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African Lens on Russia-Ukraine Conflict
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Africa Risks Paying a Heavy Price for Neutrality
Far from being swift, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine now looks likely to become a long-running war of attrition. Read More
E.U. Ditches Russian Energy, West African Nations Hope to fill the Void
Only months ago, world leaders pledged to stop financing new fossil fuel projects around the globe in a “historic” move against climate change. Read More
At CoM2022, Experts Address Effects of Russia-Ukraine Crisis on Africa
The ECA Sub-Regional Office for Southern (SRO-SA) in collaboration with the Angolan Government and the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office in Angola held a side event at the margins of the 54th session of the ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to offer African countries a platform for dialogue, exchange of ideas and experiences on the actual and potential impacts of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on African economies. Read More
African Development Bank Seeks U.S. Support to Alleviate Africa’s Food Crisis
With Russia’s “special military operation” still continuing in the former Soviet republic of Ukraine and its impact especially on Africa’s economy, the President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, made a compelling case for the United States to back the institution’s USD 1.5 billion emergency food production plan. Read More
The Russia – Ukraine Conflict and its Impact on the Infrastructure and Built Environment Industry in Africa
Both countries are major producers of crucial energy and industrial commodities such as oil, gas, aluminium, palladium, and nickel. Read More
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Ethiopia
PM Stresses Need for Nurturing Culture of Productivity to Realize Self-Sufficiency
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has stressed the need for nurturing a culture of productivity to sustain the journey to self-sufficiency in food and basic commodities. Read More
Public-Private Partners Sign Agreement to Launch Company that Develops Capital Markets
A cooperation agreement for the establishment of Ethiopian Securities Exchange was signed by Ethiopian Investment Holdings, Ministry of Finance, and Financial Sector Deepening Africa. Read More
Ethiopian Investment Holdings Joins International Sovereign Wealth Fund
Ethiopian Investment Holdings has joined the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, a global network of sovereign wealth funds, as an associate member. Read More
Kenya
Private Sector Lending Rises Fastest in Five Years
Commercial banks pumped a fresh KES 317 billion (approx. USD 2.7 billion) into private businesses in the 12 months to March this year, pushing the private sector credit growth to a five-year high of 10.8 percent. Read More
CDSC Halts Stock Market Charge After Protests
The Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) has suspended the new KES 100 monthly charge on stock market accounts after investors protested the extra cost of trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Read More
SportPesa Mega Profits Revealed in Court Fight
SportPesa made a net profit of KES 12.9 billion (approx. USD 111 million) for its owners in Kenya in its first five years of operation when the brand was owned by Pevans East Africa, revealing the lucrative earnings in sports betting. Read More
C&G Diversification Pays Off With 36 Percent Profits Jump
Diversified trading group Car & General (C&G) has posted a 36 percent jump in half-year net profit as sales improved across its East African markets. Read More
Rwanda
Calls Grow to Set Up Scheme for Unemployment Benefits
Advocates for workers' rights have called for an unemployment benefit scheme that will support people who lose jobs as a result of unexpected circumstances such as the Covid-19 pandemic and through mergers and acquisition of companies or public institutions. Read More
Rwanda and Vaccines, a Milestone to Celebrate
Rwanda is among the few African countries that has registered a wide coverage in either routine immunization or the Covid-19 vaccination drive. The country has reached 96 percent coverage for routine immunization - mainly for children - while currently, over 65 per cent of the population is vaccinated against Covid-19, making Rwanda one of the highest covered countries in the world. Read More
Tanzania
French Firms Unveil 9.7 Trillion Investments Plan for Tanzania
French private and public investment commitments in Tanzania over the next five years is projected to represent up to 4.2 billion dollars (approximately 9.7trl/-) as Paris seeks to position itself as the major European nation investor in the country. Read More
Massive Fertilisers Subsidy as Government Eyes Agriculture Reforms
Minister for Agriculture Hussein Bashe tabled the TZS 751 billion (approx. USD 323 million) budget for the ministry’s 2022/2023 financial year by outlining programmes and projects aimed at reforming the agriculture sector. Read More
Dodoma Reaps Increased Exports to Kampala
Tanzania’s exports to Uganda grew almost six folds in the last five years thanks to the two head of states push to remove trade barriers. Read More
TPA Formalises Lake Victoria Dumb Port
Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) has already put in a formalization process five dumb ports in Lake Victoria in a bid to maximise controls. Read More
Uganda
Parliament Rejects 5-year Income Tax Exemption for Bujagali
Parliament has rejected the government’s proposed extension of the corporate income tax exemption for the Bujagali Hydro Power Project by 5 years. Parliament agreed to grant an exemption for only 1 year up to 2023. Read More
Parliament Passes Excise Duty Amendment Bill, no Reduction of Fuel Tax
Parliament passed the Excise Duty (Amendment), 2022, but rejected a proposal seeking to reduce tax on fuel. The proposal was carried in a minority report presented by Kampala Central MP, Muhammad Nsereko. Read More
Venezuela Confirms U.S. Decision to Ease Oil Sanctions
Venezuela confirmed a decision by the United States to ease oil sanctions, calling for a total lifting of the U.S. sanctions on the South American country. Read More
KCCA Prepares for Parish Development Model Implementation
Kampala Capital City Authority has named committees to oversee the implementation of the parish development model project. Read More
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Algeria
Corteva Agriscience Egypt Hosts GreenTech U.S. Business Delegation
The U.S. GreenTech business delegation toured Corteva Agriscience’s Met Bera seed production facility and saw firsthand the company’s latest agricultural advancements, including hybrid silage and grain solutions industry leading company. Read More
Egypt
Egypt’s Communications Ministry Launches ‘Ashbal Misr Digital Initiative’
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology launched the ‘Ashbal Misr Digital Initiative’, a free grant that aims to refine IT skills for outstanding students. Read More
CBE to Discuss Interest Rates, EGP’s Value Amid Strong Expectations of Hike
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Egypt will hold its third periodic meeting this year to discuss the fate of the central interest rates, which are the main indicator of the direction of interest rates on the EGP in the short term. Read More
CBE Will Not Hesitate to Take Measures it Deems Necessary to Curb Inflation: CBE Governor
Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt Tarek Amer said that the bank will not hesitate to take the measures it deems appropriate to curb inflation. Read More
GEM Construction Work to Conclude by End of June
Construction on the Grand Egyptian Museum’s exterior is scheduled to conclude by the end of June. Meanwhile, the finishing touches within the interior are scheduled to be completed by the end of September, according to Atef Moftah, General Supervisor of the GEM project. Read More
Morocco
Morocco, Germany Strengthen Cooperation in Various Fields
With the aim of strengthening Moroccan-German cooperation, Younes Sekkouri, Minister of Economic Integration, Small Business, Employment, and Skills met yesterday with Barbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Read More
Palestine Seeks to Gain from Moroccan Expertise in Job Creation
Palestine aspires to learn from Moroccan competence in the field of job creation, using Morocco as an example of how to cope with COVID-19 unemployment issues. Read More
Gasoline in Morocco Exceeds the MAD 15 Mark for a Second Time
Gasoline prices in Morocco are rising again, likely due to the sudden increase of crude oil barrels in the global market. Read More
World Bank: Shadow Economy Employs 77 Percent of Morocco’s Labour Market
A new World Bank report on the labor markets of Middle Eastern and North African countries has established that over 70 percent of Morocco’s labor market operates in the informal economy, the highest in the region. Read More
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Malawi
Farmers Set to Sell 23 000 Metric Tonnes of Cotton
Cotton Council of Malawi says farmers are expected to sell 23 000 metric tonnes of the crop this year, almost the same quantity produced last year. Read More
Retail Maize Prices Up 13 Percent
Retail maize prices jumped by 13 percent in April compared to the previous month, a development agriculture policy think-tank says is contrary to the usual pattern of falling prices in anticipation of harvest. Read More
IMF Gives Children Charity MWK 10 Million Grant
The International Monetary Fund has given charitable organisation Children’s Hope USD 12,000 to sustain its programme supporting vulnerable primary school learners. Read More
Tobacco Prices Seen Picking Up
Latest figures released by tobacco market operator, AHL Group, indicates that prices for the commodity have been picking up in the last seven weeks of trading now averaging USD 2.20, the highest in recent years. Read More
Mozambique
EU Provides More Than Three Million Euros for Urban Development in Beira, Mozambique
The European Union announced financial support of more than EUR 3 million (approx. USD 3.1 million) for urban development projects in the city of Beira, central Mozambique. Read More
IFC and Mphanda Nkuwa Implementation Office Sign Agreement to Support the Development of the 1,500 MW Hydropower Project in Mozambique
To increase access to clean energy in Mozambique and other Southern African countries, IFC and the Ministry of Mineral Resource and Energy, through the Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Project Implementation Office announced a collaboration to develop a 1,500-megawatt hydropower project and associated transmission facilities. Read More
AT Postpones Sealing of Beer
The Mozambican Tax Authority (AT) has just announced the postponement of the start of the ban on unsealed ready-to-drink beers and beverages in the Mozambican market to November 1st. Read More
South Africa
Office and Retail Sparkle in South Africa, Investec says
South Africa’s office and retail property market is gaining a second wind after years of being unloved, according to Investec Property Fund. Read More
PRASA Announces Closure of Three Lines in Gauteng
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa will terminate services of three lines in Gauteng for the rehabilitation and restoration of electrical cables and traction substations that were vandalised or stolen during the level 5 hard lockdown. Read More
Zambia
Government Determined to Attract Meaningful Investment in Zambia – Mulenga
The government says it will not relent in its quest to promote and attract trade and meaningful investment in the country. Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Chipoka Mulenga said his ministry is targeting to ensure that meaningful investments are realized in all sectors of the economy by creating a conducive business environment. Read More
Unreliable Energy Supplies to Affect COMESA Region Development
COMESA Assistant General, Kipyego Cheluget says without adequate, reliable and affordable energy supplies, it is unlikely that desired social-economic transformation will be attained in the COMESA region. Read More
President Hichilema Wants More EU Investment in Zambia
President Hakainde Hichilema says the current 1.6 billion Euros investment which Zambia has attracted from companies in the European Union is not sufficient compared to the vast potential in that region. Read More
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Cote D'Ivoire
Ivory Coast Hosts Desertification Talks
The COP15 conference is meeting to address issues of land degradation, advancing deserts and deforestation. Experts and activists hope that this will not be just another high-level conference with no concrete results. Read More
Nigeria Aims to Compete with Ivory Coast and Ghana for Cocoa Production
The Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria has confirmed it is pursuing plans to introduce Living Income Differential payments to agricultural workers, as it aims to ramp up sustainable crop production volumes. Read More
Ghana
Bridging Digital Divide - Government Assures Older Population on World Telecoms Day
The government is committed to ensuring that the older population in the country is not left out of the ongoing digitisation agenda, a Deputy Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ama Pomaa Boateng, has said. Read More
CEO Summit Pushes for Law on Anti-Red Tape
The sixth Ghana CEO Summit will be used as a platform to push for a comprehensive law on the ease of doing business and anti-red tape in the country. Read More
Ghana’s Regulatory Framework, Others Among Top 5 Positive Indicators of Doing Business in Ghana
The UK- Ghana Chamber of Commerce has released the 3rd edition of its annual Ghana Business Environment and Competitiveness Survey Report for the year 2021. Read More
Palm Oil Producers to Undergo Training to Improve Production
Food and Drugs Authority in collaboration with Artisanal Palm Oil Millers and Outgrowers Association of Ghana will begin a two-week digital training programme starting 23rd May, 2022 for oil palm processing producers to enable them to attain the high-quality oil palm production in the country. Read More
Nigeria
Nigeria Requires USD 11 Trillion To Close Infrastructure Gap — Experts
At least, USD 11 trillion would be required to close the infrastructure gap in the critical sectors of the Nigerian economy, the Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria and professionals in the sector have said. Read More
Nigeria’s Diasporan Remittances to Increase Over Rising Food Prices, Others –World Bank
Nigeria’s Diaspora remittance inflow is set to increase to USD 29 billion in 2022 because of higher food prices and the continued adoption of official bank channels, according to the World Bank. Read More
Stock Market Sets New Milestone as Investors Gain Over NGN 5 Trillion in Four Months
Amid uncertainties in the global economy and rising insecurity in the country, the nation’s stock market continued its bullish run, giving hope to patient investors who endured long periods of downturn on the Nigerian Exchange. Read More
CBN Issues Open Banking Guidelines to Promote Financial Innovation
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has provided a regulatory framework for Open Banking in Nigeria to promote innovation and expand financial services for bank customers. Read More
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Kenya
Banks’ Right to Set Off Allowed against Accounts held by Related Companies
Banks often have standard terms and conditions with borrowers which entitle them to set off a borrower’s debts against amounts held in different accounts of the same borrower. Read More
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Africa This Morning is ALN’s daily newsletter that gives a round-up of the top news making headlines across Africa. It focuses on business news and any other happenings set to impact doing business and investing in the region. The above are updates and do not constitute legal advice.
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SOURCES
Financial Times
Business Daily Africa
Daily Nation, Kenya
Reuters
New York Times
Daily News, Tanzania
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CNBC, South Africa
Independent Uganda
Xhinuanet
Daily News, Egypt
Sudan Commerce News
Sudan News Agency
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