Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched Ethiopia's first national precious metals refinery in Addis Ababa on 10 October 2026 and said it can process more than 600 tonnes of precious metals a year, Addis Media Network reported.
In the early hours of 9 October, at least 28 people died when a bus and a timber truck collided head-on in Tanzania's Morogoro Region and the bus burnt out, Xinhua reported.
On 8 October 2026, Tanzania's communications regulator issued a notice on phasing out physical airtime scratch cards, with a pilot from 1 January 2027 in Dar es Salaam and selected districts, Citizen Digital reported on 9 October.
On 8 October 2026, the Bank of Tanzania announced that its Central Bank Rate would stay at 6.25% for the quarter ending December. Mainland inflation rose to 4.3% in August.
On 7 October, South Sudan's Ministry of Health said it had detected no Ebola cases and that screening was under way at Juba airport and in 15 high-risk counties, Xinhua reported.
On 6 October 2026, the National Bank of Ethiopia set US$840m for six fortnightly FX auctions from 13 October, up 68% on the US$500m offered in four regular auctions last quarter, Capital Ethiopia reported.
On 5 October, banks in Uganda quoted the shilling at 4,017 to 4,027 per US dollar, a record low, the Daily Monitor reported. A forex analyst said the Bank of Uganda stayed out of the market.
On 6 October 2026, Rwanda reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on the first review of its US$250 million Extended Credit Facility, the finance ministry said. About US$35.7 million will be available once the IMF Executive Board completes its review in December.
On 6 October 2026, President Taye Atske Selassie told parliament Ethiopia's economy is projected to grow 10.1% in 2026/27, Xinhua reported; The Reporter said he also announced a 9.62% tax-to-GDP target.
East African Community speakers agreed in Arusha to work with their governments to speed up payment of arrears as the bloc faces a US$125 million debt burden, The Citizen reported on 3 October 2026.
Officials told Uganda's Parliament the East African Crude Oil Pipeline will be ready to receive crude by mid-December 2026, with first commercial oil now due before the end of June 2027.
Officials report 4,018 deaths and about 8,300 confirmed cases in seven provinces; Uganda's own outbreak was declared over in July, and Kenya's latest published figures show no confirmed case.
