🇹🇳 Tunisian president rejects racism accusation

Tunisia's president denounced racism on Sunday and pointed to possible legal consequences for perpetrators. In a statement he described the accusations of racism as a campaign against the country "from known sources".

But he added that Tunisia was honoured to be an African country and announced a relaxation of visa rules for African citizens, allowing stays of up to six months instead of three without seeking residency, and of a year for students. He said migrants who had overstayed could leave without penalty after many of those authorities sought to deport had proven unable to pay fines for late stays.

He said the crackdown on illegal migration is a campaign against human trafficking and pointed to a law passed in 2018 against discrimination to say that any verbal or physical attacks on foreigners would be prosecuted.

#Tunisia

@africaintel

🇲🇷 Four jihadists escape from Mauritanian prison

Four jihadist prisoners escaped from a Mauritanian prison in the capital Nouakchott after killing prison guards, the interior ministry has said.

The incident occurred on Sunday night amid a reported fire exchange in which the two guards were killed and two others wounded.

The authorities have tightened security around the prison and a hunt for the fugitives is under way.

The interior ministry has urged the public to report any information that could help apprehend the fugitives.

#Mauritania

@africaintel

🇪🇹 Tigray rebels deny forming interim government

Ethiopia's Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) rebels have denied establishing a transitional administration in the northern region in accordance with the peace agreement signed in November last year.

TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda said the Tigray interim administration would only be established after mutual consultations between the parties to the Pretoria agreement.

"Reports of the [transitional government] having been established in Tigray without Addis’ involvement flies in the face of reality. Tigray is only trying to do its part," Getachew said.

Major political parties in the region have been calling for an inclusive interim government to steer the region as it tries to recover from the devastating civil war.

#Ethiopia

@africaintel

🇲🇿 Cyclone Freddy forecast to return to Mozambique

The Mozambican weather authorities say the moderate Cyclone Freddy is returning to the Mozambique Channel and Zambézia and Sofala regions may be hit, according to projections.

The storm, according to meteorologists, is moving at a speed of 13 km/h towards the south-west coast of Madagascar, and could reach the severe tropical storm stage on Monday.

#Mozambique

@africaintel

🇪🇬 Egypt offers to sell 10% government stake in Telecom Egypt

Egypt is offering to sell a 10% stake in state-controlled Telecom Egypt.

The sale of state assets would be one of the first to buyers other than Gulf sovereign funds since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the government to draw up a programme to attract $10 billion in "private participation" over each of the next four years.

The government owns 80% of Telecom Egypt's shares. The sale is being managed by local investment banks CI Capital and Ahly Pharos.The sale of shares was directed at both Egyptian and foreign investors

#Egypt

@africaintel

🇳🇦 Namibia makes third oil discovery in the Orange Basin

Namibia's state-owned oil company NAMCOR has made a third oil discovery with partners Shell and QatarEnergy in the Jonker-1X deepwater exploration well, in the Orange Basin offshore southern Namibia.

New discoveries could make Namibia, the southern neighbour of OPEC member Angola, another oil producer along the African Atlantic coast.

#Namibia

@africaintel

🇿🇦 South African rand weakens as investors await cabinet reshuffle

South Africa's rand weakened in early trade on Monday ahead of a cabinet reshuffle, where President Cyril Ramaphosa is likely to name a new deputy.

The rand traded at 18.1750 against the dollar, 0.19% weaker than its previous close.

#SouthAfrica

@africaintel

🇸🇸 South Sudan opposition wants fired minister reinstated

South Sudan’s main opposition political party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), is demanding that President Salva Kiir reinstates Defence Minister Angelina Teny.

President Kiir sacked Teny on Friday in a presidential decree. The president also dismissed Interior Minister Mahmoud Solomon. Kiir also swapped the Ministry of Defence to his political party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, and the Interior Ministry to the SPLM-IO.

The SPLM-IO has “condemned and rejected” the “unilateral removal” of Ms Teny. It called it a violation of the revitalised peace agreement, which require the parties to agree on the allocation and selection of ministerial portfolios in the unity government.

#SouthSudan

@africaintel

🛢🇪🇬 Colleagues at the Song of Oil and LNG wrote a great analysis regarding the LNG ambitions of Egypt.

In current situation when the EU is trying to find alternatives to the Russian oil and LNG, and the overall issue of energy resources is a hot topic in the world, Egypt is doing its best to adapt and make profits in the energy market.

Of course, Egypt faces competition from, for example, Algeria, Nigeria and other LNG countries in Africa. However, today is the best chance for Egypt to get a higher place in the energy market in order to have stronger positions and make even more profits in the future .

#Egypt

@africaintel

🇪🇬⛽️ LNG ambitions of Egypt

Egypt is poised to become one of the world's top ten exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a result of a surge in production from new projects and expanding output at existing facilities. This is a significant development for the country, as it has only recently become an LNG exporter in the last few years.

▪️ Main LNG projects

Egypt’s LNG exports rose 7% year on year to 7.14mn tons for 2022, the highest since 2010, driven in large part by record 4.11mn tons of exports from the Eni-operated 5mn t/y Segas facility at Damietta, which saw its first full year of operations since its February 202. Damietta exports were up a whopping 45% year on year. Production has restarted after an eight-year shut down.

Another Egypt’s LNG export facility, 7.2mn t/y ELNG operated by UK major Shell and Malaysia’s Petronas at Idku, 165km west of Damietta on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. Exports from Idku slumped 21% to 3.04mn tons.

Both projects were idle for several years due to contractual disputes, but they restarted production in 2020, leading to the surge in Egypt's LNG exports.

▪️ Development plans

There are also plans to expand production at these facilities, as well as develop new LNG projects in Egypt. For example, the Idku project is undergoing a $90 million upgrade to increase its production capacity by 25%. In addition, Egypt is planning to develop two new LNG projects: the West Nile Delta project and the Zohr project. The West Nile Delta project is a joint venture between BP and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company and is expected to produce around 5 billion cubic meters of gas per year, which will be used for both domestic consumption and export. The Zohr project, operated by Eni, is Egypt's largest gas field and is expected to produce up to 4.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day, which will be used for both domestic consumption and export.

These new projects, along with the expansion of existing facilities, are expected to drive further growth in Egypt's LNG exports. The International Gas Union predicts that Egypt's LNG exports will continue to grow over the next few years, with the country likely to become one of the world's top ten exporters of LNG by 2025.

▪️ Multinationals are investing in the future LNG projects

The expansion of Egypt's LNG industry has also attracted significant investment. For example, BP has invested around $12 billion in the West Nile Delta project, while Eni has invested over $16 billion in the Zohr project. In addition, other companies such as Shell and Total have also invested in Egypt's LNG industry.

Overall, the outlook for Egypt's LNG industry looks positive, with significant growth expected in the coming years. The country's expanding production capacity, combined with its strategic location near key markets in Europe and Asia, make it an attractive destination for investment in the LNG sector.

#LNG #Egypt #analytics

@songofoil

🇨🇫 The president of Central African Republic accused West of the instability in country

President Faustin-Archange Touadéra of the Central African Republic (CAR) has accused Western nations of deliberately keeping his country political unstable.

"The Central African Republic has been subjected since its independence to systematic looting facilitated by the political instability maintained by certain Western countries or their companies which finance armed terrorist groups whose main leaders are foreign mercenaries," he said at a UN conference of the world's Least Developed Countries (LDCs) on Sunday.

At the UN conference in Qatar, President Touadéra said the Central African Republic was a "victim of geostrategic aims linked to its natural resources", and that "foreign interference" keeps his nation and others like it in a state of "dependence, insecurity and instability".

#CAR

@africaintel

🇺🇳🇪🇷 The UN says human rights remain dire in Eritrea

The United Nations says Eritrea's record on human rights remains dire and shows no signs of improvement.

The UN's deputy high commissioner for human rights, Nada Al-Nashif, said the withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray was "very slow" and "largely incomplete". She said there were credible reports of torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances.

The Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki recently described such accusations as fantasy.

#UN #Eritrea

@africaintel

🇿🇦 South Africa's Ramaphosa makes Paul Mashatile deputy president

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday appointed Paul Mashatile to the post of the deputy president following David Mabuza's resignation last week.

In another change to his national executive, Ramaphosa chose Kgosientsho Ramokgopa for the newly created role of electricity minister.

A cabinet shuffle had been widely expected since Ramaphosa was re-elected leader of the governing African National Congress at a party leadership contest in December, paving the way for him to run for a second term in 2024.

#SouthAfrica

@africaintel

🇹🇳 World Bank says it's pausing future work in Tunisia amid reports of racist violence

The World Bank is pausing future work with Tunisia after statements by the country's president on migrants from sub-Saharan Africa triggered racially motivated harassment and violence, World Bank President David Malpass told.

In the note, Malpass said the bank was pausing Tunisia's Country Partnership Framework, which mapped out future programs from 2023-2025, and had postponed until further notice a March 21 board meeting to review that new strategic engagement.

He said the World Bank viewed the situation as deeply concerning, but viewed steps announced by the Tunisian government to protect and support migrants and refugees as a positive step and would be monitoring their impact.

#Tunisia

@africaintel