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issue 533 | 18 Feb 2024
Africa
AfDB and TDB join forces to deploy clean technologies to cut carbon emissions in AfricaThe African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has announced a follow-up equity investment of USD15-million in the Trade and Development Bank (TDB) Group’s pioneering Class C Green+ shares to support clean technology and low carbon projects in its member states. The new capital, to be sourced from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), will also support the establishment of a project preparation facility to boost investment in clean technologies. The CTF, part of the Climate Investment Funds, provides resources to developing countries to scale up low-carbon technologies with significant potential for long-term greenhouse gas emissions savings. TDB launched the unique thematic equity instruments just over a year ago during the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; the AfDB greeted the announcement with an initial investment of USD15-million.
Source: AfDB
Africa
AfDB approves up to USD10-million stake in the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa Project Development fundThe Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group approved the proposal to take an initial stake of up to USD10-million in the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa – Project Development (AGIA-PD) fund in Abidjan on 24 January 2024. Part of the AGIA, a USD10-billion initiative led by the AfDB and formed jointly with the African Union Commission, the pan-African investment platform Africa50, and several other partners, the AGIA-PD seeks to help accelerate the continent’s green transition by collaborating with African countries and the private sector, internationally and locally, to prepare and develop resilient, transformative green infrastructure projects and programmes quickly and at scale. The AGIA will be implemented through three pillars: first, project preparation seeking to raise USD100-million in donations upstream for targeted activities; second, project development, using the AGIA-PD mechanism, to raise USD400-million in blended capital to transform green infrastructure project concepts into bankable opportunities, and third, investment and finance that involves establishing a framework to facilitate the mobilisation of USD10-billion in funding – from treasury stocks, loans and risk mitigation instruments – to provide large-scale funding for green infrastructure projects prepared and developed under pillars one and two.
Source: AfDB
Africa
PIAfrica 2024: Reshaping African Markets: Deciphering the Investment Conundrum for GrowthThe 7th edition of the Pension Fund and Alternative Investment Africa (PIAfrica) Conference will bring together pension fund managers, investment managers, institutional managers, and industry leaders. This event offers a distinctive opportunity to explore new investment pathways, particularly within alternative investments, while addressing associated challenges and concerns. The conference is scheduled to take place from 28-29 February 2024, at the Intercontinental in Balaclava, Mauritius. This year's theme, Reshaping African Markets: Deciphering the Investment Conundrum for Growth, focuses on exploring the economic growth and potential of the African pension funds and alternative investment market. The conference is sponsored by notable investment companies including Black Rock, eFront, the Trade and Development Bank Group, ESTAL, Stewards Investment Capital, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and LSE Advisors. The conference will showcase insightful panel discussions covering emerging trends in alternative investments and asset management.
Source: ECA
East Africa
EAC embarks on use of mobile application to eliminate NTBsThe East African Community (EAC) Secretariat and partner states have been directed to operationalise the EAC Elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) Mobile Application (EAC NTBs App) including sensitisation by 30 April 2024. Making the directive, the Ministerial Session of the 43rd EAC Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment that was held at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania further commended Trademark Africa for supporting the development of the EAC NTBs App was developed to ease the reporting, monitoring and elimination of NTBs in the community. The EAC NTBs App was finalised and piloted during the National Monitoring Committee meetings in March 2023. The EAC NTBs App allows the users to report the complaints in one of the three EAC official languages: English, Swahili and French. The mobile app can be downloaded from the Apple Store, Google’s Play Store, and other Android devices, and can be accessed through https://eac-mobile.portal.africa/.
Source: EAC
Ghana / United Kingdom
Ghana-UK partnership look to unlock West African nation’s EV potentialLithium-rich Ghana is forging ahead with plans to grow its electric vehicle (EV) sector. It is partnering with the United Kingdom (UK) to explore possible opportunities for both countries. British High Commissioner to Ghana Harriet Thompson confirmed recently that the two countries would be looking at cooperation in the EV sector. She said the UK recognised the economic strides made by Ghana in the automotive sector. “This vibrant sector presents exciting opportunities for collaboration for UK investors. The UK automotive market is estimated at GBP67-billion (around USD84-billion)… We look to working with Ghana as it scales its ambition into new areas such as component manufacturing, automotive technology and electric vehicles,” she was quoted by local press as saying. The UK and Ghana also signed three memoranda of understanding in February covering, among others, the automotive industry during the UK-Ghana Business Council’s ninth meeting in Accra on 31 January 2024.
Source: ESI Africa
Kenya
Kenya cabinet approves privatisation of seven state-owned enterprisesKenya's cabinet has approved the sale of seven more state-owned enterprises following a meeting chaired by President William Ruto at State House in Nairobi, bringing the total number of entities set to be privatised to 17. The seven enterprises include the privatisation of the Development Bank of Kenya. “The decision (on [the] Development Bank) by our nation’s apex policy-making organ was informed by the fact the bank had fully transitioned into a fully-fledged depositing taking commercial bank regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya,” a cabinet dispatch said. Others earmarked for privatisation are Golf Hotel Limited, Sunset Hotel Limited, Mt Elgon Lodge Limited, and Kabarnet Hotel Limited. Hotels under the Kenya Safari Lodges and Hotels Limited – Mombasa Beach Hotel, Ngulia Safari Lodge, and Voi Safari Lodge). According to the cabinet, the move is expected to stimulate the expansion of the country’s hospitality industry and grow the individual units through private sector investment. “This move aligns with the ongoing rebound of the tourism sector that has been buoyed by the visa-free entry regime in Kenya and promises to deliver increased employment and business opportunities in both the divested enterprises as well as across the entire tourism sector,” the dispatch added.
Source: The Citizen
Kenya
Why court reinstated regulation of CRBsThe Court of Appeal has temporarily reinstated Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) Regulations, which were nullified by the High Court last year, handing the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) powers to supervise entities that help lenders to assess a borrower's creditworthiness. The Banking (Credit Reference Bureau) Regulations, 2020 were declared null and void by Justice Mugure Thande on 28 August, for noncompliance with section 11 of the Statutory Instruments Act, on timelines. The CBK moved to the Court of Appeal contending that the entire credit information sharing framework had been thrown into total disarray as the regulator cannot enforce or implement the rules. The court was informed that whereas the regulations were published by the CBK on 8 April 2020, they were transmitted to the Clerk of the National Assembly on 5 May 2020. They ought to have been transmitted by 14 April 2020, petitioner Benjamin Bogongo argued. The High Court judge had rejected an excuse of the COVID-19 pandemic, as submitted by the Treasury cabinet secretary for the cause of the delay. A bench of three judges of the Court of Appeal, however, agreed with CBK and Treasury that the quashing of the regulations had left a huge vacuum in regulation of CRBs in Kenya.
Source: Nation
Lesotho
Government launches public-private dialogueThe Government of Lesotho through the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Business Development with the support of the World Bank launched the first public-private dialogue at a recent event held in Maseru. In his keynote address, Prime Minister, Mr Samuel Ntsokoane Matekane said this initiative shows a shared vision of the private sector and the Government of Lesotho of bringing Lesotho to better heights in terms of development. He said that this is an indication of progress and prosperity towards addressing issues of unemployment with more sustainable and well-structured plans. He also said that this is the time which the two sectors need to roll up their sleeves and be involved in collaborative efforts which will address the poor developments that Lesotho is faced with. Mr Matekane however showed that the aim is to have quarterly meetings with the private sector, but regular arrangements can be made when burning issues emerge. He therefore mentioned that this platform is among others intended to increase the domestic and foreign market as to attend to the lack of market of Lesotho products.
Source: Government of Lesotho
Malawi
Malawi lifts visa restrictions for 79 countriesMalawi has lifted visa restrictions for travellers from 79 countries. Homeland Security Minister Ken Zikhałe recently made this announcement in a gazette notice. The decision aims to enable easier access for visitors, including those from the United Kingdom, China, Russia, Germany, Australia, Canada, and others with a broad objective of improving tourism in the country. The change to immigration regulations means citizens from these countries, as well as nationals from the Southern African Development Community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, no longer need visas to enter Malawi. However, this exemption does not apply to countries that impose visa requirements on Malawian citizens. Additionally, certain groups like diplomats and government officials, along with countries having mutual exchange agreements for multiple-entry visas with Malawi, are also exempt from these regulations. Additionally, the validity of multiple entry visas in Malawi has been extended to up to 12 months under the new visa regulations. This move is expected to not only boost tourism but also facilitate trade and strengthen diplomatic ties between Malawi and the affected countries.
Source: Africanews
Namibia
Namibia launches Tourism Satellite Account report to boost economic growthNamibia has launched its Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) report in an effort to boost investment in the lucrative travel sector which contributes 6.9% to the country’s GDP. The TSA report measures the direct economic contribution of tourism to Namibia’s economy. The Sixth Edition of the TSA Namibia Report 2022 indicates that during 2022, tourism’s direct contribution to GDP is about NAD14.3-billion of the total GDP of NAD206.2-billion. The Ministry of Forestry, Environment and Tourism in conjunction with the Namibia Statistics Agency developed the TSA report with the financial and technical support from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The ECA delivered the capacity building workshops for the National TSA Steering Committee and training for relevant stakeholders. The Namibian TSA is based on the framework developed by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and its implementation is anchored under Strategic Intervention 4 of Namibia's Tourism Sector Recovery Plan (2022-2024), which aims to “increase tourism market intelligence through statistics and data collection."
Source: ECA
Namibia
Total Energies commits NAD5.7-billion to Namibian oil sectorFrench company TotalEnergies, which recently announced a new oil discovery off-shore Namibia, says it has allocated about NAD5.7-billion for exploration and appraisal work in the country’s budding oil sector in 2024. This was said by CEO Patrick Pouyanne during the recent presentation of the company’s 2023 financial results and objectives for the year 2024. “Namibia is at the top of our spending priorities for exploration and appraisal, and we will again allocate around 30% of our exploration and appraisal budget to Namibia in 2024, because we need to continue assessing the best approach for development,” he said. This development comes at a time that Shell, another oil major, told miningandenergy.com it had initiated critical flow tests on its Jonker-2A well in Namibia’s Orange Basin to assess the size and reservoir quality of the oil discovery. The outcome of the envisaged tests would provide valuable insights that could shape Shell’s future investment decisions in the basin and potentially impact Namibia’s fledgling energy sector. The company had, however, earlier announced it would adopt a cautious approach in developing its oil discoveries in Namibia, because of the high-cost implication of the process.
Source: The Namibian
Nigeria
IMF Executive Board concludes Post Financing Assessment with NigeriaOn 12 January 2024, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Post Financing Assessment (PFA) and endorsed the Staff Appraisal on a lapse-of-time basis. Nigeria’s capacity to repay the fund is adequate. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has moved ahead with important structural reforms: removing fuel subsidies and unifying the various official foreign exchange windows. He appointed a Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee to make proposals for raising domestic revenue to support investments in infrastructure, health, and education. To ease the impact of rapidly rising inflation on living conditions, the government has released cereals from the grain reserve, provided subsidised fertiliser to farmers, capped retail fuel and electricity prices – thus partially reversing the fuel subsidy removal – implemented a civil service wage award, and suspended the value-added tax on diesel. Growth is projected at 2.9% for 2023, and 3% in 2024, as hydrocarbon performance revives, including from better control of theft. If the authorities succeed in developing and implementing a comprehensive reform agenda, the medium-term outlook would be much improved.
Source: IMF
Somalia
Somalia close to formalise EAC membershipSomalia has moved a step closer to ratifying its admission to the East African Community (EAC), paving the way for local legislative authorities to formalise laws that will make it enjoy the benefits of membership. The Lower House of the bicameral Parliament, officially known as Golaha Shacabka (Peoples’ Hall), endorsed the treaty of the EAC in a session held recently. The second Chair of the Chamber, Abdullahi Omar Abshirow, announced that out of 150 members of Parliament present, 148 voted in favour, one objected while one abstained. The Upper House is now expected to rubberstamp the endorsement, which will then be published in the official government gazette. Somalia was admitted to the regional bloc in December, making it the eighth member state. The others are Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Source: The EastAfrican
South Sudan / South Africa
South Africa, South Sudan to collaborate on mining developmentSouth Sudan’s Ministry of Mining and South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for collaboration in the mining sector. The MoU will see increased cooperation in exploration, the transfer of knowledge and capacity building. The MoU was signed in Cape Town and serves as an important milestone for South Sudan to develop its immense endowment of critical minerals including copper, lithium and manganese. As South Sudan advances the development of its minerals sector, the country’s mining industry emerges as a key pillar for diversified growth. The South Sudan Oil & Power 2024 conference in Juba includes, for the first time, the South Sudan Mining Forum, in the second quarter of 2024. In November, South Sudan will be a feature country at the Critical Minerals Africa summit in Cape Town.
Source: Energy Capital & Power
Tanzania / Burundi / Rwanda
Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda's power plant handover set for AprilTanzania, Rwanda and Burundi are on track to inaugurate the transboundary Rusumo Hydropower Project in April 2024. The 80MW project, nearing completion at 99.9%, represents a joint investment of nearly USD468-million by the three partner nations. Implemented by the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program (NELSAP-CU) on behalf of the Rusumo Power Company Limited (RPCL), a special-purpose vehicle formed by the three countries, the project promises to significantly boost regional energy security and stability. “After completing all required tests, NELSAP has signed the certificates of completion and handed over two of the three turbines to Rusumo Power Company Limited (RPCL),” said NELSAP-CU Regional Coordinator Dr Isaac Alukwe. The Programme Manager of the project, Mr Alloyce Oduor, said: “All three turbines have been tested, and all of them can individually operate at 105%.” In a statement issued to this paper, NELSAP revealed that between November 2023 and January 2024, the 80 MW regional Rusumo Hydroelectric Project delivered a total of 66 million kWh of electricity to three countries (Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania). Tanzania received 21 million KWh, the same as Rwanda, while Burundi received the highest allocation of 22 million KWh.
Source: The Citizen
Togo / Spain
Spain plans new strategy to bolster cooperation with TogoSpain wants to improve its relationship with Togo. Spanish Ambassador to Togo Javier Gutiérrez unveiled the ambition recently, while meeting with Togo’s Prime Minister, Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé. “Togo is an attractive country for Spanish companies,” said Gutiérrez before adding, “I think we need to work together to promote trade between the two countries.” Besides economic opportunities, Spain eyes Togo’s education sector. “I also noticed that there were a lot of opportunities in the education sector,” the European ambassador added. He informed PM Tomegah-Dogbe that Spain is preparing a new cooperation strategy with Togo in agriculture, social, and other key sectors. Towards drawing and implementing this strategy, the two officials discussed the possibility of organising forums with Spanish companies in Spain, so that they know more about the investment opportunities in Togo.
Source: Togo First
Uganda
Uganda orders airlines to reject uncustomed goldUganda Revenue Authority (URA) has written to airlines operating in Uganda to reject gold shipments from the country if the exporters do not show proof of clearance of all payments warning that transporting uncustomed gold will be contrary to the East African Community (EAC) Customs Management. The interventions come after a damning December 2022 report to Parliament by Auditor-General John Muwanga faulting the taxman for failing to collect taxes from gold exports worth UGX340-billion (USD89.3-million). Gold dealers earned millions of dollars from trading in the precious mineral. “A total of UGX340-billion in taxes had not been collected from gold exports valued at UGX6.92-trillion (USD1.8-billion) for the year under review. Management attributed non-collection to the minister’s statutory guidance staying the implementation of the 1% export levy,” Mr Muwanga wrote. In its defence, URA’s management blamed the meagre collections on a tax dispute with gold exporters. The dispute started in April 2022 after enactment of a law imposing a levy of 5% on every kilogramme of refined gold and 10% on unprocessed gold for export. The tax had proposed a charge of USD200 for every kilogramme.
Source: The EastAfrican
Uganda
Ugandan President assents to the long-awaited Competition ActIt may have been 20 years in the making but it is finally here! The president assented to the long-awaited Competition Act, 2023 on 2 February 2024. The assent to the Act is timely as it comes in the wake of HEAPI v Honourable Dr Jane Ruth Acheng, Minister of Health and Attorney General where the court ordered the respondents to regulate and standardise the pricing of medical services provided by private health facilities. The back-to-school season also caused an outcry in the country for the regulation of school fees. Consumer protection and providing consumers with competitive prices and product choices are some of the key objectives of the Act. Implementation of decisions such as that in HEAPI may therefore fall within the mandate of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, the administrative mechanism of the Act.
Source: ENS
Zimbabwe
IMF staff completes 2024 Article IV mission to ZimbabweAn International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team led by Mr Wojciech Maliszewski visited Harare from 31 January – 14 February 2024, to discuss the authorities’ request for a Staff Monitored Program (SMP) and commence 2024 Article IV consultation. At the conclusion of the IMF mission, Mr Maliszewski issued the following statement, in part: “Economic activity in Zimbabwe continues to show resilience in the face of currency instability and high inflation. GDP growth is estimated at 5.3% in 2023, on the back of an expansion in agriculture and mining, and – buoyed by related foreign currency inflows and by remittances – in the highly-dollarised domestic trade and services. Growth is expected to decelerate to about 3.25% in 2024, partly reflecting the impact of a drought on agriculture production and lower commodity prices. These factors are also expected to reduce foreign currency inflows, but remittances will likely remain strong, and the current account is projected to be in small surplus. This should support liquidity in the dollarised part of the economy, sustaining growth in domestic trade, services, and construction.
Source: IMF