Features | - Part 231

Zambia Votes After Violence Mars Close-Run Presidential Race

LUSAKA, Zambia, Capital Markets in Africa: Zambians began voting Thursday in elections that are set to be a rematch of last year’s neck-and-neck contest between President Edgar Lungu and his main rival, Hakainde Hichilema, following a violence-marred campaign. Less than 28,000 votes separated the two men the last time they squared off in a snap poll 19 months ago, after President Michael Sata died in office. While incumbent Lungu, 59, has enjoyed blanket state-media coverage of his campaign, an economic…

South Africa Sued to Protect Recipients of $9.7 Billion in Welfare

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG, Capital Markets in Africa: South Africa’s government is facing a counter legal challenge in a dispute with Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. with a rights group demanding that it protect welfare recipients from companies that are allegedly selling the nation’s poorest people goods and services they don’t need and deducting payments from grants paid to them by the state. Black Sash Trust, a human rights activist group, on Wednesday applied to the High Court in…

Ethiopia Key U.S. Africa Ally Faces More Unrest After Scores Killed

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Capital Markets in Africa: Ethiopia, a key U.S. ally in the fight against Islamist militants in East Africa, faces the prospect of further unrest after a crackdown on anti-government demonstrations held by its two largest communities over the weekend that Amnesty International said left 97 people dead. Security forces opened fire on protesters in the country’s Amhara region, with the worst bloodshed in the northern city of Bahir Dar where at least 30 people…

South Africa Opposition Wants Deal to Shut ANC Out of Johannesburg

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: South Africa’s Democratic Alliance is proposing a deal that would allow it to run the country’s biggest city while giving a smaller rival control of its first municipality and locking the ruling African National Congress out of the management of the two cities. The country’s biggest opposition party, known as the DA, wants to swap support with the Economic Freedom Fighters following local elections last week that would…

Zambia Sees Swift Subsidy Cuts in $1.2 Billion IMF Deal

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Zambia, Capital Markets in Africa: Zambian President Edgar Lungu has pledged to remove or reduce energy and agricultural subsidies as part of a loan deal with the International Monetary Fund that could top $1.2 billion, his spokesman said. “Straight away when the IMF program begins, subsidies will significantly go down in the energy sector,” Amos Chanda said in an interview on Wednesday. “The president has promised to move rapidly to either completely do away with subsidies or progressively…

Unlocking Regional Energy Infrastructure Development through Market Integration

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Regional energy infrastructure is a key enabler for regional energy markets. Africa has huge potential to grow its energy markets hence the need to develop robust regional energy infrastructure. To do this requires heavy investment in the production, transportation, and distribution of energy products to end users. Considering the existing high level of commitment by African countries and regional institutions, which have prioritized energy as a priority sector and…

OPEC Still Faces Same Obstacles to Agree on Oil-Output Limit

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: An informal OPEC meeting next month is unlikely to deliver any agreement to limit production because several members including Iran are still pumping below capacity. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are planning to hold talks in Algeria next month when they gather for a meeting of the International Energy Forum, the group’s president Mohammed Al Sada said Monday. But the same obstacles that prevented an agreement on proposals to freeze…

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