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Published 16th December 2021

Vol 62 No 25

Adding up the real costs of the energy transition

Copyright © Africa Confidential 2021
Copyright © Africa Confidential 2021

To achieve net zero emissions by 2050 will mean clean energy investments of $1-2 trillion a year in developing economies

After a frustrating lack of progress on finance and mapping out a 'just transition' to renewable energy at the COP26 climate summit last month, African officials are preparing for the next round of negotiations in Egypt in November 2022.

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Raila's shallow coalition

Raila Odinga arrives at Kasarani stadium. Pic: Donwilson Odhiambo/SOPA Images/Sipa USA/Alamy
Raila Odinga arrives at Kasarani stadium. Pic: Donwilson Odhiambo/SOPA Images/Sipa USA/Alamy

Backed by the presidential camp, Odinga is now the establishment candidate, but he lacks his rival’s grassroots support

The kick-off of Raila Odinga's fifth presidential bid in front of around 100,000 people in Nairobi's Kasarani stadium on 10 December may have displayed 'Baba's' undimmed capacity t...

Edging towards breakdown

Without an agreement on finance, debts and skilled labour, Eskom could break down beyond the point of no return

The state of the national electricity grid is reaching breaking point, that is the risk of a total power shut down caused by a systemic failure of generating capacity. Energy exper...

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THE INSIDE VIEW

On 15 December, European Union foreign ministers slapped sanctions on the Russian private military group Wagner opening the way for more sanctions against foreign mercenary groups operating in Africa. It fits into the pattern of stand-offs between Brussels and Moscow given that Wagner is owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

EU officials accused Wagner of worsening the civil war in Libya, with its backing for General Khalifa Haftar. Equally tro...

On 15 December, European Union foreign ministers slapped sanctions on the Russian private military group Wagner opening the way for more sanctions against foreign mercenary groups operating in Africa. It fits into the pattern of stand-offs between Brussels and Moscow given that Wagner is owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

EU officials accused Wagner of worsening the civil war in Libya, with its backing for General Khalifa Haftar. Equally troubling to Brussels is the way Wagner offered its services to the regimes in Mali and the Central African Republic. The EU has now withdrawn its military support for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in CAR, where Wagner group soldiers have been training local forces but are also accused of serial human rights abuses.

That may affect EU operations in Mozambique, Congo-Kinshasa and the Sahel, where Wagner soldiers have also been on the ground.

In a sanctions list drawn up by EU officials under its version of the United States Magnitsky Act, and unanimously approved by foreign ministers, Wagner was targeted with an asset freeze. The eight individuals sanctioned include Dmitry Utkin, now said to be Wagner's lead commander in Ukraine, and Alexander Kuzentsov, a commander who has been leading operations in Libya.

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The junta seeks immunity

As they try to dominate the mooted transition, the ruling generals want to avoid prosecution for attacks on civilians

General Abdel Fattah al Burhan, the army chief and leader of a 25 October coup, is keen to keep the immunity from prosecution conferred on him as the country's de facto chief of st...

Tinubu fights for his legacy

Public opposition to the elite's handling of the #EndSARS protests will cost votes in the coming national elections

The Lagos state government's handling of last October's Lekki Toll Gate shootings has angered many in the commercial capital, especially young voters. That could derail the chances...

No justice for Cashgate crooks

After eight years of delay in probing the theft of $32m by public officials, prospects for closure under the new government are as dim as ever

When Finance Ministry budget director Paul Mphwiyo unexpectedly survived being shot in the head and left for dead eight years ago, blowing apart the heist of US$32 million of publi...

Economy under the weather

Drought and water mismanagement are pushing the country into famine. But with no serious opposition, Rajoelina reigns on

The rains are late in Madagascar – again. While over 750,000 people in the south of the island face severe hunger after three consecutive years of drought, the population of ...

President's situation is no joke

A popular comedian is ridiculing the head of state as he tries to counter popular discontent with a wave of anti-corruption arrests

Sixteen months after garnering an impressive electoral mandate, President Lazarus Chakwera is on the back foot, anxiously deflecting accusations that his administration is incompet...

Hamdok wavers as his isolation grows

The prime minister's position looks increasingly untenable as reformers distance themselves from the deal with the generals

Having lost the support of the street and the main opposition groupings, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok faces some stark choices: appoint the ministers of his choice, triggering a c...

Costly U-turn on killings

By rejecting the investigators' verdict on the Lekki shootings Governor Sanwo-Olu has lost voters' trust

A year after admitting that it was likely that the military had killed civilians at the Lekki toll gate in protest against police brutality in October 2020, the Lagos state governm...

Elections in grave danger

Farmajo's rival presidential candidates are so fed up with his manipulations of the electoral process they are calling for a boycott and mobilising their militias

Unable to negotiate with President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed 'Farmajo' or curb his manipulation of the polls to ensure he can return as president, the alliance of the presidential c...

Buhari gambles on cash transfers on his way out

As the government ends fuel subsidies, the president plans to introduce an even costlier social grant to over 40 million citizens

Just over a year before he's due to step down, President Muhammadu Buhari is taking some uncharacteristic risks. His government is phasing out politically sensitive subsidies and a...

Pointers

Safaricom sticking around

Undeterred by the escalating civil war and the United States' decision to freeze US$500 million to help with acquisition and development costs, Safaricom is pressing ahead with its...

Getting connected

Congo-Kinshasa's imminent membership of the East African Community is prompting a jostle for position as its neighbours seek to agree new infrastructure deals and trade accords. En...

Cancelling the opposition

Sentenced to 20 years in jail on terrorism charges, the outspoken ex-minister Reckya Madougou has been formally removed from the Béninois political scene, as has the respect...

Clogged-up commission

What is holding up publication of a major report into how oil spills have wrecked the ecology of Bayelsa state in the Niger Delta? The Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commissio...

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