EAC central bankers warn of severer impact of financial crisis

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

DAR ES SALAAM, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Central bank governors from Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda have cautioned that severer impact of the global financial
crisis would be felt by East Africa that had minimum impact from the first-round
effects.

The warning was sounded when the central bank governors met on Wednesday in
Arusha of northern Tanzania to discuss ways to deal with the ongoing financial
crisis and its yet-to-be-felt adverse impact on the region.

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are member states of the East African Community
(EAC) which also includes Burundi and Rwanda.

The central bank governors made it clear in their papers delivered to a
special one-day economic crisis conference that 2009 would be the toughest year
for the region, according to reports reaching here on Thursday.

"As the global economy sinks into depression," said Bank of Tanzania
Governor Benno Ndulu, "prices of key export commodities are bound to fall
further as consumer demand in advanced countries continue to decline."

The central bank governors met just ahead of a scheduled continental
conference for finance ministers and central bank governors to be held in Dar es
Salaam later this month. The conference, co-organized by the International
Monetary Fund and the government of Tanzania, is to discuss the global financial
crisis and its impact on Africa.

Swine flu could have side-impact on New Zealand tourism: PM

WELLINGTON, April 29 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Prime Minister John Key warned on Wednesday that the swine flu confirmations might have side-impact on New Zealand tourism.

He made his comment to reporters on Wednesday morning following the laboratory confirmation Tuesday night of three cases of swine flu and the Ministry of Health revealing that 179 people in New Zealand were in isolation.

Key, who also serves as tourism minister, said India had issued a travel warning and some Japanese tourists had canceled trips to New Zealand.

"It is important to put it in perspective," he said. "It is highly likely that most countries will have some outbreak of swine flu."

New Zealand was handling it well and had high stocks of Tamiflu.

"But obviously it is of concern to us that there could be a side-impact on tourism here in New Zealand," he said.

Key said he understood that India had issued a travel warning on a large number of countries, including the United States, Canada and Britain.

New Zealand is the sixth country in the world to have confirmed cases of the virus.

On Wednesday morning, health officials announced 14 cases of influenza A had been confirmed in the Auckland region, including the three people who had the new swine flu strain of influenza A.

Twelve of the influenza A cases are from a 25-person Rangitoto College group which returned from Mexico on Saturday.