Africa Briefs

Somalia: IMF supports debt relief

International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Saturday that she supports Somalia's efforts to achieve debt relief through the global lender's Highly Indebted Poor Country programme.

In a statement issued after her meeting in Washington with Somali prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire, Georgieva said Somalia was committed to making further reforms despite challenging circumstances, which were aimed at paving the way for debt relief.

The African nation has about US$4.7 billion in external debt, accounting for about 100% of its GDP, which the Fund has declared to be unsustainable.

In addition to specific benchmarks that must be met, additional grants are needed to address the country's debt arrears, Jihad Azour, director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department, told reporters.

Somali finance minister Abdirahman Duale Beileh said during an event at the Brookings Institution think tank that he expected a decision on debt relief in February 2020. – Nampa/Reuters

Protests against Madagascar's 'new city'

Clashes broke out between police and protesters in Madagascar overnight after stone-throwing demonstrators stormed the construction site of a controversial urban expansion project, police said Friday.

Madagascar's government has launched the construction of a shiny new urban complex meant to unclog the capital Antananarivo - a city wedged between the hills of the island-nation's central highlands.

The Tana-Masoandra project, dubbed "the new sun - the new city", is expected to house government buildings, businesses and 100 000 inhabitants. Connected to Antananarivo via bridge, the 1 000-hectare project will encroach on rice fields and brickyards surrounding the capital.

While only 36% of Madagascar's 26 million people live in urban areas, the majority live in Antananarivo, home to between 1.5 and three million.

The government has refused to disclose the cost of the Tana-Masoandra project, which is expected to be completed in 2024. – Nampa/AFP

Libya estimates budget less than US$34 bn

Libya's 2020 budget is estimated at slightly less than 48 billion Libyan dinars (US$34 billion), the UN-backed administration said on Thursday, a day after it sharply hiked kerosene prices as part of a reforms programme.

In a statement to Reuters, the economy ministry said the budget, to be ready in December to take effect when the year starts, "will be balanced and there is no deficit or public debt".

Imbalances will be addressed within the budget itself without borrowing, the ministry said. The budget for 2019, or "financial arrangement", was US$33.83 billion - agreed after months of wrangling.

Since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi's regime in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, oil-rich Libya has slid into chaos and has had no proper budget as rival administrations vie for power.

The ministry said an offensive on Tripoli by eastern Libyan forces has had "a significant and negative impact" on economic reforms since the fighting began in April. – Nampa/Reuters