The country was the last to suspend soccer activities and have made official the day when teams will return to the pitch. Burundi Football Federation (BFF) has set May 21 as the date when football action will resume.
BFF was the last African federation to halt soccer activities due to the novel Covid-19 pandemic. The announcement means Burundi is the first East African country to have an official day when football matches will be allowed back.
Matches had been allowed to go on in the land-locked country with fans allowed too but after taking temperature tests and sanitizing their hands before every match outside the stadiums.
Before the suspension, Le Messager was leading in Ligue A, 57 points ahead of Musongati who had 51 points although they had played fewer matches.
Lydia Lucic, Ngozi City and Les Lierres were occupying the last three spots in the 16-table team and each will now have a chance to fight for survival as football activities are all but certain to return.
When BFF suspended the leagues, Ligue A had three matches on the card to the conclusion of the season. The latest development means even the Presidential Cup, which was headed into the penultimate stage, will be concluded naturally.
Tanzania’s matches were suspended in mid-March could be the second East African country to see a resumption of action including the Vodacom Premier League (VPL).
The Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) and the Premier League Board (TPLB) are working on modalities that will provide guidelines when matches will tentatively resume in the first week of June.
While Burundi has stated their date of resumption, neighbors Rwanda will have to wait for a further government directive and this is according to the Federation of Rwanda Football Association (Ferwafa).
Uganda, whose season had five matches to end, has not given any update so far as to how they would like to end the Premier League and the lower competitions.
Vipers SC were top with 54 points against defending champions KCCA FC’s tally of 54. There is also the Uganda Cup which was far from being concluded.
In Kenya, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) cancelled all leagues declared champions, promoted and relegated teams. The decision has ruffled feathers especially for certain Kenyan Premier League (KPL) managers who have vowed to reverse the decision.
Burundi first East African country to confirm date of football resumption
Not Just Another Conversation About Women
In the next session of Crisis Management for African Business Leaders webinar series, Africa.com Chair and CEO, Teresa Clarke will lead a panel of influential women from a range of sectors. ‘Women are Proving to Be Great Leaders During COVID-19. Is this the Pathway to Power?’, led by Clarke promises to move from a conversation to action. Be certain to join the webinar for a special announcement that will impact women across the continent.
In addition to public sector leaders like Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Under Secretary of the United Nations and Executive Director of the UN Women (and former Deputy President of South Africa), and private sector leaders like Anne Juuko, Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank Uganda, the panel will feature a dynamic young activist from Zambia, Natasha Mwansa. Mwansa is the youngest recipient of the Global Health Leaders award worldwide awarded by the World Health Organization, in recognition of her work towards adolescent health for over six years and after her awe striking speech on what young people want, during the opening of the 72nd World Health Assembly.
The full line up of speakers is as follows:
- Oby Ezekwesili, Senior Economic Advisor, Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative
- Anne Juuko, Chief Executive, Stanbic Bank, Uganda
- Suzan Kereere, Global Head Merchant Sales & Acquiring, Visa Inc.
- Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women
- Natasha Wang Mwansa, Women Deliver, Young Leader
Banks submit proposal for NBE to freeze interest rates
As per the recommendation of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) to respond for the effect of COVID 19 banks are submitting their proposal for the central bank, Capital learned.
NBE proposed for banks to come up with their own initiative to mitigate the effect on their clients mainly for those who are highly affected because of the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The effect of the virus in the country is growing in the past few days after the country expands its laboratory test capacity. However the economic effect of the virus is started to be observed in Ethiopia since the outbreak was reported on March 13.
According to sources early this week NBE requested banks to come up with their responses until Friday May 8.
Based on that banks have submitted their proposal on how to contribute to the mitigation strategy for their clients.
Currently banks have rescheduled and rearranged their loan portfolio. Few weeks ago the central bank has waived its strong rules, mainly for loans, to support banks actions to solve challenges in the economy.
Since then almost all banks rescheduled the loan settlement and postpone periods. A bank president that Capital asked about the situation stated that banks rescheduled loans almost for every customer who demands that since NBE supported the idea.
Based on the new initiative that banks taking as per the recommendation of NBE they are also freezing interests for businesses that are mainly affected by the global pandemic.
One of the private banks’ president, who demands anonymity told Capital that his bank has decided to cut interest rates for sectors like hospitality and tourism for three months.
He said that relatively his bank is young and has limited capacity compared with oldest private banks, to freeze interest for months will cost his bank millions of birr.
It shows that how much economically affected companies get relief on the lift of interests.
At the same time Dereje Zebene, President of Zemen Bank, disclosed of Friday that his bank has lifted interest rates from 0.5 percent to 3 percent for sectors in the hotel, tourism and manufacturing.
The interest cut for the stated industries will remain for two months until June 30.
He reminded that his bank freeze interest rates for horticulture industry for three months until the end of the financial year that will be closed June 30.
Capital learned that other banks has also taken similar measures and disclosed for NBE.
Recently the Addis Ababa Hotel Owners Association disclosed that because of the pandemic the hospitality industry is losing USD 35 million every month and majority of them are linked with bank loans.
Recently Capital reported that the private sector is looking for banks to cut the interest rate on some percentage besides rescheduling the loan settlement period.
This move is appreciated by the private sector particularly by the manufacturing industry actors. They said that the situation has indirectly forced their activity besides direct effects related with the importation of raw material since some of the resource centers globally are closed.
“Our business is not as usual because of shifting of consumers to basic commodities and suspension of some economic activities,” one of the manufacturing industry operators told Capital.
“We were looking some measures besides loan reschedule the current measures shall support us to continue to cover at least wages” other industrialist engaged on heavy industry said.
Currently the central bank has established a vehicle for banks to access temporarily liquidity with 13 percent payment.
Banker stated that the interest rate by any measurement is very high.
IMF insists on birr depreciation
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urge Ethiopia to accelerate the birr depreciation; while the government said it will do that with caution. It has also urged the authorities to closely monitor the impact of COVID-19 on financial stability.
In its recently published COVID 19 related document, IMF provided further support to stabilize the balance of payment and push the debt service and said that the government needs to increase the pace of depreciation.
“Increasing the pace of depreciation would help reduce real overvaluation and act as a shock absorber during the crisis (COVID 19),” the IMF document said. It added that the authorities underscored continued commitment to closing the gap with the parallel rate to eventually move to a market-clearing exchange rate but signaled a need to continue moving with caution.
The document of IMF also stated that the government remains committed to the objectives of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Extended Financing Facility (EFF) arrangements that have been supporting Ethiopia’s economic reform program since December 2019.
It added that while much of the focus in the near term will be on responding to the fallout of the crisis, the authorities underscored that they will continue to further the reform agenda.
“The government officials has highlighted their commitment to gradually ending financial repression by increasing T-bill issuances, ceasing new National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) financing to the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) in June, and gradually reducing direct NBE advances to the government,” it said.
“They also remain committed to implementing the FX roadmap to be finalized by end-April, which is last month, to lay the groundwork for an eventual move to a market-clearing exchange rate,” it added.
Ethiopia disclosed that it will arrange the exchange rate policy and indicated that the possibility of market based exchange rate might be introduced.
The fund has also recommended the government to closely follow the financial conditions at banks that they are getting some support from the central bank to stabilize their liquidity in related with the case of corona virus.
The central bank provided 15 billion birr (0.45 percent of GDP) for private banks few weeks ago and allowed them to access finance with 13 percent interest rate to solve their liquidity challenge. “The measure (providing the 15 billion birr) aimed at addressing tight liquidity conditions that had arisen prior to COVID-19 and aids banks in repaying some of the 1 month loans previously provided through the Individual Bank Lending Facility-introduced in February-for the same purpose,” IMF said.
The document said that NBE is also planning to extend 16 billion birr (0.5 percent of GDP) in liquidity to the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), the stated owned financial enterprise. It said IMF supported the decision to build adequate liquidity buffers but emphasized the need to ensure that NBE lending to the CBE reflects the terms available to private banks and avoids implicit solvency support.
“NBE has appropriately provided liquidity to banks to maintain financial stability. Once the crisis abates, monetary policy will need to be tightened significantly to achieve the single-digit inflation objective. Strong efforts are needed to address the real overvaluation of the exchange rate, allowing the exchange rate to act as a shock absorber,” IMF said.
It said that the government is encouraging banks to reschedule loan repayments, currently on a case by- case basis, but have not changed loan classification rules and recommended close monitoring of liquidity positions, loan-to-deposit ratios, and asset quality. “In particular, there is an urgent need to step up monitoring of deposits and bank liquidity, as well as frequent supervisory review and reassessment of banks’ loan portfolios during the crisis,” it said.
It also emphasized the need to consider policy options to deal with potential further bank liquidity shortages, such as strengthening the framework for emergency lending and adjusting reserve requirements.
Regarding debt condition the fund elaborated that the joint World Bank–IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) shows that debt is sustainable. “However, liquidity pressures to service external debt have increased, the room to absorb shocks is now smaller than at program approval due to lower export projections, and a large or more persistent impact of the COVID-19 shock than presently assumed could further worsen the outlook,” it said.
On the domestic front, public debt remains vulnerable to contingent liability shocks, including those stemming from public banks, it says “Despite severe losses due to COVID-19, Ethiopian Airlines intends to continue servicing its debt and does not have plans to seek government support.”
A week ago the IMF Executive Board has approved USD 411 million emergency assistance for Ethiopia under the Rapid Financing Instrument to support the country on the way to fight COVID 19.
The Board has also approved Ethiopia’s request for relief under the CCRT on debt service falling due to the IMF until October 13, 2020 of about USD 12 million. This relief could be extended up to April 13, 2022, subject to the availability of resources under the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT).
