🔅 Africa's Greening Dilemma & Senegal's Electoral Cliffhanger
Plus, Ethiopia Debuts at Venice Biennale & Kenya Mourns another Running Legend
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Markets — Year-to-Date:
🟢 Nigerian SE: 104,421.23 (+39.65%)
🔴 Johannesburg SE: 74,381.96 (-3.27%)
🟢 Ghana SE: 3,172.43 (+1.35%)
🟢 Nairobi SE: 92.37 (+0.28%)
🟢 US S&P 500: 4,958.61 (+4.55%)
🔴 Shanghai Composite: 2,730.15 (-7.84%)
Ghana Bids Farewell to Finance Minister: Ghana saw a major cast change last week as President Nana Akufo-Addo dropped Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta amidst the country's most dramatic economic downturn in decades. Stepping into the spotlight is Mohammed Amin Adam, who has a resume boasting roles in finance and petroleum. While the president didn't say why Ofori-Atta's tenure ended, the backdrop includes a default on external debt and inflation rates that would make your head spin.
Zambia's Interest Rate Climbs Again: Zambia's interest rates are going up. For the fifth time in a row, it's raised its benchmark lending rate, this time to 12.5%, as inflation continues its uninvited stay in the double-digit territory. The bank's target band feels more like a distant dream as inflation nudged up to 13.2% in January.
Namibia Holds Steady Amidst the Storm: In contrast, Namibia's central bank is keeping its cool, holding the main interest rate steady at 7.75% for the fourth consecutive meeting. The bank's balancing act continues as it navigates through only a slight uptick in inflation, which edged to 5.4% in January. The decision reflects a cautious optimism.
Kenya's Dollar Dance: Over in Kenya, the central bank stepped onto the forex dance floor, buying dollars to keep the shilling from getting too wild. The intervention comes as the shilling hit a high not seen since June 2023, partly thanks to foreign inflows into domestic debt and the resolution of a looming $2 billion Eurobond.
Nigeria's Dollar Diet: In a move that screams "Show me the money, but keep it local," Nigeria's central bank has decided to tighten the leash on how much foreign currency oil companies can repatriate to their parent companies. The move is a bid to beef up the local currency market with more greenbacks and comes at a time when the country's inflation soars to a level not seen since the mid-'90s with a rate of 29.90%.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five
The Green Dilemma: Africa's Tree-Planting Conundrum
A grand plan to greenify Africa by planting trees is stirring up a storm of controversy. The African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), a verdant vision embraced by 34 countries to spruce up an area as vast as Egypt, has hit a snag. According to new research, half of this leafy endeavour is slated to unfold on savannahs and other non-woodland wonderlands, yet these ancient grasslands already gulp down carbon dioxide like a cold drink on a hot day.
It is akin to bulldozing over existing CO2 catchment areas to plant a forest where one was never intended to grow.
The study raises questions about whether these initiatives are a climate change cure-all or a misguided misadventure. Funded by the who's who of eco-philanthropy, including a fund established by none other than Amazon's Jeff Bezos, the AFR100 aims to turn over a new leaf in countries like Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mali, and Sudan with the support of heavy hitters like the World Bank.
Senegal's Electoral Saga's Latest Twist
In the latest episode of "Democracy on the Edge," Senegal's Constitutional Council has thrown another curveball that has everyone on the edge of their seats. Although President Macky Sall and his parliament had postponed the national elections set for Feb. 25 to December, the Constitutional Council, essentially the country's rule-checkers, said, "Not so fast."
Sall's critics had called the election delay an "institutional coup", and the opposition filed legal challenges, which resulted in the Constitutional Council's decision. However, it did not pencil in a new date for the election, leaving President Sall to pick a day. One opposition candidate says that, according to the original end of Sall's term set for April, elections should be held before then. The clock is ticking.
Henry Rono: The Legend Who Outran Time
Kenya has lost a titan of the track, Henry Rono. He was 72. This man wasn't just fast; he was a whirlwind in sneakers, etching his name in the history books by smashing four world records as if they were mere suggestions. In a spellbinding 81 days of 1978, Rono redefined speed in the 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m races, as well as the 3,000m steeplechase, making stopwatches around the world do a double-take.
But why stop when you're on a roll? Rono went ahead and broke his own 5000m record in 1981 because, well, records are there to be broken.
His passing shadows another recent loss, that of marathon world record holder and fellow Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum.
Tesfaye Urgessa: Ethiopia's Artistic Ace at the Venice Biennale
In a move that's shaking up the art world more than a Polaroid picture, Ethiopia will be strutting its stuff on the global stage with its first-ever pavilion at this year's Venice Biennale. Tesfaye Urgessa will be leading the charge.
Born in Addis Ababa in 1983, he is now represented by London's Saatchi Yates gallery, and will be able to turn Venice into his personal runway from April 20 to November 24. Phoebe Saatchi Yates, co-founder of the gallery waving Urgessa's flag, is buzzing with excitement, calling it a "historic moment" for Ethiopia.
Toyota Shifts Gears to Kenya: A New Plant on the Horizon
President William Ruto has announced that Toyota is planting its flag in Kenyan soil. They will initially be investing close to $5 million to beef up Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers (KVM) in Thika, near the capital of Nairobi. Ruto is aiming to slam the brakes on the flood of secondhand cars into the country by investing in locally manufactured and affordable cars. Toyota will also get into the green space by pumping money into renewable energy in Kenya.
Food for Thought
“If you are building a house and a nail breaks, do you stop building or do you change the nail?"
— Rwandan Proverb