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Published 5th October 2023

Vol 64 No 20


Congo-Kinshasa

Oppositionists vie for the presidency

Denis Mukwege. Pic: @MichaelTshi
Denis Mukwege. Pic: @MichaelTshi

Most of the leading opponents of President Félix Tshisekedi plan to run in December’s elections

For now, the national presidential and polling elections are still set for 20 December, but many political activists suspect the government could still change the schedule. The most likely adjustment would affect the country's troubled eastern provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, both officially under martial law. The popular suspicion is that the government will cite the security crisis in the two provinces as a reason to delay the polls there, probably until well after the national result has been declared, after which it will be too late for voters there to influence it.


Security threats multiply ahead of polls

Félix Tshisekedi. Pic: MONUSCO Photos CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED
Félix Tshisekedi. Pic: MONUSCO Photos CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED

Foreign-backed militias are pressuring President Tshisekedi just as he calls for the UN mission to leave

President Félix Tshisekedi may be readying himself for a re-election campaign but the conflicts in the country's eastern provinces are raging on and threatening national sovereignty. The M23...


Unending war deepens chaos

Copyright © Africa Confidential 2023
Copyright © Africa Confidential 2023

The conflict becomes more vicious and anarchic by the day as rival leaders lose control of their subordinates and new militias proliferate

The civil war in Sudan is slipping out of the grip of its main protagonists as proposed political solutions evaporate and each military confrontation is increasingly determined by...



BLUE LINES
THE INSIDE VIEW

Out of the phenomenon known as 'earthquake diplomacy' – as practised in Fukushima, Bali and l'Aquila – natural disasters have given grand multilateral meetings a shot in the arm and a sense of purpose. That is what the what the Moroccan government hopes will happen when Marrakech hosts the IMF and the World Bank annual meetings on 9-16 October, less than a month after a major earthquake struck the city.

After a few days of hesitation, Morocco's government calculated that i...

Out of the phenomenon known as 'earthquake diplomacy' – as practised in Fukushima, Bali and l'Aquila – natural disasters have given grand multilateral meetings a shot in the arm and a sense of purpose. That is what the what the Moroccan government hopes will happen when Marrakech hosts the IMF and the World Bank annual meetings on 9-16 October, less than a month after a major earthquake struck the city.

After a few days of hesitation, Morocco's government calculated that it should press ahead with the meetings which could help it raise support for its five-year reconstruction plan costed at US$11.5 billion. Rabat's diplomats will also use the meetings to reinforce Morocco's role as a renewable energy pioneer with fast-developing manufacturing and tech hubs. All that was on display in June when Marrakech hosted the Bloomberg New Economy summit.

All that fits in with the efforts by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank President Ajay Banga to work more closely together to boost lending for climate and infrastructure projects. The two institutions have set up a Climate Advisory Group together to coordinate policy on finance for middle-income countries and are to work more closely on debt restructuring for countries hit hardest by climate change. The Bank is also due to spell out why it wants to raise lending to developing economies by $100billion over the next decade.

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Antwerp gems deal on the rocks

The President put much store into a scheme intended to add value to diamond sales, but the dream seems to be turning sour

The Botswana government's ambitious plan to sell part of its huge rough diamond output have been dealt a hammer blow by the implosion of its selected sales partner,...


Secret deal won't end the tuna bond saga

Maputo won't disclose the cost of its deal with Credit Suisse and why it's abandoned its demand for damages

As with the US$2 billion hidden loans scandal that triggered Mozambique's serial financial crises over the past decade, all sides are trying to keep secret the details of...

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Was there a plot against the police chief?

MPs probe claims of a conspiracy to remove the Inspector General of Police ahead of next year’s elections

Police in Accra are on tenterhooks as they wait for a parliamentary committee to conclude its investigations into a leaked audio tape hinting at government plans to oust...


Two hands on the levers of power

Faction fighting between members of the old ruling party paralyses government and threatens catastrophe for vital cashew exports

A new government took office in mid-August pledging cohabitação (cohabitation). But the cohabitees– parliament and president – look as divided as ever as the economy heads into meltdown....


Power cuts dash optimism on revenues

Bad economic news on almost all fronts complicates the ruling party's campaign to win over voters ahead of next year's elections

As the election campaign gets under way, President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ruling African National Congress confront an increasingly problematic economic legacy. It is sure to undermine the...


Concerns mount over carbon credit deals

President Samia's government is piling into 'green bonds' and stepping up fossil fuel projects at the same time

As questions multiply about 'greenwashing' and financial compliance Tanzania is gearing up to enter the booming carbon credit market, signing memoranda of understanding with investors and launching a...


At last, the $8.5bn energy transition plan is ready

Delayed by the power crisis and fights with the coal lobby, the government says the green plan will launch at the UN Climate Summit

After two years of turf wars, the government's implementation plan for its US$8.5 billion (R160bn) Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) will be made public at the UN COP28...



Pointers

Net widens in oil trial

After Britain's National Crime Agency investigated her for 11 years, Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria's former Minister of Petroleum Resources in 2010-15, finally appeared at Westminster Magistrate's court on 2...


Putsch or purge?

On 27 September, the government informed the nation that a conspiracy to overthrow it had been foiled. The announcement came just days before the first anniversary of Captain...


Keeping aid in the family

Sweden plans to compensate private companies which lost money on contracts with Ukraine because of the war out of its overseas aid budget, Norway's Development Today reports. The...


Fishrot trial delay

The long-anticipated Fishrot corruption trial of 10 highly placed Namibians accused of multi-million fishing quotas fraud, racketeering and corruption, has been postponed again thanks to delaying tactics. The...