Africa

🇲🇱 Mali’s interim president, Colonel Assimi Goita, on Tuesday said on X (formerly Twitter) that he had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who “stressed the importance of a peaceful resolution of the situation” in Niger for a “more stable Sahel.” For its part, Niger’s junta said it was open to talks to resolve a regional crisis caused by last month’s military coup. Meanwhile the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) on Sunday said it had “expedited its withdrawal from Ber” in northern Mali due to the deteriorating security situation and high risks. It comes two months after Mali’s junta demanded that the MINUSMA force withdraws from the West African country after a decade-long deployment meant to quell the Tuareg separatist and jihadist rebellions that broke out in northern Mali in 2012.

🇰🇪 Kenya’s government reinstated fuel subsidies for 30 days to cushion consumers from surging fuel prices. The reversal of government policy follows public anger at the rising cost of living that led to protests in recent months. President William Ruto, whose tenure began last September after he won an election in which he vowed to represent the interest of the poorest Kenyans, removed fuel and maize subsidies aimed at cutting government spending to get a handle on debt repayments and avoid possible default. But the removal of those subsidies, combined with tax hikes, prompted violent anti-government demonstrations.

🇳🇬 Nigeria’s inflation rate hit an all-time high of 24.1% in July, up from 22.8% the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Tuesday. The inflationary conditions have been exacerbated by the removal of a fuel subsidy in June and the central bank’s subsequent move to unify the country’s multiple forex exchange (FX) rates. The price of food, fuel and transport have risen sharply in recent weeks.

🇬🇦 Gabon closed a $500 million debt-for-nature deal on Tuesday which will see it lower the cost of its debt and extend its payment period in exchange for a commitment to invest its $163 million savings in protecting 30% of its beaches, oceans and rivers. The ‘Blue Bonds’ deal, which was brokered in partnership with non-profit The Nature Conservancy and backed by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, will help look after the world’s largest population of endangered leatherback turtles and humpback dolphins.

Or approximately 500,000 Kenyan shillings which is the new limit in daily transactions that customers can hold in their M-Pesa and Airtel mobile money wallets after the central bank increased the limit on all platforms this week. The previous limit of 300,000 shillings had been in place since March 2020. Safaricom, which operates the M-Pesa payments platform, said the move is set to boost small and mid-sized businesses in the country “as the share of cashless transactions continues to rise.”

Northern Nigerians speak out on Niger crisis

THE SCENE

KANO, Nigeria — Hundreds of people filled the streets of Kano, northern Nigeria’s economic hub, chanting and singing songs. Some waved the Nigerian flag and others waved the flag of Niger, the neighboring country to the north where a group of soldiers overthrew the president late last month.

Many who took part in Saturday’s march chanted anti-Western slogans in support of Niger’s military junta which has defied calls from West Africa’s regional bloc to restore the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, or face the possibility of military intervention.

One of the chants, in the Hausa language widely spoken in northern Nigeria, translated as: “Attacking Niger is an act of injustice, attack on Niger is masterminded by the U.S.”

The Kano protest was just one of the developments in recent days that have shown the depth of feeling in northern Nigeria where most people are from the Hausa ethnic group, just as they are across the border in Niger. Whereas attempts to meet the junta leader by officials from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) and the United States were rebuffed last week, visitors from northern Nigeria have been granted access, achieving the deepest engagement with the putschists so far.

KNOW MORE

A group of Islamic scholars predominantly from northern Nigeria held talks with Nigerien coup leader Abdourahmane Tchiani at the weekend and issued a statement stating that “both parties agreed to intensify the option of dialogue in resolving the political crisis.”

“While tracing the historical ties between the two nations, he [Tchiani] said Niger Republic and Nigeria were not only neighbors but brothers and sisters who should resolve issues amicably,” the clerics said in the statement.

Days earlier, Lamido Sanusi also met Tchiani. Sanusi, a former Nigerian central bank governor and erstwhile emir of Kano, is the spiritual leader of the Tijaniyah Islamic movement in Nigeria which has millions of followers across West Africa, including Niger.

Northern Nigeria’s Hausa people have ties with Niger that go back centuries. Hausa people are the dominant ethnic group in northern Nigeria, and more than 50% of Niger’s populace is also Hausa, meaning people from the ethnic group have a shared language. Nearly a fifth of Nigeria’s states — seven out of 36 — border Niger.

Traders traditionally move back and forth between the two countries, sometimes on a daily basis, contributing greatly to the informal economies of border towns. And it is common to have relatives in the neighboring country.

Labaran Jafaru, a traditional leader in Sabon Birni, a border town in the northwest Nigerian state of Sokoto, said people have “already begun suffering” since the closure of the border between the two countries as part of Ecowas sanctions against Niger. “Traders will tell you that their sales have decreased extensively,” he said. “Hundreds of trucks are trapped in the borders with perishable crops such as onions decaying as entry into either of the two countries has been banned.”

THE VIEW FROM KADUNA

Shehu Sani, a former Nigerian senator in the northern state of Kaduna, called for “more protests” in opposition to the threat of military force by Ecowas. “Anti-war protests are what we need now because there seems to be pressure from France and the United States on the Nigerian President and Ecowas to embark on military action against Niger,” Sani told Semafor Africa. “If France and the United States want to restore order by force they can do that by their own resources.”

Sani also said any use of military force would “destabilize Niger and northern Nigeria,” prompting a humanitarian crisis. He pointed to the roughly 300,000 refugees in Niger who fled northeast Nigeria’s Boko Haram insurgency and could be forced to cross the border again if faced with worsening conditions.

— Co-reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram

Read the full story here, including Room for Disagreement and a reporter’s view.

Last month our friends at the China Global South Project published a piece of fascinating research on DR Congo’s all important cobalt and copper mining sectors. DRC is the world’s fourth largest copper producer and the biggest producer of cobalt, a key mineral in the big push by advanced economies to lead a ‘green transition’ from fossil fuels. The CGSP research, led by Francophone editor C. Geraud Neema, shows how much the production and export of those minerals is dominated by China. That domination is thanks to the wide variety and number of Chinese mining companies, from small one-person artisanal players to mid-sized operations up to industrial scale operations like the Tenke Fungurume Mine. But Neema points out that the largest cobalt producer in DRC last year was in fact Glencore, a Swiss company.

In value terms, DRC has seen a strong rise in exports in the last couple of years. And, while it’s generally safe to assume that China is the leading destination, the supply chain is a lot more diverse and intertwined with countries like Singapore and United Arab Emirates in the mix. “It shows us how complex the supply chain is — it depends on who is the best partner for me,” explained Neema.

What to expect from Zimbabwe’s elections

→ What’s happening? Zimbabwe will hold elections on Aug. 23 to elect a president, members of parliament and councilors. A candidate must secure more than 50% of the votes to win. A run-off between the top two candidates will be held on Oct. 2 if there is no outright winner in the first round.

The elections are the second after the military ousted Robert Mugabe in 2017.

→ Who’s running? A total of 11 candidates are vying for the presidency. The two main candidates are President Emerson Mnangagwa of the ruling Zanu-PF party, who took power after Mugabe, and Nelson Chamisa of the the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), who narrowly lost to Mnangagwa in the 2018 election which was marred by violence and allegations of voting irregularities.

→ What are the biggest issues? Corruption, the smuggling of Zimbabwean minerals, human rights abuses and the country’s economic crisis — characterized by hyperinflation and a weaker Zimbabwe dollar increasingly passed over in favor of the U.S. dollar — are among the biggest election issues.

Mnangagwa, 80, is seeking a second term. He is banking on infrastructure development and international re-engagement to attract voters.

Chamisa, 45, has vowed to revive Zimbabwe’s economy through external debt, revamp the mining sector and end corruption. He has said he would also improve healthcare and basic education.

→ What’s at stake? Zimbabwe has been sidelined on the world stage for several years. A peaceful and credible election would help to unlock key international lines of credit and woo global investors.

→ How will this election be different from others? There have been fewer violent incidents in the build-up to this vote than previous elections. The election will also be different in that the euphoria, excitement and misgivings after the removal of Mugabe in a coup have now died down.

— Tawanda Karombo in Harare

African e-commerce company Jumia lost 1 million customers and fulfilled 6.2 million fewer orders in the first six months of this year compared with the same period in 2022. It blamed its struggles on high inflation and currency devaluations in its markets. Jumia posted a 15% drop in second quarter revenue to $48.5 million, compared with a year ago while the dollar value of the goods and services it sold fell by 25% to $202 million. However, Jumia says it is being more cost-efficient with reductions in the average amounts spent on deliveries and on sales and advertising. Its $19.3 million loss for the period is its lowest in four years.

Read the full version of Jumia’s earning and Alexander’s View.

Mastercard is set to take a minority stake in the fintech division of pan-African telecommunications major MTN Group, according to a statement by the latter. MTN values its fintech business at $5.2 billion and said the investment agreement will be signed soon subject to the completion of a due diligence process. In an earnings report published along with the announcement, MTN said revenue from its fintech business — which consists mainly of a mobile money service with 61 million customers across Africa — grew 22% on the strength of transaction volumes that have grown to 8.3 billion in the past year. But MTN is looking to add up to three other investors to its fintech business, offering a maximum 30% stake for sale, chief executive Ralph Mupita told Bloomberg.

Two South Africa venture capital firms announced new funds with which to invest in early and growth stage startups across the continent. On Monday, Johannesburg-based firm Founders Factory Africa (FFA) said it had secured $114 million to increase its portfolio of 40 mostly early stage startups. It followed a similar disclosure by Knife Capital, based in Cape Town, which unveiled a $50 million fund last week. Both firms share a common investor: Johannesburg-based Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank by assets.

— Alexander Onukwue

What’s happening in Niger

If you prefer an audio-visual format to understand what’s been going on in Niger since the July 26 coup, I’ll help you to catch up in just 90 seconds. Disclaimer: Watch now because this situation is evolving quickly and this could be out of date by the weekend.

— Alexis

South African R&B singer-songwriter Motswedi Modiba, popularly known by her stage name MOE, became the first Black and African musician to perform on Sing! China — a popular Chinese TV singing competition in which a singer performs on stage behind four judges. Modiba performed in Mandarin — which she learned at a Chinese school in Pretoria and later studied in China on a scholarship. The show, which is in its eighth season, premiered on July 28 with millions of viewers predominantly from around Asia. Sing! China is a rebranded version of popular Dutch-created show The Voice. It was originally called The Voice of China when it launched 2012 but was renamed in 2016 after a copyright dispute.

• Wagner and Iran are turning Belarus into a new front in Europe.
• ChatGPT creator OpenAI has been using its most advanced large language model to enforce the company’s content policies, marking a major milestone.
• The cost of peace to end a civil war at one of Wall Street’s hottest firms? $34 million a year.

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Happy 63rd Independence day Central African Republic 🇨🇫! (Aug. 13)

Happy 63rd Independence day Congo Brazzaville 🇨🇬! (Aug. 15)

Happy 63rd Independence day Gabon 🇬🇦! (Aug. 17)

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— Yinka, Alexis, Alexander Onukwue, and Muchira Gachenge