Petrol price hike hits SA

JOHANNESBURG – South African petrol pump prices will increase by up to 29 cents a litre, or 3,4 per cent, tomorrow.

The department of energy said in a statement the pump price for 95 grade petrol would rise to 8.73 rand a litre in the main inland commercial region from 8.45 rand. The wholesale diesel price will also increase by 23,6 cents a litre, or 3,2 per cent, in the same region that includes Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria. Transport costs have a nearly 20 per cent weighting in the inflation basket, the second biggest item after housing and utilities category.
Mauritius hopes for 4% expansionPORT LOUIS – Mauritius expects its economy to grow by 4,2 per cent last year, slightly higher than a 4,1 per cent forecast issued in September, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has said. The statistics office said it had changed its estimate for 2010 based on results of the 2007 Census of Economic Activities. The revised forecast mirrors the central bank’s view that the Indian Ocean island nation’s economy will grow marginally more than forecast this year, driven by a robust second half recovery. Mauritius, whose economy is based on textiles, tourism, sugar and financial services, is likely to post similar growth this year, the CSO added.
Burundi spending up by double digitsBUJUMBURA – Burundi plans to increase government spending next year by 18,9 per cent to 1,026 trillion francs (US$831,8 million) to invest in the farm sector and raise output, its finance minister said. Clotilde Nizigama told parliament that he expected the economy to expand 4,5 per cent in 2011, up from an estimated 3,9 per cent in 2010. The coffee producing nation of eight million people relies heavily on external aid to fund its spending. In 2011, 51 per cent of the budget is likely to be funded by donors, and the government expects grants worth 469.1 billion francs this year against 356,6 billion francs in 2010. The deficit is projected to fall to 99,2 billion francs in 2011 from 136,5 billion francs in 2010.
Kenyan bank branches out to SudanNAIROBI – Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) expects a successful referendum in southern Sudan and an improved investment climate to allow it to double its branches there in the next five years, its chief executive said. Political stability and security in the south are likely to attract international investors who for now await the outcome of the referendum due on January 9, in which southerners are widely expected to choose independence. Ranked the largest bank in Kenya by assets, KCB hopes to have around 30 branches across the semi-autonomous south of Sudan by 2015 and 100 000 customers in the next three years, up from around 10 000 currently.
Tanzania targets GDP increase of 7%DAR ES SALAAM – Tanzania’s economy is expected to grow by 7,2 per cent in 2011 from an estimated 7,0 per cent last year due to a strong recovery after the global financial crisis, President Jakaya Kikwete has said. The government’s projections for the economy of east Africa’s second biggest economy beat the International Monetary Fund’s outlook for economic growth of 6,7 per cent in 2011. Tanzania, Africa’s fourth biggest gold producer, mainly depends on tourism, mining and agriculture and is increasingly attracting more investor interest in telecommunications, energy, manufacturing, financial services and transport.
Uganda’s inflation doublesKAMPALA – Uganda’s inflation rate increased to 3,1 per cent year-on-year in December from 1,4 per cent in November, the statistics office has said. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) said annual core inflation which excludes food crops, fuel, electricity and metered water, jumped to 4,8 per cent in December from 2,9 per cent a month earlier. The bureau attributed the rise to short supplies of the commodities in the face of higher demand during the holiday season.
Mining boosts Zambian growthLUSAKA – Zambia’s economy probably grew 7,1 per cent in 2010, the Central Statistics Office has said, topping a government forecast and helped by rising copper production as demand for the metal surged. Zambia is Africa’s biggest copper producer and the provisional economic growth estimate for 2010 beat the economy’s 6,4 per cent expansion last year. ‘This growth is likely driven by increased output in mining and quarrying, transport and communications, construction, agriculture, forestry and fishing, as well as wholesale and retail trade,’ the statistics office said in a statement. The southern African state has averaged five per cent annual growth over the last six years. Zambia aims to double the contribution of mining to gross domestic product by 2015 by attracting investment in the sector.China mines first uranium in NigerBEIJING – China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) has produced its first barrel of uranium in the Azelik mine in Niger. The mine, 37,2 per cent owned by China Uranium Corp, an overseas unit of CNNC, will be the first overseas uranium deposit developed by China once it goes into full operation next year. The Niger project would produce 700 tonnes per year, Chen Yuehui, deputy general manager of China Uranium Corp, said.More power from Cahora BassaMAPUTO – Mozambique’s Cahora Bassa hydro-electric dam raised its power generation capacity by 240 megawatts to 1 920 MW, the Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) company, which manages the plant, has said. The US$10,5 million upgrade of the dam, which supplies power to Mozambique and to neighbouring South Africa, was financed from the company’s own balance sheet. HCB said it would also begin an extensive rehabilitation and modernization of the company’s substation in the Songo district without giving more details.