Middle East & Africa round-up: World Bank urges better management of public funds in Zimbabwe, and more

21 Aug 15

A round-up of recent public finance stories from the Middle East & Africa you might have missed.

World Bank urges better management of public funds in Zimbabwe

A senior financial management specialist at the World Bank has called for better management of public sector funds after Zimbabwe scored 21 on a public sector corruption index. The index measures on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). (News Day)

Ghana countering doctor strike by bringing in 170 Cuban medics

Ghana is going to bring in about 170 Cuban doctors to work at health facilities amid a doctors' strike, the health minister said Wednesday. (Fox News Latino)

Nigeria adopts unorthodox measures to defend the naira

The Nigerian government has resorted to chopping down trees lining the streets of its capital to thwart black market money changers, one of a range of unorthodox measures it is deploying to defend its weakening currency. (The Financial Times)

South Africa: government ICT spending to top R15 billion

Government spending on information and communications technology (ICT) is projected to top R15bn as pressure mounts to meet national broadband goals, a report has found. (All Africa)

Saudi, UAE growth forecasts raised for 2015, cut for 2016, according to a poll

Analysts have raised their forecasts for this year's growth in the two biggest Gulf Arab economies but cut predictions for next year because of the outlook for oil output, according to a Reuters poll published on Thursday. (Reuters)

US grants Liberia $257m to get its only power plant working

The US government is to grant Liberia $257m to help the Ebola-ravaged country get its only power plant working again. (Global Construction Review)

Ugandan government spending swells as election approaches

BLOG: Facing a tough re-election campaign, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni appears to be trying to improve his odds of winning through lavish government spending. (Wall Street Journal)

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