🇲🇦 Morocco heading for a sixth year of drought said the minister

Morocco, where agriculture is a crucial sector, is heading for its sixth consecutive year of drought due to a drop in rainfall in recent months linked to climate change, Morocco's Minister of Equipment and Water.

"We have entered a critical phase after five consecutive years of drought that our country has never experienced before," he said.

Rainfall has fallen by 67% in recent months compared with a year considered normal, and "the last three months (from October to December) show that we are heading for another year of drought", the minister added.

#Morocco

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🇸🇳 Exiled Senegalese oppositionist Karim Wade to vie for presidency

Exiled Senegalese opposition figure Karim Wade, an ex-minister and the son of former head of state Abdoulaye Wade, said he had filed papers to contest presidential elections in February.

Wade's Democratic Party had designated him as its candidate but doubts had remained due to his sentencing to a jail term for corruption in 2015, three years after current President Macky Sall took office.

Sall pardoned him in 2016 and Wade has been living in exile in Qatar.

"I am happy to announce that my candidacy for the presidential election on February 25 was submitted" overnight, Wade said.

Wade's criminal record had prevented him from standing in the 2019 election which saw Sall re-elected.

But in August parliament voted to restore the eligibility of Wade.

#Senegal

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🇧🇮 20 dead in rebel attack in Burundi

Twenty people, including 19 civilians, were killed in western Burundi, the government announced on Saturday, in an attack claimed by the RED-Tabara rebel group, which in turn claimed to have killed ten members of the security forces. Nine others were injured and hospitalized, the government added, condemning a "despicable and barbaric terrorist act".

The attack was carried out in the locality of Vugizo, some twenty kilometers from the economic capital Bujumbura and bordering the DR Congo, the country where the rear base of the RED-Tabara movement (Resistance for the Rule of Law in Burundi), the main armed group fighting the regime led by Evariste Ndayishimiye, is located.

Two military and security sources told AFP that the attack had targeted a "military position".

#Burundi

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🇨🇩 DR Congo's opposition leader says election should be annulled as opposition plans protest

Moise Katumbi, one of the main opposition candidates in Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential election has added his voice to calls for the Dec. 20 vote to be annulled because of "massive fraud".

Katumbi's campaign added in the statement that the head of Congo's national election commission should resign because the commission had participated in a planned "electoral fraud."

"In this face of this unacceptable situation, we are calling for the immediate annulment of this chaotic election tainted by massive fraud," the statement said.

#DRC

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🇰🇪 Kenyan ex-minister arrested over graft allegations

A former Kenyan tourism minister has been arrested and taken to court over corruption allegations.

Najib Balala, and other ex-officials, are accused of inflating the cost of a project to build a tourism college.

In court, he denied the charge of abuse of office relating to an irregular payment worth $21m, the Nation newspaper reports.

He is the first former minister to be arrested since William Ruto was elected president last year.

Balala served as tourism minister for 12 years in three successive governments, stepping down in 2022 as President Uhuru Kenyatta left office.

#Kenya

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🇬🇳 Guinea fuel supplies improving since oil storage blast

Supplies of fuel to gas stations in Guinea is expected to improve significantly following an oil terminal blast, the government said, as it introduced new top-up limits for vehicles from Saturday.

The December 18 blast killed 23 people and damaged most of the fuel tanks at the West African nation's main oil terminal that handles its fuel imports, leading to widespread shortages.

"The government is pleased to announce to the population that, thanks to diplomatic efforts with neighbouring countries, fuel supply in gas stations will see a marked improvement," it said.

The news could reassure global markets, which saw Chinese alumina futures surge to record highs due to concerns that fuel shortages in Guinea, the world's third-largest bauxite producer, could curb its exports of the alumina feed material.

#Guinea

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🇨🇬 Congo reaffirms commitment to OPEC, oil minister says

Congo on Saturday reaffirmed its commitment to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), days after neighbor Angola decided to leave the organization.

"The Republic of Congo reaffirms its steadfast commitment to the strategic policy defined by the Secretary-General of OPEC and OPEC+," Congo's hydrocarbons minister Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua said.

"Congo is committed to continuing close and constructive collaboration with all member countries."

Congo, which became a full member of OPEC in 2018, has been set a target of 277,000 barrels per day (bpd) for 2024 by the Saudi-led oil producer group.

#Congo

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🇹🇿 World Bank approves new Tanzania loans worth $1.14 bln

The World Bank has approved two separate loans worth about $1.14 billion combined to Tanzania to support its private sector, develop its commercial capital and fight effects of climate change, the bank said.

The first tranche of financing worth $750 million - called Development Policy Financing - is meant to finance reforms such as making business licensing faster and also broaden access to cheap credit to accelerate private sector growth, the bank said.

The second lot of $385 million will go towards financing infrastructure and building institutions that will help Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam to cope with the effects of climate change, the bank said.

"Tanzania remains very vulnerable to climate change and is limited in its preparedness to adapt and respond to the adverse impacts," World Bank country director for Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania said.

#Tanzania

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🇸🇳 Prime Minister of Senegal promises "Progress for More Peace and Prosperity"

Senegalese Prime Minister Amadou Bâ has accepted the ruling party's investiture as its candidate for the upcoming presidential election scheduled for February 25. The investiture ceremony took place in Dakar, attended by delegates from the ruling party and allied factions. Bâ's candidacy was officially declared through a resolution read by party spokesperson Seydou Guèye.

Prime Minister Amadou Bâ expressed his commitment and confidence in leading the country towards progress. He emphasized the continuation of the implementation of the Emerging Senegal Plan.

Bâ, who has been at the helm of the government since September 2022, outlined his vision for achieving greater peace, prosperity, and equitable distribution of wealth.

President Macky Sall, who designated Bâ as his successor, highlighted the challenges that lie ahead, particularly in addressing youth unemployment and the pressing issue of illegal migration.

#Senegal

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🇩🇿🇲🇱 Tensions between Algeria and Mali, ambassadors summoned

The Malian ambassador to Algiers was summoned to the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday to discuss "the latest developments in the situation in the sub-Saharan country", the day after Bamako summoned the Algerian ambassador to Mali.

The head of Algerian diplomacy, Ahmed Attaf, reminded the Malian ambassador "that all Algeria's contributions to promoting peace, security and stability in Mali have always been based on three cardinal principles from which it has never deviated", according to a press release.

On Wednesday, the Algerian ambassador in Bamako was summoned by the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Algiers was accused of holding meetings with Tuareg separatists without involving the Malian authorities.

Bamako summoned the Algerian ambassador "to voice a strong protest" from Mali "following the recent unfriendly acts by the Algerian authorities, under the guise of the peace process".

#Algeria #Mali

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🇹🇩 Chad votes yes to new constitution

Chadians have voted in favour of a new constitution that critics say could help cement the power of junta leader Mahamat Idriss Deby.

The referendum held earlier this month was approved by 86% of voters, the government commission that organised it said on Sunday. Voter turnout was about 64%, it said.

Chad's military authorities have called the vote a vital stepping-stone to elections next year - a long-promised return to democratic rule after they seized power in 2021 when former president Idriss Deby was killed on the battlefield during a conflict with insurgents.

The new constitution will maintain a unitary state, which Chad has had since independence, while some of its opponents had called for the creation of a federal state, saying it would help spur development.

#Chad

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🇸🇳 Senegalese navy seizes 690 kg worth of cocaine

The Senegalese navy has seized 690 kg of cocaine being transported to Europe in an ultra-fast go-fast boat and arrested the five Spaniards on board, the army announced.

The deep-sea patrol boat intercepted the boat on Friday 220 km off the coast of Senegal.

The patrol boat had to use verbal warnings and later warning shots to stop the boat, which had released its cargo before the intervention; 690 kg of cocaine were recovered, the statement said.

Long considered a simple transit zone for drugs produced in Latin America en route to Europe, West and Central Africa has also become a region of heavy consumption, according to the United Nations.

#Senegal

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🇳🇬 16 people killed in attack in Nigeria

Sixteen people were killed in an attack in Nigeria's north-central state of Plateau, where clashes between herders and farmers are common.

The attack occurred in the village of Mushu, AFP said. Plateau is one of several ethnically and religiously diverse hinterland states known as Nigeria's Middle Belt, where inter-communal conflict has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years.

#Nigeria

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🇧🇯 Benin wants to “rapidly” normalize ties with coup-hit neighbours

Benin wishes to re-establish ties with its core business partners in western Africa which have undergone coups.

President Patrice Talon revealed this in Porto-Novo during his state of the nation address in Parliament.

"We believe in the peaceful coexistence of nations and peoples. It is this same logic that prompts me to express today our desire to see a rapid restoration of relations between Benin and countries where coups d'état have been used to undermine democratic processes."

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso were listed among Benin’s 30 core business partners in the 2022 foreign trade report by the national institute of statistics and demographics.

Talon said his country's never cut ties with its neighbors.

Patrice Talon however insisted that military leaders had to cooperate and disclose their intentions and their expectations regarding the international community.

#Benin

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🇿🇲 Zambia facing a double epidemic of cholera and anthrax

Zambia, already facing its worst anthrax epidemic in more than a decade, has recorded new deaths caused by cholera, health authorities reported.

The number of victims of cholera rose to 64 for the entire country since the start of the year.

Acute diarrheal infection caused by the absorption of food or water contaminated by bacteria, cholera is on the rise on the continent, according to the World Health Organization.

Health Minister said the government was distributing chlorine to purify water in areas affected by the epidemic and called on the population to respect strict hygiene measures.

Besides Zambia, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zimbabwe have also recorded cases anthrax this year, with a total of 20 deaths and some 1,100 suspected cases.

#Zambia

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🇲🇱 Malian Armed Forces retook previous UN base in Aguelhok

The Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) announced on Wednesday that they took position “without incident” in the town of Aguelhok, located in northern Mali.

The recapture of the town of Aguelock, after that of Anefis, signifies the return of the Malian army to a locality that it had lost eleven years ago.

At the same time, the Tuareg separatists declared having established a “total blockade” on the axes going from the Algerian border to the cities of Ménaka, Kidal, Gao, Timbuktu and Taoudeni. However, the is no verification to this information and, most likely, is a propaganda move to cover their losses.

#Mali

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🇨🇩 DR Congo archbishop urges restraint after election chaos

The Archbishop of Kinshasa on Sunday called for restraint in his Christmas Mass Sunday evening, following what he described as the "gigantic organised disorder" of last week's general election.

"With enthusiasm, with determination, many of us came out to democratically express our preferences," Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo told.

"But alas, what should have been a great celebration of democratic values quickly turned into frustration for many," he added.

#DRC

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