Africa

The number of shares telecommunications company Airtel Africa bought back from Citigroup Global Markets. The buyback program aims to return $100 million to shareholders and is expected to run to two segments over 12 months, with the first tranche of purchases to be carried out until Aug. 31. Airtel Africa said it bought the shares on the London Stock Exchange at an average price of $123.

Ghana’s president delays decision on controversial anti-gay bill

THE NEWS

ACCRA, Ghana — Ghana’s president has delayed making a decision on an anti-gay bill due to a Supreme Court challenge, a move that could enable him to avoid choosing between a $4 billion hole in World Bank funding and scuppering his party’s chances in December’s elections.

The bill, which imposes a three-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+ and has attracted international criticism from rights groups, requires President Nana Akufo-Addo’s assent to become law. Akufo-Addo, nearing the end of his second term in power ahead of a presidential election in December, has previously said he would sign the bill into law if it was supported by the majority of Ghanaians.

Late on Monday, the president said a challenge had been mounted at the Supreme Court. “It would be as well for all of us to hold our hands and await the decision of the Court before any action is taken,” the president said in his first public comments on the bill since its passed last week. The court’s deliberations could extend beyond the end of his time in office.

The finance ministry, in a document seen by Semafor Africa, warned the bill could trigger the loss of $3.8 billion in World Bank financing over the next five to six years and “derail” the country’s $3 billion IMF loan deal if it becomes law.

But Ghanaians typically frown upon same-sex relationships and any failure to sign could cost Akufo-Addo’s ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). The party’s candidate in December’s election will be Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.

The bill was backed by Ghana’s two biggest parties, including the NPP. Earlier this year the leading opposition candidate John Mahama, a former president, publicly stated that gay marriage was against his Christian beliefs, though he did not state whether or not he supported the bill.

KNOW MORE

Similar anti-gay legislation in Uganda prompted the United States to remove the East African country from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which offers participants favorable trade terms. The U.S. said it was “deeply troubled” by the passage of Ghana’s bill in parliament.

Ghana would lose the ability to export products tariff free to the world’s biggest economy if it was removed from AGOA. Some $700 million of Ghana’s exports to the U.S. in 2022 was through AGOA.

One beneficiary of AGOA has been Ghana-based American apparel manufacturer DTRT which employs more than 5,000 workers at two plants in Accra and Tema and exports to retailers in the U.S. Its co-founders told Semafor Africa that if the bill is passed into law it would put thousands of jobs at risk if the U.S. suspends Ghana from AGOA. “It would be horrible for the business, but we believe the president and his successors understand the risks,” said Skip Richmond, co-founder/CEO of DTRT Group.

Dr Daniel Amartey, an economist, said other markets, including Europe, would also act if the bill became law. “If they follow those lines, it will affect our trade volumes and, as an economy that is trying to bring back macroeconomic stability, that will be a big blow.”

Chad’s turbulent week

→ What’s happening? Chad’s interim president Mahamat Idris Deby announced his plans to run for the presidency in the country’s election on May 6.

→ Why is the announcement significant? Saturday’s announcement capped a chaotic week, coming after opposition leader Yaya Dillo was killed on Wednesday — an incident opposition groups described as an assassination. The government claimed he fired at law enforcement officers at his party headquarters. Dillo was expected to run against Deby. Days before his death, the government accused Dillo’s party of orchestrating an attack on the national security agency headquarters.

→ What’s Deby’s background? He seized power in 2021 after his father, former president Idris Deby, was killed by rebels after 30 years in power. Mahamat initially announced an 18-month timeline to transition to democratic elections, but his administration passed resolutions that would keep him in office until 2024 and allow him to run. At least 50 protesters were killed in 2022 as the Deby-led government cracked down on demonstrators seeking democratic elections in the country.

→ How will Dillo’s death affect the election? “Holding elections in a repressive context will certainly pose risks to the country’s stability as the opposition is unlikely to accept the outcome,” said Ulf Laessing, Sahel program director at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a political think tank. He said the credibility of the elections would be undermined and that other contenders may not run due to intimidation.

→ What does it mean for the region’s stability? Cameron Hudson, Africa analyst at Washington-based think tank CSIS, said Chad was surrounded by conflict-hit areas in Sudan and the Sahel, which meant political turmoil and an armed struggle would have major implications for the region.

“You might see Zaghawa fighters currently fighting in Sudan with the Rapid Support Forces return to Chad to support Deby,” said Hudson. “Similarly, Chadian rebel groups in neighboring Libya and the Central African Republic could see this as an opportunity to restart their war against the regime. You might see others, like Chad’s neighbors in the Sahel, try to come to his aid.”

→ Why haven’t Western governments said much about this? “Chad is key to stability in Central Africa as it is practically surrounded by neighbors where Russia and its mercenaries are active and seek to expand,” said Laessing. “That’s why Western powers are so silent about the killing last week and delayed transition.”

— Martin K. N. Siele

Lagos expands Chinese-built city rail with diesel trains

A new rail service that carries diesel-powered trains was commissioned last week in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve center, an attempt by the city to address crippling traffic congestion issues and invite more businesses into Africa’s largest city.

Built by China’s state-owned CCECC construction firm, the first phase of the rail service — dubbed the Red Line — was opened by Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday. Once completed, it will cover a 27-kilometer (16.7-mile) stretch between a suburb just outside of Lagos through the Yaba district, an area associated with Nigeria’s technology startup scene. A further 10 kilometers is expected to continue to Marina, a business district bound by Lagos’s waterways that hosts bank head offices and leads to the more affluent neighborhoods in the city.

The new line is reported to have cost $135 million, according to the Lagos government. It is the second light rail train to come on board in the city within the past year, following the 13-kilometer first phase of the electricity-powered “Blue Line” last September. Lagos expects its trains to carry more than half a million residents daily, slashing most commutes by at least half the time when compared to road transportation.

Lagos generates a fifth of Nigeria’s GDP, and its economic size is comparable to nations like Ghana, Kenya, Angola, and Ethiopia. But its estimated 20 million residents endure a poor network of roads that regularly places the city among the worst for livability. The two partly launched train lines, in addition to four more yet to be built, are part of an ambition to “transform Lagos into an economic powerhouse,” as Tinubu put it while opening the Red Line.

— Alexander Onukwue

Rising cocoa prices are stirring anxiety among global chocolatiers, some of whom are reducing the quantity of cocoa in their products. Average monthly cocoa prices in London and New York have risen from less than $3,000 to over $5,000 per tonne over the past year, according to the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO), an industry body based in Côte d’Ivoire. El Niño — a weather phenomenon that causes unusually warmer temperatures and dry conditions — has impacted crops in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, where over half of the world’s cocoa beans come from. Cocoa production is projected to fall nearly 11% for the current crop season, the ICCO said in its February forecast. Prices are expected to continue rising as a result of the supply problems, which could mean higher retail costs, or smaller bars for consumers.

🇿🇼 The U.S. imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and 10 other senior political leaders including the vice president on Monday for alleged corruption and human rights abuses. The White House said government leaders siphoned off public resources in activities that “contribute to a global criminal network of bribery, smuggling, and money laundering.” The new sanctions replace a broader program imposed around 20 years ago.

🇪🇹 Ethiopian Airlines launched a $55 million Chinese-built logistics hub at Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport to meet the growing demand for e-commerce deliveries to the continent. The 161,500 square foot specialized facility has the capacity to process 150,000 tons of goods annually, according to the airline’s chief executive.

🇰🇪 Kenya and Saudi Arabia last week entered an agreement on carbon credits designed to help the East African nation tackle land degradation issues, Nation reported. Carbon credits are generated by projects that reduce or remove emissions. They can be purchased, allowing buyers to emit a certain amount of greenhouse gasses.

🇿🇦 Telecom giant MTN plans to ramp up its mobile money lending in Uganda, and will double the amount it lends to users by way of micro loans. MTN plans to lend as much as $255 million to its customers this year, up from $140 million. Historically, it has focused on personal loans, but plans to pivot to business financing and merchant loans, an executive told Ugandan newspaper Monitor.

Scientists have for the first time calculated the age of one of the largest types of sand dune. The star dune is situated in the Sahara Desert. The dune in south east Morocco, which looks like a star from above, is called Lala Lallia — meaning the “highest sacred point” in the local Berber language. Sand at its base was found to be 13,000 years old. Researchers used dating techniques which measure when the sand was last exposed to sunlight to understand the age of the dune. Scientists from Aberystwyth University in Wales and the University of London said the dune is 328 feet high and 2,297 feet wide.

• The U.S. is searching for an Iranian intelligence operative thought to be plotting to assassinate American officials.
• How The New York Times stumbled on a sensitive Israel story.
• How African companies are solving the continent’s solar finance problem.
• Benny Gantz’s U.S. visit signals growing divisions in Israel.

If you’re enjoying the Semafor Africa newsletter and finding it useful, please share with your family and friends. We’d love to have them aboard too.

Happy 67th Independence Day (Mar. 6) to the people of Ghana!! 🇬🇭

Let’s make sure this email doesn’t end up in your junk folder by adding africa@semafor.com to your contacts. In Gmail you should drag this newsletter over to your ‘Primary’ tab.

You can reply to this email and send us your news tips, gossip, and good vibes.

— Yinka, Alexis, Alexander Onukwue, Martin Siele, and Muchira Gachenge