SONA takeaways, Nigeria FX policy, Ghana to the IMF?

The economy was a key theme in Thursday’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) in South Africa as the president vowed to press ahead with his reform drive but gave some ground to those in his party calling for more social support. Elsewhere, proposed changes to Nigeria’s foreign exchange policy are the latest feature of protectionist policymaking in the country that threaten to lead to shortages of goods. And in Ghana, mounting fears about the country’s fiscal position have led to calls for the government to turn to the IMF, but we think that such a move is unlikely any time soon.