Latest news with #Selassie
The Citizen
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Treasury might have to revisit spending priorities now that VAT is off the table — IMF
The minister of finance and Treasury now have to draft a new budget after the High Court suspended the VAT increase of 0.5% on the weekend. The IMF has warned that National Treasury and the Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana may have to revisit government's spending priorities now that the VAT increase is off the table to plug the R75 billion hole in the country's Budget 2025. Speaking at a media briefing about the April Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa on Friday, Abebe Selassie, director of the African department, at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said if a tax rate increase for a particular tax is not possible, Treasury could try to find ways to expand the tax base or try different tax angles. 'If that are not possible, revisiting spending priorities may be one of the ways to manage this. This is typically what we see playing out in countries in the region when financing constraints are binding. These are deeply domestic political issues to be resolved as to what the best way to do the financing is. 'The issue of revenue mobilisation is a live one, but one that is extremely complex and requires quite a lot of consensus building, of discussion to be able to advance and of course broader societal support.' ALSO READ: Outa tells finance minister how to find an extra R500bn ahead of budget speech Not good news for Treasury and growth in Sub-Saharan Africa Selassie pointed out that he highlighted the region's sluggish growth and steep political and social hurdles governments had to overcome to push through essential reforms six months ago. 'Today, that fragile recovery faces a new test: the surge of global policy uncertainty so profound it is reshaping the region's growth trajectory.' He said just when policy efforts began to bear fruit, with regional growth exceeding expectations in 2024, the region's hard-won recovery was overtaken by a sudden realignment of global priorities, casting a shadow over the outlook. This also has implications for economic growth and the IMF now expects growth in Sub-Saharan Africa to ease to 3.8% in 2025 and 4.2% in 2026, marked down from the IMF's October projections. Selassie says these have been driven largely by difficult external conditions due to weaker demand abroad, softer commodity prices and tighter financial markets. 'Any further increase in trade tensions or tightening of financial conditions in advanced economies could further dampen regional confidence, raise borrowing costs further and delay investment. Meanwhile, official development assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to decline further, placing extra strain on the most vulnerable population.' ALSO READ: IMF's bad news about economic growth for SA, thanks to Trump tariffs New external headwinds for Sub-Saharan Africa Selassie pointed out that these external headwinds come on top of longer-standing vulnerabilities. 'High debt levels constrain the ability of many countries to finance essential services and development priorities. While inflationary pressures have moderated at the regional level, quite a few countries are still grappling with elevated inflation, necessitating a tighter monetary stance and careful fiscal policy. 'Against this challenging backdrop, our report underscores the importance of calibrating policies to balance growth, social development and macroeconomic stability. Building robust fiscal and external buffers is more important than ever, underpinned by credibility and consistency in policymaking.' In particular, he said, there is a premium on policies to strengthen resilience by mobilising domestic revenue, improving spending efficiency and strengthening public finance management and fiscal frameworks to lower borrowing costs. 'Reforms that enhance growth, improve the business climate and foster regional trade integration are also needed to lay the groundwork for private sector-led growth. High growth is imperative to engender the millions of jobs our region needs.' ALSO READ: IMF warns all countries will be caught in crossfire of trade war Why the region is important for the world Selassie emphasised that a strong, stable, and prosperous Sub-Saharan Africa is important not only for its people but also for the world. 'It is the region that will be the main source of labour and incremental investment and consumption demand in the decades to come. 'External support as the region goes through its demographic transition is of tremendous strategic importance for the future of our planet. The IMF is doing its part to help, having dispersed over $65 billion since 2020 and more than $8 billion just over the last year. Our policy advice and capacity development efforts support more countries still.'
IOL News
29-04-2025
- Business
- IOL News
IMF warns Sub-Saharan Africa is grappling with external headwinds as growth projections dim
Budget 2025 The IMF warning comes as South Africa is grappling with revenue-raising measures after the Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana last week reversed his proposal to raise the value-added tax by 0.5 percentage points from 15% to 15.5% in a bid to raise R58 billion to plug the revenue shortfall. Image: Jairus Mmutle/GCIS The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the spectre of escalating trade tensions, combined with rising financial costs in developed economies, will complicate the economic landscape for sub-Saharan Africa. IMF director of the African Department, Abebe Selassie, said on Friday the sentiment surrounding sub-Saharan Africa was cautiously optimistic six months ago, marked by the region's gradual recovery from the economic repercussions of past global upheavals. However, Selassie said a new wave of global policy uncertainty has emerged, posing serious threats to this fragile recovery just as policymakers began to see the fruits of their hard work. He said recent forecasts projected regional growth at a robust rate exceeding expectations, particularly for 2024 but external forces have made their presence felt just as some stability began to materialise. 'Any further increase in trade tensions or tightening of financial conditions in advanced economies could further dampen regional confidence, raise borrowing costs, and delay investment,' Selassie said. 'These external headwinds come on top of longer-standing vulnerabilities. High debt levels constrain the ability of many countries to finance essential services and development priorities. While inflationary pressures have moderated at the regional level, quite a number of countries are still grappling with elevated inflation, necessitating a tight monetary stance and careful fiscal policy.' The IMF warning comes as South Africa is grappling with revenue-raising measures after the Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana last week reversed his proposal to raise the value-added tax by 0.5 percentage points from 15% to 15.5% in a bid to raise R58 billion to plug the revenue shortfall. Selassie said the governments in the region had made important investment in infrastructure needs with positive outcomes over the last decade, but the returns of these investments had not been captured in tax revenue, and debt loans have gone up and interest to revenue ratio had risen. 'Going forward I think it is very clear that to be able to continue investing, governments have to find more ways other than borrowing to address this. In the past, governments have been quick to cut spending but this has been found to be detrimental to developmental progress and growth outcomes,' Selassie said. 'We'd very much like for countries to avoid this, and when there are pressing spending needs, there are generally only a couole of ways you can finance this: spending cuts or revenue mobilisation. You can borrow, of course, but borrowing is not optimal. "This doesn't mean that reveune mobilisation is easy. Far from it. It requires not only the political engagement but also a lot of communication and an effort to show that the resources the government is trying to generate are going to go to the right areas to help strengthen the social contract. "On South Africa, when issues like these arise, these are deeply domestic political issues to resolve as to what is the best way to do the financing is. If a tax rate increase for a particular tax is not possible, then maybe finding ways to expand the tax base, maybe try a different tax, and maybe if all those are not possible try maybe revisiting spending priorities to handle this." The IMF has calibrated its growth expectations, with a notable decline anticipated as sub-Saharan Africa's growth is forecasted to ease to 3.8% in 2025 and 4.2% in 2026. These figures represent a stark downgrade from previous estimates made in October, largely attributed to external challenges such as diminished global demand, softer commodity prices, and tighter financial markets. Against this challenging backdrop, the IMF's World Economic Outlook report underscored the importance of calibrating policies to balance growth, social development, and macroeconomic stability. Selassie said building robust fiscal and external buffers was more important than ever, underpinned by credibility and consistency in policymaking. In particular, Selassie said there was a premium on policies to strengthen resilience: mobilize domestic revenue, improve spending efficiency, and strengthen public financial management and fiscal frameworks to lower borrowing costs. He said reforms that enhance governance, improve the business climate, and foster regional trade integration are also needed to lay the groundwork for private sector–led growth. Selassie said high growth was imperative to engender the millions of jobs that are needed. 'A strong, stable, and prosperous sub-Saharan Africa is important for its people but also the world. It is the region that will be the main source of labor and incremental investment and consumption demand in the decades to come,' Selassie said. 'External support as the region goes through its demographic transition is of tremendous strategic importance for future global prosperity.' BUSINESS REPORT
CNN
04-03-2025
- Business
- CNN
Gifted by an emperor, Ethiopia's iconic Africa Hall has been renovated for a new era
Only 26 African countries had achieved independence when, in February 1961, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie ascended a sloping staircase to inaugurate Africa Hall in Addis Ababa, which he gifted as the new headquarters for the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). A dominating presence in the heart of the Ethiopian capital, adorned with a sweeping 150-square-meter (1,614-square-foot) stained-glass window, the structure, designed by Italian architect Arturo Mezzedimi, had taken just 18 months to build. Fittingly then, it didn't take long before the building became the site of a landmark event in the story of modern Africa. Just over two years later, Selassie once again made the climb to welcome the founding members of the newly formed Organization of African Unity (OAU) to their home — a meeting place intended to foster cooperation, drive economic progress and eradicate colonialism across the continent. Addressing representatives of the then-32 independent African states, Selassie declared that the continent was 'at midcourse, in transition from the Africa of yesterday to the Africa of tomorrow.' 'We must act to shape and mold the future and leave our imprint on events as they slip past into history,' he continued. More than 60 years later, Selassie's message has come full-circle: Africa Hall has been shaped and molded anew. Last October marked the completion of a decade-long renovation across the entirety of the 12,800 square-meter site, commissioned by the ECA in 2013 with a $57 million budget to revitalize the landmark as a world-class conference and cultural venue. Australian design practice Architectus Conrad Gargett was entrusted with leading the re-design, giving project architect Simon Boundy a mission with dual themes — modernization and conservation. 'The two go hand-in-hand with projects like this,' Boundy told CNN, 'Where you've got an aging asset, but if it doesn't get used, it falls into disrepair.' 'It's about bringing the building back to life, making it accessible to the public and celebrating the story of the building for future generations.' The conundrum for Boundy and his team was that those two aims threatened to undermine the historical significance of Africa Hall. In essence, how do you modernize a historical landmark without losing some of its soul? As a heritage architect — regularly tasked with making sensitive changes to buildings of historical or cultural importance — Boundy is well-versed in answering that question. The first step was understanding Africa Hall's importance and history, which was aided by hiring local architects and engineers to work on the renovation. Among them was Mewded Wolde, who, a day before her university graduation in 2014, found herself on the roof of Africa Hall taking measurements. Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Wolde says the building — which hosted OAU meetings until the organization was replaced by the African Union (AU) in 2002, which eventually moved into new headquarters in Addis Ababa — is a source of pride for herself and many others given its role in helping countries across the continent achieve independence from colonial rule. 'This building, still for the African Union, is a symbol,' Wolde told CNN. 'It's an artwork in itself that symbolizes the struggle that we have gone through in the past 60, 70 years to get to African unity.' Local knowledge helped Boundy navigate the 'balancing act' of modernizing Africa Hall without devaluing its legacy. Roughly 13 million new tiles were fabricated and reinstalled to exactly match the original material, staying true to the brown, orange and off-white color palette of Mezzedimi's modernist design. The old layout of the Plenary Hall was deemed to lack seating space, so after consulting the building's original architectural drawings, the team designed new furniture in the same style and added an extra ring of seating. Hidden in each desk is a digital screen, a subtle addition that — along with the arrival of a 13-meter-wide (42-foot-wide) LED display — leaves Africa Hall well suited to meet the technological requirements of modern conference hosting, while preserving the original architecture. 'We don't want to leave our mark on the building,' Boundy said. 'We want to just bring the original design to life again and hopefully everything that we do is behind the scenes, concealed in the ceilings, and it's not the feature.' Some aspects, however, demanded more radical change, especially those concerning accessibility and safety. The building — 'quite dilapidated' — was stripped back to its structural core and strengthened with carbon fiber and steel before being built up again, Boundy explained, to protect the concrete from the damage caused by rusting steel and the threat of seismic activity. Protective measures also included a strengthened frame for the crown jewel of Africa Hall: the two-story stained-glass window that has adorned the foyer since 1961. Titled 'The Total Liberation of Africa,' it was Ethiopian artist Afewerk Tekle's signature piece and is split into three panels; Africa Then, Africa Then and Now, and Africa Now and in the Future. Featuring a knight in shining armor emblazoned with the UN logo, a dragon and the grim reaper, the work tells a story of liberation, of 'slaying the demons' of colonization, Boundy explained. Tekle's work is Africa Hall's definitive symbol, and can be seen splashed across shirts, ties and more in the city. 'The symbolism of the artwork is something that's really hard to overstate, how important that is,' Boundy said. 'It really tells the story of what Africa Hall is trying to represent, which is the very best of what Africa can do, quite literally shedding the recent history, and looking very much forward … You can sit and spend hours staring at it.' With various original pieces either loose or missing, the entire artwork was meticulously disassembled, cleaned and restored panel-by-panel by Emmanuel Thomas, the grandson of the person who originally made the stained glass from Tekle's design. Its refreshed look was unveiled alongside a new permanent exhibition to highlight the key events at Africa Hall that have helped to shape Pan-African history. For Wolde, both the artwork and the renovation itself are reflective of Selassie's 1963 address, where he spoke of molding the Africa of tomorrow. 'Even now, even with all the upgrades that have happened in Africa Hall, this quote is actually true,' Wolde said. 'This is the space that we're going to use to shape the future. Even then it was where they were having meetings … to shape the future of Africa, and even now, it symbolizes that. I really love this.'
CNN
04-03-2025
- Business
- CNN
Gifted by an emperor, Ethiopia's iconic Africa Hall has been renovated for a new era
Only 26 African countries had achieved independence when, in February 1961, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie ascended a sloping staircase to inaugurate Africa Hall in Addis Ababa, which he gifted as the new headquarters for the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). A dominating presence in the heart of the Ethiopian capital, adorned with a sweeping 150-square-meter (1,614-square-foot) stained-glass window, the structure, designed by Italian architect Arturo Mezzedimi, had taken just 18 months to build. Fittingly then, it didn't take long before the building became the site of a landmark event in the story of modern Africa. Just over two years later, Selassie once again made the climb to welcome the founding members of the newly formed Organization of African Unity (OAU) to their home — a meeting place intended to foster cooperation, drive economic progress and eradicate colonialism across the continent. Addressing representatives of the then-32 independent African states, Selassie declared that the continent was 'at midcourse, in transition from the Africa of yesterday to the Africa of tomorrow.' 'We must act to shape and mold the future and leave our imprint on events as they slip past into history,' he continued. More than 60 years later, Selassie's message has come full-circle: Africa Hall has been shaped and molded anew. Last October marked the completion of a decade-long renovation across the entirety of the 12,800 square-meter site, commissioned by the ECA in 2013 with a $57 million budget to revitalize the landmark as a world-class conference and cultural venue. Australian design practice Architectus Conrad Gargett was entrusted with leading the re-design, giving project architect Simon Boundy a mission with dual themes — modernization and conservation. 'The two go hand-in-hand with projects like this,' Boundy told CNN, 'Where you've got an aging asset, but if it doesn't get used, it falls into disrepair.' 'It's about bringing the building back to life, making it accessible to the public and celebrating the story of the building for future generations.' The conundrum for Boundy and his team was that those two aims threatened to undermine the historical significance of Africa Hall. In essence, how do you modernize a historical landmark without losing some of its soul? As a heritage architect — regularly tasked with making sensitive changes to buildings of historical or cultural importance — Boundy is well-versed in answering that question. The first step was understanding Africa Hall's importance and history, which was aided by hiring local architects and engineers to work on the renovation. Among them was Mewded Wolde, who, a day before her university graduation in 2014, found herself on the roof of Africa Hall taking measurements. Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Wolde says the building — which hosted OAU meetings until the organization was replaced by the African Union (AU) in 2002, which eventually moved into new headquarters in Addis Ababa — is a source of pride for herself and many others given its role in helping countries across the continent achieve independence from colonial rule. 'This building, still for the African Union, is a symbol,' Wolde told CNN. 'It's an artwork in itself that symbolizes the struggle that we have gone through in the past 60, 70 years to get to African unity.' Local knowledge helped Boundy navigate the 'balancing act' of modernizing Africa Hall without devaluing its legacy. Roughly 13 million new tiles were fabricated and reinstalled to exactly match the original material, staying true to the brown, orange and off-white color palette of Mezzedimi's modernist design. The old layout of the Plenary Hall was deemed to lack seating space, so after consulting the building's original architectural drawings, the team designed new furniture in the same style and added an extra ring of seating. Hidden in each desk is a digital screen, a subtle addition that — along with the arrival of a 13-meter-wide (42-foot-wide) LED display — leaves Africa Hall well suited to meet the technological requirements of modern conference hosting, while preserving the original architecture. 'We don't want to leave our mark on the building,' Boundy said. 'We want to just bring the original design to life again and hopefully everything that we do is behind the scenes, concealed in the ceilings, and it's not the feature.' Some aspects, however, demanded more radical change, especially those concerning accessibility and safety. The building — 'quite dilapidated' — was stripped back to its structural core and strengthened with carbon fiber and steel before being built up again, Boundy explained, to protect the concrete from the damage caused by rusting steel and the threat of seismic activity. Protective measures also included a strengthened frame for the crown jewel of Africa Hall: the two-story stained-glass window that has adorned the foyer since 1961. Titled 'The Total Liberation of Africa,' it was Ethiopian artist Afewerk Tekle's signature piece and is split into three panels; Africa Then, Africa Then and Now, and Africa Now and in the Future. Featuring a knight in shining armor emblazoned with the UN logo, a dragon and the grim reaper, the work tells a story of liberation, of 'slaying the demons' of colonization, Boundy explained. Tekle's work is Africa Hall's definitive symbol, and can be seen splashed across shirts, ties and more in the city. 'The symbolism of the artwork is something that's really hard to overstate, how important that is,' Boundy said. 'It really tells the story of what Africa Hall is trying to represent, which is the very best of what Africa can do, quite literally shedding the recent history, and looking very much forward … You can sit and spend hours staring at it.' With various original pieces either loose or missing, the entire artwork was meticulously disassembled, cleaned and restored panel-by-panel by Emmanuel Thomas, the grandson of the person who originally made the stained glass from Tekle's design. Its refreshed look was unveiled alongside a new permanent exhibition to highlight the key events at Africa Hall that have helped to shape Pan-African history. For Wolde, both the artwork and the renovation itself are reflective of Selassie's 1963 address, where he spoke of molding the Africa of tomorrow. 'Even now, even with all the upgrades that have happened in Africa Hall, this quote is actually true,' Wolde said. 'This is the space that we're going to use to shape the future. Even then it was where they were having meetings … to shape the future of Africa, and even now, it symbolizes that. I really love this.'
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gifted by an emperor, Ethiopia's iconic Africa Hall has been renovated for a new era
Only 26 African countries had achieved independence when, in February 1961, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie ascended a sloping staircase to inaugurate Africa Hall in Addis Ababa, which he gifted as the new headquarters for the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). A dominating presence in the heart of the Ethiopian capital, adorned with a sweeping 150-square-meter (1,614-square-foot) stained-glass window, the structure, designed by Italian architect Arturo Mezzedimi, had taken just 18 months to build. Fittingly then, it didn't take long before the building became the site of a landmark event in the story of modern Africa. Just over two years later, Selassie once again made the climb to welcome the founding members of the newly formed Organization of African Unity (OAU) to their home — a meeting place intended to foster cooperation, drive economic progress and eradicate colonialism across the continent. Addressing representatives of the then-32 independent African states, Selassie declared that the continent was 'at midcourse, in transition from the Africa of yesterday to the Africa of tomorrow.' 'We must act to shape and mold the future and leave our imprint on events as they slip past into history,' he continued. More than 60 years later, Selassie's message has come full-circle: Africa Hall has been shaped and molded anew. Last October marked the completion of a decade-long renovation across the entirety of the 12,800 square-meter site, commissioned by the ECA in 2013 with a $57 million budget to revitalize the landmark as a world-class conference and cultural venue. Australian design practice Architectus Conrad Gargett was entrusted with leading the re-design, giving project architect Simon Boundy a mission with dual themes — modernization and conservation. 'The two go hand-in-hand with projects like this,' Boundy told CNN, 'Where you've got an aging asset, but if it doesn't get used, it falls into disrepair.' 'It's about bringing the building back to life, making it accessible to the public and celebrating the story of the building for future generations.' The conundrum for Boundy and his team was that those two aims threatened to undermine the historical significance of Africa Hall. In essence, how do you modernize a historical landmark without losing some of its soul? As a heritage architect — regularly tasked with making sensitive changes to buildings of historical or cultural importance — Boundy is well-versed in answering that question. The first step was understanding Africa Hall's importance and history, which was aided by hiring local architects and engineers to work on the renovation. Among them was Mewded Wolde, who, a day before her university graduation in 2014, found herself on the roof of Africa Hall taking measurements. Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Wolde says the building — which hosted OAU meetings until the organization was replaced by the African Union (AU) in 2002, which eventually moved into new headquarters in Addis Ababa — is a source of pride for herself and many others given its role in helping countries across the continent achieve independence from colonial rule. 'This building, still for the African Union, is a symbol,' Wolde told CNN. 'It's an artwork in itself that symbolizes the struggle that we have gone through in the past 60, 70 years to get to African unity.' Local knowledge helped Boundy navigate the 'balancing act' of modernizing Africa Hall without devaluing its legacy. Roughly 13 million new tiles were fabricated and reinstalled to exactly match the original material, staying true to the brown, orange and off-white color palette of Mezzedimi's modernist design. The old layout of the Plenary Hall was deemed to lack seating space, so after consulting the building's original architectural drawings, the team designed new furniture in the same style and added an extra ring of seating. Hidden in each desk is a digital screen, a subtle addition that — along with the arrival of a 13-meter-wide (42-foot-wide) LED display — leaves Africa Hall well suited to meet the technological requirements of modern conference hosting, while preserving the original architecture. 'We don't want to leave our mark on the building,' Boundy said. 'We want to just bring the original design to life again and hopefully everything that we do is behind the scenes, concealed in the ceilings, and it's not the feature.' Some aspects, however, demanded more radical change, especially those concerning accessibility and safety. The building — 'quite dilapidated' — was stripped back to its structural core and strengthened with carbon fiber and steel before being built up again, Boundy explained, to protect the concrete from the damage caused by rusting steel and the threat of seismic activity. Protective measures also included a strengthened frame for the crown jewel of Africa Hall: the two-story stained-glass window that has adorned the foyer since 1961. Titled 'The Total Liberation of Africa,' it was Ethiopian artist Afewerk Tekle's signature piece and is split into three panels; Africa Then, Africa Then and Now, and Africa Now and in the Future. Featuring a knight in shining armor emblazoned with the UN logo, a dragon and the grim reaper, the work tells a story of liberation, of 'slaying the demons' of colonization, Boundy explained. Tekle's work is Africa Hall's definitive symbol, and can be seen splashed across shirts, ties and more in the city. 'The symbolism of the artwork is something that's really hard to overstate, how important that is,' Boundy said. 'It really tells the story of what Africa Hall is trying to represent, which is the very best of what Africa can do, quite literally shedding the recent history, and looking very much forward … You can sit and spend hours staring at it.' With various original pieces either loose or missing, the entire artwork was meticulously disassembled, cleaned and restored panel-by-panel by Emmanuel Thomas, the grandson of the person who originally made the stained glass from Tekle's design. Its refreshed look was unveiled alongside a new permanent exhibition to highlight the key events at Africa Hall that have helped to shape Pan-African history. For Wolde, both the artwork and the renovation itself are reflective of Selassie's 1963 address, where he spoke of molding the Africa of tomorrow. 'Even now, even with all the upgrades that have happened in Africa Hall, this quote is actually true,' Wolde said. 'This is the space that we're going to use to shape the future. Even then it was where they were having meetings … to shape the future of Africa, and even now, it symbolizes that. I really love this.'
