🔅 A Minister's Burglary Blunder & Mali's Gold Rush
Plus, Africa joins CARICOM & A New Generation of African Students On the Move
Photo of the day: Niger
Markets:
🟢 Nigerian SE: 65,991.02 (+1.11%)
🟢 Johannesburg SE: 76,766.07 (+1.11%)
🟢 Ghana SE: 2,870.72 (+1.78%)
🔴 Nairobi SE: 107.52 (-2.49%)
🟢 US S&P 500: 4,568.52 (+0.30%)
🟢 Shanghai Composite: 3,231.52 (+2.13%)
Chinese stocks soared Tuesday as Beijing pledged to ramp up measures to bolster China’s sputtering economy. The stock rebound comes after China’s top leaders pledged on Monday to ramp up policy support to boost domestic consumption as the post Covid rebound has been slower than expected.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five Highlights
🇬🇭 Ghana Minister's Burglary Blunder | Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah thought she was doing the right thing when she reported a theft at her house to the police, but things quickly took a turn for the worse. According to the charge sheet, a whopping $1 million, 300,000 euros, 350,000 Ghana cedis, plus handbags and jewellery worth over $130,000 had gone missing from her home. Thing is, Ghana is going through icky economic times and the currency is taking a nosedive, and it didn’t look good for a government minister to be holding so much foreign currency in the first place. And so, before she knew it, Dapaah was facing allegations of corruption and arrested by the Office of the Special Prosecutor. She was released on bail after her residence was searched, but not before sparking a nationwide debate. Ah, the power of a good old burglary.
🎓 Africa's New Generation of Students is on the Move | Africa’s population is young and growing—which means more and more students are heading off to college. In 2020, a record 624,271 students pursued higher education abroad, up from 441,438 in 2010 and 281,522 in 2000. And while a lot of these students are studying outside of Africa, there’s also been a big increase in the number of students heading to other African countries to pursue higher education. The new hotspots? Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe — all countries in Africa. As for where students are headed outside the continent, France is the top destination, with 126,000 African students in 2020. China and the US come in second and third, respectively. Other countries in the top twenty include Germany, the UK, the UAE, Canada, Turkey, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Malaysia, Russia, India, Australia, Belgium, Cuba, Brazil, Italy, and Spain. It looks like African students are starting to spread their wings and fly to a wider range of countries than just the former colonial powers.
🌍 CARICOM and Africa Unite | The Caribbean Community is teaming up with the African Export-Import Bank, Afreximbank, to build an African Continental Free Trade Area that links to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, announced that Afreximbank’s Caribbean headquarters will be opening in her home country in just over two weeks. The bank has already allocated $1.5 billion to finance trade and investment between Africa and the Caribbean, and they promise to double that amount when all CARICOM member states sign on. Not only that, but the bank is offering numerous African investors to the region and providing financial guarantees for several projects.
🇲🇱 Mali’s Gold Rush: A Share of the Pie for Everyone | Mali is having a gold rush moment. The government wants to make sure everyone gets a slice of the pie. According to a draft of the new mining code, the government of Mali, one of Africa’s biggest gold producers, is in talks with miners to increase its share of new projects to 35%. That’s an increase from the current 20%. This means the government will have a 10% stake in mining projects and will also be entitled to 10% of dividend payments. It also gives the government the option to buy an additional 20% stake within the first two years of commercial production. Oh, and international investors will have to give 5% of their stake to locals. Barrick Gold and B2Gold are two of the biggest miners in the area and are taking part in the talks, even with rising insecurity in the region. Time to grab your pickaxe and stake your claim!
🇸🇩 The Sudanese General Who Swore "Not One" Kenyan Would Make It Back | In a video released on Monday, a Sudanese general rejected a Kenyan-led proposal to send in East African peacekeepers in the strongest possible terms. The general, Yassir al-Atta, threatened that “not one” of the Kenyans would make it back alive. He even went so far as to accuse Kenya of being “bought off” by another country. Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei called the accusations “unworthy of our comment,” insisting that his country is neutral. He also emphasised the importance of including civilian actors in any mediation process and called for accountability for atrocities. But the fighting continues: in the Kalakla area of southern Khartoum, local committees report that RSF forces are besieging the area, and in Omdurman, at least 15 people have been killed in strikes.
Food for Thought
“We have not inherited this land from our ancestors; rather we have borrowed it from our children.”
— Kenyan Proverb.
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