E. Africa central bank governors to meet in Kenya over inflation

Central bank governors in East African nations are due to meet in Kenyan capital Nairobi on Tuesday next week to discuss causes of soaring inflation in the regional countries, Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said on Friday. The high-level policy dialogue which will bring together more than 40 delegates from different countries in Africa will be attended by central bank governors from Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Morocco, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa. “The main aim of the forum is to understand the major causes of the high inflation in East African countries, share experiences and best practices to better design policy to stem the soaring prices,” said a CBK statement. The meeting, organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB) will be graced by Kenya’s Acting Finance Minister Robinson Githae and AfDB’s Chief Economist and Vice President, Professor Mthuli Ncube. The statement said the meeting is the first of its kind which would focus specifically on a region and demonstrate AfDB’s commitments to forging and strengthening partnerships with the authorities of regional member countries in addressing problems that routinely confront them. “Among the presentations that will be given is an AfDB Background paper on Dynamics of Inflation in East African Countries, preliminary findings on the dynamics of inflation in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda as well as inflation developments in selected African countries,” the statement said. The high rate of inflation in East Africa has been a major source of policy concern. Driven by multiplicity of factors including macroeconomic imbalances, structural factors and exogenous shocks, the recent bouts of inflation in East Africa have threatened to derail recent macroeconomic achievements in the region. Xinhua