
<p>Out from under the pall of gloom over Africa brought by COVID-19 and contracting economies emerges a deal that’ll see locomotives moving freight across the continent on the way to a brighter trading future.</p>



<p>This week the ink dried on a deal signed by TheloDB with the government of Ghana to repair and extend 217 kilometres of railway track to haul everything from iron ore and bauxite to cocoa for export from the coastal ports.</p>



<p>The railway will open up a new trade corridor and is another step towards African Continental Free Trade Area; the single market may have been postponed from July 1 to January, but political will for it appears to be growing across the continent. One of the impediments to this dream of trade on the continent is poor transport infrastructure. According to the African Development Bank, Africa’s total infrastructure needs between $130-170 billion-a-year and has a financing gap of $68-108 billion.</p>



<p>On top of this, the fact that this was a contract won at one end of the continent by an entrepreneur from another end of continent also bodes well for the pan-African future of business.</p>



<p>The entrepreneur behind it all is South African Ronnie Ntuli, the chairman of TheloDB, who worked on the deal for more than two years. He says the company is negotiating for at least two similar rail projects, one in West Africa and the other in Southern Africa.</p>



<p>“My passion in life, as an African, is economic development in the continent. It has to be sustainable development aimed at infrastructure and building industrial capacity,” says Ntuli.</p>



<p>The project will create many jobs and see locomotives shipped to Ghana from manufacturers in South Africa. TheloDB will also train workers in the Ghana run the railway and oversee its operation and maintenance on completion, expected in 2024.</p>



<p>It was difficult closing the project in the world of COVID-19, but Ntuli believes that the pandemic has an unintended consequence.</p>



<p>“Many countries around the world have a lot of capital liquidity and it is going into the capital markets right now,” says Ntuli.</p>



<p>“Our job is to tap into that liquidity so we can do the solid infrastructure projects that the continent needs.” &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>


Thelo_Transnet 3605

A train bound for Africa’s future to emerge from the continent’s COVID-19 gloom.

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<p>The World Bank says both the demand and supply of side of the global commodities market has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Independent Commodities Expert, Edward George joins CNBC Africa for a look at what to expect from the soft commodities markets in the second half of the year.</p>


How COVID-19 is severely impacting demand for Africa’s soft commodities

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<p>The Development Bank of Southern Africa, alongside other development finance Institutions, are co-financing Ghana’s COCOBOD Syndicated Loan Agreement with a total of $600 million in a move aimed at boosting Ghana’s cocoa productivity. Mohan Vivekanandan, Group Executive, Origination and Client Coverage at The Development Bank of South Africa joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


DFIs provide $600mn loan to Ghana’s COCOBOD

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<p>This week the world was united in the fight against two pandemics – the coronavirus and racism. The latter was triggered by the recent death of George Floyd, the latest victim of police brutality in the US, which triggered mass protests against discrimination. One of the individuals that took a stand against both pandemics is internationally acclaimed Ghanian musician Stonebwoy. He put on a show, from his home, to shine the light on Covid-19 and racism, raising money to support homeless youth in Ghana.</p>


Stonebwoy lends his voice in the fight against COVID-19 & racism

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<p>In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana has rolled out some palliatives including a 600 million cedis stimulus package for small and medium scale businesses with the aim of minimising the exposure of these businesses to the economic fallout of the pandemic. Joining CNBC Africa to discuss this initiative is Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, Executive Director of the National Board for Small and Medium Scale Industries in Ghana.</p>


COVID-19: How is Ghana protecting its small and medium scale businesses?

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<p>The Bank of Ghana says leading indicators of economic activity during the first quarter of the year suggests some slowdown, reflecting the restrictions, social distancing, and the partial COVID-19 lock-down measures introduced by the government in the middle of March. Joining CNBC Africa to discuss how Ghana’s economy performed in the first quarter of the year is Courage Kingsley Martey, Senior Economist at Data Bank&#8230;.</p>


Data Bank’s economic review for Ghana

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<p>Ghana’s Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the country’s policy rate unchanged at 14.5 percent citing elevated risks to inflation outlook, sharp downturn in GDP growth which are fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Emmanuel Tsigbey, Chartered Economic Policy Analyst joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Emmanuel Tsigbey on why Ghana’s MPC kept rates unchanged


<p>According to The Economist, in 2019, 8m or 9% of young people in Sub-Saharan Africa attended tertiary education, including vocational colleges and universities. That is almost double the 4% that did so in 2000 but it is well below the global average of 32%. With the cases of COVID-19 rising on the continent and several countries in lockdown how has and will this change? How will higher education emerge from the depths of COVID-19 and what does the uncertain future hold for it? Find out on this virtual panel discussion.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><strong><br>Date: 19th May 2020</strong></p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><strong>Time: 2pm CAT</strong></p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><strong>Register at:</strong> <a href="https://cvent.me/mqn9mZ">https://cvent.me/mqn9mZ</a></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="649" height="1024" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Business-Tomorrow_Invite_Education-649x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-371110" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Business-Tomorrow_Invite_Education-649x1024.jpg 649w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Business-Tomorrow_Invite_Education-190x300.jpg 190w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Business-Tomorrow_Invite_Education-768x1212.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Business-Tomorrow_Invite_Education-973x1536.jpg 973w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Business-Tomorrow_Invite_Education-696x1098.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Business-Tomorrow_Invite_Education.jpg 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px" /></figure>



<p>Speakers<br><br>Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Education Minister of Ghana</p>



<p>Dan Adkins CEO of Transnational Academic Group</p>



<p>Jon Foster-Pedley, Dean of Henley Business School Africa<br><br>Prof Ernest Aryeetey, Secretary-General of African Research Universities Alliance</p>



<p><br><strong>TOPICS COVERED</strong></p>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Will online education supersede on campus learning?</li><li>Access &amp; affordability</li><li>Payment holidays</li><li>What measures are in place to help universities &amp; students survive COVID-19 &amp; lockdowns?</li><li>Rebuilding the higher education industry for tomorrow</li></ul>



<p></p>


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How will Africa’s universities emerge from the depths of COVID-19?

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<p>As the Covid-19 outbreak continues to rise across Africa, a former President of Ghana John Kufuor says fulfilling Africa&#8217;s future agenda will require a transformation on the value our societies place on knowledge and expertise and in how we communicate and interact with one another. He also notes that Africa needs a clear determined strategy to support public interest media. He joins CNBC Africa&#8217;s Kenneth Igbomor to share more insight on this discussion&#8230;.</p>


John Kufuor: Africa faces triple jeopardy with COVID-19


<p>By John Kufuor*</p>



<p>Africa entered this century with great expectations.&nbsp;Its entrepreneurial and political ambitions were growing.&nbsp; The international community was coalescing behind a new agenda of cooperation crystallised in the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Unfortunately, with its profound health and economic challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic has created an immense barricade to these ambitions. Fulfilling Africa&#8217;s future agenda will require us to change the values our societies place on knowledge and expertise and the way we communicate and interact with one another.</p>



<p><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.imperial.ac.uk_mrc-2Dglobal-2Dinfectious-2Ddisease-2Danalysis_covid-2D19_report-2D12-2Dglobal-2Dimpact-2Dcovid-2D19_&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=Ftw_YSVcGmqQBvrGwAZugGylNRkk-uER0-5bY94tjsc&amp;r=nx5b5kQLh41L8aL5r707mggTtSJQGyFCjkhVHxltaQg&amp;m=rmVUgP3ixI1b2SPHflH64bR6d_tJYgnPDXKIBjb5Fw4&amp;s=jRGVcKA_rJSs1bixVgpr_pnye5BjhwlugV9uKH0rEx8&amp;e=">Imperial College UK</a> analysis suggests there could be 40 million deaths worldwide from COVID-19 without mitigation and suppression measures. It predicts that some of the worst consequences of COVID-19 will be felt in lower-income countries.   Neither cure nor vaccine currently exist.  Protecting both life and livelihood will depend on how societies adapt and change.  Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.afdb.org_en_news-2Dand-2Devents_opinion-2Dpandemic-2Dno-2Dtime-2Dfiscal-2Ddistancing-2D35086&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=Ftw_YSVcGmqQBvrGwAZugGylNRkk-uER0-5bY94tjsc&amp;r=nx5b5kQLh41L8aL5r707mggTtSJQGyFCjkhVHxltaQg&amp;m=rmVUgP3ixI1b2SPHflH64bR6d_tJYgnPDXKIBjb5Fw4&amp;s=Ep6ZEm0f4-4md5XOXn4XHW8tQzCZ7B4o9WfzMRH8jZM&amp;e=">African Development Bank</a> estimates the virus could cost the continent a GDP loss of between US$22 billion and US$88 billion. </p>



<p>The ability to avert the total collapse of Africa’s already fragile economies in the coming months will require intensive social distancing measures. However, we will only achieve the necessary behavioural change if people can trust the information they have access to.&nbsp; Our governments need to invest in trustworthy information and communication systems.&nbsp; This will not be easy, given the absence of a dynamic public interest media ecosystem which African citizens can turn to for trustworthy information.&nbsp;</p>



<p>By 2008, Ghana was home to an increasingly profitable private-sector driven media and communication sector. Liberalising media freedom and the opening up of the economy are among the proudest achievements of my eight-year presidency from 2001 to January 2009. Elsewhere across much of the continent, with the rise of promising economic development and an emergent independent media and telecommunication ecosystem, many African nations also began to embrace a new era of transparent and accountable governance.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>However, of late regressive politics has taken hold of some countries, with ever more <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.mfwa.org_publication_freedom-2Dof-2Dexpression-2Dmonitor-2Dapril-2Djune-2D2019_&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=Ftw_YSVcGmqQBvrGwAZugGylNRkk-uER0-5bY94tjsc&amp;r=nx5b5kQLh41L8aL5r707mggTtSJQGyFCjkhVHxltaQg&amp;m=rmVUgP3ixI1b2SPHflH64bR6d_tJYgnPDXKIBjb5Fw4&amp;s=RZUU9stMX8V-_fvTZGfApUvgnveELyk465G7dpDGWaE&amp;e=">grim statistics</a> of journalists being killed or attacked. Independent media have been taken over by governments or factional actors. Altogether, we have made very little progress as a continent in reforming our state broadcasters into the kind of independent public service broadcasters that have been playing such a central role in informing people about the pandemic in countries, <a href="https://pressgazette.co.uk/coronavirus-leads-to-staggering-demand-for-trusted-tv-news/">such as the UK</a>.  </p>



<p>Across most of Africa, advertising has migrated wholesale from traditional broadcasters to new internet platforms and has undermined the financial viability of independent journalism.&nbsp; By comparison, online digital revenues across Africa are negligible, unlike old-fashioned media in industrialised countries where profitable digital operations are rapidly emerging.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These challenges were already serious; with the current crisis they have become existential. The <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk_risj-2Dreview_what-2Dwill-2Dcoronavirus-2Dpandemic-2Dmean-2Dbusiness-2Dnews&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=Ftw_YSVcGmqQBvrGwAZugGylNRkk-uER0-5bY94tjsc&amp;r=nx5b5kQLh41L8aL5r707mggTtSJQGyFCjkhVHxltaQg&amp;m=rmVUgP3ixI1b2SPHflH64bR6d_tJYgnPDXKIBjb5Fw4&amp;s=F3F0f3xznWDSjeJFzksFY2QqS7rAenlnlHJ5HZgcMWw&amp;e=">Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism</a> estimates that news organisations worldwide could lose more than US$20 billion through the decline in revenues brought about by the COVID-19 crisis.&nbsp; Throughout Africa, there are burgeoning reports from independent media organisations of revenues in precipitous decline.</p>



<p>COVID-19 is, as Dr Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization, terms it, an “infodemic,” characterised by misinformation that can cripple the public response.&nbsp; But just as public demand and the need for trustworthy information is skyrocketing, the capacity to supply that information has never been more endangered.&nbsp;&nbsp;Moreover, the role of the media in a crisis like this is not just to inform; but hold governments to account for the effectiveness of their responses.</p>



<p>Well before COVID-19, I was arguing that Africa needs a clear, determined strategy to support public interest media.&nbsp; The pandemic illustrates the need more than ever.&nbsp; Thankfully, work is well under way on two potential solutions.</p>



<p>The first is the <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__luminategroup.com_ifpim&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=Ftw_YSVcGmqQBvrGwAZugGylNRkk-uER0-5bY94tjsc&amp;r=nx5b5kQLh41L8aL5r707mggTtSJQGyFCjkhVHxltaQg&amp;m=rmVUgP3ixI1b2SPHflH64bR6d_tJYgnPDXKIBjb5Fw4&amp;s=pdBWzIaUglefKH4XQchCuTzNnrkaLnK7hn8NnptQsyE&amp;e=">International Fund for Public Interest Media</a>, designed to channel international development and other philanthropic resources to independent media in resource-poor settings. An in-depth feasibility study detailing how the fund would work has been developed by <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.bbcmediaaction.org&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=Ftw_YSVcGmqQBvrGwAZugGylNRkk-uER0-5bY94tjsc&amp;r=nx5b5kQLh41L8aL5r707mggTtSJQGyFCjkhVHxltaQg&amp;m=rmVUgP3ixI1b2SPHflH64bR6d_tJYgnPDXKIBjb5Fw4&amp;s=G8Td7BBlr37YJFkkCpePBkaCYp3hwRpwVuCQvmT7dks&amp;e=">BBC Media Action</a>, the BBC’s media support charity with the backing of the <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.luminategroup.com&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=Ftw_YSVcGmqQBvrGwAZugGylNRkk-uER0-5bY94tjsc&amp;r=nx5b5kQLh41L8aL5r707mggTtSJQGyFCjkhVHxltaQg&amp;m=rmVUgP3ixI1b2SPHflH64bR6d_tJYgnPDXKIBjb5Fw4&amp;s=nlkaQDSqbCfby8JyfaT9RJDs4KeY_pcnB534gwh15iY&amp;e=">Luminate Group</a>.</p>



<p>The second initiative is a new African Public Interest Media Initiative which is developing a scalable, digital business model that incentivises African-generated public interest entertainment content.</p>



<p>The drivers of the two initiatives are helping to coordinate an emergency response to mitigate the immediate impact of the COVID-19 crisis on an already struggling free media sector. I urge Africa’s political leadership to give credible backing to both initiatives in partnership with OECD nations and other philanthropic entities.</p>



<p>*<em>John A. Kufuor, the President of Ghana between 2001 and 2009, is focused on advancing leadership, governance and development across Africa through the John A. Kufuor Foundation.</em></p>


John Kufuor

Op-Ed – John Kufuor: Africa faces the triple jeopardy of health, economic and informational crises

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<p>In his seventh address to the nation, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo announced the suspension of the 3-week partial lockdown citing the country’s better understanding of the dynamism of the coronavirus, an expansion in the number of treatment and isolation centre among others as reasons for the suspension. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Ghana’s Information Minister joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Here’s what Ghana is doing to strengthen measures against COVID-19 pandemic


<p>Report by Riley de Leon</p>



<p><strong>Key Points:</strong></p>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Zipline has begun delivering Covid-19 test samples via drone in Ghana’s two largest cities, Accra and Kumasi.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>It is the first time in history that autonomous drones have been used to make regular long-range deliveries into densely populated urban areas.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The start-up also has been working with the FAA to accelerate their launch of U.S. operations so it can distribute test kits and personal protective equipment via drone.</li></ul>



<p><a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/04/22/african-health-start-up-zipline-on-the-forefront-of-covid-19-fight/">Zipline</a>, the California-based drone-delivery start-up that delivers critical medical supplies in countries like <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2020/04/20/ghana-lifts-lockdown-on-key-regions-as-covid-19-cases-reach-1042/">Ghana</a>, has begun delivering <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">Covid-19</a> test samples in the country’s two largest cities — Accra, the nation’s capital, and Kumasi, the country’s second-largest city.</p>



<p>The service began Friday, when 51 test samples were collected from patients at rural health facilities and transported to the company’s distribution center in Omenako, <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/04/20/moodys-changes-ghanas-outlook-to-negative-b3-rating-affirmed/">Ghana</a>. Over the course of four separate flights, the company delivered those 51 samples to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Accra for testing and analysis.</p>



<p>The company will also be delivering Covid-19 test samples collected at regional hospitals near its Mapong distribution center to the Kumasi Center for Collaborative Research. The first such delivery took place on Saturday, April 18. The company said it expects to operate this new daily service for the duration of the government’s Covid-19 response efforts, marking the first time in history that autonomous drones have been used to make regular long-range deliveries into densely populated urban areas.</p>



<p>It is also the first time that drones have been used in this way to deliver Covid-19 test samples.&nbsp;The new delivery service allows the government to more closely monitor and respond to the spread of the disease in some of the countries most remote areas.</p>



<p>“Zipline is dedicated to helping Ghana in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic,” said CEO Keller Rinaudo. “Using contactless drone delivery to transport Covid-19 test samples will allow the government to respond to the pandemic and help save lives more quickly.”</p>



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<p>Since its launch in October 2016, the company’s autonomous drones have flown more than 2 million miles and delivered more than 60,000 vaccines, units of blood and other medical products in Ghana, <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/04/21/rwandas-tech-innovators-quick-to-fill-the-market-demand-gap-amid-covid-19/">Rwanda</a> and India.</p>



<p>Before the Covid-19 outbreak, Zipline planned to launch U.S. operations in the fall of 2020, delivering to health facilities and homes. As the outbreak has worsened, the company has been working with the FAA on the necessary approvals needed to operate commercially, and says that they could do so within weeks of receiving said approval. According to a company statement, their emergency efforts in the U.S. would focus on the distribution of scarce resources like test kits and personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves and masks, as well as Covid-19 vaccines once they become available.</p>



<p>Zipline ranked No. 39 on the 2019 Disruptor 50 list. The 2020 Disruptor 50 list will be revealed this June.</p>



<p>This article was first published on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/20/zipline-begins-drone-delivery-of-covid-19-test-samples-in-ghana.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/20/zipline-begins-drone-delivery-of-covid-19-test-samples-in-ghana.html</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>



<p>For more coverage on COVID-19 visit: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a></p>


Zipline launches drone delivery of COVID-19 test samples in Ghana

Zipline begins drone delivery of COVID-19 test samples in Ghana

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<p>Ghana-based Apakan Securities say investors in Ghana can achieve optimum returns by keeping a reasonable level of short-term liquid securities to take advantage of opportunities and lock-in higher yields during periods of yield surges. Frederick Duvor, Managing Director of Apakan Securities joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


How investors can unlock value amid COVID-19 uncertainties

Ghana lifts lockdown on key regions as COVID-19 cases reach 1,042

Ghana lifts lockdown on key regions as COVID-19 cases reach 1,042. shutterstock_422422516

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<p>Moody&#8217;s Investors Service has affirmed the Government of Ghana&#8217;s long-term local and foreign currency issuer and foreign currency senior unsecured bond ratings at B3 and changed the outlook to negative from positive. Derrick Mensah, Portfolio Manager at IC Asset Managers joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Moody’s changes Ghana’s outlook to negative

Moody’s changes Ghana’s outlook to negative, B3 rating affirmed

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<p>Ghana’s Minister for Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah says the enhanced tracing and testing of COVID-19 cases coupled with the mandatory quarantine system is yielding result. He joins CNBC Africa for more on Ghana’s strategy to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.</p>


Minister Nkrumah outlines Ghana’s COVID-19 response plan


<p>GUANGZHOU, China (Reuters) &#8211; Huddled under a highway bridge with a small bag of belongings, a 19-year old student from Ivory Coast was desperately dialling his few contacts in China.</p>



<p>The student said he arrived in the southern city of Guangzhou last week, after completing his quarantine in another city, during a coronavirus clampdown that several African countries and Africans in Guangzhou say has unfairly targeted them.</p>



<p>“I really need help. I just don’t want to sleep on the streets again,” he said on Monday, asking not to be identified by name.</p>



<p>He came to China to study the language but his university shut because of the coronavirus. Hotels kept turning him away, but later on Monday he said he had found one.</p>



<p>Several African ambassadors wrote to China’s foreign minister last week, calling for the “cessation of forceful testing, quarantine and other inhuman treatments meted out to Africans”.</p>



<p>Ghana’s foreign minister on Saturday called in China’s ambassador to convey the government’s concern.</p>



<p>China’s foreign ministry said on Monday all foreigners are treated equally. But it also said virus controls on Africans would be lifted, apart from confirmed cases and those who have had close contact with them.</p>



<p>“African friends will be treated fairly, justly and amicably in China,” the ministry said.</p>



<p>Many foreigners in China say they have faced suspicion as the country brought its own outbreak under control, only to see new cases brought from other countries. China has barred entry to most foreigners, and the vast majority of imported cases of the disease have come from Chinese nationals returning home.</p>



<p>In Guangzhou, a hub for African traders, authorities said on Tuesday that 111 Africans had tested positive for the coronavirus, while a total of 4,553 Africans had undergone testing since April 4, state media reported. [nB9N2BR00V]</p>



<p>Several African residents said the black community was being unfairly targeted for stricter checks.</p>



<p>“If they do this to all foreigners, then it’s not a problem, but it’s only black people,” Soumana Toudou, a garment trader from Niger, told Reuters by WhatsApp. He said he was undergoing his second 14-day quarantine because the authorities did not believe he had completed his first.</p>



<p>Such decisions are made at the local level and Reuters could not independently confirm this.</p>



<p>The scrutiny from the authorities had triggered hostility from Chinese residents, one student said.</p>



<p>“The selective testing has set the Guangzhou locals into panic, thinking black people are carrying the virus,” he said. He declined to be identified.</p>



<p>A Communist Party social worker, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Monday that black people were specifically being made to enter a period of quarantine.</p>



<p>Last week, authorities announced that two neighbourhoods popular with Africans would be locked down to curb the coronavirus after five Nigerians tested positive.</p>



<p>On Monday, the U.S. consulate general in Guangzhou advised African-Americans, or those who believe Chinese officials may suspect them of having contact with African nationals, to avoid the city.</p>



<p>The provincial foreign affairs office provided no immediate comment to Reuters about complaints from Africans and embassies that Africans had been unfairly targeted.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">ENGAGEMENT</h3>



<p>China has stepped up its engagement with Africa in recent years, with state-owned companies building infrastructure and signing hundreds of deals across the continent.</p>



<p>Guangzhou was home to 13,652 Africans in 2019 and about 351,000 Africans entered the city from abroad last year, official figures show.</p>



<p>Videos on social media in recent days showed what appeared to be Africans sleeping on Guangzhou streets after being evicted from their apartments. Reuters could not independently verify the footage.</p>



<p>Property agents near Guangzhou’s Sanyuanli trading hub said such evictions of foreigners, including Africans, had contributed to a glut of empty apartments.</p>



<p>“For a white person, you can’t rent around here now because of the virus, but you’ll be welcome again in a few months,” said one agent, referring to when the pandemic passes. She declined to give her name.</p>



<p>“But black people, no one will accept them.”</p>



<p>A spokeswoman for McDonald’s in China apologised on Tuesday after staff at a Guangzhou branch forced black customers to leave.</p>



<p>The fast-food chain had temporarily closed the outlet while staff completed “diversity and inclusion” training, spokeswoman Regina Hui said in a statement.</p>



<p>The Chinese authorities now seem to be taking a more conciliatory stance. On Tuesday, media showed hazmat-clad personnel delivering food and flowers to Africans in home quarantine.</p>



<p>The chairman of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamat, was receptive, saying on Twitter on Monday he had spoken to Foreign Minister Wang Yi.</p>



<p>“He reassured me of measures underway in Guangzhou to improve the situation of Africans, in line with the strong and brotherly partnership between Africa and China.”</p>



<p>(Reporting by David Kirton in Guangzhou; Additional reporting by Tom Daly and Sophie Yu in Beijing; Editing by Tony Munroe and Robert Birsel)</p>



<p>This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKCN21Y0UY-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKCN21Y0UY-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>



<p>For more coverage on COVID-19 visit: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a></p>


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