Ethiopia 'formalises debt rework' with official creditors
The debt rework offers relief of more than $3.5bn (R61.29bn), the finance ministry said in a statement.
The Horn of Africa nation opted to restructure its external debt under the G20's Common Framework in 2021, before it defaulted on its sole Eurobond in December 2023. It hopes the formal agreement with its official creditors will help it seal deals with other creditors, such as its bondholders, the finance ministry said.
Ethiopia has been locked in a standoff with a group of investors in its $1bn (R17.51bn) Eurobond, which matured in 2024.
"Ethiopia continues to engage in good faith with all its other participating external creditors and seeks to conclude restructuring agreements on terms compatible with the country's need for debt relief and the comparability of treatment principle," said state finance minister Eyob Tekalign Tolina.
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IOL News
3 hours ago
- IOL News
Leveraging G20 presidency: South Africa's path to bridging the digital divide
How can South Africa navigate the complexities of the digital economy during its G20 presidency? Experts weigh in on the lessons to be learned from global counterparts amid pressing challenges. Image: IOL / Ron AI The experts have weighed in on the digital economy and digital divide in the G20, giving voice to where exactly South Africa finds itself in the global geo-digital landscape and what it can learn from other countries. South Africa's G20 presidency takes place when the world is facing a series of overlapping and mutually reinforcing crises, including climate change, underdevelopment, inequality, poverty, hunger, unemployment, technological changes, and geopolitical instability. The country has embraced the theme 'Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability' for its G20 presidency, but has also incorporated the spirit of Ubuntu. On the G20 website, it states: 'Countries that attempt to prosper alone amid widespread poverty and underdevelopment contradict the essence of Ubuntu and our collective humanity.' Tackling the conversation of the digital divide and digital economy, Associate Professor Jonathan Shock of the University of Cape Town's Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics has explained that while we can look to other countries and their strategies, the South African landscape has its own demands. 'Countries like Estonia have surged forward with building a strong digital economy, and there are certainly lessons to be learned from them. Estonia prioritised data protection laws before they built the technological infrastructure on top; they also built national platforms, like the X-Road secure data exchange layer, which foster interoperability, mitigating potentially siloed solutions which don't speak to each other. 'Singapore has created national digital training programmes (the SkillsFuture credit programme), industry-academia partnerships, and constant monitoring to understand the effects of their interventions,' Shock said. Associate Professor Jonathan Shock of the University of Cape Town's Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. Image: Shock Lab / Website 'India is the country that has most quickly built up a digital ID system, which was rolled out to around 600 million citizens over four years. This has allowed for more financial inclusion in national benefits and unlocked high economic value. However, such a system, if built, has to be done with the appropriate level of cybersecurity awareness,' he said. 'This is a non-trivial task, and there are reasonable questions about privacy, gaps in the legal frameworks, and potential security vulnerabilities.' Shock explained that it is vital to study how digital economies have been implemented around the world, then adapt these solutions to build our own. He added that AI is a potentially powerful technology when used carefully, and, with training, can empower people to create their own businesses. 'It is easier than ever for someone to use AI to build their own app, create their own digital services, connect with customers or develop effective marketing strategies, but without access to training, those potential entrepreneurs will not necessarily know that such possibilities exist.' Shock said SA needs to celebrate its diversity and richness, as well as see the need to grow our own digital solutions, which takes investment in personnel, in infrastructure, and in data. 'We need to learn from the mistakes that other countries have made, in how resources are exploited - be they data, energy, or people - and see that there are other ways forward. We also need to understand the importance of data sovereignty and the colonial patterns of data extractivism.' CEO of LeanTechnovations, Rowen Pillai, said that across the G20, the digital divide isn't just who's connected, but rather who can afford to participate at quality. Pillai explained that even in advanced economies, rural users still trail cities on speed and reliability; in emerging markets, the bigger wall is the affordability of devices and data. 'We should shift from counting towers and instead start measuring meaningful connectivity for metrics like latency, speed, reliability, affordability, and safety at a district level, and tie budgets to closing those gaps,' Pillai said. CEO of LeanTechnovations, Rowen Pillai, said that across the G20, the digital divide isn't just who's connected, but rather who can afford to participate at quality. Image: Supplied 'A major part of the challenge is to move from pilots to scale, set outcome-based Scale Gates tied to meaningful connectivity. When a pilot hits district targets on speed/latency/reliability, affordability, and safe use, it should trigger a multi-year rollout via public procurement or blended finance. 'We balance private investment with universal service by modernising Universal Service Funds (USFs) into transparent, outcome-based tenders, pairing spectrum with pay-or-play rural obligations and co-funding neutral-host/backhaul, and by publishing quarterly district scorecards so operators are paid on verified improvements, not just availability,' Pillai said. 'In parallel, align the Digital Economy Working Group agenda: connectivity + digital public infrastructure + Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises ecosystems + equitable AI and require green siting and disclosure as standard, because AI-era data centres compete for the same power and water communities rely on.' Pillai said that the country should run a two-track strategy to adopt global best-practice governance now, and scale green, affordable compute at home. 'On governance, align local guidance to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST's) AI Risk Management Framework (which is practical, risk-based, sector-agnostic) and map cross-border work to the EU AI Act timelines that will matter to our exporters. That gives South African firms clarity without slowing innovation. 'On capability, we should leverage the AI Institute of South Africa hubs, the AI Collective South Africa (or similar) to rapidly build skills in safety, evaluation, and domain-specific AI (health, mining, agriculture), and establish an open evaluation centre that small firms can use to test models and datasets. Then we co-site compute with renewables, publish power and water intensity transparently, and make green PPAs(Power Purchase Agreements) a default for any hyperscale installations,' Pillai said. 'This is how we grow AI adoption while protecting constrained grids and water systems.' [email protected]
The Citizen
a day ago
- The Citizen
De Lille dissolves SA Tourism board – but Outa calls her decision ‘disgraceful'
Patricia de Lille dissolves the SA Tourism board for governance failures. However, Outa said it is 'outraged' by her action. Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has dissolved the SA Tourism board with immediate effect over what she called unlawful decisions. De Lille informed the board of her decision on 19 August, following consideration of their written representations as to why the board should not be dissolved. De Lille removes SA Tourism board for unlawful conduct The minister said the board members neglected to address the crucial question of the legality of the process the board used when calling a special board meeting on 1 August, when the unlawful resolution was taken. De Lille said legal advice to her confirmed that the board's special meeting on 1 August 2025 was convened unlawfully. She said section 18(2) of the Act empowers only the board chairperson to convene a special board meeting. 'As of 1 August 2025, the board had no chairperson to lawfully convene a special board meeting following the resignation of Professor Gregory Davids the day before (31 July 2025), but this notwithstanding, the board elected to convene a special board meeting, and in doing so, the board acted unlawfully and ultra vires its powers,' the minister said. ALSO READ: WATCH: Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille launches Tourism Month Minister warned board in the past In the past, De Lille had warned the board about the potential consequences of calling special and ordinary meetings without following the proper procedures. In a meeting with the board on 4 July 2025, and a letter to the board on 13 July 2025, the minister voiced her concerns about the board's disregard for governance protocols. The minister said this compromised the board's integrity and may have made the results of such meetings invalid and unlawful. The board responded by letter on 22 July 2025, assuring De Lille that it had put in place interventions, and these 'enhancements have and will ensure that all meetings are properly constituted, chaired and documented…' 'In the exercise of its powers, the board must always be guided by the principle of legality, which is part of the rule of law as set out in section 1(c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa,' De Lille said. The department said the minister will initiate the process to appoint a new board and invite nominations for eligible people in due course. In the interim, De Lille will appoint one or more individuals to manage the board's affairs until she installs a new board. 'The minister assures South Africans and the tourism sector that these developments will not derail the ongoing programmes, including SA Tourism's collaboration with the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, to deliver a successful G20 summit,' the department said. Outa calls De Lille's decision 'disgraceful' In response to De Lille's action, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said it is 'outraged'. 'This action is nothing short of gross political interference and represents a direct assault on governance and accountability within a state entity,' it said. Outa said the SA Tourism board was addressing serious governance concerns, including irregular financial conduct. It added that it suspects De Lille's decision was made to protect the suspended SA Tourism CEO Nombulelo Guliwe. 'Instead of supporting her own competent board for holding executive management accountable, the minister has chosen to protect the SA Tourism CEO by disbanding the very body tasked with oversight. 'As far as Outa is concerned, the fact that the board does not have a chairperson – which incidentally is the minister's fault – doesn't make the board's decision unlawful in taking the necessary action that it did. We believe the board was quorate and unanimous in how it arrived at the decision to suspend the CEO, pending a disciplinary enquiry into her conduct. NOW READ: The missed opportunity in South African tourism
Mail & Guardian
a day ago
- Mail & Guardian
Africa's G20 moment: Why social innovators must be at the centre of the conversation
Youth unemployment is at an all-time high. Photo: Oupa Nkosi/M&G As South Africa prepares to host the G20 Summit in November, the first on African soil, the stakes are high. This historic opportunity places the country and the continent at a crossroads, one that demands not just economic diplomacy, but bold rethinking of how we build inclusive, sustainable societies. Amid rising inequality, youth unemployment and a climate crisis threatening livelihoods across the continent, a central question arises: 'Can social innovators help shape the G20 towards more human-centred, inclusive economic models?' And will global leaders be willing to listen? If South Africa seizes this moment with intention, the answer is, 'Yes.' Social innovation — the use of creative, entrepreneurial strategies to address pressing social problems — has long been underestimated in formal policy spaces. It is time to mainstream the social economy into global development frameworks. This is especially critical for the Global South, where social entrepreneurs are already stepping into service and infrastructure gaps left by overstretched or ineffective states. While often criticised for being more symbolic than solution-oriented, the G20 provides a platform for consensus-building on macroeconomic policy. Within that, there is the potential to elevate the role of social enterprise as a force for economic inclusion. Social innovators are not fringe actors. They are builders of jobs, creators of local economies and drivers of community resilience. The challenge, however, is access to capital, policy influence and recognition. Despite the G20's various engagement tracks — including Civil Society 20, Business 20 and Youth 20 — grassroots voices too often get drowned out in a sea of technical jargon and elite diplomacy. The need, then, is not just for a seat at the table but for a rethinking of who gets to shape the agenda. One opportunity is the 'Social Summit', which will be held in the lead-up to the G20 Leaders' Summit, designed to explore community-based solutions and ground the macroeconomic discussions in lived realities. If done right, it could ensure that the perspectives of township entrepreneurs, informal traders and innovators operating on the margins are elevated to the global stage. To do that, three key policy shifts are needed. First, the formal recognition of the social and solidarity economy must be accelerated. South Africa has a draft green paper on this but it remains in limbo. Elevating this to a white paper — driven by the department of trade, industry and competition — would acknowledge social enterprises as legitimate economic actors, opening access to finance, procurement opportunities and support services. Second, access to capital must go beyond rhetoric. Investment, blended finance and grant-based support can work in tandem to ensure that innovative ventures solving social problems don't fall through the cracks. Funding must support, not just start-up phases, but also the growth of enterprises, allowing them to scale and hire more people. Private capital is essential at this point in time, since development funding from the US was stopped. Third, skills development is essential. From school curricula and vocational training to integration in university curricula, young people need the tools to become creators of solutions, not just job seekers. The role of social innovators and entrepreneurs in equipping communities with these skills cannot be overstated. This agenda aligns with the broader global pivot toward 'business with purpose'. The idea that profit alone is no longer enough — companies must also consider people and the planet. While this might sound idealistic, the alternative is unsustainable. The planet is dying, inequality is rising and the American retreat from multilateralism threatens progress. We simply can't afford business as usual. Big businesses, too, must play their part — not merely through corporate social responsibility but by embedding impact into their business models and partnering with local innovators to extend their reach. There are, of course, risks. The G20 could once again devolve into an echo chamber of promises with little follow-through. But this is where Africa has a unique chance to lead differently. By focusing on inclusion, sustainability and innovation, South Africa can offer a model of economic policy rooted not in trickle-down theory but in inclusive economic transformation. The road ahead will not be easy. But the opportunity is real, not just to shape the G20, but to reshape our understanding of what drives meaningful economic development. Social innovation and entrepreneurship is not a miracle cure. It is, however, a durable and necessary path forward. In a world searching for effective models, Africa's innovators are ready to show the way — if we let them. Dr Solange Rosa is the director of the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation at the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business.
