Africa

1. Africa Energy Bank
2. Digital waste
3. Ruto’s sackings
4. First 100 days
5. Governing livestock
6. Britain’s reset

Also, rethinking a forest’s ability to capture carbon dioxide.

Africa’s energy bank finds a home

The amount available to the Africa Energy Bank when it formally launches in Abuja, Nigeria, later this year. Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, was selected as the home of the AEB last week because it is seeking to bolster investment in its oil and gas industries. The bank, backed by the African Petroleum Producers Organization and the African Export-Import Bank, will fund energy programs on the African continent. Algeria, Benin, and Ghana all made bids to host the AEB.

The growing electronic waste problem

Africa’s share of the global waste produced from technological hardware — such as screens, monitors, and telecom equipment — grew in the last decade, while that of developed countries trended downwards, the UN’s trade and development agency said in a new report. The change on the continent, from 5.3% in 2010 to 5.9% in 2022, reflects a trend in developing economies where increased consumption of electronic devices has produced more waste. More electronic waste can be “linked to population and economic growth, higher levels of disposable income and more people being connected to and using the Internet,” the report said. But consumers in developed countries like the US, UK and Japan produce three and a half times more digitalization-related waste on a per capita basis than those in developing countries, UNCTAD said. A tendency for overconsumption driven by “consumerism and aggressive marketing that promotes marginal upgrades” is a major cause of the gap, the report said.

Kenya’s Ruto sacks almost entire cabinet

NAIROBI — Kenya’s embattled President William Ruto sacked nearly every member of his cabinet on Thursday following weeks of youth-led protests across the country.

The exception was Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi who retained his job — making him the most senior government official after the presidency and parliament’s speaker. Mudavadi will also continue to double up as the country’s foreign affairs cabinet secretary.

Ruto attributed the mass dismissals to the protests and resulting withdrawal of his government’s controversial finance bill, which he said had brought the country to “an inflection point.”

The firing of the cabinet has been one of the protesters’ key demands. Ruto said he had taken time to reflect and review the performance of his ministers. Many of the cabinet secretaries are close political allies of Ruto who aided his successful 2022 presidential bid. But allegations of government corruption have turned public sentiment against several cabinet members.

“Even with the progress we have made, I am acutely aware that the people of Kenya have very high expectations of me and they believe that this administration can undertake the most extensive transformations in our nation’s history,” Ruto said at State House, Nairobi, while dismissing his cabinet “with immediate effect.”

Ruto had previously made concessions to the protesters, including scrapping the first lady’s official budget, announcing the planned dissolution of 47 state agencies, and suspending purchases of new government vehicles and non-essential travel for government employees.

Senegal’s president makes a calm start

Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s first 100 days as Senegal’s president have been marked by a string of audits reviewing public finances and minerals contracts, but also quick measures to attract capital and cushion the effects of rising living costs to sustain popular appeal.

The 44-year-old, who took office in April after a whirlwind couple of months that took him from a jail cell to the presidential palace, has implemented his plan for Senegal in a tone more measured than the revolutionary verve of his campaign. No contracts with multinationals have been canceled. His first foreign trip outside of Africa was to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Senegal remains a member of the euro-pegged CFA currency zone.

The mood in Senegal is that Faye is “taking time to take stock of state affairs, refine policy plans, and learn the ropes of governance,” says Jeanne Ramier, an Africa associate at the Eurasia Group consultancy. “The administration is still drafting the ‘Project’ document, which will replace [former president] Macky Sall’s Emerging Senegal Plan and has been slow to come up with and roll out concrete policies,” Ramier told Semafor Africa.

Key among Faye’s quick-win acts on the economy is the $750 million eurobond issued in June to meet government financing needs ahead of the start of oil and gas production this year. A week after the bond sale, the government slashed the prices of bread, oil, and rice while suspending taxes and customs duties on importers. These are moves likely to buy Faye some time before having to make harder policy decisions that will entail disruptive reforms, Ramier said.

— Alexander Onukwue

Nigeria’s bloated government ponders new livestock ministry

Nigeria is betting that a new ministry for livestock development will boost the economy and help resolve violent conflicts that have added to the country’s insecurity problems and hampered food availability.

President Bola Tinubu created a committee on Tuesday for livestock reform, a program that he will head himself with a view to carving out a separate ministry from the existing agriculture ministry. The proposal will help “stop the wanton killings,” Tinubu said, referring to thousands of deaths from clashes between cattle herders and farmers over land use. A key task will be to review traditional livestock farming methods — which largely involves open-air grazing — “in order to open up new opportunities for growth and prosperity,” said Tinubu.

States in the middle of Nigeria have been worst affected, leading to farmland being abandoned in many cases. That has stoked skyrocketing inflation which hit a 28-year high of nearly 34% in May.

The proposed ministry has been welcomed by some. “Livestock can now factor into the economic growth of the country instead of being a source of acrimony and territorial conflict,” said Shehu Sani, a former lawmaker from the northern Kaduna state.

But it has also drawn criticism, because it will almost certainly increase government spending at a time when households are squeezed. Tinubu’s inaugural cabinet of 45 ministers is the largest in Nigeria’s democratic history.

— Alexander

UK’s new government heralds Africa policy reset

Britain’s change of government could prompt a reset in the country’s relations with African countries.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, in his inaugural statement, said Britain would “reconnect” with the world through policy changes, adding that there would be a “reset” in relations with the Global South.

Alex Vines, director of the Africa program at the Chatham House think tank in London, said Lammy’s reference to the “Global South” was largely related to Africa. He said the government would be considering “how to handle multipolarity” — amid the rising influence of China and Russia in Africa — which would likely see more senior UK officials visiting the continent.

David Omojomolo, Africa economist at Capital Economics in London, said Britain’s new government could make an impact if it played an active role in lobbying for African debt restructuring or increased its aid budget.

The UK is home to sizable African communities many of which are linked to Britain’s colonial legacy. It means government policies on a range of issues can have an outsized impact on African migrants.

The Labour Party came to power for the first time in 14 years after winning the country’s general election last week. The incoming government immediately dropped the previous administration’s controversial plan to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda. Kigali has since said it isn’t required to refund the UK for the $310 million it has received under the agreement.

— Alexis Akwagyiram

Geopolitics

🇪🇹 🇸🇩 Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited Sudan’s armed forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Tuesday, as part of efforts by regional and global powers to end the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese military and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Governance

🇬🇲 Gambian lawmakers on Monday adopted recommendations by a parliamentary committee to maintain its ban on female genital mutilation ahead of the final vote later this month on whether to decriminalise the practice.

🇨🇲 Cameroonian lawmakers voted to extend their mandate to March 2025, allowing President Paul Biya to delay parliamentary and local elections.

🇺🇬 A Ugandan court sentenced a TikToker to six years in prison for hate speech and spreading “misleading and malicious” information against President Yoweri Museveni and his family on the video sharing platform.

Energy

🇳🇬 Nigeria’s national oil company NNPC aims to raise at least $2 billion in an oil-backed loan to boost its finances, Reuters reported.

🇿🇦 Oil multinational Shell is seeking permission from South Africa’s government to drill five ultra-deep offshore exploration and appraisal wells off the nation’s west coast, according to Reuters.

Health

🇿🇦 American multinational Johnson & Johnson’s resolved not to enforce its patent on a critical tuberculosis medication. The drug can now be produced at lower prices — a win for South Africa, where the disease is a leading cause of death.

Southern Africa’s Miombo woodlands could store more than double the amount of carbon dioxide than previously estimated. A study published on Wednesday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment found that the forests, which stretch from Mozambique in the southeast to Angola in the West, could be of significant use to carbon offset projects. Researchers from London-based carbon data provider Sylvera used information collected from drones, land-based sensors, and helicopters. The researchers also warned the forest’s destruction releases more carbon into the atmosphere than previously understood.

• Biden’s age is burying good economic news for Democrats.
• GM board member on the politics of EVs.
• Western F-16 fighter jets are on their way to Ukraine.

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