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Wednesday, December 7 2022

Workers arrange copies of the Business Daily newspaper produced by the Nation Media Group at a printing press plant on the outskirts of Kenya's capital Nairobi, 24 November 2015. © Thomas Mukoya/Reuters

Spotlight

KENYA

Scorned by Ruto, major media houses brace for a grim 2023

Amid plummeting ad revenue and a grave economic crisis, three of the biggest names in Kenyan news are cutting staff and slashing budgets. For their owners, now in the ranks of the opposition, business as usual is no longer an option. [...]

DRC Infrastructure

Port of Banana

Kinshasa finalises expropriation phase

The operation to expropriate land at the site of DP World's upcoming Banana port is due to be completed on 11 December. Among those resisting is Zoé Kabila, former president Joseph Kabila's brother. [...]

GUINEA

In exile in Turkey, Alpha Conde keeps a hand in politics

The British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in London, 22 November 2022. © Toby Melville/Reuters

ETHIOPIA

British Foreign Secretary to visit Addis Ababa

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is continuing to make the most of the signing of a ceasefire between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray rebels to rekindle relations with the country's Western partners. [...]

MOROCCO

Suez-Lydec

Mohcine Jazouli and Sabrina Soussan hold covert meeting

MALI Mining

Barrick Gold reassured about its future in Mali after audit

EGYPT Infrastructure

France puts two of its cultural institutions' savoir faire at Sisi's service

The Pompidou Centre and the Paris Philharmonic are providing technical support to two upcoming museums in Egypt's New Administrative Capital. Paris is relying on its cultural expertise as a soft power tool in its "strategic partnership" with Cairo. [...]

FRANCE GABON

Elysee gets going on One Forest Summit in Libreville

GABON IVORY COAST NAMIBIA TUNISIA

The New Guard

Ivory Coast, Gabon, Namibia, Tunisia

BURUNDI SOUTH SUDAN UGANDA

Interpol beefs up surveillance in East Africa

NAMIBIA Mining

Wilhelm Shali hopes for green light for Ongombo copper mine

SOUTH AFRICA Finance

Inanda Club, the discreet meeting place of Joburg elite

Finance folk and politicians are among the 1,200 members of the exclusive Inanda Club on the edge of the Sandton business district. They flock there to network and socialise in complete discretion. [...]

The Continent

ANGOLA FRANCE IVORY COAST KENYA SENEGAL Politics Business Diplomacy 06/12/2022

Palace Intrigues: Emmanuel Macron, William Ruto, Alassane Ouattara, Isabel Dos Santos, Chanel

Intrigues big and small: every Tuesday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond. This week: Ruto keeps Macron hanging, Ouattara's prized African art museum, Isabel dos Santos calls Embalo to the rescue and Chanel VIPs flock to Dakar. [...]

DRC EGYPT ETHIOPIA SENEGAL Finance Energy Politics Business 30/11/2022

The New Guard: Senegal, DR Congo, Ethiopia and Egypt

Every Wednesday, Africa Intelligence reveals the next generation of movers and shakers in business and politics. This week: Fatou Sagna Sow (Senegal), Alda Kule Dale (DRC), Amrote Abdella (Ethiopia) and Ahmed Zahran (Egypt). [...]

Spotlight

RWANDA Energy Politics 29/11/2022

Paul Kagame's plan to become godfather of African civil nuclear power

Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Davos, Switzerland, on 24 May 2022. © Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA/MaxPPP

All articles on Africa

Eastern Africa and the Horn

KENYA Finance Politics 06/12/2022

Ruto's dilemma: austerity vs recovery

Some in the president's entourage are having a hard time implementing his spending cuts and worry they jeopardise the key objectives of his presidency. William Ruto has already had to backtrack on his promise to forgo international funding. [...]

KENYA Politics 05/12/2022

Would-be opposition leader Musyoka faces headwinds in his eastern homeland

Losing allies: Kalonzo Musyoka. © Patrick Meinhardt / AFP

News In Brief

SOMALIA 06/12/2022

Security giant Janus appoints Charles Skinner as managing director in Mogadishu

SUDAN 02/12/2022

Khartoum to perform post mortem on Hamdok's flagship Family Support Project

SOUTH SUDAN 29/11/2022

South Sudan on borrowed time with AU Peace and Security Council

AFRICA Politics Diplomacy 05/12/2022

Wiliam Ruto and Azali Assoumani play cat and mouse over AU 2023 chairmanship

The presidents of Kenya and the Comoros both want to propel their country to the head of the African Union for 2023, but they have been avoiding each other and their advisors have not been able to reach any agreement. [...]

DJIBOUTI SOMALIA Politics 05/12/2022

The chequered past of IOG's future son-in-law

Sadak Omar Mohamed, Mogadishu's ex-police chief, is soon due to formalise his marriage to the youngest daughter of Djibouti's president. A harsh critic of former president Farmajo, Mohamed's time with law enforcement was far from plain sailing. [...]

Breaking news

KENYA SOMALIA Politics 05/12/2022

Ruto preparing to reopen land border with Somalia

Breaking news published on 05/12/22 at 1:20 pm - The Kenyan and Somali presidents have agreed to reopen the main land crossings between their two countries following intense negotiations between both heads of state. This marks a shift in the bilateral relationship, and in Kenyan security policy. [...]

All Eastern Africa and the Horn articles

Southern Africa and islands

MOZAMBIQUE SOUTH AFRICA Mining 06/12/2022

Makole Group invests in graphite in Cabo Delgado

The South African firm has partnered with Brazilian-Portuguese businessman to look for the crystalline form of carbon in a province fraught with considerable security risks. [...]

SOUTH AFRICA Politics 06/12/2022

His back to the wall, Cyril Ramaphosa secretly orchestrates his succession

South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town, South Africa, on 10 February 2022. © Nic Bothma/Pool via Reuters

News In Brief

BOTSWANA 02/12/2022

Business barons join forces to invest in mining

ANGOLA |PORTUGAL 25/11/2022

Nelson Duarte de Matos appointed honorary consul in Cabinda

MADAGASCAR 21/11/2022

Egypt's EGAAD consortium to build new motorway and invest in local medicine production

SOUTH AFRICA Politics 05/12/2022

Foreign investor visas divide Pretoria in midst of economic slump

Several Western countries are pushing South Africa to set up a system to grant foreign companies visas for their staff based on the amount of money they invest in the country. But the government, against a backdrop of growing nationalism and mass unemployment, is split on the issue. [...]

MADAGASCAR Mining 02/12/2022

QMM limits operations amid heightened tensions between Rio Tinto and Madagascar

The Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has scaled back operations at its QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) mine to a bare minimum. The move is the latest front in an ongoing battle between Rio Tinto and the Malagasy government, and could have a direct impact on the mine's future. [...]

SOUTHERN AFRICA Commodity traders 01/12/2022

Lychee trade hit by corruption allegations

Madagascan lychee exporters have lodged a complaint against the local branch of Transparency International, which has accused them of corruption. The affair, in which France's Compagnie fruitière and the Belgian firm Greenyard are implicated, is being followed closely by Western embassies. [...]

All Southern Africa and islands articles

West Africa

IVORY COAST Commodity traders 06/12/2022

Cocoa regulator Yves Brahima Koné plays Santa for Ivorian traders

Yves Brahima Koné, president of the cafe cacao council, on October 2021 in Abdijan. © Sia Kambou / AFP

SENEGAL Politics 06/12/2022

Senegindia under opposition fire in Saint Louis

An agricultural collective has accused the Indian-owned firm of illegally acquiring a significant piece of land in the northwest. With help from major opposition figures, they plan to take the case to the Supreme Court. [...]

News In Brief

WEST AFRICA 06/12/2022

French Order of Malta to get new international director

IVORY COAST 05/12/2022

ShieldAfrica 2023 arms exhibition axed

MALI 05/12/2022

IBK regime heavyweights seek coalition with M5 'progressives'

BURKINA FASO IVORY COAST Finance 05/12/2022

Kaboré aides reinvent themselves in Abidjan finance

Vista Bank boss Simon Tiemtoré has invited two men who advised the former Burkinabe president to join him in Ivory Coast's economic capital. [...]

SAHEL Diplomacy 02/12/2022

Berlin and Rome work to counter Moscow's propaganda in Sahel

Italian and German diplomats are taking a leaf out of France's book and adopting a more aggressive stance in the war of information in the Sahel, as the Russians step up their operations in francophone Africa. [...]

NIGERIA Politics 02/12/2022

Presidential hopeful Kwankwaso lobbies in Paris and Washington

Former Kano governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a candidate in next year's presidential election in Nigeria, visited Paris at the end of November before flying to Washington. [...]

All West Africa articles

Central Africa

DRC Politics 06/12/2022

Tshisekedi's reshuffles his presidential staff, one step at a time

The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi in Bujumbura (Burundi) on 21 May 2022. © Tchandrou Nitanga / AFP

CAMEROON EQUATORIAL GUINEA Energy 06/12/2022

Biya and Obiang set to seal gas deal

A cross-border energy cooperation deal between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, which has been stalled for several years, is now set to go ahead and should boost both countries' gas operations. It would also benefit Marathon Oil and its Bioko liquefaction plant as well as Chevron, which operates in both countries. [...]

News In Brief

DRC |FRANCE 05/12/2022

Chrysoula Zacharopoulou to pave way for Macron's trip to Kinshasa

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 02/12/2022

CAR army set to take over French military base in M'poko

DRC 29/11/2022

Congolese army seeks to coordinate operations in eastern DRC

CONGO Politics 05/12/2022

Oyo to host next Freemason gathering

After Abidjan in 2022, the next get-together of the Freemason organisation REHFRAM is to take place in the central Congolese city of Oyo in February. Police general Philipppe Obara worked hard behind the scenes for the location, President Denis Sassou Nguesso's hometown, to be picked for the occasion. [...]

Spotlight

DRC Diplomacy 02/12/2022

Kagame and Tshisekedi play diplomatic cat and mouse

On the left the president of the DRC Félix Tshisekedi, on the right the president of Rwanda Paul Kagame © REUTERS

Gécamines headquarters in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, on the 16th January 2021. © Samir Tounsi/ AFP

Inner circles

DRC Mining 02/12/2022

Gécamines boss Kaputo Kalubi stymied by political interference

All Central Africa articles

North Africa

Spotlight

MOROCCO UNITED STATES Defence Diplomacy 06/12/2022

Washington's secret diplomacy in Morocco helps arm Ukraine

News In Brief

LIBYA 06/12/2022

GardaWorld bags Libya security contract for German development agency GIZ

LIBYA 02/12/2022

Libyan special envoys descend on Tunis

FRANCE |MOROCCO 25/11/2022

New leader for Franco-Moroccan MP friendship group

ALGERIA Commodity traders 06/12/2022

End to ban on sugar export in sight

The export ban was ordered in March by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to help prevent shortages. Cevital, Algeria's top sugar manufacturer, is putting the finishing touches on negotiations to lift the ban. [...]

EGYPT Energy 05/12/2022

Gas prices prompt row between ministers of oil, electricity

Gas used by power stations lies at the heart of the intra-governmental dispute, which is delaying the roll-out of Egypt's energy strategy. [...]

TUNISIA Energy 05/12/2022

Renewable energies newbie Nova Green Volt off to a flying start

Just months after opening its doors, the new renewable energies arm of Poulina Group Holding already has 18 orders to its name. Its first goal is to secure a power supply for the group's other subsidiaries before expanding on the domestic and international markets. [...]

All North Africa articles

On Twitter

See all tweets from Africa Intelligence

Africa Intelligence
@Africa_In_EN . 07/12

As the #Mali gold sector undergoes an audit ordered by the ruling junta, the Canadian giant Barrick Gold, the country's leading gold producer, said it was reassured by the initial exchanges its teams had had with the audit firm Mazars. #Canada https://t.co/PwmzJIKZD9

Africa Intelligence
@Africa_In_EN . 07/12

Emmanuel Macron's adviser Josué Serres recently travelled to Libreville to meet Gabon's environment minister Lee White to discuss the organisation of the One Planet Summit on preserving Central Africa's forests, planned for March or April in #Gabon. https://t.co/G8bLBmhXgh

Africa Intelligence
@Africa_In_EN . 07/12

#SouthAfrica finance folk and politicians are among the 1,200 members of the exclusive Inanda Club on the edge of the Sandton business district. They flock there to network and socialise in complete discretion. https://t.co/LtsE6wCTAC

See all tweets from Africa Intelligence

Read also

EAST AFRICA TANZANIA Infrastructure 01/12/2022

Airline industry crisis exacerbates ruling party rifts

An accident involving a commercial aircraft has revived the debate about the airline sector policies of successive Tanzanian governments. Within the president's party, the choice of the home town of the late John Magufuli as the location for a new airport has been singled out for criticism by his successor's supporters. [...]

MAURITANIA SAHEL Diplomacy 01/12/2022

Ghazouani makes fresh attempt to revive G5 Sahel

The G5 Sahel alliance has been virtually inoperative since Mali withdrew from it, but Mauritanian president Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is striving - not without difficulty - to revive it. He wants the organisation's presidency transferred from Chad to Niger at a summit meeting to be held next February. [...]

NIGERIA Defence 01/12/2022

S2M eyes army vehicle repair contract ahead of elections

French defence company S2M-Equipment is hoping to bag a deal with the Nigerian Army to bring up to a hundred light vehicles, mainly French-made Panhard AMLs, back into operational condition. [...]

SpotlightETHIOPIA Diplomacy 30/11/2022

Abiy uses Pretoria deal to reconnect with the West

The Ethiopian prime minister is making the most of the peace agreement signed in South Africa on 2 November to rekindle relations with his European and US partners. In recent days, he has held numerous meetings with Western leaders. [...]

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.

CHAD FRANCE Diplomacy 30/11/2022

Emmanuel Macron has renewed contact with Mahamat Idriss Deby

After several weeks of uneasy relations between Paris and N'Djamena, the French president spoke on the telephone with Mahamat Idriss Deby in mid-November. A main topic of conversation was how to get groups which did not sign the Doha peace agreement in August involved again in the national dialogue process. [...]

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Pretoria, Kigali and Maputo act out their rivalry in gas-rich Cabo Delgado

Billion-dollar deal paranoia unnerves shaky Abidjan-Bamako relations

Simandou, Nimba and Zogota: the long and difficult road to the start of iron ore production

William Ruto's new order

Cabo Delgado: a gas Eldorado and security nightmare

Wednesday, December 7 2022

Scorned by Ruto, major media houses brace for a grim 2023

Kinshasa finalises expropriation phase

In exile in Turkey, Alpha Conde keeps a hand in politics

British Foreign Secretary to visit Addis Ababa

Mohcine Jazouli and Sabrina Soussan hold covert meeting

Barrick Gold reassured about its future in Mali after audit

France puts two of its cultural institutions' savoir faire at Sisi's service

Elysee gets going on One Forest Summit in Libreville

Ivory Coast, Gabon, Namibia, Tunisia

Interpol beefs up surveillance in East Africa

Wilhelm Shali hopes for green light for Ongombo copper mine

Inanda Club, the discreet meeting place of Joburg elite

In Focus

Frank Timis's Senegal feint

Pretoria, Kigali and Maputo act out their rivalry in gas-rich Cabo Delgado

Billion-dollar deal paranoia unnerves shaky Abidjan-Bamako relations

Frank Timis's Senegal feint

Pretoria, Kigali and Maputo act out their rivalry in gas-rich Cabo Delgado

Billion-dollar deal paranoia unnerves shaky Abidjan-Bamako relations

The Continent

Palace Intrigues: Emmanuel Macron, William Ruto, Alassane Ouattara, Isabel Dos Santos, Chanel

The New Guard: Senegal, DR Congo, Ethiopia and Egypt

Paul Kagame's plan to become godfather of African civil nuclear power

Free Articles

The New Guard: Ivory Coast, Kenya, South Africa, Somaliland

How Tshisekedi once tried to negotiate M23 surrender with a million dollars

Palace Intrigues: Denis Sassou Nguesso; Mamadi Doumbouya; Robert Friedland; Paul Henri Damiba; Mahamadou Bonkoungou; Macky Sall

The New Guard: Ivory Coast, Kenya, South Africa, Somaliland

How Tshisekedi once tried to negotiate M23 surrender with a million dollars

Palace Intrigues: Denis Sassou Nguesso; Mamadi Doumbouya; Robert Friedland; Paul Henri Damiba; Mahamadou Bonkoungou; Macky Sall

Eastern Africa and the Horn

Ruto's dilemma: austerity vs recovery

Would-be opposition leader Musyoka faces headwinds in his eastern homeland

Security giant Janus appoints Charles Skinner as managing director in Mogadishu

Khartoum to perform post mortem on Hamdok's flagship Family Support Project

South Sudan on borrowed time with AU Peace and Security Council

Wiliam Ruto and Azali Assoumani play cat and mouse over AU 2023 chairmanship

The chequered past of IOG's future son-in-law

Ruto preparing to reopen land border with Somalia

Southern Africa and islands

Makole Group invests in graphite in Cabo Delgado

His back to the wall, Cyril Ramaphosa secretly orchestrates his succession

Business barons join forces to invest in mining

Nelson Duarte de Matos appointed honorary consul in Cabinda

Egypt's EGAAD consortium to build new motorway and invest in local medicine production

Foreign investor visas divide Pretoria in midst of economic slump

QMM limits operations amid heightened tensions between Rio Tinto and Madagascar

Lychee trade hit by corruption allegations

West Africa

Cocoa regulator Yves Brahima Koné plays Santa for Ivorian traders

Senegindia under opposition fire in Saint Louis

French Order of Malta to get new international director

ShieldAfrica 2023 arms exhibition axed

IBK regime heavyweights seek coalition with M5 'progressives'

Kaboré aides reinvent themselves in Abidjan finance

Berlin and Rome work to counter Moscow's propaganda in Sahel

Presidential hopeful Kwankwaso lobbies in Paris and Washington

Central Africa

Tshisekedi's reshuffles his presidential staff, one step at a time

Biya and Obiang set to seal gas deal

Chrysoula Zacharopoulou to pave way for Macron's trip to Kinshasa

CAR army set to take over French military base in M'poko

Congolese army seeks to coordinate operations in eastern DRC

Oyo to host next Freemason gathering

Kagame and Tshisekedi play diplomatic cat and mouse

Gécamines boss Kaputo Kalubi stymied by political interference

North Africa

Washington's secret diplomacy in Morocco helps arm Ukraine

GardaWorld bags Libya security contract for German development agency GIZ

Libyan special envoys descend on Tunis

New leader for Franco-Moroccan MP friendship group

End to ban on sugar export in sight

Gas prices prompt row between ministers of oil, electricity

Renewable energies newbie Nova Green Volt off to a flying start