Zimbabwe has started paying reparations to nations and farmers whose land was seized in the 2000s, a step toward the restructuring of its $21 billion debt pile, Bloomberg News reported. Initial disbursements were made to Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and the former Yugoslavia last month for 94 farms that were taken, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said. Fifty-six farmers from those countries, which had bilateral investment-protection agreements with Zimbabwe, were also paid. “Payments are being made to the claimant’s bank accounts of choice,” Ncube said in a statement on Friday.

South Africa's largest airline, FlySafair, has been given a year to reduce its foreign shareholding, or it risks having its license suspended, Business Insider Africa reported. If the airline fails to meet the deadline of a year from Jan. 23, it will be required to appear before the Domestic Air Services Council to explain why its license should not be revoked, according to a statement from the Department of Transport on Wednesday.

Kenya's central bank cut its main interest rate for the fourth meeting in a row on Wednesday, saying it wanted to do more to support lending and boost economic growth, Reuters reported. The Central Bank Rate was lowered by 50 basis points to 10.75%. The bank's Monetary Policy Committee also decided to cut the Cash Reserve Ratio - by 100 basis points, to 3.25% - and said it had started on-site inspections of banks to check they were passing on the benefits of lower funding costs to customers.

Uganda's police have detained nine finance ministry officials as part of an investigation into accusations of hacking the central bank's electronic systems that resulted in theft of 62 billion shillings ($16.87 million), the ministry and police said, Reuters reported. In November last year, State Minister for Finance Henry Musasizi confirmed reports in local media that the central bank's accounts had been hacked and money stolen.

Zimbabwe must be ready for the bitter medicine of higher taxes and spending cuts if it takes up a staff-monitored programme (SMP) with the IMF, the World Bank warns in a new report, according to NewzWire.live. Under an SMP, the IMF and Zimbabwe would agree on a set of economic programmes that the Fund would monitor. Zimbabwe and the IMF plan to open talks for the programme this quarter, as part of a broader bid by the government to please creditors and win a deal to restructure its debt arrears. This is a good idea, the World Bank says in the Zimbabwe Economic Update, launched Friday.

Ghana is negotiating with 60 international banks to rework $2.7 billion in loans, Minister of Finance Cassiel Ato Forson said on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported. The facilities constitute the last batch of debt that Ghana is restructuring under the terms of its $3 billion program with the International Monetary Fund, he told reporters in the capital, Accra. Ghana sought IMF help after debt ballooned and it could no longer service its obligations, forcing it into default in 2022.

Military company Paramount Industrial Holdings (PIH), a part of the Paramount group of companies, has filed for business rescue amid legal disputes within another division of the Paramount group. Despite this, other subsidiary companies in South Africa are expected to continue operating normally, Military.Africa reported. The PIH board made the decision to enter business rescue on 11 November.

Ghana’s new leader’s pick to be finance minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, said the West African nation hopes to secure more support from the International Monetary Fund and other multilaterals, Bloomberg News reported. “We are committed to working with the IMF and are working hard to get more funding from the IMF, World Bank and international development partners,” Forson told reporters in the capital Accra on Thursday.

Gokada, Nigeria’s largest-mile logistics delivery startup, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in 2024, Tekedia.com reported. The filing highlighted significant financial difficulties, with liabilities exceeding $5.4 million against assets valued at just over $564,000. According to the court documents, Gokada principal assets include its 100% ownership in Gokada Rides limited, it’s Nigerian operational entity which it valued at $500,000, and $64,132.56 in cash held in a Silicon Valley bank account.