African press review 19 July 2016

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta wants the UN to trust African leaders more and stop wasting money. Washington is not planning to invade South Sudan. And Robert Mugabe is having trouble paying the Zimbabwean armed forces.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta is at the top of the front page of regional paper the East African, criticising United Nations agencies over the wastage of resources.

The Kenyan leader is quoted as saying that the UN needs to form closer partnerships with individual African governments in order to avoid spending billions of dollars on non-essential projects and overlapping roles.

According to Kenyatta the narrative of undemocratic, corrupt African governments lacking transparency, accountability and openness has changed over the past 15 years and the UN should embrace this change and work with governments.

US not trying to destabilise South Sudan

The United States is not taking any offensive military action with the goal of destabilising South Sudan, according to the State Department which says the US wants to reassure the people and the government of South Sudan that it has no plans to target any government or military leaders or import special military equipment with the goal of destabilizing the nation.

President Barack Obama last week said he would deploy up to 200 US troops with combat equipment to South Sudan to protect American citizens and the embassy in Juba, with troops initially stationed in neighbouring Uganda.

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has meanwhile said that he is opposed to a UN proposal to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan, saying it would weaken the army just as the country is attempting to contain a resurgence of violence.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Security Council to block arms sales to try to end more than two years of fighting in South Sudan.

Kenyan cities expected to outspend neighbours

Kenyan cities are tipped to register the highest growth rates in consumer spending over the next 15 years, outpacing neighbours in Nigeria, South Africa and Cameroon.

Research firm Euromonitor International in a new report covering 24 cities projects that consumer expenditure in Kisumu will rise by 277 percent from half a billion euros last year to nearly two billion in 2030 at the equivalent of last year’s prices. In Mombasa consumer spending is forecast to rise by 221 percent over the same period, with the capital Nairobi likelyto see spending grow by 208 per cent.

According to the East African, the anticipated growth rates mean Kenya’s cities are expected to be more attractive to businesses dealing in consumer goods and services compared to other leading African cities.

Military pay delayed in Zimbabwe, again

South African financial paper BusinessDay reports that Zimbabwe has delayed paying its soldiers for a second successive month, underlining the worsening economic crisis that triggered recent protests.

Ten days ago President Robert Mugabe’s government was shaken by a national strike led by public servants frustrated over several salary delays as Zimbabwe’s treasury struggles with a severe cash shortage.

The military are normally the first priority for payment due to their role in protecting the regime of Mugabe.

But they were not paid as scheduled last week and June’s salaries were paid about two weeks late.

The cash-strapped Harare government, which spends more than 80 percent of its revenue on wages, has resorted to staggering pay dates as it scrapes the bottom of its coffers, according to BusinessDay.

Protests in recent weeks over salaries, alleged police corruption and import restrictions have exposed growing public anger as the country’s economy has ground to a halt.

South Africa's loss-making state attorney

BusinessDay also reports that the South African state attorney’s office loses seven of every 10 cases it takes to court and this has considerable financial implications for the state, according to a Public Service Commission investigation’s report into the efficiency of the office.

The state attorney’s office litigates on behalf of government departments and state entities in matters such as unnatural deaths in police custody or in cases in which the government is sued for medical malpractice.