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Published 14th April 2022

Vol 63 No 8

Nigeria

How the Central Bank could win next year's election

Copyright © Africa Confidential 2022
Copyright © Africa Confidential 2022

Those backing governor Godwin Emefiele for the presidency believe eight years of cheap loans to millions of small farmers will pay dividends

The clamour among senior government officials for Central Bank governor Godwin Emefiele to vie for Nigeria's presidency has its roots in his politically oriented management of the institution and the reach of its policies over the past eight years. He refers to himself as a 'development central banker' and has used his position to direct vast amounts of state finance to small farming and service sector operations, building a wide-ranging constituency for his policies in the process.

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State relaxes grip on national freight

Pic: Transnet Freight Rail FB
Pic: Transnet Freight Rail FB

Private sector participation in the ailing rail freight network has been granted, signalling more privatisation to come

For the first time in its 160-year history, the national rail freight system, operated by state-owned Transnet Freight Rail, will open Its network to private operators. The news fo...

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THE INSIDE VIEW

Foreign aid from rose to an all-time high of US$179 billion in 2021, up 4.4% in real terms from 2020, according to preliminary data collected by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann says that the figures show that 'in times of crisis states will step up and provide support to more vulnerable countries and people'. 

However, the picture is far less clear. As expected...

Foreign aid from rose to an all-time high of US$179 billion in 2021, up 4.4% in real terms from 2020, according to preliminary data collected by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann says that the figures show that 'in times of crisis states will step up and provide support to more vulnerable countries and people'. 

However, the picture is far less clear. As expected, around 80% of the total increase was the result of Covid-19 vaccine donations, equivalent to nearly 857 million doses for developing countries. Over 350m vaccine doses came from hoarded stocks, some of which were donated too close to their expiry date and were never used. Millions of doses were delivered without syringes, making them almost useless. In recent days there have been reports that close to a billion doses are currently sitting in warehouses unused. 

And that is without mentioning the still unresolved question of patent waivers on vaccines to allow African states to develop their own jabs. 

Meanwhile, only $545m of total aid came in the form of debt relief. The news on aid for Africa will not get any better. Rebuilding Ukraine, as well as the costs from food insecurity resulting from wheat and grain shortages, will be a major drag on humanitarian aid budgets for at least the next 12 months. The World Bank has indicated that at least $50bn of donor cash will be required.

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Ramaphosa heading for second term

The anti-corruption drive and the demise of powerful interest groups are set to change the face of the ANC

As the ruling African National Congress prepares for its elective conference in December, the focus is now on the contested slot of Deputy President, as rival factions fail to groo...

Battling over the legacy

The two candidates want to cherry-pick from President Kenyatta's legacy and avoid responsibility for the growing debt burden

The irony of having an election contest between a Deputy President campaigning in opposition to his government and an opponent endorsed by the President is lost on few Kenyans. Ove...

Nyusi tries to shake off the mud

The loans trial is over and an IMF deal is nearly final. The President wants a reset but he’ll need more than a ministerial reshuffle to clear the air

Now the proceedings against those charged with beggaring Mozambique's future by covertly borrowing US$2 billion are over, the main question is how far the public airing of the deep...

Looking for funds as war disrupts trade

Food and fuel prices are undermining the region’s slow recovery from the pandemic, but commercial investment in farms and fin-tech is growing

Hit by surging food and fuel prices together with mounting debt service obligations, African finance ministers and central bankers will be pressing international financial institut...

Washington eyes a base at Berbera

Intensifying competition between the US, Russia, China and the Gulf states boosts the strategic importance of Somaliland's port

Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi's trip to Washington DC last month may not have resulted in an exchange of ambassadors, but it looks as though the statelet will achieve de fact...

Macronisme on trial – at home and abroad

African activists and politicians offer mixed reviews of President Macron's record but agree that his closest rival would be disastrous for them

Emmanuel Macron, who has been called France's 'first post-colonial president', is bidding for re-election after a first term in which colonial history cast a long shadow on policie...

Supreme Court finally throws out Building Bridges plan

Presidential contender Raila Odinga pledges to revive his constitutional reform ideas should he win in August's elections

The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) was the most tangible policy outcome of the 2018 'handshake’ between President Uhuru Kenyatta and erstwhile opposition leader Raila Odin...

Pointers

United by dissolution

Dozens of parliamentarians have been hauled in for questioning since last week's online parliamentary session that voted to rescind President Kaïs Saïed's rule by decree....

Disjointed force

The demise of the G5 Sahel Joint Force looks imminent, according to authoritative sources. The force always had a slight presence in the anti-jihadist campaign in the Sahel, and it...

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