AfDB with GEF support continues to strengthen resilience to climate change in Africa

Lagos, Nigeria (Capital Markets in Africa) — The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) approved USD 35 million in funding to improve climate resilience to be channeled through the African Development Bank for programs in Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Zambia, in addition to one which spans several countries. The announcement was made at the recent 48th session of the GEF Council Meeting during which the largest GEF work program in its 23 years of history – USD 709…

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Moody’s Affirms Zambia’s B1 Sovereign Rating, Changes Outlook to Negative

Moody’s Affirms Zambia’s B1 Sovereign Rating, Changes Outlook to Negative

Lusaka, Zambia (Capital Markets in Africa) — Global rating agency Moody’s has downgraded Zambia’s economic outlook rating from stable to negative on account of deteriorating debt metrics,” as evidenced by a rapidly rising debt burden and increasing debt servicing costs” amongst other drivers. In a statement, Moody’s observed that there was a trend of missed fiscal targets that point to high execution risks for the current deficit reduction plan to arrest the upward debt trajectory,…

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Zambia’s 2015 fiscal deficit to exceed 4.6 pct of GDP: official

LUSAKA (Reuters) – Zambia’s fiscal deficit will exceed the targeted 4.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2015 due to weaker copper prices and changes to the mining tax regime, a senior Treasury official said on Friday. Mike Masiye, the director of budget in the ministry of finance, said copper prices had collapsed to around $6,000 per tonne from about $6,780 when the budget was formulated. Africa’s second-largest copper producer would also lose revenue after…

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Zambia to export 800,000 T of white maize to neighbouring states

LUSAKA (Reuters) – Zambia plans to export 800,000 tonnes of white maize to neighbouring countries after producing its biggest ever harvest, leaving the southern African nation with a large surplus, the agriculture minister said on Monday. Given Lubinda said on Hot FM Radio that Zambia had a surplus of over 1.1 million tonnes of white maize after its harvest rose by a third, to 3.3 million tonnes in the 2013/2014 (October-April) season compared with the…

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Zambia central bank to address volatile kwacha

LUSAKA (Reuters) – Zambia’s central bank will take measures to deal with the volatility in the kwacha’s exchange rate against the dollar, including tightening liquidity in the market, new Governor Denny Kalyalya said on Friday. The kwacha turned on his comments, firming by 1.3 percent to 7.55, having earlier fallen more than 1.1 percent against the greenback. The currency weakened to a record low of 7.7500 on Thursday. The local unit has fallen about 20…

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