TNT: Harambe: Zimbabwe Central Bank, Business Meet on Currency Fall, Mail Says | Bloomberg
(1/23/22)
Zimbabwe’s central bank and business leaders met Friday to explore ways to halt the plunge of the local currency against the US dollar, the state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper reported on Sunday.
Central Bank Governor John Mangudya said the main outcome was an agreement to increase demand for the local currency in order to boost its value, the Harare-based publication reported. No further details were provided on the specific measures adopted.
The local unit weakened 3.68% on the first day of official trade last week to Z$112 per US dollar. It trades for less on the parallel market at more than Z$200 per US dollar. The currency’s collapse is stoking inflation, which reached an annual 61% in December.
In an interview with Bloomberg News on January 18, Mangudya expressed reluctance to act to narrow a widening gap between the national currency’s official and black market rates, saying businesses are to blame for the disparity. LINK
Tishwash: Al-Rafidain reveals investment projects whose debts have been paid in full
Today, Sunday, Al-Rafidain Bank revealed the investment projects that were funded, granted the necessary loans, and paid their full amounts.
And the media office of the bank said in a statement received by (Al-Oula News), that “there are investment projects for which financial loans have been provided by the bank for the purpose of establishing and rehabilitating residential complexes, commercial centers and other service projects, and collecting the amounts of those loans. to pay off.”
He pointed out that “the projects are (Cairo Mall, Babil Land Housing Complex, Akad Mall, Durrat Karbala Residential Complex and Al-Massa Residential Complex) and the statement pointed out that the bank continues to support financial funds for investors and companies wishing to work in the market in order to strengthen the national economy and create job opportunities to eliminate unemployment. And moving the wheel of construction and reconstruction in the country link
Tishwash: Al-Kazemi’s advisor explains the impact of the budget delay on the Iraqi economy
The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, explained today, Monday, the impact of the delay in approving the budget on the Iraqi economy, indicating that the budget constitutes 50 percent of Iraq’s gross domestic product.
Saleh said in an interview with Shafak News Agency; “The financial system in Iraq is hedged by the financial management law in the event of any political emergency, delay or specific circumstance. The delay in approving the budget. The Financial Management Law replaces the budget law in managing the country’s financial affairs, which means regulating expenditures and revenues.”
He added, “The budget is an annual plan for a period of one year, and when there is no annual plan, the actual current expenditures for the past year are used, it repeats the old and adds 1 to 12 of the actual current expenditures of salaries, wages and continuous payment obligations, and it is called the minimum public financial matters.”
He continued, “This matter does not have planning and vision because there is no budget because the budget is planning, vision and goals, and therefore there will be a repetition of last year’s goals over the current year and you seek the issuance of the budget until your goals are achieved.”
Saleh pointed out that “whenever the financial budget is disrupted and months pass, it means that the goals of the financial budget are not achieved and the goals of the previous fiscal year are repeated, and thus new projects do not exist, new appointments do not exist and a commitment to develop government activity and government programs are disrupted, the market does not know its vision in any way.
A trend that will be because the budget is the essence of economic policy. Which direction will it go this year, will it be toward expansion or contraction or toward investments and projects?
Saleh stressed that “the market will remain in this case anxiety and a state of uncertainty for investor decisions and economic activity in the market,” noting that “the budget constitutes 50 percent of Iraq’s gross domestic product and its effects on the economy are 85 percent.”
Mustafa Al-Kazemi’s government stumbled by sending the budget law before the Iraqi parliament dissolved itself in preparation for early elections on October 10, 2021. link
Tishwash: Al-Kazemi affirms Iraq’s keenness to strengthen cooperation with the United States in a manner that preserves Iraq’s sovereignty
Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi receives the US ambassador to Iraq
The Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, received today, Monday, the US Ambassador to Iraq, Mr. Matthew Tueller and his accompanying delegation.
During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States, and prospects for expanding cooperation between the two countries in various fields.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister stressed Iraq’s keenness to enhance cooperation with the United States in the diplomatic and economic fields, in addition to security cooperation within the frameworks of advice, empowerment and intelligence support, and to preserve Iraq’s sovereignty.
For his part, Ambassador Tueller affirmed the United States’ support for Iraq’s efforts to enhance security and stability locally and regionally, as well as its support for the Iraqi government’s pursuit of financial and economic reform, which would reflect positively on opportunities for sustainable development and the prosperity of the Iraqi economy. Link
