year. Estimated growth in 2021 has been revised upward from 3.7 to 4.5percent.

Tragically, however, this progress has been offset by recent events. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered a sharp rise in commodity prices—straining the fiscal and external balances of commodity-importing countries and increasing food-security concerns across the region. As a result, economic activity is expected to slow to 3.8 percent this year , and is subject to an extraordinary range of risks, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa .

“The war in Ukraine has already reshaped the near-term outlook for sub-Saharan Africa,” stressed Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director of the IMF’s African Department. “The shock to global commodity markets will add to inflation, hit the region’s most vulnerable households, exacerbate food insecurity, raise poverty rates, and possibly add to social tensions.

Source International Monetary Fund

The UN human rights chief expressed outrage after dozens were killed in three days of violence in Sudan’s West Darfur, and demanded “impartial and independent” investigations into the attacks.

Michelle Bachelet called on Sudanese authorities to protect the population of West Darfur, following days of deadly fighting between Arab and non-Arab groups left at least 213 dead, according to an official toll from the state governor.

“I am appalled,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a Wednesday statement, pointing to the numerous deaths and injuries in Krink, a locality of nearly 500,000 people and mostly inhabited by the African Masalit tribe.

“I am concerned that this region continues to see repeated, serious incidents of intercommunal violence, with mass casualties,” she said. “While initial measures taken by the authorities to calm tensions are welcome, I urge the authorities to address the underlying causes of violence in this region and fulfil their responsibility to protect the population.”

Her comments came as the UN Security Council in New York prepared to hold an informal, closed-door meeting about the crisis.

The violence first broke out on Friday and escalated when armed men attacked villages of the non-Arab Masalit in retaliation for the killing of two tribesmen, according to the General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur, an independent aid group.

The UN rights office said that more than 1,000 armed members of the Arab Rzeigat community had attacked the town, and said at least eight men belonging to the African Masalit tribe and seven Arab men were killed that day alone.

The state governor blamed government forces tasked with securing Krink and its environs for “withdrawing without any justification” as the main attacks began early Sunday.

The UN rights office said that the Rzeigat assailants had taken control of the town for several hours on Sunday, looting and torching hundreds of shops and houses and opening fire on public buildings where many had sought shelter, including a hospital.

At least 151 people were killed, including at least 27 women and 17 children, it said. The fighting on Monday spread to Geneina, the provincial capital of West Darfur.

Witnesses have accused the Janjaweed militia of orchestrating the violence. The Janjaweed was an Arab militia which gained notoriety for its role in the repression of an ethnic minority rebellion in Darfur in the early 2000s under then autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Bachelet urged authorities to take immediate action to protect the population and assist the wounded and displaced, and get to the bottom of what had happened.

“I call on the Sudanese authorities to conduct prompt, thorough, impartial, and independent investigations into these attacks and hold all those responsible to account in accordance with international human rights law,” she said. “The victims and their families have a right to effective remedies.”

Source: Nam News Network

Moroccan Police on Wednesday seized 31 tonnes of cannabis in the northern city of Tangier in its largest-ever drug bust operation, official news agency MAP reported.

The operation raided a warehouse in the suburb of Tangier, where drugs were packaged for international smuggling, the report said.

One person, aged 61, known for his criminal record of international drug trafficking, was arrested, it said.

The banned substance, packaged in dozens of bags, was discovered inside a large refrigerated trailer, where they were wrapped and stuffed in a way that mimics the color and size of different types of fruits and vegetables.

Meanwhile, the Moroccan navy on Wednesday foiled an attempt to smuggle about 1.5 tonnes of cannabis off the coast of the Mediterranean city of Al Hoceima, reported the MAP.

The speedboat carrying the cannabis fleed after throwing the drugs into the sea.

Despite efforts to crack down on cannabis cultivation during the past decade, Morocco remains one of the world’s largest producers of the narcotic plant, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime

Source: Nam News Network

The Central African Republic (CAR) became the first African country to adopt cryptocurrency Bitcoin as legal tender.

Globally, the country is the second country to do so after El Salvador.

President Faustin Archange Touadera signed a bill into law after it had been approved by Members of Parliament unanimously.

The move means CAR will use bitcoin as legal tender alongside the CFA franc.

An official in the presidency said the move placed the CAR on the map of the world’s boldest and most visionary countries.

The country is a landlocked state in central Africa, it is rated one of the world’s poorest, having suffered devastating conflict in recent years.

It was under French control till independence in 1960.

Source: Nam News Network