IDC

South Africa
State development agency IDC negotiates director-general's amicable departure

Appointed in December 2024, Mmakgoshi Lekhethe is the first woman to lead the South African public development agency.

South Africa
Minister of trade and industry sets his sights on the head of the IDC development agency

Mmakgoshi Lekhethe, the first woman to hold the post of CEO of the state-owned Industrial Development Corp – a role to which she was appointed in December 2024 – is now in Parks Tau’s sights.

South Africa
Labour unrest breaks out at Wesizwe Platinum, Chinese-South African mining venture

The group, owned by the China-Africa Jinchuan Investment consortium, has just announced plans for mass redundancies at its Bakubung site. Neither the mines minister nor the ANC, which governs the province, has yet intervened in this matter involving economic relations with Beijing.

Zambia
Lusaka courts Wuxi Jiangnan Cable to process copper locally

Senior staff of the Chinese firm, a heavyweight in the electric cable industry, will visit Lusaka in September to meet with government organisations to prepare its entry into Zambia.

Tanzania
Frustrated miners hope to influence tax legislation

Two juniors, which are developing nickel and graphite projects with the support of the Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP for one, and the South Korean metallurgist Posco for the other, are completing financing to be able to start production.

Palace Intrigues
Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Pascaline Bongo, Patrick Achi

Intrigues big and small: every Thursday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.

GabonGeneral Oligui loyal to Omar Bongo's favourite Parisian hotel

Equatorial GuineaObiang to visit Paris without meeting Macron

GabonPascaline Bongo's US exile

Ivory CoastEx-PM Patrick Achi ditches French passport

Angola
Gemcorp pins hopes on Cabinda refinery opening in November

UK investment fund Gemcorp, whose CEO is Atanas Bostandjiev, is hopeful that work on the construction of the Cabinda refinery will enable phase one (30,000bpd) to come on stream this November.

Senegal
Ex-speaker of parliament Pape Diop campaigns in Paris

Pape Diop, the former mayor of Dakar from 2002 to 2009 and president of the Senegalese National Assembly under then President Abdoulaye Wade, has been in Paris since the beginning of June.

Botswana
South African steel boss Miriam Motha bets on Botswana

The Botswana-born director of the Benoni foundry, operated by South Africa's leading steel company Scaw Metals, has taken to investing in her native land. Her latest incursion comes amid a wave of optimism buoying the Botswana metal industry.

Djibouti
'Dormant' and untested Alsandross mysteriously chosen for Djibouti refinery

The contract to build the Damerjog oil refinery in Djibouti, destined to receive crude from South Sudan, has been given to a mystery company which has no experience whatsoever in this type of project.

Zambia
ZCCM-IH diversifies, but returns its focus to mining

Zambian state mining company ZCCM-IH is actively looking to expand beyond copper production. However, after several years of investing in new business sectors, the company is coming back to focus on the mining industry and is looking to extend its business to other minerals.

Zambia
Zesco's woes put the brakes on Neoen's ambitions

The French renewable energy producer Neoen, which already has a 47.5 MW solar farm in Zambia, is planning new power plants with a total output of between 20 and 100 MW.