Volker Perthes, KHARTOUM – Investing in Sudan may sound like a strange idea, given that the country has long been marred by civil war and intercommunal conflict, crippled by sanctions, and, until recently, ruled by a president facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Nonetheless, the French government has invited Sudan’s political leadership, as […]
Jayati Ghosh, NEW DELHI – The Biden administration’s decision to stop opposing a proposed COVID-19 waiver of certain intellectual property rights under World Trade Organization rules is a welcome move. The US Trade Representative acknowledges that “the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures.” While affirming that it “believes strongly in intellectual property protections,” the Biden […]
Gernot Wagner, NEW YORK – Like most worthwhile pursuits, reducing carbon pollution comes with costs. If it didn’t, climate change wouldn’t be a problem in the first place – at least not from a narrow economic perspective. But climate change, and what it demands of us, is also a deeply political issue. Now that the […]
Minxin Pei, CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA – Despite their increasingly bitter rivalry, the United States and China have recently been sending the right signals regarding potential cooperation on combating climate change. The joint statement issued after the mid-April meeting between John Kerry, US special presidential envoy for climate, and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, indicates that the two governments may […]
Berbera is set to become a major trade and logistics corridor following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) linking Ethiopia to the Somaliland trade city. On Thursday, the Dubai-based ports operator DP World and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Transport signed an agreement to develop the road linking Ethiopia to Berbera in Somaliland into a trade and […]
J. Bradford DeLong, BERKELEY – The financial and economic news in the United States lately has been dominated by concerns about inflation. “Runaway inflation is the biggest risk facing investors, Leuthold’s Jim Paulsen warns,” according to the cable news channel CNBC. As a potential hedge against inflation, “Bitcoin’s time to shine is fast approaching,” reports Fortune’s Robert Hackett. […]
Melvyn B. Krauss, STANFORD – If America’s allies were concerned by President Joe Biden’s remarks on foreign policy in his address to Congress on April 28, they had every right to be. Although Biden’s domestic economic agenda could not have been less Trumpian – higher taxes on the wealthy and a substantial expansion of the social safety […]
Today, AirQo of Makerere University, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) in collaboration with the US Mission Kampala join the rest of the world to commemorate the 15th annual Air Pollution and Air Quality Awareness Week (AQAW) 2021. Held under the theme “Healthy air – Important for everyone!”, the […]
Airtel Uganda, The Smartphone Network with the widest 4G internet coverage across the country, has today awarded 34 Franchise Partners with certificates upon completing a 3-day business training at the Inaugural Airtel Franchise Partner Development Programme. The Airtel Franchise Partner Development Programme is part of Airtel’s strategic corporate social responsibility initiative aimed to equip Franchise […]
KAMPALA, May 5, 2021 – President Yoweri Museveni has today commissioned six industries (or companies) in Kampala Industrial and Business Park, Namanve, operated by Uganda Investment Authority (UIA). The six, Mada Holdings Limited, Crown Packaging Industries, Picfare Industries Limited and Tian Tang Group with subsidiaries Tiang Tang Mixing Plant, Yaya Children’s Products Manufacturing Company Limited […]
Abidjan, 6 May 2021 – The African Development Bank has welcomed a report published by the UK House of Commons’ International Development Committee on Britain’s support to the African Development Bank Group. The report was prepared by the Sub-Committee on the Work of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI). The report recognises the Bank’s effectiveness […]
AGRA has announced a partnership with Aceli Africa to enhance capital flows to SMEs in the agriculture sector and support a financially inclusive agricultural transformation across Africa. AGRA and Aceli have signed a letter of intent committing to jointly work together to test and scale up innovations that substantially drive down the cost and risk of financing SMEs in the agriculture space. Aceli Africa is a market incentive facility that offers financial incentives to […]
Shang-Jin Wei, NEW YORK – While many central banks are still investigating the possibility of issuing a digital currency, China has rolled out a digital currency via a series of pilot programs since last year. The eRMB (my term as opposed to the more awkward official DC/EP) by itself will not help the renminbi to […]