NIGERIA Ending fuel subsidies, Tinubu takes on traders and the unions 7th June 2023 Pic: @officialABAT The new government has to forestall the threat of hyper-inflation and the economy slipping back into recession Within hours of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu proclaiming 'the end of fuel subsidies' at his inauguration on 29 May, the pump price for gasoline had almost tripled at filling stations across the country. Days later, the country's two biggest trade union confederations announced plans for national strikes demanding the reinstatement of the subsidy until the government published a plan to compensate workers for higher fuel and commodity prices.
MALAWI Mutharika manoeuvres for a comeback 5th June 2023 Peter Mutharika. Pic: DFID (CC BY 2.0) So dire is the record of the incumbent that the opposition believes Peter Mutharika could be elected president again in 2025 The political situation is in such turmoil that the next contest to lead Malawi is already dominating talk in the capital. Ex-President Peter Mutharika is planning a comeback, acco...
CÔTE D'IVOIRE Football before politics 2nd June 2023 Pic: @AOuattara_PRCI Local elections have been brought forward to avoid clashing with the Africa Cup of Nations but offering just as many fireworks as old rivals vie for key posts The stakes are high. The coming local elections must be flawless, unlike the violence-tainted 2020 presidentials, not only for the sake of the country's reputation but to reassure ...
NIGERIA Shell holds up clean-up payments in graft row 26th May 2023 Pic: @HYPREPNigeria Sacked director of Ogoniland project spells out corruption concerns in rebuke to environment ministry Shell is withholding payments towards the Ogoniland clean-up until it sees a full accounting for the disputed contracts issued to date, Africa Confidential has learned from sources... READ FOR FREE
GHANA The ruling party could benefit from its IMF U-turn 25th May 2023 Ken Ofori-Atta speaks at the IMF press conference on the recently-approved $3bn program for Ghana. After losing a by-election, the opposition NDC is crafting its campaign on government failure ahead of next year's elections The IMF approval of a US$3 billion bailout to support Ghana's ailing economy is being held up as a victory by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), but it is also an embarrassin...
GHANA The IMF offers some breathing space 25th May 2023 Copyright © Africa Confidential 2023 Accra has secured concessions from the multilateral banks as well as China in exchange for promises on debt Although West Africa's second largest economy had been expected to receive an International Monetary Fund deal in the coming months, the IMF's 17 May announcement – that its ... READ FOR FREE
GHANA Deeper reforms needed after the bailout 25th May 2023 IMF HQ. Pic: Bumble Dee / stock.adobe.com Slowing inflation and a strengthening cedi after the IMF credit will help the ruling party’s election campaign Ghana's US$3 billion bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund will not be painless, and comes with demands for a diet of structural reforms and spending cuts. Key prioriti...
SUDAN A ceasefire with monitors this time 25th May 2023 Pic: @RSFSudan With back-up, the latest truce could open the door for a general return to Khartoum and the restart of civilian negotiations on the transition The agreement of a short-term ceasefire and humanitarian arrangements in Jeddah on 21 May with monitoring capacity, after six failed such accords, may be a step forward despite the...
NIGERIA Tinubu struggles to control the Assembly 25th May 2023 Pic: @officialABAT The incoming President's feted dealmaking skills will be tested in the courts and in the legislature Ahead of the scheduled 29 May inauguration of President-elect Bola Tinubu, there are two key procedural hurdles: he has to resolve the fight over the leadership of both houses of t...
SENEGAL Sonko's trial is Sall's challenge 25th May 2023 Pic: @SonkoOfficiel The outcome of the firebrand oppositionist's trial could transform the face of politics, and may open the way to other contenders More than two years after he was first charged with raping the masseuse Adji Sarr and then making death threats, Ousmane Sonko, the charismatic leader of the Pastef Les Patriotes p...
ZIMBABWE Mnangagwa's corruption double talk 25th May 2023 @edmnangagwa Opaque and unbudgeted state spending is rising as officials get closer to Belarus and Russia The latest row over patronage and opaque procurement in the government shows the widening rift between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy General Constantino Chiwenga, and...
EGYPT Cairo's gas export boom hits obstacles 24th May 2023 Copyright © Africa Confidential 2023 With Europe's sanctions on Russian gas, Cairo has been boosting LNG exports to fill the gap but questions are mounting about sustainability Increased revenue from exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) have been a rare bright spot in Egypt's otherwise dismal economic performance over the past two years. The government ...
ETHIOPIA Team Abiy inches forward in Oromo talks 19th May 2023 Abiy Ahmed. Pic: dpa picture alliance/Alamy The government must balance negotiations with the Oromo rebels with its strategy in the Tigray and Amhara regions The federal government and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) pushed maximalist positions on disarmament and devolution respectively in the first round of their peace talks in Zanziba...
NAMIBIA Oil boom poses governance risks 15th May 2023 Pic: @hagegeingob Politically-connected middlemen taking key roles in oil licencing raise concerns over corruption in the coming hydrocarbons bonanza Namibia looks set to add oil to its cornucopia of mineral resources, including gem diamonds, uranium, and lithium, with the potential to become a major exporter by 2026. The bonanz...
MOZAMBIQUE Frelimo rolls out the vote 25th May 2023 Pic: @FRELIMO_ Having failed to persuade parliament to allow him to stand for a third term, President Filipe Nyusi is bent on consolidating his position by securing a landslide for Frelimo in Oct...
NIGERIA Bayelsa commission reports 25th May 2023 Pic: @BSOECommission The Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC) launched its much-anticipated report on 60 years' worth of oil pollution in the state, where local companies now produce ...
CHAD Succès on K-Street 25th May 2023 Pic: @Succes_MASRA Opposition leader Succès Masra and his party, Les Transformateurs, have taken on the K-Street lobby shop, Scribe Strategies, led by Republican operative Joseph Szlavik, one ...
KENYA Jobs for the spouses 25th May 2023 Mary Chebukati Wanyonyi. Pic: Twitter Cronyism is nothing new in Kenyan politics and the latest move to raise eyebrows was President William Ruto's decision this week to nominate Mary Chebukati Wanyonyi, wife of former...
NIGERIA Minister sacks oil clean-up boss as graft fears grow 9th May 2023 Nenibarini Zabbey takes over from Ferdinand Giadom. Pic: @HYPREPNigeria The removal of the head of HYPREP is the latest effort to clear resistance to wholesale plunder of the $1 billion Delta anti-pollution programme The head of the government agency charged with cleaning up decades of oil pollution by Shell in Ogoniland, Ferdinand Giadom, was summarily sacked without cause by President Muhamma... READ FOR FREE
SUDAN A war that hits everyone all at once 11th May 2023 Copyright © Africa Confidential 2023 As the generals are deadlocked in battle, a humanitarian disaster is building with refugees fleeing for neighbouring countries Prospects for a humanitarian ceasefire in Sudan have improved since the opening of talks between representatives of the warring factions open in Jeddah on 6 May, according to Unite...
KENYA What does Raila Odinga want? 10th May 2023 Pic: @RailaOdinga The opposition leader has got the talks he demanded but that may not keep his supporters off the streets After weeks of insisting that there would be no compromise and no 'handshake'-style deal with veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, President William Ruto followed his two immedi...
ECONOMYWORLD BANKINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDAFRICA No brave new Bretton Woods in sight 11th May 2023 Copyright © Africa Confidential 2023 Negotiations on reforming the international finance system are slowed by geopolitics and the west’s economic wobbles Grand talk about remaking the international system and a second edition of Bretton Woods meeting, which founded the IMF and the World Bank in 1944, has yielded little but promises ...
ZIMBABWE ZANU-PF fires its electoral blunderbuss 11th May 2023 Pic: @edmnangagwa At every level and in every institution, the ruling party is sidelining and attacking the opposition With less than three months before national elections are due, there are multiple signs of abuses of state power by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU...
ECONOMYAFRICAAID Rich countries boost aid – to themselves 11th May 2023 OECD HQ, Paris. (CC BY 2.0) Helping Ukrainian refugees has driven a surge in aid spending – mostly at the expense of hard-hit African economies African states have felt the pain of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the form of shortages and higher prices for wheat, grain and agricultural inputs, and above all energy prices. ...
NIGERIA Money and politics delay the latest headcount plan 5th May 2023 People at market Oshidin district, Lagos. Pic: Frans Lemmens/Alamy Facing rows over resources and state finances, the new government isn't prioritising the census
NAMIBIAMINING Western companies belatedly join critical minerals race 4th May 2023 Lepidico mine. Pic: lepidico.com President Geingob's government is benefitting from international rivalry to boost lithium production
