The Conversation Highly indebted African countries are facing stark trade-offs between servicing expensive debt, supporting high and growing development needs, and stabilising domestic currencies. Government debt has risen in at least 40 African countries over the past decade. As a result, some are experiencing a bad combination of high debt, elevated development spending needs amid budget shortfalls, and unfavourable exchange rate pressures. These issues have become more pressing since 2022, when persistently high inflation prompted major central banks around the world to embark on the most aggressive monetary tightening campaign in decades. Monetary policy tightens when central banks raise interest rates. Since then, global…
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By Reuters Senior leaders from Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) met three times this month in Bahrain, sources with knowledge of the talks said, the first such contact between the two warring sides in nine months of conflict. Unlike previous talks on war in Sudan, the meetings in Manama were attended by influential deputies from both forces and by officials from the Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), key supporters of the army and RSF respectively, according to the four sources, two of whom were present at the talks. The unannounced talks, which the sources…
The Conversation In July 2023, Niger’s military took over in a coup just two years after the country’s first transition to civilian power. The coup has brought into sharp focus the role of foreign countries in Niger’s politics. Before the coup, France and the US were the main security allies of Niger. But the coup leaders, led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani, were open about their antagonism to France, the country’s former colonial ruler, and ordered the French military to leave. Now the attention of many people in Niger has shifted to Russia. Since the coup, several analysts have highlighted the role of Russia. Some analysts and regional experts…
Why it outraged some, and what’s at stake The Conversation An identity document, a pair of reading glasses, a hearing aid and a pair of worn shoes. These are just some of Nelson Mandela’s personal items that were due to go on auction on 22 February 2024. A month before the auction was due, the New York-based Guernsey’s auction house put a notice on its website that it was suspending the sales. No explanation was given. The initial news of the auction caused outrage. South African government officials, commentators on South African social media, and even members of the family…
By Reuters A decision by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to quit West Africa’s economic and political bloc reverses decades of regional integration, leaving millions of people in limbo, and is likely to deepen the three junta-led countries’ ties with Russia. The move to withdraw from the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) could yet take time to implement, opening a door for negotiations. But, if carried through, it is set to disrupt the region’s trade and services flows, worth nearly $150 billion a year. It also raises questions over millions of nationals from the three poor and…
The Conversation By the end of the group stage, the 34th Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) was one of the most exciting and memorable Afcon tournaments in recent memory. This was particularly true of the performances of the continent’s best players on the field. As a scholar of sports communication with a focus on African football, I’ve followed developments with interest, notably the 2019 decision to increase the number of national teams in the final stage from 16 to 24. There were several critics of the expansion of the tournament. They argued Afcon was being watered down and that more…
By Reuters Ethiopia’s deal to lease a port in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland has infuriated the government in Mogadishu and prompted concern it will further destabilise the Horn of Africa region. Under a memorandum of understanding signed on Jan. 1, landlocked Ethiopia would lease 20 km (12 miles) around Somaliland’s port of Berbera for 50 years, in exchange for stakes in Ethiopian state-run companies and possible recognition as an independent nation. Somalia has responded by calling the deal an act of agression and says it will block it. Ethiopia says it is merely striking a commercial arrangement to address…
By Reuters Egypt will not allow any threat to Somalia, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday after Ethiopia said it would consider recognising an independence claim by Somaliland in a deal that would give it access to a sea port. The remarks were the strongest yet made on the issue by Egypt, which already has frosty relations with Ethiopia, and were a sign that Cairo may get involved in a dispute that has raised fresh tensions in the volatile Horn of Africa. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not won recognition from any country. The port…
By AFP While the explosion of debt is throwing a shadow over global economic growth, experts warn that Sub-Saharan Africa, where several countries are already in default, is experiencing its worst-ever crisis. The rise in interest rates and over-indebtedness is already crimping the ability of countries to finance their development, as a number of African leaders emphasised at appearances at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Origins of the crisis Following the 2007-2009 global economic crisis, central banks in industrialised countries have generally kept interest rates low and countries from the Global South, which had mostly been borrowing bilaterally or…
Reuters The dollar rose on Tuesday as investors pared back bets on near-term rate-cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve following hawkish comments from European Central Bank officials, while worries of more attacks on ships in the Red Sea weighed on risk sentiment. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar rose 0.253% to 102.90, after having gained 0.2% overnight in subdued trading during a U.S. public holiday on Monday. The euro fell 0.3% to $1.09185, set for its steepest one-day percentage drop in two weeks. Sterling was last at $1.2681, down 0.36% on the day, edging away from a near-five month…