Ivory Coast has issued $221 million in bonds to finance its infrastructure development as President Alassane Outtara eases into his third term in power. The auction includes $148.2 million in seven-year bonds at a 5.80% rate and a $74.1 million 10-year bond at 5.9%, said the lead manager from Sogebourse. The bonds which will be…
Mozambique will receive a $100 million grant from the World Bank to upgrade its urban infrastructure, the Washington based lender announced. The grant is the latest investment to flow to the Southern African nation that has been struggling on two fronts. First an insurgency by Islamist groups in the northern Cabo Delgado province is soaring,…
Rwanda has sent military troops to the Central African Republic, in what the government says is a move to help counter a surge in violence by rebel groups ahead of Sunday’s election. According to a statement from the military, “The deployment is in response to the targeting of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) contingent under…
The European Union will grant an extra $29 million in aid to cater for the impact of Ethiopia’s war in the Tigray region. The move follows an approval on Thursday by the United Nations to grant $35.6 million to support civilians affected by the fighting that began on November 4, with thousands dead, and hundreds…
Central African Republic’s government has accused former President Francois Bozize of plotting a coup as political tensions and violence rise ahead of the December 27 presidential elections. In a statement, the government said that Bozize plotted with members of his family and a number of armed groups to attack two towns near the capital Bangui…
Namibia’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 2.4% to $3.017 billion in the third quarter of 2020 from $3.15 billion in a similar period last year, according to data released by the statistics agency. Namibia Statistics Agency Statistician-General Alex Shimuafeni said the largest negative contributors to GDP growth in the July – September period were…
The Republic of Congo’s government has terminated its contract with Australian miner Sundance Resources to develop the huge Mbalam-Nabeba iron-ore deposit, subsequently awarding three new permits to a relatively unknown Chinese-backed company. In a November 30 decree jointly signed by President Denis Sassou Nguesso and four cabinet ministers, the government cited several reasons such as…
The total number of coronavirus cases has surpassed 2.5 million according to a Reuters tally, with the continent suffering a second wave of infections. A growing number of African countries including Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritania, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ivory Coast have recorded a sharp increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases…
Zimbabwe’s central bank will sell its majority shares in the country’s sole gold buyer, the Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR), as part of the partial privatization of the company. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya said in a statement that FPR will be unbundled into two business entities, “gold refining” and “printing…
Rwanda’s economy is projected to shrink by 0.2% this year, but will rebound strongly next year to grow by 5.7%, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF said an economic recovery was underway but warned that spending to contain the effects of COVID-19 pandemic would raise public debt. “As a result, fiscal deficit…
Netflix has appointed Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa to its board, becoming the firm’s first African director as it eyes new markets for future growth. Masiyiwa is the founder and executive chairman of Econet Global, a telecommunications company that operates across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Econet offers phone broadband and satellite service, and is…
Guinea’s President Alpha Conde has promised to fight corruption as he took an oath of office to serve a controversial third term. At a swearing-in ceremony held in Conakry after his victory in the bitterly-contested October 18 presidential elections, Conde said he planned to govern the West African nation of nearly 13 million people in…
The European Union has halted the payment of about 90 million euros in budget support to Ethiopia due to the bloc’s concerns over the crisis in the Tigray region. According to an internal EU document, the delay is meant to reinforce the EU’s request for a response from Ethiopia’s government over the bloc’s calls for…
Ghana’s economy shrank for a second time in the third quarter, even as the government eased restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Government statistician Samuel Kobina Annim told reporters in the capital Accra that gross domestic product (GDP) decreased 1.1% in the third quarter compared to a similar period last year….
The African Continental Free-Trade Area could help to realize more than $84 billion in untapped intra-African exports, a new report by the African Export-Import Bank reveals. Trade under the pact is due to begin from January 1, and if the export potential is tapped under the deal, intra-continental trade could rise to more than $231…
Nigeria’s inflation sharply rose to a three-year high in November as food prices increased due to dollar shortages, insecurity in farmlands, and supply bottlenecks fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, consumer prices jumped 14.9% from the previous year, compared with 14.2% in October. The food index, which accounts for…
Somalia has cut diplomatic relations with neighboring Kenya, accusing the East African nation of meddling in its politics even as protests and gunfire erupted in the capital Mogadishu over delayed elections. The diplomatic dispute may undermine cooperation in the fight against the Islamist group al Shabaab that controls huge swathes of southern and central Somalia….
Eswatini Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini, has died at age 52, after battling a bout of COVID-19 illness in neighboring South Africa. Dlamini tested positive for COVID-19 four weeks ago and was rushed across the border on December 1 for medical care. At that time, Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku said Dlamini was stable and responding…
Russia will build a naval base on Sudan’s Red Sea coast, its first in Africa, as the Kremlin seeks to expand its global military footprint and cement its burgeoning trade and defense ties with the continent. The Russian navy has been directed to proceed with plans to construct a base for 300 personnel and space…
McKinsey will pay back over $40 million to South Africa after a judicial inquiry into alleged corruption in Africa’s most industrialized country revealed irregularities in contracts that the global consulting firm had with a local partner at government-owned companies. McKinsey had already paid $65.7 million to South Africa in 2018 after it worked with the…