🔅 Uganda Opposition's Oscar Buzz & Kenya Halts Police Deployment to Haiti
South Africa's ICJ Triumph Over Israel & Spotify's Afrobeats Revolution
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Money Matters Monday
🟢 Nigerian SE: 102,401.88 (+36.95%)
🟢 Johannesburg SE: 75,084.38 (+1.41%)
🟢 Ghana SE: 3,172.43 (+1.35%)
🔴 Nairobi SE: 90.37 (-1.89%)
🟢 US S&P 500: 4,890.97 ( +3.12%)
🔴 Shanghai Composite: 2,910.22 (-1.76%)
Dangote's Billion-Dollar Bump: Africa's wealthiest, Aliko Dangote, sees his fortune soar by $6.9 billion, thanks to Femi Otedola buying into Dangote Cement. The company's value doubled, catapulting Dangote's net worth to $22 billion and landing him a spot in the world's top 100 richest.
South Africa's Interest Rate Standstill: The central bank holds firm, keeping interest rates at 8.25%, a high not seen since 2009. Their battle against inflation isn't over.
Nigeria's Inflation Optimism: Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso plays the optimistic card. He forecasts a chill in inflation rates and throws a spotlight on the naira, calling it undervalued.
Ivory Coast's Eurobond Extravaganza: Striding onto the global financial stage, Ivory Coast bags a cool $2.6 billion through two global bonds. With over 400 investors elbowing in and demand topping $8 billion, it's the first eurobond sale by a sub-Saharan African country in nearly two years, marking a significant return to international debt markets.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five
Bobi Wine: The Popstar-Turned-Politician's Oscar-Nominated Thriller
Bobi Wine, Uganda's superstar-turned-opposition hero, has a documentary that just got an Oscar nod. "Bobi Wine: The People’s President", a first for Uganda at the Oscars, zooms in on Wine's unusual journey from singer to political heavyweight as he takes on the establishment led by President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power for close to forty years.Â
The story unfolds like a gripping political drama, beginning with Wine's leap into parliament in 2017. It's a tale of a voice rising from the slums, challenging power and dreaming of freedom. The plot thickens with constitutional twists, an incumbent clinging to power, and Wine's brush with torture and alleged assassination attempts.Â
The film is a raw look at Uganda's struggles against what looks like an increasingly paranoid regime. It's a story that is now, because of the Oscars, gaining global attention. You can watch the film above.
Kenya's Court Puts the Brakes on Police Deployment to Haiti
Kenya's High Court just said "Nope" to the government's plan to send police officers to fight gangs in Haiti. The judge told them they were playing the wrong sport, saying the National Security Council can only send the military, not the police, on such peacekeeping missions. Last year, Kenya was all set to lead a multinational security team in Haiti, where gangs run about 80% of the capital. After the Haitian Prime Minister's request for help, the UN Security Council gave Kenya's offer a thumbs-up. But now, the Kenyan judge is flipping the script.
Here's the legal nitty-gritty: Kenyan law only says "yes" to deploying police officers abroad if there's an agreement between countries. It looks like Haiti and Kenya haven't yet inked that bilateral promise. But Kenya's government isn't taking this courtroom setback lying down. They're prepping for an appeal.
In Haiti, reactions to the possible Kenyan police presence were as mixed as a fruit salad. Some locals thought it could be a game-changer, while others see it as throwing money and time down the drain.
South Africa Celebrates ICJ Ruling Against Israel
South Africa just scored what they're calling a "major diplomatic victory." President Cyril Ramaphosa, donning a Palestinian keffiyeh
scarf, has been celebrating a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to take urgent steps to prevent genocide in the ongoing Gaza conflict. In particular, it asked Israel to take measures to prevent its troops from committing genocide, punish acts of incitement, and take steps to improve the humanitarian situation as it wages war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
But this ruling is more of a starter than the main course. The ICJ still needs to decide whether genocide has already happened in Gaza, a verdict that could take years to reach. This whole court drama is a diplomatic victory for South Africa, which has consistently rooted for the Palestinians. They even compare the Palestinian struggle to their own apartheid history, a comparison Israel isn't buying at all.
Spotify's Afrobeat Amplification: From Lagos to the World
Spotify, the Swedish music titan, has its eyes set on making Africa's hottest sound the globe's favourite beat. Think of it as a high-tech beat booster, with Spotify playing the role of the world's coolest DJ. Here's the beat drop: Between 2017 and 2022, Afrobeats streams on Spotify shot up by an amazing 550%. That's like going from a backyard barbecue to headlining Coachella! From London to Nairobi, everyone is grooving to the rhythm, with Afrobeats streamed over 14 billion times on Spotify in 2023 alone. Apparently, Spotify's got boots on the ground, notably in Nigeria, where it has hired locals, which has gone a long way to shaping what we listen to. Probably as a result, Afrobeats artists are selling out arenas from the US to Europe, and collaborations with Western pop stars are on the rise. Spotify's not just streaming music; it's streaming cultural connections, one Afrobeats song at a time.
Kenya's Big Rhino Shuffle: A Herculean Task with High Stakes
Kenya is on a mission - kicking off its largest rhino relocation project, moving 21 of these heavyweight, critically endangered creatures to a new, roomier home. This isn't the country's first rodeo, but let's just say their previous attempt in 2018 was less 'Operation Success' and more 'Operation Heartbreak', with all 11 relocated rhinos dying. The reason behind this mammoth task? Overcrowding. Rhinos are victims of their own success. Thanks to stellar conservation efforts, Kenya's rhino population has bounced back from a scary low in the mid-1980s. Now, nearly 1,000 black rhinos call Kenya home, ranking it third worldwide after South Africa and Namibia. With just over 6,000 wild rhinos left globally, the stakes are high, although the country has successfully moved over 150 rhinos in the last decade.
Food for Thought
“If you pick up one end of a stick, you also pick up the other."
— Ethiopian Proverb