The Private Sector Federation (PSF) has urged investors and businesses to switch to shift work as an effective employment model if they want to increase working hours to maximize production.

Shift work refers to a work schedule that is performed in rotations.

This can include overnight hours, early morning hours, or a rotating schedule that changes over a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis.

Another common practice of shift work is longer hours over a shorter work week.

The reaction follows the cabinet resolution which decided that official working hours will be eight hours from 9:00am to 5:00pm (excluding a one-hour lunch break), and including a flexible hour between 8:00am 9:00am.

Employees will now be working eight hours a day, down from nine currently - and a combined 40 hours a week (instead of 45).

“We welcome the adjusted working hours because it will give enough time to families to cater for children in the morning and evening as schooling hours have also been adjusted. However, considering that businesses and investors always want to exploit all hours generating time, they should embrace shift work,” Walter Hunde, the PSF spokesperson told The New Times.

He said the move to switch to shift work could also create more jobs and thus reduce unemployment.

“Employers in the private sector should look into shift work. If an employee spends eight hours at work as decided by the government, the employer should hire another employee to work the remaining hours...

Businesses can increase working hours through shift work. This means hours before 9:00am and hours after 5:00pm can still be exploited by using shift work. Shift work also saves time for employees to take enough rest and be productive. This can work in all businesses such as hotels among others,” he noted.

Eng. Andre Mutsindashyaka, the Secretary General of the Rwanda Extractive Industry Workers Union (REWU) welcomed the adjusted hours from 45 to 40 hours per week.

“The adjustment is timely because when an employee spends so many hours at work, they are not productive as they become exhausted from overwhelming work. Reducing the working hours will increase productivity at work,” he said.

“Employee becomes productive when employers cater to them through enabling working conditions, satisfactory wage to afford basic needs, and saving among others,” he argued

In 2019 before the Covid-19 outbreak, the mining sector employed about 71,205 workers, an increase from 47, 727 workers in 2017, according to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR).

“The 40 hours were established after realizing that both employers and employees can benefit from the 40 hours per week and be productive,” he noted.

He said that in developed countries working hours have been reduced to 35 per week.

“The 40 hours per week which will be enforced in January next year is good news and requires responsible workers. The workers will also get time to cater to their families,” he added.

Solange Nyirangaruye, an employer of 10 workers in a restaurant in Rubavu district said that she employs her workers in shifts.

“Sometimes when you are employing mothers, you have to help them work in favourable hours thanks to the shift work. When a waiter is very tired after working for so many hours, the service and customer care are also affected. So, adjusting working hours and embracing shift work was needed,” she said. - Michel Nkurunziza, The New Times

At least 4.2 million Kenyans who failed to pay Ksh30 billion ($246 million) they borrowed from banks, microfinance and mortgage finance companies digitally have been handed relief, after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) rolled out a framework to slash the burden by half.

The CBK on Monday said the credit repair framework, to be undertaken by commercial and microfinance banks, and mortgage finance companies until the end of May 2023, will see the lenders forego at least Ksh15 billion ($123m) the borrowers owe them as they discount the loans by 50 percent.

“Through the framework, the institutions will provide a discount of at least 50 percent of the non-performing digital loans outstanding as at end of October 2022, and update the borrowers credit standing from non-performing to performing.

“The institution will then enter into a repayment plan with the borrowers for a period of up to May 31, 2023, for the balance of the loan. Upon expiry of the framework, the credit standing of the borrowers with respect to these loans will depend on their repayment performance during the six-month period,” the CBK stated.

The CBK said the objective of the framework is to improve the credit standing of mobile phones digital borrowers who had been reported to Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs), for failing to service loans they borrowed using mobile phones.

It covers all loans with a repayment period of 30 days and below that were listed as non-performing by end of October 2022.

“It is anticipated that the framework will enable over 4.2 million mobile phone digital borrowers, adversely listed with CRBs, to repair their credit standing. The total value is approximately Ksh30 billion, equivalent to 0.8 percent of the gross banking sector loan portfolio of Ksh3.6 trillion ($29 billion) at end of October 2022,” the financial services sector regulator stated.

The CBK said most of the affected borrowers were individuals and small businesses that were heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, which increased their inability to pay after they lost jobs and businesses.

“The adverse effects of the pandemic continue to linger for the covered borrowers. Accordingly, the framework is expected to enable this segment of borrowers to access credit and other financial services as they rebuild their lives and livelihoods,” the CBK stated.

The framework will expire on May 31, 2023, and meanwhile, the lenders have been asked to contact the borrowers and provide them with further details of the framework. - PETER MBURU, The EastAfrican

Burundi’s economy has been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine. However, the economy is showing resilience, with economic growth expected to strengthen in 2022 to at least 3 percent, according to a recent assessment by the IMF.

Macroeconomic hurdles persist in Burundi, including deteriorating terms of trade and accelerating domestic inflation that is threatening already challenging living standards. The effects of the war in Ukraine have driven food and fuel prices up, with overall inflation at 20.9 percent at end-September 2022, from 10.5 percent at end-August 2021.

Before the war in Ukraine, the economic outlook of Burundi had been promising, with growth projected to a robust 4.7 percent in the medium term, supported by several positive effects including the impact of reforms, projects in the agricultural and mining sectors, and financial deepening. Economic growth prospects remain strong, also supported by the country’s progressive reengagement with the IMF and the international community more generally. The lifting of US and EU sanctions—a legacy of Burundi’s 2015 political and security crisis—is emblematic of this reengagement. This year, the IMF Executive Board completed Burundi’s first Article IV consultation since 2014.

With technical assistance from the IMF, the government is taking steps to reform its foreign exchange market, which if implemented, would help replenish the country’s international reserves. - Mame Astou Diouf and Jocelyn Koussere, International Monetary Fund