Blog

Egypt

Egypt’s economy grew 5.3% in the fiscal year to June 2018 from 4.2% in 2017 as the country continued its recovery through painful years of reforms, largely prompted by conditions of a US$12bn International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan. The 2016 floating of the Egyptian pound saw it immediately devalue by 50%, while inflation soared and import prices became prohibitive. At the same time, the government introduced value-added tax and withdrew fuel and food subsidies.

Democratic Republic of the Congo'

The December 30 2018 election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which was widely acknowledged to have been rigged, declared Felix Tshisekedi as the winner over Martin Fayulu, who got the most votes. It is understood that Tshisekedi’s election was the result of a deal made with former president Joseph Kabila, whose rule since 2001 was characterised by conflict, corruption, authoritarian rule and human rights abuses.

Guinea

Guinea’s mining industry has been one of the main drivers of its economic growth and of the significant increase in mineral exports from the West Africa region. West African countries exported US$16.1bn of minerals in 2017, 26.3% more than in the previous year, largely due to the large increase in exports from Guinea, whose mining sector continues to grow apace.

Eswatini

The new prime minister of the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) has been quick to announce a raft of austerity measures and a fight against corruption in the economically-depressed country. Prime minister Ambrose Dlamini, formerly the head of MTN’s operations in the country, was appointed by King Mswati in late October, soon after September elections, where political parties are not allowed. Dlamini’s appointment was followed by the appointment of six royal family members to the House of Assembly and eight to the Senate, according to reports.

Tanzania

The European Union’s 5 November recall of its ambassador to Tanzania, based on “the deterioration of the human rights and rule of law situation” in the country, highlights growing concerns about its government’s crackdown on human rights and an increasingly difficult investment environment. Since assuming power in 2015, president John Magufuli has made significant changes and reforms including reducing bloated government, improving tax collection and reining in on tax evasion.

Glass is natural and sustainable, two characteristics that are listed as industry strengths in our recently published report on the manufacturing of glass. An opportunity for the sector is the rising consumer anti-plastic sentiment. In the last 65 years the world has produced 8.5 billion tons of plastic, half of that in the last 13 years, and only 9% of the waste has been recycled