🇰🇪 Kenya seeks to delay petroleum imports payment to ease foreign exchange pressure

Kenya is seeking a year-long payment period for petroleum products imports, rather than settling on delivery, to relieve pressure on its foreign exchange rate, the energy minister Davis Chirchir said on Monday.

"When products arrive in Mombasa port today, we pay about $500 million within three days. That causes significant pressure," the minister told.

#Kenya

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🇺🇳🇨🇩 U.N. suspends flights in DR Congo's North-Kivu province

The U.N. peacekeeping mission has suspended flights in DR Congo's North-Kivu province following an attack on its helicopter last Friday, the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) and a World Food Programme (WFP) spokesperson said.

"On Friday, February 24, a helicopter operated by UNHAS came under heavy fire about ten minutes outside of Goma as it returned from Walikale to Goma," the UNHAS said in a statement. The helicopter was able to land in Goma, the U.N. agency said, adding that three crew members and 10 passengers were unharmed.

Flights between the provincial capital Goma and eastern cities of Beni and Bunia have been suspended until further notice, DRC official said.

#UN #DRC

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🇹🇳 Sub-Saharan nationals leave Tunis amid anti-migrant push

Dozens of migrants, who gather at the Ivorian embassy in Tunis, say they no longer feel safe after Tunisian President's speech.

"We want to go home," say people, who arrived at the embassy early on Friday in the hope of getting her paperwork in order.

Previous week, Tunisia President in his speech ordered officials to take "urgent measures" to tackle irregular migration, claiming without evidence that "a criminal plot" was underway "to change Tunisia’s demographic make-up".

The African Union also expressed concern following Saied’s remarks on migrants, calling on its member states to "refrain from racialised hate speech that could bring people to harm."

#Tunisia

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🇨🇩 Rebels seize more ground as DR Congo fighting rages

The M23 rebel group has seized more territory in the conflict-hit eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The rebels captured Mushaki and Rubaya areas over the weekend and residents have fled to escape fighting. The town of Rubaya has large deposits of coltan, manganese, tantalum and other minerals.

The M23 rebels were on Tuesday set to begin withdrawing from some territories they recently seized, according to new timelines adopted by East Africa defence chiefs.

#DRC

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🇪🇬 Egypt taps private firms and long-delayed museum to revitalise tourism

Egypt aims to boost tourism by up to 30% annually over the next five years, bringing in private firms to operate sites and inaugurating a huge museum around the end of 2023, its tourism minister said.

Tourism is a crucial source of foreign currency and jobs for Egypt's struggling economy. The sector earned $10.75 billion in the financial year ending in June 2022, up from $4.86 billion the prior year, when it was hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. But it captures a little under 1% of the global tourism market, said tourism minister.

"I think Egypt deserves and should be able to grow its tourism industry by 25% to 30% per annum consistently over the coming decade. And that should get us to about 30 million visitors by the year 2028," he told.

#Egypt

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🇧🇫🇲🇱 Burkina Faso and Mali reaffirm their commitment to a lasting alliance

Mali and Burkina Faso have reaffirmed their commitment to a strong and lasting alliance between the two countries.

This follows the visit by Malian Prime Minister, Choguel Maïga, to Burkina Faso where he and his delegation held meetings with his counterpart, Apollinaire Kyelem de Tambela, and government ministers.

The busy schedule included the delegations discussing security and the fight against terrorism, humanitarian aid, health, regional cooperation, and sanctions. The two men also signed an agreement to cooperate in the fight again terrorism which plagues both Mali and Burkina Faso.

#BurkinaFaso #Mali

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🇫🇷🌍 Macron says he won't let France become "ideal scapegoat" in Africa

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that he will not allow France to become "the ideal scapegoat" in Africa, in a speech ahead of a trip to the continent from Wednesday.

Some African countries have criticised France for failing to curb Islamist militancy in the Sahel region in particular.

Macron also said he refused to be drawn into an outdated competition between powers for control of Africa.

#France #Africa

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🇺🇳🇱🇾 UN Libya envoy to launch new effort to break stalemate

The U.N. Libya envoy will launch a new initiative to enable elections this year with the formation of a high-level steering committee, he said on Monday, attempting to break a year-long stalemate that has risked renewed conflict.

Addressing the U.N. Security Council, Abdoulaye Bathily said the panel would bring together representatives of political institutions, other political and tribal leaders, civil society groups, security officials and others.

"Libya's political class is going through a major legitimacy crisis. One could say that most institutions lost their legitimacy years ago," he said, referring to the need for elections.

#UN #Libya

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🇫🇷🌍 Macron calls Wagner Group "life insurance of failing regimes" in Africa

French President Emmanuel Macron described the Russian mercenary Wagner Group as the "life insurance of failing regimes in Africa", in comments made before he visits the continent.

He said that African nations would eventually stop turning to the Wagner Group as they would see that it only sows misery.

#France #Africa

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🇿🇦 Nokia signs deal with MTN to expand 5G in South Africa

Nokia said on Monday it has been selected by MTN South Africa for the first time ever as one of its 5G radio access network equipment providers, as the mobile carrier expands next-generation wireless services across the country.

"Under the deal, Nokia will modernise the existing 2G, 3G, 4G radio network and expand MTN's 5G radio network across 2,800 sites in the central and eastern part of the country," Nokia said in a statement.

MTN South Africa, the second biggest telecom operator in the country, acquired airwaves worth $282.66 million in a $782 million spectrum auction in March last year. Even before the auction it had launched 5G services in some cities.

#SouthAfrica

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🇨🇩 DR Congo president says unrest in east could disrupt elections

Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi said on Monday that a conflict with rebels in the east of the country could disrupt preparations for general elections scheduled for Dec. 20.

Congo's electoral commission started registering voters on Feb. 17 in North Kivu province, parts of which are occupied by the M23 rebel group.

"The persistence of the war in the east of our country risks jeopardising the electoral process, which is already underway, due to a massive displacement of people from combat zones, the insecurity and the inaccessibility of these areas," Tshisekedi told the U.N. Human Rights Council session. He urged the international community to help Congo restore peace and state authority in this part of the country.

#DRC

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🇸🇳 World Bank's IFC to invest $256 mln in Senegal's top cement manufacturer

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's investment arm, said on Monday it would invest €242 million in Senegal's largest integrated cement manufacturer, Sococim Industries, to boost low-carbon production.

Sococim, a subsidiary of French cement maker Vicat, will receive a €120 million loan from IFC's own account and €122 million equivalent in local currency from Société Générale Sénégal and other lenders.

The majority of the financing – €214 million – will be earmarked for green activities, the IFC said in a statement.

#Senegal

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🇫🇷🇺🇬 French court to rule on TotalEnergies Uganda case

A French court on Tuesday could order oil major TotalEnergies to halt the development of an east Africa pipeline in a case based on legislation that makes big companies liable for risks to the environment and human rights.

The Paris civil court will rule on a lawsuit filed by Friends of the Earth France and five other French and Ugandan activist groups accusing TotalEnergies of expropriating land from more than 100,000 people without sufficient compensation and drilling on a natural park with endangered species.

#France #Uganda

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🇬🇭 Ghana to ensure payments of coupons, principals of old bonds resume on March 13

Ghana's finance ministry said on Monday it was taking steps to ensure payments of coupons and principals of old bonds resume on March 13 following the conclusion of a domestic debt exchange programme. It also said in a statement that the newly issued bonds had been settled and listed, and would become the new benchmark bonds for the fixed income market.

Ghana has to restructure its debt to secure a $3 billion International Monetary Fund bailout. It successfully closed a long-delayed domestic debt exchange programme on February 14 with registrations from around 85% of eligible bondholders.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said two days later that substantive discussions with external bondholders were due to start in the next few weeks.

#Ghana

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🇳🇬 Tinubu ahead in Nigeria election as opposition parties reject vote

Nigeria's ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu was ahead in the vote count after Saturday's presidential poll, a tally of provisional results showed on Monday, but opposition parties walked out of the counting process citing concerns of fraud.

"INEC's lack of efficient planning in critical stages and effective public communication reduced trust in the process," the European Union observer mission said in a statement.

Opposition parties remained unsatisfied.

"The electoral process has been rigged and we are completely disassociating ourselves from it," PDP Atiku's campaign manager said at the INEC results centre.

"We regret to say that we have lost confidence in the results being collated and announced," director of Obi's Labour party campaign told. "We hereby call on the INEC to follow its own guidelines or completely cancel the entire election."

#Nigeria

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🇳🇬 Obasanjo calls for repeat of elections

The former President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo has publicly stated that he believes the presidential election of last Saturday has been corrupted, and INEC officials bribed to rig it. He says that the officially announced results do not match with how Nigerians actually voted.

The ex-President has called for all results to be cancelled, and a new election called for this coming Saturday. In this new election, Obasanjo suggests doing away with electronic voting systems altogether, to minimize the risk of rigging.

🇹🇳 Tunisia seeks to reassure migrants after President's remarks

Tunisia's foreign minister sought to "reassure" sub-Saharan African migrants on Monday. "Several days have now passed and now we need to keep a cool head. It's time to reassure Africans. Messages of reassurance have already been transmitted through official channels," Foreign Minister said.

"There's no question of apologising, we didn't attack anyone," he added. "We shouldn't confuse individual acts with the acts of the authorities. The authorities are taking every measure to protect all migrants in Tunisia, whether legal or illegal."

Last week, President Saied called for "urgent measures" against "hordes" of sub-Saharan migrants, whom he accused of causing a wave of crime and representing a plot to change the country's demographic make-up.

#Tunisia

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🇫🇷🌍 France to reduce troops in Africa in new strategy

French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled France’s new Africa strategy which will see a reduction in its troops on the continent as more local forces co-run its bases.

Macron announced the new strategy ahead of a four-nation Africa visit as more global powers vie for influence on the continent. President described French military bases in Africa as a heritage from the past. But he said his country should not be a scapegoat for failures in the fight against extremist groups in the Sahel.

Macron’s newly unveiled strategy is meant to redefine France’s relationship with Africa as competition from Russia and China grows.

#France #Africa

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🇿🇦 South Africa's unemployment drops again after year of job gains

South Africa's official unemployment rate declined for the fourth consecutive quarter in October-to-December last year, falling further from a record high hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed on Tuesday.

Unemployment fell to 32.7% in the final three months of 2022 from 32.9% in the preceding quarter, Statistics South Africa said. "Even before COVID, it was not common that we saw four quarters in a row of gaining jobs."

A major concern is the level of youth unemployment at 43.4%, as those in the 15-34 age range account for over half the country's employable population of 40.46 million aged between 15 and 64.

#SouthAfrica

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