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<p>TANDALE, Tanzania (Thomson Reuters Foundation) &#8211; The sight of a drone hovering above the streets of Tandale to map the crowded flood-prone neighbourhood in the north of Dar es Salaam spread excitement among inhabitants tired of dealing with regular inundations.</p>
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<div class="teads-player"><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="/news/east-africa/2017/01/03/tanzanias-president-john-magufuli-the-bulldozer/">Tanzania’s President John Magufuli: The bulldozer crushing corruption﻿</a> </div>
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<p>“I am happy to see something is being done to prevent flooding,” said 35-year-old resident Happy Malimbo.</p>
<p>With the help of drones, city authorities are drawing up plans to protect and assist suburbs at risk of flooding like Tandale, offering a glimmer of hope to those who live there.</p>
<p><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="/news/east-africa/2017/01/02/rwanda-tanzanias-economic-growth-slows/">Tanzania, Rwanda growth slows but beats foretasted rate for Sub-Saharan Africa﻿</a></p>
<p>Since 2013, Dar es Salaam City Council has worked with the World Bank and other partners, including the Red Cross and the Open Geospatial Consortium, to plot roads, streams and flood plains using drones.</p>
<p>Dubbed Ramani Huria (Swahili for “Open Mapping”), the project aims to help communities in slums create accurate maps of their localities, which can be used to reduce flood risks and improve response to disasters, officials said.</p>
<p>Floods come every year to Tandale, one of Dar es Salaam&#8217;s largest slums, but inadequate planning means the naturally occurring hazard often turns into a man-made disaster.</p>
<p>Local people say they have repeatedly suffered losses due to flooding, which has also left hundreds without shelter.</p>
<p>“I lost most of my belongings as the flood water stormed into the house in April this year,” said Malimbo, who has three children.</p>
<p>With almost 70 percent of its inhabitants living in informal settlements, Dar es Salaam is highly vulnerable to flooding, especially in densely populated slum areas like Tandale.</p>
<p>Heavy rains fall twice a year, often resulting in severe floods that force thousands of people from their homes and cause millions of dollars’ worth of damage.</p>
<p>COMMUNITY COLLABORATION</p>
<p>Juliana Letara, head of urban planning at Kinondoni Municipal Council, said the Ramani Huria initiative had trained university students and community members to identify and map areas mostly likely to be hit by floods, enabling local authorities to take action in real time.</p>
<p>Several wards in Tandale, in Kinondoni municipality, have been mapped to create flood risk models, and a community resilience plan has established evacuation routes.</p>
<p>“If you can trace where it floods, you can either install or upgrade infrastructure to improve the situation for the people,” Letara told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.</p>
<p>The production of detailed datasets and collaboration with a separate Red Cross project to tackle flooding have led to the creation of local teams and plans for disaster preparedness and response in 10 of Dar es Salaam’s most flood-prone communities.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ramani Huria maps are user-friendly &#8211; they can be used by people with any level of education,” said Letara. “The community feels a sense of ownership over them because they were a part of the whole process.&#8221;</p>
<p>“Now we have a map &#8211; and a map is something important to start with,” said Tandale Ward Officer Osiligi Lossai. “We can identify different areas to restructure and improve. It is a roadmap for us to set up new plans (and) to organise ourselves while involving the community.”</p>
<p>Officials in Tandale are also using the maps to work out where flooding could trigger disease outbreaks.</p>
<p>“With these maps, it is easy to identify houses with known cholera patients and allow an efficient response,” said Lossai.</p>
<p>CHEAP TECHNOLOGY</p>
<p>Drones provide high-resolution, real-time imagery which is needed to develop exposure maps and model ﬂood risk.</p>
<p>Frederick Mbuya, a World Bank consultant working with Tanzania&#8217;s Commission for Science and Technology, said drones are now a proven technology to conduct aerial surveys for land mapping.</p>
<p>&#8220;The use of drones is much cheaper than many other traditional methods,&#8221; he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation</p>
<p>Kinondoni official Letara noted that drones can also help map areas that cannot be reached on foot due to flooding, highlighting the critical need for such a tool.</p>
<p>According to World Bank information officer Loy Nabeta, the data captured so far in the most flood-prone areas of Dar es Salaam, covering 1.3 million people, has been fed into publicly accessible online tools such as OpenStreetMap and InaSAFE, which can be used by communities.</p>
<p>Experts say most people who settle in flood-prone areas have little choice because they are poor, even if they know their lives and property are at risk.</p>
<p>As the rainy season does not last long, slum residents are willing to live with the threat of floods, soon forgetting the misery they cause, said Tandale resident Salum Kiponda.</p>
<p>But the Ramani Huria project could change the view that flooding is just something to be endured.</p>
<p>“We often don’t know when the floods will come, and what to do, but this (new) information helps us know how to protect ourselves,” said Malimbo.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Kizito Makoye; editing by Megan Rowling. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women&#8217;s rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit <a href="http://news.trust.org/">news.trust.org</a>)</p>
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How drones are changing the lives of flood victims in Tanzania

<p>ACCRA (Reuters) &#8211; Gambia&#8217;s electoral commission chairman has fled the country because he received threats after declaring President Yahya Jammeh the loser of a Dec. 1 election, a family member and a colleague said on Tuesday.</p>
<p>It was not known where Alieu Momar Njai might have gone.</p>
<p><strong>READ: </strong><a href="/news/western-africa/2017/01/03/gambia-radio-stations-shut-down/">Gambian security agents close radio stations amid post-election crisis</a></p>
<p>President-elect Adama Barrow won the vote and Jammeh conceded defeat but on Dec. 9 he said he would not step down &#8211; a change of heart that drew international condemnation.</p>
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<div class="teads-player">(Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Louise Ireland)﻿</div>
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Gambia electoral commissioner flees country

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<p>ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria plans to close the airport in the capital Abuja for six weeks from 8 March to repair its runway, the aviation ministry said on Tuesday, pushing the move back later than previously scheduled.</p>
<p>The decision to shut the airport and divert Abuja-bound flights to Kaduna, an airport used primarily for domestic flights about 160 km (100 miles) to the north, was taken after airlines threatened to stop flying to the capital.</p>
<p>The government had said the six week closure would begin in February. But a statement issued on Tuesday, which said the aviation minister would discuss the matter with stakeholders, said the &#8220;proposed closure&#8221; was set to start on 8 March.</p>
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<p>No reason was given for the change of date.</p>
<p>The meeting with aviation industry figures, on Thursday, is to brief them on efforts being made to ensure that the use of Kaduna&#8217;s airport is &#8220;seamless and hitch-free&#8221; said aviation ministry spokesman James Odaudu.</p>
<p>Analysts have said that the temporary closure of Abuja airport, the country&#8217;s second busiest after the commercial capital Lagos, will have a negative impact on Africa&#8217;s biggest economy, which fell into recession in 2016 for the first time in 25 years.</p>
<p>Passengers travelling to Abuja will have to fly to Kaduna and travel in bus shuttles, guarded by security provided by the government, to the capital on a pot-holed road where kidnappings have taken place in the last few years.</p>
<p>Kaduna&#8217;s international airport handled 12 flights in December 2015, the last month for which Nigeria&#8217;s airports authority has figures, compared with 812 that used Abuja International.</p>
<p>The government has said German company Julius Berger will carry out repairs on Abuja&#8217;s damaged runway.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram)</p>
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Nigeria changes date for closure of capital's airport

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<p>Billionaire Richard Branson&#8217;s definition of success <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/04/billionaire-richard-bransons-definition-of-success-has-nothing-to-do-with-money.html" target="_blank">has nothing to do with money</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are,&#8221; the entrepreneur <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-metric-success-happiness-richard-branson?trk=mp-reader-card" target="_blank" class="inline_asset">writes on LinkedIn</a>.</p>
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<p>Happiness isn&#8217;t just a metric to measure his level of success — it&#8217;s also the key to it, according to Branson: &#8220;Most people would assume my business success, and the wealth that comes with it, have brought me happiness. But I know I am successful, wealthy and connected because I am happy.&#8221;</p>
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<p>The Virgin Group founder asked a handful of his employees to share their &#8220;happiness mantras,&#8221; which he then <a href="https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/whats-your-happy-mantra" target="_blank" title="https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/whats-your-happy-mantra" class="inline_asset">highlighted on his blog</a>. Here are the five that Branson plans on adopting in 2017, plus his own personal mantra for happiness.</p>
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<p>1. &#8220;Throw kindness around like confetti.&#8221;</p>
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<div class="attribution">2. &#8220;Happiness has a true sense of simplicity. Its root is not from what you own, but from what drives your soul and inspires your sense of belonging.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="attribution">3. &#8220;One can always find a way to adapt to whatever life throws at you: Just enjoy the moment.&#8221; </div>
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<div class="attribution">4. &#8220;We will make it work.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="attribution">And the billionaire chose this one: &#8220;The way I see it, there&#8217;s a reason we&#8217;re called human beings and not human doings.&#8221;</div>
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<p>&#8220;As human beings we have the ability to think, move and communicate in a heightened way. We can cooperate, understand, reconcile and love. &#8230; So in 2017, don&#8217;t forget the to-do list, but remember to write a to-be list too.&#8221;﻿</p>
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Billionaire Richard Branson's six mantras to follow in 2017

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<p>MAPUTO (Reuters) &#8211; Mozambique&#8217;s Renamo opposition party has extended a ceasefire for two months to allow dialogue with President Filipe Nyusi&#8217;s government and reduce civilian deaths, its leader Afonso Dhlakama said on Tuesday.</p>
<p><strong>READ: </strong><a href="/news/southern-africa/2016/12/16/mozambique-banking-system/">Mozambique bails out major bank to save banking system &#8211; CNBC Africa﻿</a> </p>
<p>Rights groups estimate dozens of people were killed last year in tit-for-tat attacks between Renamo fighters and government forces.</p>
<p><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="/news/southern-africa/2016/11/02/aid-for-mozambique/">Aid for Mozambique on the way &#8211; CNBC Africa</a></p>
<p>The two fought on opposing sides in a civil war from 1976 to 1992 in which 1 million people are thought to have died.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Manuel Mucari; Writing by Joe Brock; editing by John Stonestreet)</p>
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Mozambique's opposition party extends ceasefire

<p class="Heading"><em>President John Magufuli has a no-nonsense approach to leading his country and Tanzanians are giving their approval.﻿ The article below tells his story, it first appeared in Forbes Africa and is republished with its permission. Subscribe today by contacting Shanna Jacobsen <a href="mailto:Shanna.Jacobsen@abn360.com">Shanna.Jacobsen@abn360.com</a></em>﻿</p>
<p class="NoParagraphStyle">Africa has had its fair share of great leaders, like Nelson Mandela and Kwame Nkrumah. However, political power in Africa is often seen as an easy path to become wealthy. Too often, cronyism and patronage oil the wheels of governments, ensuring that corruption goes unpunished and impunity reigns. Enter Tanzania’s President John Magufuli, who is defying all the purportedly accepted norms of African leadership.</p>
<p class="NoParagraphStyle">Magufuli wasted no time in implementing his campaign promises, quickly living up to his nickname &#8211; the Bulldozer. Tanzanians first felt the effect of his fresh leadership when he ordered the funds for their extravagant Independence Day celebrations be redirected to buy much-needed beds for public hospitals, immediately gaining him worldwide admiration.</p>
<p class="NoParagraphStyle"><strong>READ: </strong><a href="/news/western-africa/2016/11/12/femi-otedola-on-the-day-he-lost-everything/">Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola on the day he lost everything﻿</a></p>
<p>His firm stance on fighting corruption, his introduction of severe austerity measures, and his seemingly aggressive development agenda, have earned him accolades. The United Nations Economic and Social Council recently named him the World’s Best President.</p>
<p class="NoParagraphStyle">With just one year in office, Magufuli has amalgamated several ministries, downsizing his cabinet from 30 members to 19. He has banned the purchase of first class air tickets for ministers, and government meetings and conferences are now held in state buildings rather than high-end hotels. To the dismay of senior officials, he auctioned off their luxury cars, seen as both a right and a necessity, with the generated income being channeled into public services. He has also banned any future purchase of such vehicles.</p>
<p class="NoParagraphStyle">“The president’s approach so far has been commendable and his battle with corruption impeccable. I think he will sustain his current style and won’t be putting his guns down anytime soon,” says Nicodemus Minde, a Tanzanian political analyst.</p>
<p class="NoParagraphStyle"><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="/news/western-africa/2016/09/17/africas-second-richest-woman/">How Africa’s second richest woman gained her fortune</a>﻿</p>
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<p class="NoParagraphStyle">By channeling resources back into Tanzania’s economy, Magufuli’s austerity measures have been lauded and the impact is already being felt. His somewhat autocratic style is facilitated by the powers allocated to the Tanzanian Presidency. These allow him to appoint and dismiss officials, and to leverage state security apparatus to flush out and punish corruption and economic crime. He has pledged to double development spending, funded by cutting government wastage, which may enable economic gains to trickle down.</p>
<p class="NoParagraphStyle">Although a chemical engineer by profession, Magufuli is not new to politics. He has been an active member of parliament for two decades, heading various ministries throughout his tenure. His radical, yet effective, methods of governance set an example for transparency, good governance and strict control of government spending. Tanzanians have grown to love his style, while citizens of neighboring nations look on enviously, hoping their leaders will take a leaf from his pragmatic book.</p>
<p class="NoParagraphStyle">Ali Mufuruki, Chairman and CEO at InfoTech Investment Group, describes Magufuli’s style as steadfast.</p>
<p class="NoParagraphStyle">“He has demonstrated a unique kind of consistency, an undiminishing stamina and an unswerving steadiness in his fight against the vices of corruption, abuse of office and waste of public resources.”</p>
<p class="NoParagraphStyle">While Magufuli’s first year in office has been impressive, it remains to be seen whether this will translate into more economic growth, given that Tanzania was already growing by 7.9% in the second quarter of 2016. His success so far has been met with skepticism in some quarters, with some pundits warning that celebrations may be premature.</p>
<p>Magufuli has taken up the challenge of transforming his developing nation into a world-class economy and shown a willingness to challenge the long-standing negative views about African leadership. Years from now, Magufuli’s name might be mentioned alongside Mandela and Nkrumah.﻿</p>
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Tanzania’s President John Magufuli: The bulldozer crushing corruption

<p>On Tuesday, December 13, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net) stated that the famine threatening the country’s northeast, a region wracked by a seven-year insurgency by extremist group Boko Haram, has already claimed over 2,000 lives this year. The deaths occurred in Bama – the group’s former stronghold.</p>
<p>The news comes a month after United Nations (UN) Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Peter Lundberg, warned that 2017 could see millions requiring international humanitarian assistance and 75,000 children were at risk of dying over the next few months “if we don’t do something rapidly and seriously”.</p>
<p>On December 5, meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari responded to the alarm calls by the UN by saying that he believed aid agencies were creating “hype” in order to encourage donations.</p>
<p>“We are concerned about the blatant attempts to whip up a non-existent fear of mass starvation by some aid agencies, a type of hype that does not provide a solution to the situation on the ground, but more to do with calculations for operations financing locally and abroad,” The Guardian quoted Buhari saying.</p>
<p>The president’s defensiveness should be interpreted in light of the mounting criticism he is facing for multiple crises affecting the country – from militancy in the Niger Delta, the economy stalling, separatist agitation for a Biafran State, Fulani herdsmen causing chaos in the middle belt, and many more – which have eroded his legitimacy.</p>
<p>The famine now detracts from the successes the Nigerian forces, and those of their regional allies, have had in bringing the extremists to heel and the long-overdue release of some of the Chibok girls who were kidnapped in 2014.</p>
<p>Even more embarrassing for the president is the fact that in October the Senate reported that the Presidential Initiative on the North East, which Buhari established last year, has done little to improve conditions on the ground for internally displaced persons and has been marred by corruption.</p>
<p>Readers will remember that Buhari came to power in 2015 promising to end the scourge corruption. </p>
<p>Buhari can obviously not be blamed for the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the northeast. The previous administration should be saddled with the guilt of not ending Boko Haram’s insurgency sooner.</p>
<p>However, the president can be blamed for actions taken to address the situation now.</p>
<p>Downplaying the seriousness of the widespread hunger in order to save face is a public relations disaster – especially when coupled with the failures of his own initiative for the region.</p>
<p>His popularity has sunk to critical levels and, just about halfway through his term, he does not have all that much time to turn the ship around.</p>
<p>When the news media start reporting on more deaths, his defensiveness will be remembered as callousness.</p>
<p>*Jared Jeffery is a Political Analyst at NKC</p>
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Op-Ed: Nigeria's president is ignoring famine warnings at its peril

<p>The “Africa Rising” narrative is increasingly giving way to that of “Aspiring Africa”, as the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) shrinks and the new middle class burgeons.</p>
<p>Central to this new narrative is inclusive growth: the idea that economic growth must come with equitable opportunities for all participants, with benefits enjoyed by every section of society.</p>
<p>As Africa develops, it is pivotal to ensure that the currently underserved majority feels the benefits. This is not only about poverty reduction, but about creating opportunities for lower-income segments to generate wealth. It is a virtuous cycle; inclusive growth equals faster and better economic growth.</p>
<p>If we can ensure that Africa’s economic development happens in a more equitable and sustainable way, the macroeconomic positives are myriad. Offering young, aspiring Africans the opportunity to create wealth, has the effect of turning this demographic into producers and consumers of additional products and services.</p>
<p><strong>The role of technology in inclusive growth</strong></p>
<p>Africa’s mobile revolution has offered entrepreneurs an opportunity unlike any other to disseminate products and services that can contribute to inclusive growth on the continent. It enables digital innovation that allows African entrepreneurs and developers to leapfrog technologies, creating access to previously unavailable services for the majority.</p>
<p>Finance is a key enabler of growth, which is why the provision of accessible and affordable financial services to the majority of Africans is a prerequisite for faster and more sustainable development. Access to financial services increases access to other opportunities, hence fintech becoming central to Africa’s inclusive growth story.</p>
<p>For example, South Africa’s <a href="http://nomanini.com/">Nomanini</a>, is allowing informal merchants to improve their income generation capacity by selling airtime and other digital services through their point of sale (PoS) devices. This creates a ripple effect. By increasing the wealth-generation capability of the majority, it allows them to access additional products and services and contribute to economic growth.</p>
<p>The trend goes beyond financial services, however. In healthcare, diagnostic apps such as <a href="http://www.vulamobile.com/">Vula Mobile</a> are making world-class diagnostics available to lower-income segments in a more affordable way.</p>
<p>Companies in the education space are making digital content available to young Africans, while in agriculture, mobile is being used by companies like Kenya’s <a href="http://wefarm.org/">WeFarm</a> to disseminate crucial information for farmers, having a direct impact on their productivity and wealth-generation abilities.</p>
<p>Africa is seeing the same technology innovations that are emerging in developed countries, however, they are used in a unique manner. In Africa, technology is not replacing or assisting existing infrastructure; it is creating the infrastructure where there is none. Brick-and-mortar clinics, schools and grid-powered electricity are not in place across vast swathes of the continent. And they will not reach every rural village or urban slum in the future. Instead, these services will be provided more and more through innovative mobile technologies, reducing the need for expensive physical infrastructure.</p>
<p>In its ability to democratise and increase access to more affordable services that have, until now, remained inaccessible to the majority of Africans, technology has the potential to play a huge role in ensuring inclusive growth on the continent, opening up new opportunities for aspiring Africans.</p>
<p><strong>Laying the groundwork for inclusive growth through technology</strong></p>
<p>It is evident that from financial services to education, healthcare to transport, technology can be a key enabler in ensuring the benefits of Africa’s economic development are felt by all. There are four factors that are critical in enabling the growth in of the inclusive digital economy:</p>
<p>The first is improved access to the internet.Without access to mobile internet connectivity, the digital innovation that makes products and services more affordable to the majority remains out of reach. Approximately only one-third of Africans currently have access to the internet.</p>
<p>This issue is, fortunately, being addressed. Internet penetration in Africa has grown to almost 30 per cent from just 11 per cent five years ago. Internet bandwidth on the continent increased by 41 per cent between 2014 and 2015, according to research from TeleGeography, with the growth being driven by the increasing prevalence of 3G and 4G connectivity.</p>
<p>The second prerequisite for enabling inclusive growth through digital innovation is increasing access to smart devices.Getting the right devices into the hands of Africans is crucial to ensuring access to opportunities. Here too we are seeing significant progress. The number of smartphones across Africa has <a href="http://www.gsma.com/newsroom/press-release/number-of-unique-mobile-subscribers-in-africa-surpasses-half-a-billion-finds-new-gsma-study/">almost doubled to 226 million over the last two years</a>, according to the GSMA, as entry level prices are falling rapidly.</p>
<p>Another key factor for inclusive growth is reducing the cost of communication.The majority of Africans will remain unable to access digital services if they cannot afford data bundles or voice calls. But with data prices falling across the board and OTT services such as WeChat and WhatsApp enabling cheaper communication, this issue too is being addressed.</p>
<p>The fourth factor is reducing the cost of creating technology solutions.Whereas in the past the development costs of a mobile or web application would have been unaffordable to many digital entrepreneurs in majority markets, thanks to lean methodologies and open source platforms like <a href="https://github.com/">GitHub</a> the process is now simpler and cheaper. This drop in the cost of technology has created opportunities for the development of more innovative applications to meet African needs.</p>
<p><strong>Africa’s inclusive digital future</strong></p>
<p>There are many reasons to be positive about ‘Aspiring Africa’ and the impact of the digital economy.</p>
<p>The continent is brimming with the energy and passion of a young generation of ambitious innovators and entrepreneurs. And Africa is the youngest continent populated by digitally savvy and creative Africans that are keen to grab the opportunities that the digital economy creates for them as economically included citizens. The widespread emergence of tech ecosystems across the continent is supporting a rapidly growing number of increasingly impressive startups and innovative solutions. The increased accessibility and falling cost of relevant services through internet-enabled smart devices, is putting these innovations in the hands of the young and aspiring African mass markets.</p>
<p>These innovations are changing the lives of the average African byte by byte, day by day. As the majority of Africans enter the digital economy, technology innovations are playing a pivotal role in creating the inclusive growth story that is changing the face of the continent. Our firm invests in many technology innovators. Working with these passionate young entrepreneurs on the ground on a daily basis, it is hard not to be optimistic about the inclusive digital economy that is taking shape in Africa as we speak.  </p>
<p><em>*Wim van der Beek is founder and managing partner of Goodwell Investments, a pioneering impact investment firm focused on financial inclusion and inclusive growth in other sectors providing basic goods and services and income generation opportunities to the underserved.</em></p>
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This is how to create inclusive growth for an Aspiring Africa

<div>Anchor Capital&#8217;s analysts have been scouring the market for stocks it believes offer an attractive risk-reward profile. What the following shares all have in common is that they have derated materially in recent months (or are already cheap) and Anchor expects EPS growth of at least 20% from the current base. While not intended to represent a holistic, diversified portfolio (nor a comprehensive list of our current “picks”), we believe the following five shares &#8211; in no particular order &#8211; deserve a place under the tree this year.</div>
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<div>1. Rhodes Food Group</div>
<div>Christmas came early for Rhodes Food Group this year, with the group having raised over R660m through the issue of 25 million shares in an accelerated book build in late November. The proceeds will be used to fund the continuation of what we believe is an attractive business model, where Rhodes continues to consolidate and turn around underperforming SMME food producers. Since listing in 2014, the group has effected eight acquisitions – with the group’s subsequent earnings growth reflecting management’s ability to successfully extract synergies and to allocate capital to expansionary projects that yield attractive returns.</div>
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<div>An intentional focus on core product categories and product innovation has yielded market share growth, with notable success in the fruit juice &amp; baby food categories. We expect this trend to continue, with the smaller Rhodes leveraging its dynamism in a market where the larger competing producers are slower to respond to evolving consumer preferences.</div>
<div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/media/19291552/anchora_599x378.jpg"  width="599"  height="378" alt="Anchora"/>﻿</div>
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<div>Post book build, Rhodes’ balance sheet has material capacity for additional gearing – with net debt : EBITDA at just 0.6x. Although management doesn’t guide to a specific capital structure, we would expect a net debt : EBITDA ratio of 2.0x to be a rough maximum for the business (peer group average is 1.3x). This implies gearing capacity of over</div>
<div>R800m, leaving R550m for deal flow after R250m in planned capex. It is also important to note that management have guided to returns in excess of the group’s ROE (25%) on expansionary capex.</div>
<div></div>
<div>Although the book build will result in short-term earnings dilution, we expect 2017 to be an active year of deal making for Rhodes and we estimate such deals could add at least 6 – 7% to group earnings on an annualized basis in year 1. This figure could be closer to 10% from year 2 onward as synergies are extracted and utilization rates are improved.</div>
<div></div>
<div>The share currently trades on a forward P/E of 16.3x, which is in line with its peer group despite the business’ superior earnings growth profile. Post 2017 deal flow, we expect that management will be able to sustainably grow earnings at around 20% per annum and on this basis we think Rhodes deserves a place under the Christmas tree this year.</div>
<div></div>
<div>2. Aspen Pharmacare</div>
<div>Despite an enviable long term track record, Aspen has been very disappointing in recent years, with the share down by 12% YTD following a 24% decline in 2015. It is worth noting that much of this poor performance is owing to a sharp de-rating from what was arguable an overextended earnings multiple (see figure 2), but the group’s FY16 results were also disappointing and “messy” in some ways:</div>
<div> Normalised HEPS grew by 10% &#8211; well below the trend rate of growth investors have been accustomed to from Aspen.</div>
<div> Not included in the normalised earnings figure was a hyperinflationary adjustment to the group’s Venezuelan operations amounting to R870m. In essence, Venezuela has been written off in their lives.</div>
<div> The sale of the group’s Australian generics business cost Aspen 4.5% turnover, and was likely earnings dilutive but we believe management has done this for sound strategic reasons.</div>
</div>
<div>
<div> The South African business unit disappointed, with EBITA declining 15% as a consequence of the private sector business receiving insufficient focus due to the requirement to supply greater-than-expected volumes into a government tender. CEO Saad acknowledged this was a management misstep and has expressed confidence in this issue being resolved in the coming year.</div>
<div></div>
<div>Looking ahead to FY17, management has intimated that growth should accelerate materially. Specifically, much work has been done during 2016 bedding down recent acquisitions and management expects an incremental R500m-1bn worth of synergies to be delivered in FY17 over and above the R300m delivered in FY16. In addition, the group’s commercialisation agreement with AstraZeneca for its anaesthetics portfolio could add 20% to earnings for a</div>
<div>full year. We expect as much as 30% earnings growth for the next two financial years (consensus is lower at +23% p.a), which unwinds the stock’s forward P/E multiple to a level last seen five years ago. Importantly, the stock’s premium rating it has enjoyed over time has also shrunk to below-average levels – despite an absolute de-rating in the broader market multiple (figure 2 below). Provided earnings expectations are delivered on, we would not be surprised to see annualised share price gains of 20% or more from</div>
<div>current levels.</div>
<div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/media/19291559/anchorb.png" width="579" height="541" alt="Anchorb"/>﻿</div>
<div></div>
<div>3. Naspers</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>Naspers was one of the immediate major casualties of Donald Trump’s victory in the US elections – an early “Christmas Grinch” for the global tech sector, if you will. His election and communicated policies have been interpreted as having the following key implications:</div>
<div>• Rising infrastructure spending in the USA</div>
<div>• Tax cuts in the US</div>
<div>• Higher growth</div>
<div>• Higher inflation</div>
<div>• Bigger fiscal deficits, leading to greater issuance of US debt</div>
<div></div>
<div>The net result of the above has been a rapid and dramatic shift in capital flows from emerging markets to developed (specifically US) markets. Within these changes, we have witnessed swift sector rotation, which has generally favoured US banks, “old economy” stocks over that of more highly-rated, higher growth tech stocks. Tencent, as a widely held emerging market technology stock, has been caught up in this dramatic sector rotation, and declined in value by almost 6% during November (Facebook, similarly, declined by 8.7%), with the sell-off continuing into December.</div>
<div></div>
<div>Given Tencent’s dominance in Naspers’ life, this has been key to the decline in Naspers’ share price over the past month or two. Perhaps more importantly, however, we have witnessed a sharply rising discount to Naspers’ sum of the parts in recent months – quite aside from Tencent’s own investment thesis, this implies that investors are increasingly losing patience with management’s ability to create value at “the centre.” Figure 3 below demonstrates that Tencent’s contribution to Naspers’ intrinsic value is at an all time high:</div>
<div></div>
<div>In our view, the key issue to unlocking much of this discount will be evidence of faster monetisation of the group’s ecommerce assets (ex Tencent) which – in aggregate – are incurring losses of more than $600m annually. In recent years, we have witnessed rising losses coinciding with evergrowing development expenditure.</div>
<div></div>
<div>For us, the 1H17 result was encouraging on this front. While consolidated development expenditure continued to grow at a rapid clip (38% yoy), losses actually stagnated. While this may not sound an impressive achievement, it highlights growing profitability of the mature assets within this portfolio. We think this bodes well for the future profitability of this portfolio of assets, and ultimately, unlocking of the discount.</div>
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<div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/media/19291566/anchorc_598x510.jpg"  width="598"  height="510" alt="Anchorc"/>﻿</div>
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<div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/media/19291573/anchord.png" width="584" height="937" alt="Anchord"/>﻿</div>
<div>As shown in figure 5 below, Naspers currently trades at a 33% discount to our estimate of intrinsic value; we believe this is an especially deep discount as it has typically tended to trade in the band of 15-25% over time when assessed on this basis.</div>
</div>
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<div></div>
<div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/media/19291580/anchore.png" width="511" height="510" alt="Anchore"/>﻿</div>
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<div>We believe Naspers represents a compelling risk-reward equation at this juncture, especially in the context of Tencent’s recent pull-back and below-average earnings multiple. Tencent trades at a 12-month blended forward P/E of 27x, but should sustain 30% profit growth for some time.</div>
<div></div>
<div></div>
<div>4. Sun International</div>
<div>In 2017, the wise investor will follow this star to Menlyn Maine, where Sun International will unwrap their most generous gift to shareholders yet – the new Time Square hotel &amp; casino.</div>
<div></div>
<div>The entertainment “super-complex” will be South Africa’s second largest casino (commissioning date is April 2017), which we expect will contribute over R1bn in annualised EBITDA once fully operational. We estimate that the operation will add around R32 in intrinsic value per share – significant in the context of today’s share price of R85, which in turn we think is not discounting any of Menlyn Maine’s value contribution.</div>
<div></div>
<div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/media/19291662/anchorf.png" width="586" height="436" alt="Anchorf"/>﻿</div>
<div></div>
<div>2017 will also mark the 1st full year of consolidation of the newly-formed Sun Dreams operation in South America after the merger of Sun International’s Latam assets with Chilebased Dreams S.A. Favourable valuation terms of Sun’s Latin American assets in the merger should result in material earnings accretion for the group in FY’17 (we est. 150c), with recent delays in Chile’s municipal license renewal process a net positive as the effective life of existing licenses are extended.</div>
</div>
<div>
<div></div>
<div>We believe that market scepticism around Time Square’s success and overblown concerns (in our view) about the group’s balance sheet are creating an exceptional opportunity for investors to take advantage of a level of mispricing not often seen.</div>
<div></div>
<div>Taking Sun’s new financial year-end into account (December), we estimate that the counter is trading on a forward P/E of ~10x. Once Time Square is fully operational, we calculate long-term sustainable earnings of around R9.60 per share and we apply an exit multiple of 12x to calculate a fair value twelve months out of R115. A prospective return of 35% “jingles our bells” and makes Sun International one of our top picks for 2017. The key risk to our thesis is a more protracted period of moribund casino revenues currently being experienced in South Africa, which would place further pressure on margins of the group given inflationary cost escalations. In addition, debt levels are currently high, but we do not expect any covenant breaches (the South African and Latin American operations have separate covenants; SA has a temporary limit of 4.0x debt : EBITDA – we expect it to peak at 3.8x in FY17, dropping below 3x in FY18 as Menlyn Maine generates EBITDA).</div>
</div>
<div>
<div></div>
<div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/media/19291641/anchorg.png" width="595" height="575" alt="Anchorg"/>﻿</div>
<div></div>
<div>5. RMI Holdings</div>
<div>One could argue that RMI represents the perfect “Christmas lunch” of the insurance industry. Having recently concluded some much-anticipated M&amp;A in the form of an associate stake in UK based short term insurer Hastings Group Plc, RMI now boasts a truly diversified offering. RMI offers a nice mix of life insurance (Discovery and MMI), short term insurance (OUTsurance and Hastings Group Plc.), high growth assets (Discovery, OUTsurance and Hastings), mature assets (MMI), emerging markets (OUTsurance SA, Discovery and MMI) and developed markets (YOUI Group and Hastings Group Plc).</div>
<div></div>
<div>Prior to the investment in UK based Hastings Group Plc., we anticipated RMI to deliver earnings growth between 15 and 20% over the medium term, with growth kickers coming from a combination of Discovery’s loss making fledgling businesses breaking even and OUTsurance’s Australian subsidiary, YOUI’s, earnings to ramp up the J-curve as this business achieves scale. The current forecasts don’t factor in much earnings accretion from the investment in Hasting’s, although the investment was entirely debt funded, making short term earnings accretion highly likely.</div>
<div></div>
<div>Using simple assumptions from the latest published financial statements a possible scenario would be a c.2%boost to RMI earnings in FY17 and c.4% in FY18.</div>
</div>
<div></div>
<div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/media/19291634/anchorh.png" width="590" height="334" alt="Anchorh"/>﻿</div>
<div>
<div></div>
<div>Alongside Old Mutual, RMI remains our preferred pick in the insurance sector and we view the diversification of the asset mix as a one that should deliver stable returns on capital through the cycle. The recent hail storms experienced in Johannesburg have resulted in us trimming estimates of OUTsurance’s earnings by c.3% as this business is currently experiencing cyclically high underwriting margins in the domestic market, a situation we believe could normalise with the hail-related claims that are not yet reflected in the most recent reported earnings base. From a valuation perspective, RMI trades at a 12-month rolling forward P/E multiple of 13x, offers a sector-leading EPS growth profile of 20% p.a and investors also receive a 4% dividend yield. We believe these metrics should be supportive of total returns in the region of 20%. We do note, however, that our earnings estimates for both Discovery and RMI are materially ahead of consensus expectations.﻿</div>
</div>
<p> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/media/19291627/anchori.png" width="592" height="417" alt="Anchori"/>﻿</p>


Anchor Capital's five JSE-listed shares for 2017

<p>Roads expansion projects across Rwanda’s capital city are set to commence in January, according to officials.</p>
<p>Rwanda’s <a href="http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2016-12-28/206638/?utm_content=buffer6b2ea&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer">The New Times</a> reported that the expansion project is set to cover about 54 kilometres, with a focus on expanding roads to a dual carriage way with two lanes on each side.</p>
<p>Payments towards the Rwf4 billion ($4.9 million) expropriations are already underway with former owners moving out.</p>
<p>Funding of the project is between Rwanda and China but the expropriation cost would be met by the Government of Rwanda, Parfait Busabizwa, City vice mayor in charge of economic development, told The New Times.</p>
<p>Busabizwa added that the road upgrade will be in two phases; the first from the roundabout in town to Gatsata, Kanogo to Rwandex and to Prince House in Remera and the second will cover Nyacyonga, Nduba, Nyamirambo and the network around Rugando.</p>
<p>The aim of the project is to address traffic jams mainly attributed to narrow roads, a lack of bypasses and alternative routes connecting various parts of the city.</p>
<p>The entire project to relieve the city off traffic congestion is expected to cost about $76 million according to the publication.</p>
<p> </p>


Rwanda's $76 million road expansion project to commence

<div>
<p>DAKAR Jan 2 (Reuters) &#8211; Gambian security agents closed three private radio stations near the capital, Banjul, amid an escalating political crisis triggered by President Yahya Jammeh&#8217;s refusal to accept his election defeat.</p>
<p><strong>READ: </strong><a href="/news/western-africa/2016/12/21/gambia-president-yahya-jammeh-election-defeat/">Gambia&#8217;s President refuses to hand over power &#8211; CNBC Africa</a></p>
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<p>Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup, initially conceded defeat to opposition rival Adama Barrow in the Dec. 1 vote, but then called for a fresh poll, drawing condemnation from local opponents and foreign powers.</p>
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<p>The veteran leaders&#8217; refusal to step down has opened up the possibility of a military intervention by West African forces after the ECOWAS body said it was putting military forces on alert. Jammeh called that a &#8220;declaration of war&#8221;.</p>
<p>Emil Touray, head of the Gambia Press Union, said Teranga FM and Hilltop Radio were closed on Sunday, while an employee at Afri Radio, owned by Gambian phone company Africell, said its headquarters was shut down by four intelligence agents and a police officer on the same day.</p>
<p>A government spokesman initially said he could not confirm the closures and later did not answer his phone. Touray said he had no further details.</p>
<p>It was not immediately clear why the stations were targeted by Jammeh. The authorities may have taken aim at Afri Radio because the station announced details of Barrow&#8217;s inauguration, planned for Jan. 19, the Afri Radio journalist said.</p>
<p>The media has come under regular attack during Jammeh&#8217;s 22-year authoritarian rule, rights campaigners say, and he has often tried to control communications in the tiny country of 1.8 million. The internet was cut during election day, as were international phone calls.</p>
<p>Teranga FM, popular for its review of newspapers in the local wolof and mandinka languages, has been closed four times in recent years.</p>
<p><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="/news/western-africa/2016/12/19/gambia-vote-ecowas-president-yahya-jammeh/">ECOWAS to uphold Gambian vote despite Jammeh&#8217;s resistance﻿</a></p>
<p>The station&#8217;s managing director Alagie Ceesay was arrested in July, 2015, and charged with sedition. He was hospitalized twice in early 2016 while still in detention, Amnesty International said, and later fled to neighbouring Senegal.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is a slap in the face of the country&#8217;s democratic process,&#8221; said Touray. &#8220;People will not have access to information in this critical period of our history.&#8221;</p>
<p>Barrow&#8217;s election victory was seen as a surprising triumph for democracy in Gambia, which gained independence from Britain in 1965 but has since had only two presidents. But the elation seen on the streets of Banjul in the days after Barrow&#8217;s victory was quickly extinguished by Jammeh&#8217;s defiant stance. (Editing by Richard Lough)</p>
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<p class="copyright">© Thomson Reuters 2017 All rights reserved﻿</p>


Gambian security agents close radio stations amid post-election crisis

<h1><a style="font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 400;" href="http://www.pprotect.org/about_us/profile_public_protector.asp">Thuli Madonsela’s</a> tenure at the helm of the office of the public protector of South Africa has significantly <a style="font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 400;" href="https://theconversation.com/how-south-africas-public-protector-has-set-a-high-bar-for-her-successor-63891">raised the profile</a> of the institution. This was mainly due to several high profile and controversial cases being referred to the office for investigation and adjudication.</h1>
<p>The cases that received extensive media coverage included investigations into irregular spending and expenditure in government departments. There was also extensive coverage of an investigation into the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2015-08-25-maladministration-is-off-the-rails-at-prasa">(Prasa)</a>, as well as the probe into <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2016-11-02-breaking-read-the-full-state-capture-report">“state capture”</a>.</p>
<p>But, far from the limelight, the <a href="http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/constitution/english-web/ch9.html">public protector</a> has also been instrumental in assisting individuals who grapple with unfair treatment from government departments and other public institutions. The office does lesser-known, yet equally important work.</p>
<p>The annual report of 2015-16 indicates the office received 17,374 cases, finalised 12,735, and carried over 4,251 to the next year. The remainder were either referred to other institutions or dismissed. In the previous year the office finalised 20,231 cases out of a total caseload of 26,070, while 2,740 complaints were referred to other competent bodies such as the <a href="http://www.psc.gov.za/">Public Service Commission</a>.</p>
<h2>Defending people’s rights</h2>
<p>The key function of the public protector is to promote good governance and access to justice for the poorest people. The office acts as a defender of people’s rights against the abuses of public office, corruption, mismanagement and negligence.</p>
<p>The office is one of the bodies established to strengthen South Africa’s constitutional democracy, known as <a href="http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/constitution/english-web/ch9.html">Chapter 9 institutions</a>.</p>
<p>In executing this mandate, the public protector handled a variety of concerns. In 2015-16, these included:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>intervening in the <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/city-failed-glebelands-hostel-2080957">deadly conflict at Glebelands Hostel</a> in Umlazi, Kwa-Zulu Natal. Although the investigations are ongoing, the pffice of the public protector identified the source of the conflict. It notified the premier of Kwa-Zulu Natal, averting the further loss of lives;</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>remedying the improper awarding of a construction tender and addressing allegations of irregular payments in a government <a href="https://www.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv02039/04lv02103/05lv02120/06lv02126.htm">housing project</a> in Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth. The public protector’s investigation found that the tender had been irregularly awarded. The municipality was instructed to pay the outstanding amount, with interest, within 30 days and apologise in writing to the complainant;</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>resolving a complaint lodged by a student against the University of Pretoria for maladministration and the reporting of inconsistent examination marks for a special examination written by the complainant. The complaint was subsequently resolved following intervention by the public protector. The complainant’s scripts were remarked and a letter of apology was issued by the university; and</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>a complaint was lodged against a local municipality for undue delay. The municipality was negligent in processing the documentation relating to the payment of the deceased employee’s benefits. The public protector directed the municipality to compensate the deceased’s family for the financial losses incurred.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Weaknesses in the system</h2>
<p>The public protector has an obligation to be accessible to people who have limited access to justice and cannot afford lengthy and expensive court cases.</p>
<p>However, there are some gaps in how its work is reported. For example, it would be useful to have data relating to the socioeconomic profile of the complainants. This would help tackle barriers to accessing the office through properly targeted public outreach programs.</p>
<p>Also, it is not clear from the report what structures are in place to address accessibility because of language limitations and disability. The report itself raises concerns about gender disparities. Only one-third of complainants were women.</p>
<p>There were some challenges noted, with regard to the operating of the office. The report highlighted the issue of inadequate funding, which has so far resulted in the closure of five regional offices in <a href="https://www.enca.com/south-africa/public-protector-forced-close-offices-due-lack-cash">Siyabuswa, New Castle, Vryburg, Vryheid and Port Elizabeth</a>. Another problem is insufficient personnel. Only 89% of positions are filled.</p>
<p>Human resources constraints should not be tolerated, particularly in light of the increased demands being placed on the institution.</p>
<p>To supplement funds, the previous public protector secured $US500,000 from the US Agency for International Development. The funding was allocated for the creation of a case management system in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Zusammenarbeit. To ensure transparency, the funds were dispensed through the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, which exercises oversight of the <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/USAID%20support%20to%20PPSA.pdf">public protector’s budget</a>.</p>
<p>This funding has been heavily criticised by some parliamentarians, arguing that it could potentially compromise the independence of the institution and the <a href="http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2016/10/20/busisiwe-mkhwebane-to-stop-donor-funding--i-am-no-thuli">sovereignty of the country</a>. The new public protector, <a href="http://city-press.news24.com/News/busisiwe-mkhwebane-the-closest-thing-we-have-to-thuli-madonsela-20160824">Busisiwe Mkhwebane</a>, has said the office would <a href="http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2016/10/20/busisiwe-mkhwebane-to-stop-donor-funding--i-am-no-thuli">not use donor funding</a> in the future.</p>
<p>But donor funding should not necessarily be rejected. The institution can receive donor funding that bolsters its ability to carry out its mandate within the parameters prescribed by the constitution. To tackle fears of undue influence, safeguards could be built in including a requirement that funding is dispensed through the National Treasury.</p>
<p>The office of the public protector plays a vital role in safeguarding the values of a constitutional democracy. Despite its shortcomings, it has executed its mandate well under Madonsela. It has cemented itself as one of the most independent and effective public institutions in South Africa. Its continued success will depend on the political will of those charged with ensuring it is adequately funded.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/70300/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1" height="1" alt="The Conversation"/></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mafaro-kasipo-285515">Mafaro Kasipo</a>, PhD Candidate, <em><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-cape-town-691">University of Cape Town</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/olwethu-majola-kinyunyu-320430">Olwethu Majola-Kinyunyu</a>, PhD Candidate, Centre of Criminology, <em><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-cape-town-691">University of Cape Town</a></em></p>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/lesser-known-stories-of-how-ordinary-south-africans-felt-the-effect-of-an-active-public-protector-70300">original article</a>.</p>


Thuli Madonsela: The untold stories of SA's former Public Protector

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<div class="articleTextSizerFull">NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; A gunman killed Burundi&#8217;s environment and water minister early on Sunday, police said, the first senior government figure to be murdered in nearly two years of political violence.</div>
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<p>Emmanuel Niyonkuru, 54, was attacked as he travelled home in the capital Bujumbura, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said in a tweet.</p>
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<p>Violent protests erupted early in 2015 after President Pierre Nkurunziza said he would seek a third term &#8211; a move opponents said violated the constitution and a peace deal that ended an ethnically charged civil war.</p>
<p>At least 450 people have died in clashes between protesters and security forces, tit-for-tat killings and a failed coup, stoking fears of wider unrest in a region still haunted by the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda.</p>
<p>&#8220;The minister of water and environment was shot &#8230; as he was getting home,&#8221; Nkurikiye said.</p>
<p>Four people had been arrested for questioning, including the owner of a bar that Niyonkuru visited regularly and two security personnel who were guarding his home. The fourth is a woman who was with the minister when he was killed.</p>
<p>President Nkurunziza said on Twitter the minister had been assassinated and offered condolences &#8220;to the family and all Burundians&#8221;.</p>
<p>Nkurunziza won re-election in July 2015 in a poll largely boycotted by the opposition.</p>
<p>Elsewhere in Burundi, police said seven people were injured when an unknown attacker threw a grenade in a church where people were praying.</p>
<p>That attack occurred on Saturday night in Rugazi district, 40 km (25 miles) north of Bujumbura.</p>
<p>Nkurikiye told Reuters the church where the attack took place was not registered with the government and had been erected illegally. Its leader had been detained for investigation, he said.</p>
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<p>(Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Andrew Heavens/Ruth Pitchford)</p>
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Burundi minister shot dead in capital

<p>DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) &#8211; Tanzania&#8217;s economy grew 6.2 percent in the third quarter of 2016, compared with 6.3 percent in the same period the previous year, Finance and Planning Minister Philip Mpango said on Monday.</p>
<p>The East African nation&#8217;s economy has been growing robustly, helped by expansion in the transport, mining, communications and finance sectors.</p>
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<p>Mpango reaffirmed a forecast of 7.2 percent growth for the financial year ending June 2017.</p>
<p><strong>Rwanda﻿</strong><br />Rwanda&#8217;s economy grew by 5.2 percent in the third quarter of last year, down from 5.4 percent in the second quarter and 5.9 percent in the same period in 2015, according to data published by the statistics office.</p>
<p>The central African nation has posted soaring growth rates in recent years mostly fuelled by business-friendly policies, and strong inflows of foreign investment.﻿</p>
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Tanzania, Rwanda growth slows but beats foretasted rate for Sub-Saharan Africa

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<p>The price of <a href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC%3D-USS" target="_blank" class="inline_quotes" data-gdsid="76662810" data-inline-quote-symbol="BTC=-USS" rel="noopener">bitcoin</a> has breached the $1,000 mark, hitting a more than three-year high on Monday.</p>
<p>The cryptocurrency was trading at $1,021 at the time of publication, according to CoinDesk data, at level not seen since November 2013, with its market capitalization exceeding $16 billion.</p>
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<p>Bitcoin has been on a <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/13/bitcoin-hits-a-34-month-high-amid-chinese-stock-market-volatility-yuan-falls.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">steady march higher</a> for the past few months, driven by a number of factors such as the devaluation of the yuan, geopolitical uncertainty and an increase in professional investors taking an interest in the asset class.</p>
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<p>&#8220;We are seeing the aftermath of zero interest rates run amok. So bitcoin is a healthy reminder that we don&#8217;t have to hold on to dollars or renminbi, which is subject to capital controls and loss of purchasing power. Rather it&#8217;s a new asset class,&#8221; Bobby Lee, chief executive of BTC China, one of the world&#8217;s largest bitcoin exchanges, told CNBC by phone.</p>
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<div class="embed-container image" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">China is the source of the majority of trade in bitcoin and the devaluation of the yuan and fears over capital controls have contributed to the recent spike in the digital currency.</div>
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<p>But several other factors have also had a notable impact. For example, bitcoin&#8217;s price has appreciated around 137 percent in the past 12 months but got a big boost after Donald Trump won the U.S. election in November.</p>
<p>Another big event this year was in June when a change in bitcoin&#8217;s underlying rules meant those who were &#8220;mining&#8221; the cryptocurrency – a process whereby users are awarded with bitcoin if they solve complex mathematical puzzles in order for a bitcoin transaction to go through – received less rewards. This was due to the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/13/bitcoin-hits-a-2-year-high-thanks-to-a-big-change-in-the-code-and-china-yuan.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">process known as &#8220;halving,&#8221;</a>which essentially reduces the supply of bitcoin.</p>
<p>But overall, bitcoin experts said that the market is growing in terms of volumes and those participating, creating a &#8220;network effect&#8221; that will see the price rise further.</p>
<p>&#8220;The value of Uber in any city is directly dependent on the number of drivers and number of users, it&#8217;s not linear it&#8217;s exponential. The same is true of the value of bitcoin,&#8221; Lee said.﻿</p>
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Bitcoin breaks $1,000 level, highest in more than 3 years

<p>DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) &#8211; Tanzanian President John Magufuli sacked the head of the state-run electricity company on Sunday after the firm put up tariffs, a move the president said would stymie his plans to industrialise the east African country.</p>
<p>Tanzania&#8217;s energy regulator on Thursday approved a power tariff hike of 8.53 percent by the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO), less than half of what the utility said it needed to stem losses.</p>
<p>President Magufuli&#8217;s office announced the sacking of TANESCO&#8217;s managing director Felchesmi Mramba in a statement.</p>
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<p>Hours before the announcement of Mramba&#8217;s dismissal the president rescinded the price increase.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s unacceptable that while we are making plans to build manufacturing industries and ensure more citizens have access to electricity&#8230;someone else uses his position to increase power tariffs,&#8221; Magufuli said in a statement.    About 40 percent of Tanzania&#8217;s population of around 50 million has access to electricity and the government is aiming to push that rate up to 75 percent by 2025.</p>
<p>Since coming into office a year ago, Magufuli has sacked dozens of public officials as part of an anti-corruption campaign and a new drive to root out government inefficiency.    He appointed a lecturer at the state-run University of Dar es Salaam, Tito Esau Mwinuka, as acting managing director of TANESCO.    The power firm had initially sought an 18.19 percent tariff increase to snap a loss-making trend and clear debts to independent power producers and fuel suppliers.    The tariff hike, which would have taken effect from Jan. 1, was approved by the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA).    Loss-making TANESCO has warned that its &#8220;financial capacity will be paralysed&#8221; if the power tariff hike is not implemented.    TANESCO has been unsuccessfully seeking loans from the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and commercial lenders to turn the company round.</p>
<p>Despite reserves of over 57 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas, Tanzania has been facing chronic power shortages over the past decade due its reliance on drought-prone hydro-power dams.  </p>
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<p>(Editing by Elias Biryabarema and Stephen Powell)﻿</p>
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Head of Tanzania's state-run electricity company sacked

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<p>KINSHASA (Reuters) &#8211; Congo&#8217;s opposition leaders signed a deal with the party of President Joseph Kabila on Saturday that will require him to step down after elections that must take place before the end of 2017.</p>
<p>Mediators from the Congo&#8217;s Catholic church had been heaping pressure on both sides for weeks to sign an agreement aimed at averting a slide into anarchy and possibly another civil war over Kabila&#8217;s decision not to step down despite his mandate expiring more than a week ago.</p>
<p>If they stick to it, the agreement will deliver Democratic Republic of Congo&#8217;s first peaceful transfer of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.</p>
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<p>&#8220;Today, we are happy to head up a political compromise,&#8221; said Marcel Utembi, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference, before representatives of Kabila&#8217;s party, including Mines Minister Martin Kabwelulu and Interior Minister Emmanuel Shadary, and its main opposition alliance, signed the deal.</p>
<p>Huge hurdles remain, however. The electoral commission has said elections may not be possible before 2018, and many doubt Kabila really intends to stand down. Several of his supporters have floated the idea of changing the constitution to enable him to run for another term, as other African leaders have done.</p>
<p>Any failure to implement the deal would worsen instability that has seen scores of people killed over the past four months, many of them protesters shot dead by security forces. Police and military killed around 40 people last week protesting when Kabila&#8217;s mandate ran out on Dec. 20.</p>
<p>&#8220;Now that all pretexts for various plots against the republic have been removed, I call everyone to &#8230; to create conditions of true peace and stability throughout the country,&#8221; Kabila said in a year-end address to the nation, which however did not directly address his own view on the talks.</p>
<p>Diplomats fear growing unrest could trigger a repeat of the wars between 1996 and 2003 that killed millions, unleashed dozens of predatory armed groups and drew in more than half a dozen neighbouring armies.</p>
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<p>(Writing by Tim Cocks; editing by Diane Craft)</p>
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<p class="copyright">© Thomson Reuters 2017 All rights reserved﻿</p>
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