Vol 65 No 17 | ZIMBABWE Dollars still dominate the economy despite the launch of the ZiG 21st August 2024 The country’s largest independent brokerage says the government should restore the trust of its citizens instead of forcing them to abandon the dollar It has been four months since the introduction of the ‘Zimbabwe Gold’ or ZiG on 8 April and confidence in the currency has not improved. The official exchange...
Vol 65 No 17 | ZIMBABWE Paranoia on show as Harare hosts summit 19th August 2024 Rights groups outraged as SADC hands its chair to Mnangagwa after security agents arrest and beat up over 100 activists Such was the ferocity of the government’s assault on civil society activists and oppositionists ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Harare on 17 August,...
Vol 65 No 16 | SOUTH AFRICA Hurdles for Progressive Caucus 1st August 2024 The coalition of opposition parties has lost some members to Ramaphosa’s Government of National Unity while another is embroiled in the VBS scandal When the United Democratic Movement’s Bantu Holomisa and Economic Freedom Fighters’ Julius Malema called a press conference on the morning of 14 June at the Cape Town Convention...
Vol 65 No 16 | MOZAMBIQUE Privinvest on the hook 1st August 2024 London’s High Court has awarded Mozambique over US$825 million and more than $1.5 billion in indemnity for payments relating to the country’s $2bn of state-guaranteed hidden loans, which...
Vol 65 No 16 | ZAMBIA Hichilema’s anti-corruption plan in disarray after claims against senior figures 24th July 2024 Critics say politically-connected business people are suborning senior officials at the Anti-Corruption Commission Angered by a raft of allegations against senior officials, President Hakainde Hichilema has dissolved the board of the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). It follows the resignation on 16...
Vol 65 No 15 | SOUTH AFRICA The markets bet on Ramaphosa's grand coalition 18th July 2024 The key test for the Government of National Unity is whether it can mobilise the billions needed to revive growth and cut unemployment The excitement in the markets over the launch of the Government of National Unity (GNU) has to be balanced against the enormity of the challenges confronting the leaders...
Vol 65 No 15 | ZIMBABWE Concerns multiply over Mnangagwa's secretive wealth fund 18th July 2024 Claims that the Mutapa Investment Fund paid US$1.6bn to presidential ally Tagwirei highlight risks of grand corruption Shortly after his victory in last year’s disputed elections, President Emmerson Mnangagwa reconstituted the country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, bringing 66 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) under the control of his... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 15 | ZIMBABWE Against the odds, can the new ZiG currency tame inflation? 5th July 2024 With 80% of business still priced in US dollars, many are sceptical of the latest monetary plan Dropped into its sobering assessment of Zimbabwe’s economic prospects the IMF Article IV review team offered some qualified support for the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency on 28 June:...
Vol 65 No 14 | ANGOLA Gargantuan debt servicing poses threat 4th July 2024 The lessons of Kenya’s crisis loom large as Luanda officials search for a way to cut repayment demands Angola is Africa’s second-biggest oil producer but is facing what is arguably the continent’s worst debt crisis. Unlike fellow heavily indebted economies in Ghana and Zambia, the way...
Vol 65 No 14 | ANGOLA Political glitches hold up reforms 4th July 2024 Fear of popular protest deters the government from cutting fuel subsidies and privatising state assets Midway into his second term, President João Lourenço has spent more time trying to consolidate his grip on the ruling Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) than...
