Titbits :Changing the rules of the game; Parastatal reform; FDI takes a hit;PBB still struggling in “deliver­ology”; Repo rate increase: A cautionary approach .

Changing the rules of the game

If our friends, the TINAs, (There Is No Alternatives), intent on getting off the hook, in their right to reply, continuously change the rules of the game to prop up their statements, it tends to portray a deliberate attempt at obfuscating the debate because they are short of arguments.

Getting our priorities right

      The TINAs have cleverly deflected some awkward questions with an easy grace by simplifying the issue as one of poor management rather than a lack of funds. It portrays an incorrect perception on the issue which pertains more to the problem of getting their priorities right rather than that of funding or poor management. Indeed decision-making is a team-work with civil servants doing their part and policy-makers theirs. What if our TINAwallahs- the top civil servants- have failed in doing their part- that they have mismanaged the whole process of decision-making ? Let me explain.!

TINA policies- a re-assessment

      We were overwhelmed by the avalanche of carefully picked achievements – an exalted list compiled very technocratically and in minute details. It took us some time to recover from the aggressive reaction of the TINA's (There Is No Alternative) shouting brigade. Since the decapitation of the TINA movement, the tinawallahs have been running helter-skelter like headless chickens. This is reflected in their reaction, typical of cheerleaders rather than that of a sophisticated anchor - their TINA boss.  Their job is to create chaos when things are getting difficult. This distracts attention from what is centre-stage. The idea is that if you make lot of noise the key issues might get lost in the commotion such that we lose sight of the macro-picture.

The Guy must go !

            We saw it coming. And the chickens have finally come home to roost. We were given some  preliminary warnings that the whole structure at Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED) was not just dysfunctional but nonfunctioning but we kept hoping that it will be able to reform itself to see better days.  But the recent piece of breaking news about the falsification of documents by junior officers of the Ministry appears to be the last straw that is revealing the cracks in the system- nothing but the result of a long culture of arrogance , Me-knows-everything  and poor management. 

The Central Bank hawkish on inflation

The corporate world, investors and exporters were expecting either a neutral policy stand or a mild calibrated action from the Central Bank in its efforts to rein in inflation. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank has decided by a majority vote to raise the key repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.25 per cent per annum.

Titbits:International Financial Services; Exceptional circumstances ...; Central Bank‘s independence ; Model-building techniques; Labour-Market Flexibility.

International Financial Services: The Way Forward

 

 We have carved out a comfortable niche in the world of international financial services thanks to our expanding tax treaty networks, a reputable offshore jurisdiction, its strategic location between the Far East and the European time zones, and its membership of major regional trading blocs.

Should the Central Bank raise interest rates?

Business, industry, investors and the street are expecting monetary action from the Central Bank to rein in inflation. It is widely expected to raise the Repo Rate by a minimum of 25 basis points.