The World Bank has urged Nigeria to strengthen reforms of its currency – the naira – before it can approve a $1.5 billion loan, its country director said on Thursday. Africa’s largest economy is badly in need of the financial support to survive its worst economic recession in 33 years, largely attributed to a drop…
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed opened a cross-border highway and a one-stop border post (OSBP) that will boost trade ties between both Eastern African countries. For Abiy, the event provided a respite as he shifted focus away from the war against the country’s Tigray community, which the United Nations has…
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s government has signed a deal with Trafigura to supply battery metal cobalt in return for help in improving mining conditions at informal mining sites. As detailed in the pact, Trafigura has agreed to finance the creation of up to six controlled zones where informal miners would work to dig…
Malawi is ready to begin commercial production and processing of cannabis for medicinal and industrial use, the southern African country’s new Cannabis Regulatory Authority announced on Tuesday. Malawi joins a growing number of countries around the world — including Southern African states Zambia, Lesotho and Zimbabwe – that are either legalizing or relaxing laws on…
Mauritius will use $162 million in rebuilding a 214 year-old coastal village that was hit by the island’s worst environmental disaster, according to the National Infrastructure Ministry. The government is set to spend $62.8 million in Mahebourg consolidating existing infrastructure and adding amenities to the waterfront esplanade over six years. It is projected that private…
Ethiopia will proceed with plans to sell a minority stake in state-run Ethio Telecoms within nine months and tendering for two new licenses will start on December 1 despite fears the war on Tigray would scare away potential investors. Ethiopia considers the telecoms industry its crown jewel even as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed seeks to…
A total of fifty companies and financial institutions pledged $7 billion at the South African annual investment conference providing a huge boost to the government struggling to contain record economic recession. At the first conference in 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa set a goal of attracting $78 billion of investment over the following five years to…
Zambia Minister of Mines Richard Musukwa says that the copper producing nation is seeking a compromise solution with bondholders and does not expect them to seize its mining assets even though it defaulted on part of its debt last week. Musukwa also said that Zambia has no plans to sell its shares in mining companies…
Kenya’s government is planning to defer around $690 million in debt payments, a sharp u-turn after it declined to join the G20 coronavirus debt relief initiative earlier this year. In May, the Ministry of Finance said that it would not seek suspension of debt payments under the G20’s Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI`) aimed at…
South Africa has signed a Sugar Master Plan agreed by the government, farmers, industrial users and retailers in the $908 million sugar industry that aims at stemming a crisis caused by a flood of cheap imports and a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks that lowered demand from beverage makers. The plan has been touted as an…
African nations recorded the worst governance performance in 2019 for the first time in nearly a decade due to a widening deterioration in human rights, security, and rule of law, a survey published by the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) indicates. IIAG is the most comprehensive survey of its kind on the continent rating…
Nigeria’s government has lifted a ban on flights to the oil producing nation by Air France, Lufthansa, KLM and Qatar Airways. The West African country barred a number of global airlines when it resumed international flights on September 5 following a prolonged lockdown aimed at halting the spread of the novel coronavirus. At the time,…
Time flies everywhere in the world. But not in Western Sahara’s de facto capital, Tifariti. As European colonization in the African continent crumbled in the mid to late 20th century, it brought about euphoria and optimism of a splendid future of self-governance. That was similarly the case in Western Sahara, a country larger in size…
Fresh from winning re-election, Tanzanian President John Magufuli has re-appointed Philip Mpango as finance minister and promised continued reforms to the mining sector as his government targets 8% annual economic growth in the next five years. Magufuli won a controversial poll in October that the U.S. State Department and election observers said was marred by…
Zambia has become Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign defaulter after the copper producing nation failed to pay an overdue Eurobond coupon before a 30-day grace period elapsed on Friday. Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu insisted the country wasn’t in a position to make the payment and sought a reprieve until April. “They will not support the standstill…
With South Africa battling record unemployment of 30.8% in the third quarter, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that travel to all countries will resume in an effort to boost the struggling tourism, aviation and hospitality sectors. Africa’s most advanced economy has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa, and fifth globally, with more…
Ivory Coast cocoa purchases have declined by half after protests emerged across the country in defiance to the October 31 presidential elections. The protest have so far claimed the lives of dozens and President Alassane Quatara has been declared the winner with the opposition forming a rival government in defiance. Middlemen who play a vital…
Mozambique’s government moved to filed provisional embezzlement, money laundering and abuse of office charges against former finance minister Manuel Chang over $2 billion in state-guaranteed debt borrowed during his term in office. Chang has been in custody in neighboring South Africa since December 2018, despite being sought by both Mozambique and the United States to…
South African state defence company Denel has received a reprieve after the government eased the terms of $37 million bailout it received for the financial year that ends in March 2021. The Ministry of Finance had allocated the bailout to pay off guaranteed debt, but Denel requested for permission to use the outstanding $13 million…
Sudan has closed parts of its border with Ethiopia with the government wary of violence spilling over. State news agency SUNA reported that the decision was made due to the ongoing heavy fighting in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military invasion. SUNA also reported that the local government in…