Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers and does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group.
African Union Member States (55) reporting COVID-19 cases (4,812,313), deaths (130,025) and recoveries (4,351,816) by region: Central (172,873 cases; 2,781 deaths; 159,001 recoveries): Burundi (4,650; 6; 4,198), Cameroon (77,982; 1,270; 72,926), CAR (7,085; 97; 6,665), Chad (4,927; 173; 4,742), Congo (11,658; 153; 10,591), DRC (31,386; 782; 27,654), Equatorial Guinea (8,476; 113; 8,146), Gabon (24,365; 150; 21,791), Sao Tome and Principe (2,344; 37; 2,288) Eastern (647,406; 12,678; 536,199): Comoros (3,949; 146; 3,719), Djibouti (11,523; 153; 11,354), Eritrea (4,022; 14; 3,812), Ethiopia (270,944; 4,139; 235,850), Kenya (170,041; 3,124; 116,018), Madagascar (41,184; 828; 40,028), Mauritius (1,356; 17; 1,181), Rwanda (26,878; 352; 25,542), Seychelles (11,145; 40; 9,936), Somalia (14,647; 768; 6,717), South Sudan (10,688; 115; 10,514), Sudan (35,289; 2,600; 27,949), Tanzania** (509; 21; 178), Uganda (45,231; 361; 43,401) Northern (1,453,109; 43,808; 1,276,107): Algeria (128,198; 3,586; 89,292), Egypt (259,540; 14,950; 190,254), Libya (184,815; 3,116; 171,279), Mauritania (19,407; 462; 18,377), Morocco (518,458; 9,135; 506,443), Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (739; 46; 691), Tunisia (341,952; 12,513; 299,771) Southern (2,066,519; 64,531; 1,933,721): Angola (33,607; 745; 27,529), Botswana (56,313; 831; 50,494), Eswatini (18,587; 672; 17,855), Lesotho (10,825; 326; 6,434), Malawi (34,323; 1,154; 32,598), Mozambique (70,697; 835; 69,232), Namibia (54,268; 807; 50,053), South Africa (1,654,551; 56,293; 1,551,520), Zambia (94,430; 1,275; 91,443), Zimbabwe (38,918; 1,593; 36,563) Western (472,406; 6,227; 446,788): Benin (8,058; 101; 7,893), Burkina Faso (13,424; 166; 13,248), Cabo Verde (30,122; 261; 28,163), Côte d&#39;Ivoire (47,195; 301; 46,591), Gambia (5,990; 178; 5,767), Ghana (93,775; 784; 91,853), Guinea (23,110; 161; 20,840), Guinea Bissau (3,760; 68; 3,511), Liberia (2,179; 86; 2,033), Mali (14,262; 516; 9,559), Niger (5,409; 192; 5,080), Nigeria (166,254; 2,071; 156,546), Senegal (41,296; 1,138; 39,932), Sierra Leone (4,140; 79; 3,128), Togo (13,432; 125; 12,644)Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
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Coronavirus: African Union Member States reporting COVID-19 cases as of 29 May 2021, 9 am EAT

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers and does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group.
Zamalek point guard Walter Hodge set the tone on Monday when he scored nine of his 12 points in the opening quarter, sparking his team to a 97-64 win over Algeria’s GSP at Kigali Arena.

The 34-year-old was 4-for-4 from the floor including a three-pointer, giving the Egyptian outfit a 37-16 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes.

Hodge wasn’t the only Zamalek player who played with a sense of urgency. Moustafa Elmekawi led his team with 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Anas Mahmoud contributed 13 points and eight rebounds and Ahmed Abdellatef scored 11 points off the bench.

The former African champions’ quick start reflected Zamalek’s authority as it stretched its lead to as many as 35 points.

GSP played without its two leading scorers, Mohamed Harat and Abdellah Hamdini. They fought hard, even going on a 6-0 mini-run in the third quarter, but Zamalek didn’t panic. They remained in total control, leading from start to finish.

GSP was led by Algerian international player Seddik Touati, who finished with a game-high 20 points. Hichem Benayad-Cherif scored 10 points and Merouane Bourkaid added 11 points for the five-time defending Algerian champions.
Zamalek’s dominance was so evident that all 12 of their players played at least six minutes.
“I am happy for the win. We had only 18 turnovers today [after averaging 25.5 turnovers in the first two games]. That’s an improvement compared to our first two matches,” Elmekawi said in the post-game presser.

With the win, 3-0 Zamalek advanced to the BAL quarterfinals as winners of Group C.

Zamalek head coach Agust Julbe refused to highlight one single player’s performance, noting that, “We are a team. There will be one game that one player will take center stage, the next one could be another player, like Moustafa [Elmekawi]. Every player on this team will have his own opportunities. Of course, we have players with leading roles, but this is a team effort.”

“[Walter Hodge] is a key for us, he knows that. He had a good start, but it wasn’t just him. The whole team got the job done.”

Julbe acknowledged his team’s progress offensively but noted they have room for improvement on the defensive front.

“[Tonight] we had the worst defensive game in this tournament, considering that GSP missed two key players. We could have done better. But, in the end, it’s a success that we won three games, we moved on to the next stage, and, hopefully, we’ll keep winning games.”

What the numbers say:
Zamalek score its first two points in the opening six seconds of the game and it never looked back.
Outscoring its opponent 60-32 in the paint and in the fast-break (38-5) exemplified Zamalek’s sense of urgency in the game that eliminated GSP (0-3) from the BAL.
Boxscore (https://bit.ly/2QUhxyg) / www.theBal.com/schedule
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of National Basketball Association (NBA).

Hodge sets tone, Zamalek moves on to Quarterfinals at 3-0

ALGIERS (Reuters) &#8211; Algeria’s gas exports will drop to 26 billion to 30 billion cubic metres per year in 2025 from 45 billion in 2020, energy minister Abdelmadjid Attar told Ennahar TV.



“Exports in the period 2025-2030 will be between 26 to 30 billion cubic metres per year,” Attar told Ennahar.



The decline is mainly due to stagnant output, a rise in domestic consumption, and insufficient investment.



Algeria’s gas exports peaked in 2005 at 64 billion cubic metres.



It exported 51.4 billion cubic metres in 2018.



Algeria derives 95% of its foreign revenue from oil and gas sales.



Attar has also said that an international tender for exploration will be launched in the beginning of 2021, hoping that it will attract foreign investors.



Algeria has passed an energy law at the end of 2019, but investors are still awaiting publication of the regulations to decide whether to come to Algeria or not.

boat-sea-port-blue-ocean-ship

Algeria’s gas exports to fall sharply in 2025 -minister

By Akinwumi Adesina, President of the&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.afdb.org/en" target="_blank">African Development Bank</a>



These are very difficult days, as the world faces one of its worst challenges ever: the novel coronavirus pandemic. And it seems almost no nation is spared. As infection rates rise, so does panic across financial markets, as economies drastically slow down, and supply chains are severely disrupted.&nbsp;



Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. As such, it can no longer be business as usual.&nbsp;



FOR MORE ON COVID-19 VISIT:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a>



Each day, the situation evolves and requires constant reviews of precautionary measures and strategies. In the midst of all this, we must all worry about the ability of every nation to respond to this crisis. And we must ensure that developing nations are prepared to navigate these uncharted waters fully.&nbsp;



That&#8217;s why I support the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres&#8217; urgent call for special resources for the world&#8217;s developing countries.&nbsp;



In the face of this pandemic, we must put lives above resources and health above debt. Why? Because developing economies are the most vulnerable at this time. Our remedies must go beyond simply lending more. We must go the extra mile and provide countries with much-needed and urgent financial relief &#8211; and that includes developing countries under sanctions.&nbsp;



For decades, sanctions have decimated investments in public health care systems in quite a number of countries<a href="#_ftn1">[1]</a>.&nbsp;Today, they are unable to face up to a clear and present danger that now threatens our collective existence<a href="#_ftn2">[2]</a>.



Only those that are alive can pay back debts.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Sanctions work against economies but not against the virus. If countries that are under sanctions are unable to respond and provide critical care for their citizens or protect them, then the virus will soon &#8220;sanction&#8221; the world.



In my Yoruba language, there is a saying, &#8220;be careful when you throw stones in the open market. It may hit a member of your family.&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;



That&#8217;s why I also strongly support the call by the UN Secretary-General that debts of low-income countries be suspended and in these fast-moving and uncertain times.&nbsp;



But I call for even bolder actions, and there are several reasons for doing so.&nbsp;



First, the economies of developing countries, despite years of great progress, remain extremely fragile and ill-equipped to deal with this pandemic. They are more likely to be buried with the heavy fiscal pressure they now face with the coronavirus.&nbsp;



Second, many of the countries in Africa depend on commodities for export earnings. The collapse of oil prices has thrown African economies into distress. They simply are not able to meet budgets as planned under pre-coronavirus oil price benchmarks<a href="#_ftn3">[3]</a>.



The impact has been immediate in the oil and gas sector, particularly affecting eight countries -Algeria, Angola, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, and the Republic of Congo- that between them generate nearly half of Africa&#8217;s GDP<a href="#_ftn4">[4]</a>.&nbsp;



Those exporting other commodities besides oil, such as agricultural produce or minerals and metals, are facing drastic cuts in demand<a href="#_ftn5">[5]</a>. In the current environment, there is an acute shortage of buyers who, for understandable reasons, have re-allocated resources to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. African countries that depend on tourism receipts as a key source of revenue are also in a straight-jacket.&nbsp;



Third, while rich countries have resources to spare, evidenced by trillions of dollars in fiscal stimulus, developing countries are hampered with bare-bones resources.&nbsp;



The fact is, if we do not collectively defeat the coronavirus in Africa, we will not defeat it anywhere else in the world. This is an existential challenge that requires all hands to be on deck. Today, more than ever, we must be our brothers and sisters&#8217; keepers.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Around the world, countries at more advanced stages in the outbreak are announcing liquidity relief, debt restructuring, forbearance on loan repayments, relaxation of standard regulations and initiatives. In the United States, packages of more than $2 trillion have already been announced, in addition to a reduction in Federal Reserve lending rates and liquidity support to keep markets operating. In Europe, the larger economies have announced stimulus measures in excess of 1 trillion Euros. Additionally, even larger packages are expected.&nbsp;



As developed countries put in place programs to compensate workers for lost wages for staying at home for social distancing, another problem has emerged &#8212; fiscal distancing.



Think for a moment what this means for Africa.&nbsp;



The African Development Bank estimates that COVID-19 could cost Africa a GDP loss between&nbsp;$22.1 billion (see attached Bank report), in the base-case scenario, and $88.3 billion in the worst-case scenario. This is equivalent to a projected GDP growth contraction of between 0.7 and 2.8 percentage points in 2020. It is even likely that Africa might fall into recession this year if the current situation persists.



The Covid-19 shock will further squeeze fiscal space in the continent as deficits are estimated to widen by 3.5 to 4.9 percentage points, increasing Africa&#8217;s financing gap by an additional $110 to $154 billion in 2020.&nbsp;



Our estimates indicate that Africa&#8217;s total public debt could increase, under the base case scenario, from $1.86 trillion at the end of 2019 to over $2 trillion in 2020, compared to $1.9 trillion projected in a no-pandemic scenario. These figures could reach $2.1 trillion in 2020 under the worst-case scenario.



This, therefore, is a time for bold actions. We should temporarily defer the debt owed to Multilateral Development Banks and International Financial Institutions. This can be done by re-profiling loans to create fiscal space for countries to deal with this crisis.&nbsp;&nbsp;



That means that loan principals, due to International Financial Institutions in 2020, could be deferred. I am calling for temporary forbearance, not forgiveness. What&#8217;s good for bilateral and commercial debt must be good for multilateral debt.



That way, we will avoid moral hazards, and rating agencies will be less inclined to penalize any institution on the potential risk to their Preferred Creditor Status.&nbsp; The focus of the world should now be on helping everyone, as a risk to one is a risk to all. There is no coronavirus for developed countries and a coronavirus for developing and debt stressed countries. We are all in this together.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Multilateral and bilateral financial institutions must work together with commercial creditors in Africa, especially to defer loan payments and give Africa the fiscal space it needs. We stand ready to support Africa in the short term and for the long haul. We are ready to deploy up to $50 billion over five years in projects to help with adjustment costs that Africa will face as it deals with the knock-on effects of COVID-19, long after the current storm subsides.&nbsp;



But more support will be needed. Let&#8217;s lift all sanctions, for now. Even in wartime, ceasefires are called for humanitarian reasons. In such situations, there is a time to pause for relief materials to reach affected populations. The novel coronavirus is a war against all of us. All lives matter. For this reason, we must avoid fiscal distancing at this time. A stitch in time will save nine.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Social distancing is imperative now. Fiscal distancing is not.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;







<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<a href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a>&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.odi.org/publications/384-impact-economic-sanctions-health-well-being" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.odi.org/publications/384-impact-economic-sanctions-health-well-being</a>, page 15)



<a href="#_ftnref2">[2]</a> (<a href="https://www.ghsindex.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.ghsindex.org/</a>)



<a href="#_ftnref3">[3]</a> AEO 2020&nbsp;<a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/knowledge/publications/african-economic-outlook" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.afdb.org/en/knowledge/publications/african-economic-outlook</a>)



<a href="#_ftnref4">[4]</a> (AEO 2020&nbsp;<a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/knowledge/publications/african-economic-outlook" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.afdb.org/en/knowledge/publications/african-economic-outlook</a>)



<a href="#_ftnref5">[5]</a> <a href="https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/press_room/5870.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/press_room/5870.htm</a>&nbsp;&#8211; <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/08/investing/oil-prices-crash-opec-russia-saudi-arabia/index.html">https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/08/investing/oil-prices-crash-opec-russia-saudi-arabia/index.html</a>

adesina

Op-Ed: Why the COVID-19 pandemic is no time for fiscal distancing

NAIROBI/ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) &#8211; More African nations confirmed their first cases of the coronavirus and shut borders amid fears of the disease’s impact on fragile health systems, as Chinese billionaire and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma pledged to donate over 1 million testing kits to the continent.



Thirty African countries &#8211; more than half the continent &#8211; are now treating nearly 400 patients with coronavirus, after Tanzania, Liberia, Benin and Somalia said they registered their first cases. 



Africa had until recently been spared the rapid spread of COVID-19, which has infected at least 180,000 people worldwide and caused over 7,000 deaths. But health experts are concerned the continent’s often dilapidated health infrastructure will struggle to cope as cases mount. 



“We cannot ignore the potential risk to Africa and assume this continent of 1.3 billion people will blissfully escape the crisis. The world cannot afford the unthinkable consequences of a COVID-19 pandemic in Africa,” Ma’s foundation said in a statement. 



The foundation will send 1.1	million testing kits, 6 million masks and 60,000 protective suits and face shields to Ethiopia for distribution to Africa’s 54 nations, it said. 



Earlier on Monday, the World Bank said it had committed $60 million to Kenya to help the East African nation battle the outbreak. 



Some countries on the continent, such as conflict-hit Somalia, depend on donors to support basic public health facilities. 



Somalian Health Minister Fawziya Abikar Nur said the ministry had quarantined and tested four Somalis who came from China last week, and one had tested positive for the respiratory disease. International flights to Somalia were suspended for two weeks, the aviation minister said. 



In West Africa, the small and impoverished nation of Liberia announced its first case. Liberia was devastated by a 2014 Ebola epidemic that killed 4,000 people, and its healthcare system has remained underfunded despite promises of investment. 



Benin, considered a relatively stable democracy in the turbulent West African region, also announced its first case. The Health Ministry said the Beninois national was being held in an isolation ward in the capital after returning from Belgium and Burkina Faso on March 11. 



The Health Ministry in the East African nation of Tanzania also confirmed its first case, a Tanzanian woman who had travelled to Denmark, Sweden and Belgium. She had her temperature taken at the airport but had no fever and was allowed to pass, but later felt unwell at her hotel, the ministry said. [L8N2B913C] 



Also on Monday, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Senegal and Cameroon all reported more cases and South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said his nation, which has 62 cases so far, may need to raid other government departments for funds to fight the disease. He did not provide any figures. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CRACKDOWN AS BORDERS CLOSE </h3>



Many African nations, including some without reported cases, have ordered tougher control measures, including bans on public gatherings, halting flights and closing schools and universities. 



In northern Africa, Tunisia said it would suspend international flights and close its land border in an effort to contain the spread of the virus. 



Botswana, in southern Africa, said on Monday it would bar entry to travellers from 18 high-risk countries, including China, Britain, the United States, Iran, France and Italy. 



In West Africa, Senegal said it would suspend flights to and from France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Portugal, as well as Tunisia and Algeria, for a period of 30 days. 



Ivory Coast said it would bar entry to travellers from countries with over 100 cases, although Ivorian citizens and residents would be allowed to return if they went into quarantine for 14 days. It also closed schools, nightclubs and cinemas and banned gatherings of over 50 people, according to a national security council statement. 



Ethiopia, Africa’s second-largest nation, joined the growing list of countries that closed schools for two weeks, suspended all large gatherings and cancelled all sports events, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office said. 



Government buses will give people free rides to curb overcrowding in the public transport system, a statement said. 



In Central Africa, Congo Republic said it would suspend all flights from high-risk countries from Thursday. Neighbouring Gabon reduced the number of flights from abroad to one a week per airline and ordered restaurants to close, barring takeout and delivery. 



Nigeria’s Health Ministry said the country, Africa’s most populous, had strengthened contact tracing, stockpiled reagents used in test kits and increased testing capacity. 



Also on Monday, Kenyan police raided a clinic alleged to be selling fake coronavirus testing kits. Police detained staff and locked the facility, witnesses told Reuters journalists at the scene, after it had been advertising testing kits online. 



(Reporting by Giulia Paraviciniin Addis Ababa, Adbi Sheikh in Mogadishu, Omar Mohammed, Baz Ratner and David Lewis in Nairobi, Juliette Jabkhiro in Dakar, Clement Uwiringiyiman in Kigali; Olivia Kumwenda in Johannesburg and Elias Biryabarema in Kampala; Diadie Ba in Dakar; Christian Elion in Brazzaville; Loucoumane Coulibaly in Abidjan; Gerauds Wilfried Obangome in Libreville; Writing by George Obulutsa, Katharine Houreld and Alessandra Prentice; Editing by William Maclean, Steve Orlofsky and Peter Cooney)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN214194-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN214194-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.

More African countries confirm first coronavirus cases as Jack Ma pledges aid

Key Points



<ul><li>IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol and OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo expressed “deep concerns” about the coronavirus pandemic on Monday.</li></ul>



<ul><li>They singled out public sector spending in vital areas such as health care and education as being especially vulnerable.</li></ul>



<ul><li>OPEC’s Barkindo and the IEA’s Birol did not address Russia specifically in their joint statement, but both “underscored the importance of market stability, as the impacts of extreme volatility are felt by producers.”</li></ul>



Developing countries’ oil and gas income could fall to their lowest levels in more than two decades if current energy market conditions persist, the IEA and OPEC have warned in a rare joint statement. 



IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol and OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo expressed “<a href="https://www.iea.org/news/iea-executive-director-and-opec-secretary-general-discussed-the-current-situation-in-global-oil-markets" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deep concerns</a>” about the coronavirus pandemic on Monday, warning it could have “potentially far-reaching economic and social consequences.” 



Birol and Barkindo said they expect developing countries to see their oil and gas income fall by 50% to 85% in 2020.



They singled out public sector spending in vital areas such as health care and education as being especially vulnerable. 



International benchmark&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=@LCO.1">Brent</a>&nbsp;crude traded at $29.91 Tuesday morning, down around 0.7%, while&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=@CL.1">U.S. West Texas Intermediate</a>&nbsp;(WTI) stood at $28.98, more than 1% higher.



Oil prices <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/16/oil-drops-more-than-6percent-breaking-below-30.html">slid 10% in the previous session</a>, as the coronavirus continues to spread worldwide and amid an ongoing price war between OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC leader Russia.



Crude futures have more than halved since climbing to a peak in January. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">‘Market stability’ </h2>



On Monday, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco said it would likely continue with a planned oil production hike from April into May, reportedly suggesting it was “very comfortable” with an oil price of $30 a barrel. 



Russia, which refused to sign up to OPEC’s proposal of deeper production cuts earlier this month, has claimed it can withstand lower oil prices for as long as a decade. 



OPEC’s Barkindo and the IEA’s Birol did not address Russia specifically in their joint statement, but both “underscored the importance of market stability, as the impacts of extreme volatility are felt by producers.” 



They agreed to “remain in close contact on the matter” and continue their regular consultations on oil market developments.



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The IEA, which advises industrialized nations on energy issues, has <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/12/oil-the-losers-of-the-price-war-between-saudi-arabia-and-russia.html">previously warned</a> long-time allies of de facto OPEC leader Saudi Arabia could be the worst hit from a sharp drop in oil prices. 



Last week, Birol <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/12/oil-the-losers-of-the-price-war-between-saudi-arabia-and-russia.html">told CNBC</a> that countries like Iraq, Algeria and Nigeria — all OPEC producers — were in a “very, very difficult situation” and would require support from the rest of the world. 



Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, is thought to be particularly exposed to an all-out price war because it has one of the least diversified economies of the producer group — despite relatively low production costs.



(Report by Sam Meredith)



This article was first published on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/opec-iea-warn-some-nations-could-lose-up-to-85percent-of-oil-and-gas-income.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/opec-iea-warn-some-nations-could-lose-up-to-85percent-of-oil-and-gas-income.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

OPEC and IEA warn developing countries could lose up to 85% of oil and gas income this year

ALGIERS (Reuters) &#8211; Algeria has registered its first coronavirus death, state radio reported on Thursday. 



It did not report any increase in the 20 cases confirmed there so far, mostly in the town of Blida. 



Algeria said this week it would ban economic, social and political gatherings, though it is not clear if this will include weekly mass protests that have convulsed the capital for a year. 



(Reporting By Lamine Chikhi, writing by Angus McDowall; editing by John Stonestreet)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN20Z15R-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN20Z15R-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.

Algeria confirms first coronavirus death – state radio

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Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia and now SA &#8211; the corononavirus is making inroads on the continent. CNBC Africa spoke to a SA athlete with hopes of taking part at this year’s Olympics in Japan about the impact of COVID-19.

Why this athlete won’t let COVID-19 derail her Olympic dreams

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With four teams left in this year&#8217;s African Cup of Nations (AFCON), Nnamdi Obanya, Head of Rhythm FM Network joins CNBC Africa for more.

West Africa vs North Africa affair as #AFCON2019 enters semi-finals

PARIS (Reuters) &#8211; French energy major Total said on Sunday it had reached a binding agreement with Occidental to acquire Anadarko assets in Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa for a consideration of $8.8 billion. 



The firm said the transaction was contingent upon Occidental entering into and completing its proposed acquisition of Anadarko and approval of relevant authorities. The deal is expected to close in 2020.



Total said the assets represented around 1.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of 2P reserves, of which 70 percent is gas, plus 2 billion boe of long term natural gas resources in Mozambique.



It added that despite the capital investment in Mozambique LNG, the acquisition is expected to be free cashflow positive from 2020 even at a Brent price of less than $50 per barrel and to generate more than $1 billion a year of free cashflow from 2025 onwards after start-up of Mozambique LNG.



The firm confirmed its previously announced shareholder return policy from 2018 to 2020.



Reporting by Bate Felix, editing by Sybille de La Hamaide

What you need to know about Total’s $8.8 billion deal with Occidental for Anadarko’s Africa assets

ALGIERS (Reuters) &#8211; Algeria’s ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned on Tuesday, succumbing to six weeks of largely peaceful mass protests driven by youth and pressure from the powerful army against his 20-year rule. 



Hundreds took to the streets of the capital after state media announced the 82-year-old’s departure, capping a wave of protests demanding the removal of an aging elite seen by many as out of touch with ordinary people and presiding over an economy riven by cronyism.



Bouteflika’s supporters had sought to stop the dissent by telling Algerians not to return to the dark days in the 90s when some 200,000 were killed in civil war, warning even of a scenario like in Syria, embroiled in an eight-year-long conflict.



The protests stand in stark contrast to Algeria’s neighbour Libya, where Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in a NATO-backed uprising that took much of 2011 and sent the country into chaos.



Only one person was confirmed to have died during the protests, a man around 60 years old who suffered a heart attack, with most rallies peaceful and with protesters cleaning up the streets before going home.



Bouteflika announced he was standing down in a one-sentence statement carried by state news agency APS, followed by a letter &#8211; his primary means of communication since suffering a stroke in 2013 and disappearing from public view.



“I have taken this step because I am keen to put an end to the current bickering,” Bouteflika said in the letter. “I have taken the suitable measures needed for the continuity of the nation’s institutions during the interim period.”



His departure came after the army chief of staff had dramatically ratcheted up the pressure, demanding immediate action to declare him unfit for office under the constitution.



The military had stayed in their barracks during the protests but step by step increased pressure on Bouteflika’s camp, first only indirectly in an army magazine saying the military shared the same vision as the people. Then chief of staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah proposed last week to invoke a constitutional clause to remove him.



Bouteflika on Monday had said he would quit before the end of his term on April 28 without giving a date. He had also vowed to undertake unspecified measures for the sake of stability, triggering new protests by students demanding a new political system.



Salah eventually said it was time to go for the only leader many Algerians have known, some 70 percent of whom are under 30 years old.



“There is no more room to waste time &#8230; We decided clearly &#8230; to stand with the people so all their demands get fulfilled,” Salah said after a meeting with senior officers, APS said.



Hundreds took to the streets in the evening, waving Algerian flags or driving in convoys through the city centre, where on Feb. 22 mass protests broke out.



“The army and the people are one” and “Game over”, banners read.



Pressure had been building during the day with opposition groups demanding Bouteflika go immediately, while hundreds of students marched through the capital Algiers to demand the replacement of a political system widely seen as incapable of significant reform.



“Bouteflika’s decision (to resign by the end of his term) will change nothing,” Mustapha Bouchachi, a lawyer and protest leader, told Reuters earlier on Tuesday.



Bouteflika’s resignation will put Abdelkader Bensalah, chairman of the upper house of parliament, in charge as caretaker president for 90 days until elections are held.



Bouchachi had suggested Bouteflika’s nomination of a caretaker government was a move to perpetuate the current political system.



“What is important to us is that we do not accept the (new caretaker) government. Peaceful protests will continue.”



A veteran of Algeria’s war for independence, Bouteflika was first elected president in 1999 and established himself by ending a civil war with Islamist militants that killed an estimated 200,000 people.



But the country remains mired in corruption and, in a sign that the end for Bouteflika’s rule had been approaching, several oligarchs close to his camp were banned from travelling abroad in the past few days, part of a crackdown against his allies.



“The gang has made big money illegally taking advantage of its closeness with decision-makers,” Salah said, according to APS.



The protests have been driven by the country’s youth and lawyers demanding the removal of a ruling elite seen by many as out of touch with ordinary Algerians.



Additional reporting by Mohamed Elsherif and Dalia Nehme; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by John Stonestreet and James Dalgleish.

Algerian leader Bouteflika resigns after mass protests against his 20-year rule

By Francois Conradie, Head of Research, NKC African Economics. 



Details
of the shape of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s departure from office and the
coming transition are arriving in dribs and drabs, and the situation remains
uncertain. 



On Monday, April 1, the president’s office announced that he would resign by April 28 when his current term in office ends. The announcement also said that the head of state was about to implement “measures to ensure the continuity of the functioning of the institutions of state during the transition period.”



On
Sunday, March 31, the presidency announced the nomination of a new cabinet with
Noureddine Bedoui as prime minister. 



Army
Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah remains deputy defence minister (the president
is ex officio the defence minister), but Ramtane Lamamra, a successful career
diplomat, was replaced as foreign minister. 



The
reshuffle has done little to calm the national mood, which we expect to remain
volatile until there is more clarity on the transition.



Constitutionally,
if there is a vacancy in the office of the president, then the president of the
Council of the Nation (the Senate) takes over as interim head of state. At the
moment, Algerian media are carrying reports that the current holder of that
office, Abdelkader Bensalah, is about to be replaced. 



Mr
Bensalah, a founding member of the National Democratic Rally (RND), has been in
his current position for 17 years and has always served Mr Bouteflika
faithfully; he was an early supporter of the president’s run for a fifth term
which was the main grievance of the protesters who have been marching in their
hundreds of thousands since mid-February. 



Meanwhile,
the president of the Constitutional Council, the body with which the
responsibility lies to declare a vacancy of the office, is Tayeb Belaiz who is
also a member of the ‘Bouteflika clan’ around the ageing president which is
currently doing what it can to slow down the transition and preserve its
members’ interests. 



This
means that it is possible for the clan to block the process.



But
the change in the national mood is making it harder for members of the clan to
steer Algeria through this changeable moment in a way that suits them. 



They
will have been distressed by the fate of Ali Haddad, formerly the head of the
influential employers’ federation, the Heads of Enterprises Forum (FCE) and a
billionaire thanks to lucrative public works tenders: Mr Haddad was arrested on
the Tunisian border on Sunday, March 31, as he was trying to leave Algeria in
violation of an order prohibiting him and some other big businessmen from
leaving the territory. 



The
order is an attempt by bureaucrats to limit capital flight as connected
businessmen move their ill-gotten fortunes offshore, but we think most of that
capital has already flown.



After
Mr Gaid Salah’s call for the implementation of Article 102 we had expected the
process to begin very soon, but the week since has shown the Bouteflika clan’s
determination to play for time. 



Friday
marches are expected to keep happening and some sort of national conference
should be announced in due course. 



If this conference looks insufficiently inclusive, or if it is too obvious that those around the president are trying to manipulate the process, Algerians will reject it.

Op-Ed: There’s slightly more clarity on Algeria’s shape of transition, but not much

Natasha Turak
Source: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/08/algeria-was-silent-during-arab-spring-now-its-erupting-in-protest.html">Algeria was silent during the Arab Spring. Now its streets are erupting in protest</a>
<ul>
<li>One thing Algerians don&#8217;t want, protesters say, is to be compared to the Arab Spring or share the fate of so many of their neighbors.</li>
<li>Economic stagnation and unemployment has long beset the country of 41 million, 70 percent of whom are younger than 30. Regional analysts warn of further financial woes triggered by the new uncertainty.</li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/08200239/105781984-1552030850339algeriaprotestmassivecrowd.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="RYAD KRAMDI | AFP | Getty Images"/>
Algerians are taking to the streets in droves as groups from across society demand their longtime president end his time in power.
Cities across Africa&#8217;s largest country have been flooded for the past two weeks with protesters opposing their ageing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika&#8217;s fifth re-election bid after 20 years in power. The demonstrations, which on March 1 by some estimates numbered more than a million, have sent shockwaves through the oil and gas-rich country — OPEC&#8217;s ninth largest crude producer.
For the security-heavy state that went largely untouched by the Arab Spring, the strength and audacity of the protests are a complete surprise, says Farah Soumes, a local freelance writer who&#8217;s been taking part in the demonstrations.
&#8220;When I went out into the streets, I was expected to be arrested, not to see solidarity. It&#8217;s amazing what is happening,&#8221; Soumes told CNBC via phone.
Tweet1
Soumes and others involved in the protests described participation by a broad array of Algerian society.
&#8220;There were intellectuals, former government and opposition party members, students, teachers, lawyers, women, men and the working class — you had a mix of conservative Algerians, Islamists, and as well as girls wearing jeans and makeup,&#8221; described Jihane Boudiaf, an Algerian analyst for IHS Markit, who was in the capital Algiers for the demonstrations.
&#8220;There is an incredible feeling of fraternity happening,&#8221; Boudiaf told CNBC. &#8220;Old and young people, united over one cause. But it&#8217;s not just about Bouteflika staying in power, it&#8217;s also about wanting a genuine change. A change in the system — they want more openness, transparency, opportunity.&#8221;
An absent president
The 82-year-old Bouteflika, who took power in 1999 and ended Algeria&#8217;s bloody decade-long civil war, has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013. He is currently in a hospital in Switzerland undergoing medical treatment. He was not physically present to submit his own candidacy or address protesters.
Earlier this week, through a representative, the president offered to hold new elections after a year and a referendum on the constitution if re-elected during the country&#8217;s next contest on April 18. But that failed to satisfy activists, who have called for new and bigger protests on Friday. They say they hope to bring 20 million people out to the streets — half of Algeria&#8217;s population.
Peaceful protests and painful memories
Algerian state media played images of protesters fighting with police, something the demonstrators contacted by CNBC say is misleading. Videos posted to social media and witness reports describe overwhelmingly peaceful protests, with young people even cleaning up before heading home.
&#8220;Most people wouldn&#8217;t say &#8216;are you going to the protests?&#8217; — they would say &#8216;are you going to the selmiyya?&#8221; Boudiaf said. Selmiyya means &#8220;the peaceful&#8221; in Arabic.
Tweet2
This, she said, was likely because of the negative connotations linked to popular uprisings that remain in a country still healing from the wounds of its brutal civil war. The conflict, which went on from 1991 to 2002 and pitted Islamists against government forces, saw more than 150,000 people killed.
&#8216;Not the Arab Spring&#8217;
One thing Algerians don&#8217;t want, protesters say, is to be compared to the Arab Spring or share the fate of so many of their neighbors.
&#8220;People don&#8217;t want the same thing to happen that happened in other Arab Spring countries like Libya, Syria,&#8221; Boudiaf said. &#8220;Algeria lived the Arab Spring much earlier, so people are afraid of the past.&#8221;
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/08200248/105781987-1552031039791algerialawyersprotests.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="RYAD KRAMD | AFP | Getty Images"/>
&#8220;A lot of Algerians are also worried about the danger of the Islamists taking over the social movement,&#8221; she added, &#8220;because that is what happened in 1988 and the election of 1992,&#8221; when the seeds of the civil war were planted.
President threatens &#8216;chaos&#8217; and &#8216;infiltration&#8217;
On Thursday, a letter published by Algeria&#8217;s state news agency quoted Bouteflika warning of &#8220;chaos&#8221; and infiltration of the protests by &#8220;domestic and foreign forces.&#8221;
For Algeria&#8217;s young people, that language is a sign of politicians playing the conspiracy card rather than addressing the demands at hand.
But the president also praised demonstrators for &#8220;peacefully expressing their opinions.&#8221;
Economic stagnation and unemployment has long beset the country of 41 million, 70 percent of whom are younger than 30. Regional analysts warn of further financial woes triggered by the new uncertainty.
&#8220;Algeria is arguably in a much worse starting position than the likes of Egypt and Tunisia were in 2011 and, as a result, the economic fallout could be more severe,&#8221; said Jason Tuvey, a senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, in a research note. The International Monetary Fund estimates the country&#8217;s current account deficit at 9 percent of its gross domestic product, a worse figure than that of the Arab Spring countries in 2010.
Still, the unrest is unlikely to impact the country&#8217;s liquefied natural gas and oil exports, which account for 85 percent of national exports and about 20 percent of GDP, according to OPEC statistics. The protests are not currently targeted at production facilities, whose security is very high. Algeria currently produces 1.05 million barrels of oil per day.
Could the situation escalate?

&#8220;Without iron-clad concessions from le pouvoir, protests will persist if not grow and intensify in the run-up to the vote on 18 April,&#8221; said Anthony Skinner, director of MENA research at Verisk Maplecroft. &#8220;Le Pouvoir&#8221; is the name attributed to Algeria&#8217;s ruling elite, which means &#8220;the power&#8221; in French.
&#8220;Cracking down hard on protests and having Bouteflika re-elected would be a risky approach for le pouvoir not just because it could trigger conflict, but also because it would further undermine the already limited legitimacy enjoyed by the ruling elite.&#8221;
Tweet3
Eight years after the Arab Spring, observers hope that Bouteflika does not repeat the mistakes of his Arab counterparts who triggered war and displacement by responding heavy-handedly.
But if the political leadership feels its back is against the wall, &#8220;it may resort to more extreme measures,&#8221; Skinner warned. 
Furthermore, he said, &#8220;while most protesters reject violence, a heavy crackdown by the police could adversely change the dynamic and potentially encourage hard-core elements to emerge and confront the security apparatus.&#8221;
&#8220;People are not afraid anymore,&#8221; Soumes said, but added: &#8220;Algeria is very unpredictable. Whoever tells you they know what is going to happen, they are clueless. I myself don&#8217;t know what is going to happen … A lot is happening very fast and in every direction.&#8221;

Algeria was silent during the Arab Spring. Now its streets are erupting in protest

By François Conradie, Head of Research at NKC African Economics
On Wednesday, October 24, Mouad Bouchareb was elected as the new speaker of the National People’s Assembly (APN), the lower house of Parliament.
He was elected almost unanimously (320 votes for, one abstention), but that was because all opposition deputies were boycotting the vote, so only deputies from the ruling coalition were present in the chamber.
The opposition MPs are against Mr Bouchareb’s election because his predecessor, Said Bouhadja, was removed unconstitutionally earlier in the month, when the ruling coalition caucus declared the position vacant although the constitution does not provide for any procedure of this kind.
The constitution stipulates that “the president [speaker] of the APN is elected for the duration of the legislature”.
There was some drama later as MPs from the caucus physically locked the chamber door to prevent Mr Bouhadja from doing his job.
The ruling coalition is made up of four parties: the National Liberation Front (FLN) of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the National Democratic Rally (RND) of Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, the Algerian Popular Movement (MPA) and Taj, the party of former minister Amar Ghoul. Mr Bouchareb was until now the chief whip of the FLN caucus.
On Wednesday, when Mr Bouchareb was voted in, one of these MPs stated that Mr Bouteflika approved of the change.
There has been some media comment focusing on Mr Bouchareb’s youth: he is 47, and the ruling coalition is trying to portray his investiture as some sort of renewal. But Mr Bouhadja was removed, and Mr Bouchareb picked in his stead, so that the ruling coalition could have tighter control of the legislature.
This may become relevant as the process carries on to get Mr Bouteflika re-elected in April (although he has not yet announced his candidacy), in case the people trying to make that happen need a pliant speaker.
The blatant unconstitutionality of the coalition’s move is also worth noting.

OpEd: Algeria’s ruling coalition imposes a new speaker

By Francois Conradie – Head of Research at NKC African Economics
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika hosted Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel at his palace in Zeralda on Monday, September 17. The main point of the meeting was to discuss Germany’s repatriation of almost 4,000 Algerians who have been refused asylum (Germany considers Algeria a safe country and Algerians’ asylum applications are almost all turned down).
For an observer of Algerian politics, however, the meeting was most interesting because state television broadcast some video footage of it, which gives an idea of Mr Bouteflika’s health. His health is terrible.
The footage (which, it should be remembered, was carefully chosen to show him in the best light) shows the ailing president struggling to say a sentence and then sitting still in his wheelchair once he has said it, his one good hand immobile in the air, while Ms Merkel chats to his interpreter. It also shows Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia getting involved in the discussion from an armchair on the other side of the room.
From the footage we do not think Mr Bouteflika plays any significant role in the running of his country, which is relevant as the power structure around him prepares to put him forward as a candidate in next year’s presidential election.
The same power structure, in which a key player is Ahmed Gaid Salah (chief of staff of the army and deputy minister of defence), has been busy with a personnel shake-up in the army.
On the day of Ms Merkel’s visit, the high commander of land forces and commander of the air force were pushed into retirement; their sacking follows the sackings of a dozen generals in July and August. It was reported in the week that five of the generals were being investigated for abuse of power.
In other election-related news Nacer Boudiaf (son of the highly respected President Mohamed Boudiaf), who has expressed his intention to run for president next year and who has publicly blamed the deep state for his father’s assassination in 1992, has had his diplomatic passport taken away.
The army has been weakened and Mr Gaid Salah with it. This makes us think that the civilians around Mr Bouteflika, especially his brother Said and Mr Ouyahia, may not have been entirely convinced of Mr Gaid Salah’s loyalty and wanted to remove the risk of him using the army to prevent Mr Bouteflika’s re-election. But the army will have to play a key role in assuring his victory (as it has in past elections).
The political environment is deteriorating as the rapacious power structure delays improvements to governance in order to extend its time in government and as this network’s internal paranoia renders it more brittle and fragile.

OpEd: Algeria’s Bouteflika receives Merkel as army is shaken up

DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) &#8211; Dozens of Africans say they were sold for labour and trapped in slavery in Algeria in what aid agencies fear may be a widening trend of abusing migrants headed for a new life in Europe.
Algerian authorities could not be reached for comment and several experts cast doubt on claims that such abuses are widespread in the north African country.
The tightly governed state has become a popular gateway to the Mediterranean since it became tougher to pass through Libya, where slavery, rape and torture are rife.
Amid a surge in anti-migrant sentiment, Algeria since late last year has sent thousands of migrants back over its southern border into Niger, according to the United Nations Migration Agency (IOM), where many tell stories of exploitation.
The scale of abuse is not known, but an IOM survey of thousands of migrants suggested it could rival Libya.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation heard detailed accounts of forced labour and slavery from an international charity and a local association in Agadez, Niger’s main migrant transit hub, and interviewed two of the victims by telephone.
“The first time they sold me for 100,000 CFA francs ($170),” said Ousmane Bah, a 21-year-old from Guinea who said he was sold twice in Algeria by unknown captors and worked in construction.
“They took our passports. They hit us. We didn’t eat. We didn’t drink,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “I was a slave for six months.”
Accounts of abuse are similar, said Abdoulaye Maizoumbou, a project coordinator for global charity Catholic Relief Services. Of about 30 migrants he met who were deported from Algeria, about 20 said they had been enslaved, he said.
In most cases, migrants said they were sold in and around the southern city of Tamanrasset shortly after entering the country, often by smugglers of their own nationality, he said.
Some said they were tortured in order to blackmail their parents into paying the captors, but even when the money arrived they were forced to work for no pay, or sold, said Maizoumbou.
One man told the Thomson Reuters Foundation he slept in a sheep pen and suffered beatings if an animal got sick or dirty.
“They would bring out machetes and I would get on my knees and apologise and they would let it go,” said Ogounidje Tange Mazu, from Togo.
The IOM in Algeria has received three reports this year from friends and relatives of African migrants held hostage and forced to work in the country. “It’s probably just an indication that it is happening. How big it is we don’t know,” said its chief of mission Pascal Reyntjens.
<h3>TWO SIDES TO THE STORY</h3>
Several analysts considered it unlikely that slavery was widespread in Algeria, since the country has a functioning judiciary and strong police force &#8211; unlike Libya.
Algerian authorities could not be reached for comment, but a senior official said last week the country is facing a “surge of migration” and needs more help. [nL5N1ST568]
In a statement this month, the government rejected reports from a U.N. human rights team that its mass deportations of migrants were inhuman, saying that it is doing what is necessary to ensure the safety of its citizens.
“I would be very surprised that (slavery) would be allowed to happen in Algeria,” said Issandr El Amrani, North Africa project director for the International Crisis Group.
“The situation is just not comparable to Libya,” he added.
But in the ghettos of Agadez, Niger’s main transit hub, some people told a different story.
“What happens in Algeria surpasses what happens in Libya,” said Bachir Amma, a Nigerien ex-smuggler who runs a football club and a local association to inform migrants of the risks.
Migrants in Libya are often starved and beaten by armed groups, and there have been reports of “open slave markets” where migrants are put on sale, according to the U.N. human rights office. [nL8N1R32QD]
Amma said he had spoken with more than 75 migrants back from Algeria, the majority of whom described slave-like conditions.
“NGOs don’t know about this because they’re too interested in Libya,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In 2016, the IOM surveyed about 6,300 migrants in Niger, most of whom had returned from Algeria and Libya. Sixty-five percent of those who had lived in Algeria said they had experienced violence and abuse, compared to 61 percent in Libya. An estimated 75,000 migrants live in Algeria, the IOM said.
($1 = 582.8800 CFA francs)
<div class="container_28wm1">
<div class="attribution_o4ojT">
Reporting by Nellie Peyton, editing by Lyndsay Griffiths; Please credit Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women&#8217;s rights, trafficking, property rights, and climate change. Visit www.trust.org
</div>
</div>

Africa’s new slavery

This release was supplied to CNBC Africa by RMB 
One of the most important findings of Rand Merchant Bank’s (RMB) seventh edition of <a href="http://www.rmb.co.za/globalmarkets/where-to-invest-in-africa-2018-edition/">Where to Invest in Africa</a> is that the African continent could find itself hovering on the brink of disaster if it continues to depend on its current economic fundamentals and does not usher in economic diversification. Where to Invest in Africa 2018 highlights those countries which have understood the need to adapt to the prolonged slowdown in commodity prices and sluggish levels of production growth – and those which haven’t.
Where to Invest in Africa 2018 is “Money Talks” and this edition “follows the money” on the African continent to evaluate aspects crucial to each country’s economic performance.  The report focuses on the main sources of dollar revenues in Africa which allows it to measure the most important income generators and identify investment opportunities.
“Over the past three years, some African governments have had to implement deep and painful budget cuts, announce multiple currency devaluations and adopt hawkish monetary policy stances &#8211; all as a result of a significant drop in traditional revenues,” says RMB Africa analyst and co-author of Where to Invest in Africa 2018 Celeste Fauconnier.
“Some countries have been more nimble and effective than others in managing shortfalls,” says Nema Ramkhelawan-Bhana, also RMB Africa analyst and an author of the report. “But major policy dilemmas have ensued, forcing governments to balance economically prudent solutions with what is politically palatable.”
“The last three years have sounded an alarm, amplifying what is now a dire need for the economies of Africa to shift their focus from traditional sources of income to other viable alternatives,” says Neville Mandimika, RMB Africa analyst and contributor to Where to Invest in Africa 2018
“These years have exposed a number of African nations to severe economic stress – especially that of liquidity shortages. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to infuse into a context as complex as this, and traditional forms of revenue will remain a reality for many years to come,” says Ronak Gopaldas, RMB Africa analyst and co-author.
In this edition of <a href="http://www.rmb.co.za/globalmarkets/where-to-invest-in-africa-2018-edition/">Where to Invest in Africa 2018</a>, RMB’s Investment Attractiveness Index, which balances economic activity against the relative ease of doing business, illustrates how subdued levels of economic activity have diluted several scores on the index when compared to last year, resulting in some interesting movements within the Top 10.
Notable omissions from the Top 10 this year are Nigeria and Algeria, which have fallen from numbers six and 10 to numbers 13 and 15 respectively. Ethiopia and Rwanda, on the other hand, have climbed three and four places respectively.
But probably the most notable change is that South Africa has fallen from first place for the first time since the inception of the report, ceding its place to Egypt which is now Africa’s most attractive investment destination.
Egypt displaced South Africa largely because of its superior economic activity score and sluggish growth rates in South Africa, which have deteriorated markedly over the past seven years. South Africa also faces mounting concerns over issues of institutional strength and governance though in South Africa’s favour are its currency, equity and capital markets which are still a cut above the rest, with many other African nations facing liquidity constraints.
Morocco retained its third position for a third consecutive year having benefitted from a greatly enhanced operating environment since the “Arab Spring” which began in 2010. Surprisingly, Ethiopia, a country dogged by socio-political instability, displaced Ghana to take fourth spot mostly because of its rapid economic growth, having brushed past Kenya as the largest economy in East Africa. Ghana’s slide to fifth position was mostly due to perceptions of worsening corruption and weaker economic freedom.
Kenya holds firm in the Top 10 at number six. Despite being surpassed by Ethiopia, investors are still attracted by Kenya’s diverse economic structure, pro-market policies and brisk consumer spending growth. A host of business-friendly reforms aimed at rooting out corruption and steady economic growth helped Tanzania climb by two places to number seven. Rwanda re-entered the Top 10 having spent two years on the periphery, helped by being one of the fastest reforming economies in the world, high real growth rates and its continuing attempt to diversify its economy.
At number nine, Tunisia has made great strides in advancing political transition while an improved business climate has been achieved by structural reforms, greater security and social stability. Cote d’Ivoire slipped two places to take up the tenth position. Although its business environment scoring is still relatively low, its government has made significant strides in inviting investment into the country leading to a strong increase in foreign direct investment over the years resulting in one of the fastest growing economies in Africa.
For the first time, Nigeria does not feature in the Top 10, with its short-term investment appeal having been eroded by recessionary conditions. Uganda is steadily closing in on the Top 10 though market activity is likely to remain subdued after a tumultuous 2016 marred by election-related uncertainty, a debilitating drought and high commercial lending rates. Though Botswana, Mauritius and Namibia are widely rated as investment grade economies, they do not feature in the Top 10 mostly because of the relatively small sizes of their markets – market size has been a key consideration in the report’s methodology.
Where to Invest in Africa 2018 also includes 191 jurisdictions around the world, and measures Africa’s performance relative to other country groupings. The unfortunate reality is that African countries are still at the lower end of the global-performance spectrum, which continues to be dominated by the US, UK, Australia and Germany.
<ul>
<li>Article written by RMB</li>
</ul>

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