Author: Editorial Staff

TANZANIA is to support local industries with the establishment of an industrial development bank and reduction taxation on locally produced goods, President John Magufuli said early June. Tanzania aims to become a semi-industrialised nation by 2025. To achieve this, the contribution of manufacturing to the national economy must reach a minimum of 40 percent of the GDP, Tanzania’s 2025 vision indicates. Currently, Tanzania’s industrial sector contributes around 25 percent to the country’s GDP with an average annual growth of 8 percent. In order to accelerate industrialisation, the President has urged banks to lower interest rates for industrial projects. In addition,…

THE successful prosecution of Chadian dictator Hissène Habré has galvanised the movement for a permanent forum for justice in Africa, but several legal roadblocks stand in the way, according to experts. A special court in Senegal, backed by the African Union (AU), sentenced Habré to life in jail on early June for war crimes, crimes against humanity, rape and sexual slavery, an unprecedented conviction that comes more than a quarter century after he left office. The case also set a global precedent as the first time a country has prosecuted a former leader of another nation for rights abuses. The…

Equatorial Guinea’s ministry of mines, industry and energy (MMIE) has launched the country’s latest oil and gas blocks licensing round, EG Ronda 2016. Companies are now able to submit letters of interest to the ministry, and to view the official map of available blocks. The MMIE intends to build upon Equatorial Guinea’s strong reputation for exploration success by inviting oil and gas companies with the requisite financial and technical competency to explore its blocks. A total of 114 discoveries have been made in the country to date, with 48 resulting in discoveries. The discovery success rate of 42 percent is…

THE start of new gas production in Ghana has significantly improved the prospects for long-term growth in the country, although efforts to exploit domestic reserves for local power generation faced a minor setback earlier this year. While Ghana’s hydrocarbons sector has seen relatively stable output over the first few months of 2016, a two-week period of inspection and maintenance work on the Kwame Nkrumah, a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, led to a temporary drop in gas supply to the power sector. The shutdown slowed gas supply to the Volta River Authority’s (VRA) thermal generating facilities in Aboadze,…

THE African Development Bank (AfDB) participated last month in the inauguration of the 25 MW first phase of KivuWatt Methane Gas to Power complex located at the Lake Kivu in Western Rwanda, 130 kilometres from the capital Kigali. Lake Kivu, at the boundary of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo, is one of the world’s three known ‘exploding lakes’, presenting a threat as well as an opportunity for local communities. Volcanic and bacterial activity in the lake generates substantial methane deposits that, if unmanaged, could erupt violently with disastrous effects on local lives, wildlife and the environment. The project…

COTE D’IVOIRE is working to burnish its image as a major tourist destination through increased capital investment and government-led initiatives, including regulatory reforms, promotional campaigns and security improvements. The country has a broad offering, ranging from cultural diversity to conference facilities, and a wealth of natural attractions. However, the political instability of the previous decade impacted Côte d’Ivoire’s appeal as a tourist destination, and as the country has stabilised, the government has sought to recapture its former allure. According to a report by the Oxford Business Group (OBG), in 2014 Côte d’Ivoire hosted 471,000 international visitors, up 24 percent year-on-year…

VODAFONE and Afrimax have agreed to launch 4G services in Zambia in an extension of a partner market agreement formed between the two companies in 2014. The announcement confirms previous reports that Afrimax is to become the market’s fourth mobile operator. The company holds a 4G licence and will license the Vodafone brand for the service. ITWebAfrica reported in April that in October 2015 the Zambian government gave the country’s three existing operators – MTN, Airtel and Zamtel – a six-month ultimatum to improve their services or face competition from a fourth operator. ITWebAfrica also reported in April that Joseph…

DJIBOUTI Telecom and six other carriers have signed a construction and maintenance agreement (C&MA) to build the Djibouti Africa Regional Express (DARE), a 5,500km high capacity subsea cable system. The DARE submarine cable system will connect Dar Es Salam, Mombasa, Mogadishu, Bossaso, Berbera, Mocha and Djibouti. The system will provide an alternative low latency route and provide high bandwidth connectivity from the Horn of Africa, East Africa and the Middle East. The 100G cable system will deliver more than 60Tbps of capacity, and each branch is implemented with optical add/drop multiplexing nodes (OADM). ‘DARE will stimulate exponential business growth in…

FOR nearly four decades the fortunes of Angola, Africa’s third largest economy, have been decided by one man. Ruling with an iron fist, wily strongman and former independence fighter, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, has wielded control over the country, ruthlessly crushing his opposition while recompensing those loyal to him. His autocratic rule – and Angola’s lucrative oil wealth – has enriched those closest to him, even as a large majority languish in poverty. On  March 11, however, dos Santos announced that he would be retiring from office in 2018, following the general elections next year. The declaration, which was met…

The conversation about Africa is shifting from one of ‘deficits’ and ‘gaps’ to one about opportunities, prospects, ventures and creativity, says Tarek Sultan Al Essa, chief executive officer and vice-chairman of Kuwait-based global logisitics firm, Agility. ‘That’s not news to companies that have paid close attention to the continent and invested there. The fast growing youth population, the urbanisation expected to drive over 50 percent of Africans to cities by 2050, and Africa’s formalising economy are all well known. These trends and other developments have driven a half century or more of growth in Africa, and will continue to do…