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Effective public financial management is essential for economic success, and at its core is the need to build and maintain trust. Trust grows out of a culture of rigorous independent scrutiny which enables citizens to see that the decisions their leaders take are in the public interest. According to ICAEW’s recent report on building trust in public finances, a culture of trust is pegged to a number of factors and elements. Strong public financial management requires transparency in how resources are raised, managed and used, together with accountability, to instil confidence and promote continuous improvement. For example, in Uganda, the budget information is usually uploaded on a website. This promotes transparency and accountability by showing detailed information on how resources are allocated and used, plus performance indicators from national down to parish level. Citizens and other stakeholders can provide feedback on service delivery in their local areas and report ...

(from left): Charles Natai (Country Director Maxcom Africa), Jameson Kasati  (Director General Maxcom Africa), Juma Rajabu (Founder and Executive Director Maxcom Africa) and Sunny Walia, (General Manager - East Africa) of Visa. Visa, the global leader in payments, today announced a strategic partnership with Maxcom Africa PLC - a merchant aggregator also known as Maxmalipo - that will enable more than 30,000 retailers in Tanzania to accept Visa on mobile payments, as well as 20,000 local agents to conduct cash deposits and withdrawals. This effort aims to connect more Tanzanian consumers to the global payment system.  This comes as part of Visa’s strategic move to provide mobile payment services across East Africa. This follows Visa’s success in Kenya where the solution was launched in partnership with partnerships with Barclays Bank, Cooperative Bank, Ecobank, Family Bank, KCB Bank, National Bank of Kenya, NIC Bank, Prime Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank. “Vis...

DPO Group, the Leading African payment service provider, announced today the appointment of Lourens Brink as the Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) effective August 1, 2018. Brink, who was serving as the Head of Finance for DPO PayGate South Africa, will bring 11 years of financial, strategic and operational experience to the DPO Group. He will be based in Nairobi. Lourens Brink, the new Chief Financial Officer at DPO Group “We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Lourens Brink as DPO Group’ s Chief Financial Officer. Brink’s broad mix of financial, sales and product management experience will be a fantastic addition to our group’s Top Executive Team,” said DPO Group CEO, Eran Feinstein. Offer Gat, DPO Group’s chairman, added, “On behalf of our Board of Directors, I welcome Lourens Brink to his new position at DPO. Brink has a long tenure serving in various leadership roles, extensive experience in strategic planning, business development, corporate financ...

Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, and international mobile financial services firm Branch have announced a partnership under which  Branch will offer custom financing to merchants who accept payment via Visa (Visa on mobile or Card). The loans will provide merchants with funds to grow their business through supplemental stock, infrastructure investment, and other key operational needs. Loans will be disbursed directly to the merchants’ phones. “ We are happy to work with Branch to offer seamless access to finance through our Visa network, as they seek to provide micro-credit facilities to merchants across Kenya “, said Visa General Manager for East Africa, Sunny Walia. “With this partnership, we seek to offer value beyond just transactions. We would like to help the merchants grow their business and drive financial inclusion among the small merchant segments that are often unable to access quick loans,” he added. Through this partnership, Visa and Branch aim to...

Visa, a long-standing worldwide sponsor of the Olympic Games and supporter of the Olympic Movement, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced an extension to Visa’s Olympic sponsorship through 2032.  As part of the renewal, Visa will continue its support of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Paralympic Games.    “Since 1986, Visa has brought the latest payment innovations and digital experiences to the Olympic Games, all while helping athletes in their quest to achieve greatness,” said Al Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, Visa Inc. “By continuing our support of the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Games through 2032, we will ensure the next generation of athletes, fans, cardholders and clients are able to get more out of their Olympic experience and be part of a movement that inspires and unites us all to do great things.” IOC President Thomas Bach said: “We are particularly happy with this extension of our partnership be...