A common currency by 2031. Is East Africa ready?

East African finance officials and central bankers spent this week in Arusha examining the work behind the region’s 2031 single-currency target. Their agenda covered more credible budgets, tax alignment, the gradual replacement of central-bank overdrafts, and a draft framework for regular coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities. These are proposals and discussions; the EAC has not announced a currency launch or adopted all the measures under consideration.

The Secretariat also recalls a July 2026 review in which no partner state met all four primary convergence tests. The thresholds are inflation no higher than 8%, reserves covering at least 4.5 months of imports, a fiscal deficit including grants no higher than 3% of GDP, and gross public debt no higher than 50% of GDP in net present value terms. That finding belongs to July’s review, rather than a new September measurement.

For Kenya and its neighbours, the practical question is how a shared monetary policy would coexist with national budget choices and differing financial conditions. A credible timetable needs published country-by-country progress, defensible fiscal accounts and a clear route for correcting slippage before a deadline becomes a promise to the public.

The African Development Bank, UNDP’s AI Hub, Google and Apolitical announced free AI training for public officials across Africa on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The courses offered through Apolitical’s Government AI Campus include AI fundamentals, leadership in government and smarter procurement. The Bank says enrolment is open to serving officials in its African member countries working on public services, digital infrastructure, partnerships or innovation.

This is access to training, not evidence that an agency has adopted an AI system or improved a service. The distinction matters: procurement officers need to recognise where automated tools might help, what data they may use, who remains accountable for a decision and how a person can challenge a mistake. A completed course cannot settle those questions on its own.

For Kenya and other African administrations, the opportunity is to use the training alongside one real workflow: examine a purchasing process or service query, set a baseline for cost and waiting time, protect sensitive data and test whether staff can explain the outcome. A shared regional learning agenda could make public-sector AI less dependent on vendor claims and more accountable to citizens.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has published a proposed US$500 million financing programme for South Africa’s just energy transition. Its 25 September project summary puts three reform areas together: clean and affordable electricity, resilient water services, and low-emission development. The National Treasury would implement the programme, proposed for co-financing with the World Bank, African Development Bank, KfW and OPEC Fund. Its AIIB status is proposed, not approved or disbursed.

The unusual insight is the place where the grid and the water pipe meet public administration. Transmission delays can hold back new power; ageing pipes and weak municipal capacity can make water unreliable. Climate finance alone cannot resolve fragmented responsibilities, regulatory bottlenecks or the finances of municipalities and public enterprises. Those constraints are described in the project summary; it does not establish that the proposed reforms have fixed them.

South Africa is a useful case for the wider continent. A transition can be measured through people’s access to dependable power and water, not just through a financing total or a carbon target. If the proposal advances, a public account linking national decisions to municipal service results would give officials, financiers and residents a common way to see whether the transition is working.

The Medicines Patent Pool has named Uganda’s Qcil among eleven manufacturers in nine countries awarded sublicences to develop and make generic baloxavir marboxil, an influenza antiviral, under a voluntary agreement with Roche. Nigeria’s Fidson is also among the selected manufacturers. The licence permits development, manufacture and supply for 129 countries, subject to regulatory authorisation.

A signed sublicence does not mean an approved Ugandan product is on pharmacy shelves. The manufacturers still need to develop quality-assured versions and secure the relevant authorisations. The pool says the agreement provides technical data and reference products intended to help that work; it does not give an African supply date or a price for Qcil’s product.

The announcement at the UN General Assembly is a manufacturing opportunity for Uganda and the wider African health system. Its public value will depend on reliable supply at a usable price, not the signing alone. Procurement authorities can follow development, approval, production capacity, eligible markets and actual purchases before claiming greater preparedness.