🔅 The Museum of W. African Art is Different
Namibia's Gassy Fields & Gold's Untapped Potential
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Good Morning from Madagascar!
Last Week in Numbers
Year-to-Date Performance:
🟢 Johannesburg SE: 85,608.47 (+11.33%)
🟢 Nigerian SE: 97,829.02 (+30.83%)
🟢 Nairobi SE: 112.74 (+22.40%)
🟢 Ghana SE: 4,665.35 (+49.04%)
🟢 US S&P 500: 5,969.34 (+25.86%)
🟢 Shanghai Composite: 3,267.19 (+10.29%)
Health Watch
🇷🇼 0: Rwanda declares its Marburg virus outbreak officially over, with the last patient discharged and treatment center closed. Health officials will now monitor cave-dwelling bats, identified as the source, across the country rather than just around Kigali where a miner contracted the disease.
🇺🇬 1 in 10: The alarming proportion of children in Uganda showing resistance to key antimalarial treatments, adding to similar findings in Rwanda, Eritrea, and Tanzania. The resistance to Artemisinin treatments, which emerged in Southeast Asia in 2008, threatens to complicate malaria control efforts across sub-Saharan Africa.
🇰🇪 360,000: Videos removed by TikTok in Kenya in just three months - more than all of 2023's takedowns (296,000) - representing 0.3% of uploaded content. The surge in moderation follows concerns over sexual content and ethnic incitement on the platform.
Political Shifts
🇸🇴 64%: Somaliland opposition leader Abdirahman Cirro's share of votes against incumbent president Muse Bihi's 35%. The election comes as the breakaway region pushes for international recognition, recently signing a preliminary deal with Ethiopia exchanging coastal access for potential diplomatic recognition.
🇬🇦 91.8%: Approval rate for Gabon's new constitution following last year's coup. The reforms introduce a seven-year, two-term presidential limit, remove the prime minister position, and recognize French as the official working language.
🇸🇳 130/165: Parliamentary seats won by President Faye's Pastef party in Senegal, providing a clear mandate for reforms. However, analysts warn that balancing voter expectations with IMF requirements amid a fiscal crisis poses a significant challenge.
Business & Investment
🇳🇬 3 Billion: Packs of instant noodles consumed annually in Nigeria, ranking as the world's 10th-largest market!
🇳🇬 $2.5 Billion: Brazilian meatpacker JBS's investment commitment to Nigeria, including the construction of six new factories, marking a significant South-South economic partnership.
🇰🇪 $2 Billion: Combined value of cancelled Adani Group deals in Kenya, including airport upgrades and power transmission projects, following the founder's US indictment. The airport deal would have granted a 30-year lease in exchange for adding a second runway and upgrading terminals.
Justice & Governance
🇲🇱 10 Years: Prison sentence handed down by the ICC to Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz for war crimes in Timbuktu, including torture, rape, and destroying religious buildings while serving as police chief under al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Din in 2012.
🇺🇬 32 Months: Prison term given to a 21-year-old Ugandan TikToker for making a mock trial video of President Museveni. Emmanuel Nabugodi, who had 20,000 followers, pleaded guilty to charges including hate speech and spreading malicious information.
🇲🇱 24 Months: The promised but unfulfilled timeline for Mali's return to democracy, leading to Prime Minister Maiga's dismissal after he criticized the junta's failure to hold elections. The military rulers recently postponed February's planned vote indefinitely, citing technical reasons.
Financial Moves
🇰🇪 $950 Million: Kenya's new financing pursuit - combining $200M from AfDB and $750M from World Bank - bolstered by recent IMF approval. The financing push follows the government's abandonment of planned tax hikes worth $2.68 billion after deadly protests.
🇲🇺 7.0%: Economic growth in Mauritius last year, though the new government's audit announcement raises questions about previous administration's data accuracy. Prime Minister Ramgoolam's claims of manipulation have spooked foreign investors in the offshore financial center.
🇲🇱 $160 Million: Settlement paid by Resolute Mining to Mali's government to resolve a tax dispute and secure the release of detained executives. The incident reflects Mali's growing pattern of pressuring mining companies to renegotiate economic terms.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Spotlight Stories
Doing Things Differently: How the Museum of West African Art is Connecting the Old and New
If you're a local artisan in Benin City, Nigeria, practicing techniques that have been passed down for generations – bronze casting, woodcarving, you name it – it’s easy to feel left behind in this fast-paced world of contemporary art.
And then comes the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA).
This ambitious new museum opened its doors on November 4th, and has made it its mission to bridge the gap between traditional craftsmanship and the global contemporary art scene.
Aindrea Emelife, the curator of modern and contemporary art at MOWAA, has big plans. She envisions residencies that pair local bronze casters from the historic guild on Igun Street with West African artists who have made a name for themselves on the international stage. It's like a creative exchange program, where the old and new can learn from each other.
Imagine the possibilities: A contemporary artist could take inspiration from the intricate patterns and symbolism of traditional bronze work, while a local artisan could experiment with new materials and techniques. A win-win situation.
But MOWAA isn't just stopping at residencies. Crucially, they’re looking to showcase the work of these collaborations in their exhibitions. Visitors will be able to see the evolution of West African art, from the ancient terracottas of the Nok civilization to the cutting-edge installations of today's rising stars. Fascinating, right?
And let's not forget about the Artisans Hall, where local craftspeople will be able to sell their wares directly to the public. It's a chance for them to gain exposure and make a living from their talents.
Of course, reconnecting local artisanal practices with contemporary art is no easy feat. It requires a balance of respecting tradition while pushing boundaries, but it sounds like MOWAA might just be up for the challenge.
By creating a space where different generations of artists can come together and learn from each other, MOWAA is not just preserving the past, but actively shaping the future of West African art. It's a bold vision, but one that could have a ripple effect throughout the region and beyond.
Gold: Africa's Untapped Potential and Untamed Challenges
Africa is a continent rich in gold, with a price that's doubled since 2019, reaching a record high of over $2,700 per troy ounce. It's a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered, promising higher margins for industrial miners and a potential lifeline for some of the poorest people in rural Africa through artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). But hold on to your hard hats, because this gold rush comes with its own set of challenges.
First off, let's talk about the sheer scale of this gold rush. We've got 12 countries, including Ghana, each accounting for at least 20 tonnes of smuggled gold every year. A lot of that gold ends up in Dubai, the new kid on the block when it comes to refining it. Gold exports from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have skyrocketed more than 60-fold between 2002 and 2022, making it the most valuable export after hydrocarbon products.
But some argue that Dubai's "no questions asked" approach to the gold encourages illicit trade. In 2022, around two-thirds of the African gold imported into the UAE was allegedly smuggled. The UAE claims it's not accountable for other countries' records and is adopting policies to curb money-laundering using gold.
Back on the ground, the rush is shaking things up: Malian gold mines are attracting workers from across the Sahel and northern Nigeria, while in South Africa, one industrial miner recorded a 241% increase in illegal mining incidents on its sites in the first quarter of 2024. ASM directly employs around 10 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, several times more than two decades ago. It's a lifeline for those in poverty.
But it's not all glitter and gold. In Ghana, the illicit mining is being blamed for the disappearance of thousands of hectares of cocoa forests. The failure to formalize ASM has led to unsound mining practices, with around 60% of Ghana's water bodies being polluted. Heavy metals used by miners are linked to miscarriages, stillbirths, and birth defects. It's a high price to pay.
As if the environmental and health concerns weren't enough, gold also has its fingers in the pies of war and politics. Jihadists control mines across the Sahel, while in eastern Congo, militias fight over gold and export it via Uganda or Rwanda. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), one of the main belligerents in Sudan's civil war, are partly funded by gold, and Wagner, the Russian mercenary group that fought with the RSF, controls mines in the Central African Republic. You can read more on the industry’s continent-wide implications in this article by The Economist.
While ASM provides a lifeline for millions of people in poverty, it also comes with a host of problems that need to be addressed. As the continent continues to grapple with this golden opportunity, approaches to extraction need to ensure that the benefits of the boom are shared equitably and sustainably.
Namibia's Oil Dreams Deflated by Gassy Fields
International oil companies and the Namibian government were ready to pop the champagne and cash in on offshore oil discoveries, seeing Namibia as the world's last untapped oil frontier. They were dreaming of turning the country into a prolific producer, but then they hit a snag: the fields were full of gas. 💨
Turns out, the discoveries have a very high gas-to-oil ratio, which means companies will need to install additional infrastructure to handle all that unexpected gas. This will slow down development and may even make some projects unprofitable.
Namibia's Petroleum Commissioner Maggy Shino broke the news at an industry conference, saying "What we are seeing is that all our discoveries have a very high gas-to-oil ratio." She also pointed out that Namibian law bans flaring (burning off the gas and releasing CO2), so companies will have to either inject the gas back into the reservoir or process it for consumption.
The government's new plan is to revamp a long-stalled project to pipe the 8.7 trillion cubic feet of surprise gas to an onshore power plant. The idea is to supply Namibia, then South Africa and the wider region with electricity. But the original project was designed to handle only 1.3 tcf from a smaller field, so it'll need some serious upscaling.
For the oil companies, this extra work could delay oil production: They’re now looking at some point in the 2030s, making it harder to make a profit. The International Energy Agency estimates global oil use will peak before 2030 as the world moves away from fossil fuels and electric vehicles become more popular, especially in China.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne told investors they're working on it, but injecting all that gas back into the reservoir at an acceptable cost is challenging. Total is struggling to get production costs under $20 per barrel in Namibia, which is their requirement for going ahead with new projects.
Food for Thought
“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”
— Nigerian Proverb