🔅 Agoa or No Go? & Nigeria's Crypto Crackdown
Plus, The Last Supper Reimagined & Sudan's Tragic Conflict
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Markets — Year-to-Date:
🟢 Nigerian SE: 102,088.07 (+36.53%)
🔴 Johannesburg SE: 74,213.39 (-3.49%)
🟢 Ghana SE: 3,185.18 (+1.76%)
🟢 Nairobi SE: 92.83 (+0.78%)
🟢 US S&P 500: 5,088.80 (+7.29%)
🟢 Shanghai Composite: 3,004.88 (+1.44%)
Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, faced a week of financial reckoning as the naira hit record lows. Adding insult to injury, the stock market witnessed its most significant single-day drop in over a year as investors scrambled to offload local assets. At the heart of this financial storm are crippling dollar shortages and a January inflation rate that neared 30%.
Niger's financial "Oops!" moment saw it miss a debt payment of $22 million. Since a coup in July, the country has missed debt repayments totalling $519 million.
South Africa's Anglo American Platinum is not vibing with the current platinum prices, which will lead to a loss of jobs for 3,700 of its workers. The broader South African scene isn't looking shiny at all, with up to 7,000 jobs on the chopping block in the platinum mining sector alone. It comes as the country's unemployment rate edged up to 32.1% in the fourth quarter of 2023 -- one of the world's highest.
The IMF is offering a $1.3 billion package for Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa grower, aimed at fighting the climate change beast with actions to beef up adaptation and mitigation efforts.
Uganda's government plans to spend $13.74 billion in the next fiscal year. It aims to start commercial oil production in 2025, and investment in the sector, alongside improved agricultural productivity, has been one factor supporting economic growth.
Zambia's kwacha is hitting the gym hard and showing off its gains, flexing its way through its longest winning streak in nearly a year. The Bank of Zambia recently upped the ante with a surprise interest-rate hike.
Ethiopia has announced plans to put 10% of the state-owned Ethio Telecom up for grabs on a brand-new stock exchange set to launch this year. Ethiopia's telecoms sector was eyed as the golden goose of investment opportunities when PM Abiy took the helm in 2018, but security issues and scepticism over the government's liberalisation plans mean investors have been getting cold feet.
Rwanda's central bank kept its key interest rate steady at 7.5%, and Governor John Rwangombwa hinted that they might turn down the rate if inflation continues to cool. Rwanda's economy is expected to outshine the earlier forecast of 6.2% GDP growth.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five
"The First Supper": A Feast of Representation and Rebellion
In a world where art history often feels like a looping playlist of Europe's greatest hits, the Royal Academy of Arts in London just dropped a track that's turning heads and stirring souls. Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan's latest creation, "The First Supper", is a sculpture that's a monumental dinner invitation to the table of history's overlooked VIPs.
This is Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" reimagined, not with the usual suspects, but with a lineup of Black activists, artists, scientists, and other luminaries who've shaped the world. Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I is breaking bread instead of Jesus, and who's that in Judas' spot? Strachan himself.
His is a full-on historical heist, with one art historian explaining that Strachan isn't betraying Christ; he's betraying a history that's kept these giants in the shadows. From abolitionist Harriet Tubman to activist Marsha P. Johnson and the first Black woman to run for president, Shirley Chisholm, this table is set with a menu of resilience and rebellion, alongside foods and ingredients typically found in African culture (jollof rice, soursop, etc.).
Nigeria's Crypto Crackdown Amid Economic Chaos
Nigeria, once a beacon of crypto-reform, has thrown shade on the world's crypto exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken. Thanks to a nudge from the Nigerian Communications Commission, locals found themselves playing peek-a-boo with these sites as access became unexpectedly intermittent.
The move is a stark U-turn from the country's earlier crypto-embrace aimed at wooing overseas investors. But as the naira dances to a record low (hitting 1,600 to the dollar, a dramatic drop from less than 900 in January), Nigeria's love affair with crypto isn't just for the tech-savvy youth anymore, but for just about anyone seeking safety from a quickly devaluing currency.
Agoa or No Go? The Future of US-Africa Trade Relations
In the global marketplace, where Africa often seems more like an afterthought than a headline act, the US's relationship with the continent could be likened to a distant acquaintance rather than a close pal, especially when compared to China's confirmed role as Africa's BFF in trade. Accounting for a mere sneeze in the US's global commerce at less than 2%, Africa finds itself mostly on the receiving end of aid.
Enter the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), the US's attempt at an economic friendship bracelet, offering duty-free access to a plethora of products from Africa. But with the expiration date of 2025 looming, the big question is: to renew or not to renew?
Some folks argue that letting Agoa quietly exit stage left might not be the worst idea, given Africa's static position in the US trade portfolio. Yet, Zainab Usman argues that cutting ties could be akin to a strategic facepalm, especially with China continuing to cosy up to Africa.
A key to untangling this complex web may lie in not just renewing Agoa but giving it a glow-up. Agoa 2.0 (or should we say, the Strategic Economic Partnership with Africa, as Zainab proposes) should be retweaked from casting a wide net over governance and the like (which has seen a record number of African countries benched from the AGOA recently) with a refocus on geostrategic commercial goals. You can read more on this here.
Spain's High Court Throws a Legal Curveball at Equatorial Guinea's Elite
Spain's High Court has decided it's time to play hardball with Equatorial Guinea's high command. They're aiming for the big leagues by ordering arrest warrants for the son of President Teodoro Obiang (who's been at the helm longer than most of us have been alive) and two other officials. The trio is accused of abducting and torturing members of the opposition.
Among those allegedly kidnapped by Carmelo Ovono Obiang (the president's son, for those not keeping score) and his entourage, were two Spanish citizens. One of them, Julio Obama, died in prison last year.
As for a response from Equatorial Guinea's government? Crickets, but they've previously called these allegations fake news.
Sudan's Tragic Conflict: UN Condemns Atrocities
The U.N. has shone a light on the grim reality of Sudan's civil war, in which the Sudanese armed forces are fighting against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The 10-month-old fighting has not only claimed thousands of lives but also turned over six million people into displaced citizens.
Volker Turk, the U.N.'s top human rights boss, says some of the atrocities might just qualify as war crimes. A report, which covers the period from April to December, details how hospitals have not been off-limits for attacks, and how even fleeing people have been targeted. Both the Sudan Army and the RSF are said to be culpable.
Food for Thought
“When you befriend a chief, remember that he sits on a rope."
— Ugandan Proverb