Africa

1. Sending money home
2. Pan-African protests
3. Floating freely
4. Olive branch

Also, France recognizes a massacre but raises questions over who gets to write history.

Hello! Welcome to Semafor Africa. Ethiopia has become the latest African country to embrace Western economic orthodoxy by allowing its currency to float. The move has been rewarded with a new support package from the International Monetary Fund, as Samuel Getachew reports. But, depending on how the shakeup is managed, it could push up the cost of living in Ethiopia and cause resentment towards the IMF.

In Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu’s economic policy changes, which included allowing the naira’s value to be market determined, spurred price rises that pushed more people into hardship. A $4.4 billion IMF program has helped Kenya to tackle a liquidity crisis but came with conditions of reducing subsidies and hiking taxes that cause the cost of living to soar. Placards berating the IMF have been held by Kenyan protesters whose demonstrations have rocked the government.

Mistrust of multilateral finance institutions isn’t new. Previous generations of Africans have resented what they see as diktats that push African countries into a spiral of rising debt while punishing the poorest citizens. But it’s now the turn of Gen Z Africans, and they’re showing a willingness to channel their frustration into protests.

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Expats in Kenya sending money home

The amount of money expatriates living and working in Kenya sent back to their home countries in 2023, according to new data from the country’s central bank. The sum, which equates to 87 billion Kenyan shillings, is a 24.3% increase from the 69.96 billion Kenyan shillings ($534 million) foreign workers sent home the previous year, pointing to higher earnings for immigrants in the country. The number of expatriates in East Africa’s largest economy is expected to increase as organizations relocate workers to Nairobi.

African governments brace for Kenya-style protests

NAIROBI/LAGOS — Governments in African countries including Nigeria and Uganda are facing growing discontent, with planned protests by youthful demonstrators calling attention to long-standing issues including high unemployment, corruption and economic stagnation.

It comes against the backdrop of massive youth-led protests in Kenya over the past month in opposition to proposed tax hikes and corruption.

In Nigeria, planned nationwide protests against corruption and economic hardship are set to begin on Aug. 1. While asserting that Nigerians had the right to peacefully demonstrate, the military on July 25 promised to intervene to “prevent any violence.” The recent relaunching of a $70 million youth investment fund and the announcement of vacancies in the state-owned oil firm NNPC have been seen as moves to forestall the demonstrations. President Bola Tinubu also met various local leaders and clerics ahead of the planned protests.

Uganda witnessed a heavy police crackdown last week as youth-led campaigners attempted to march to the country’s parliament to protest alleged corruption in government. Over 100 people were arrested even as President Yoweri Museveni claimed the protests were financed by foreign entities.

“It’s a wake up call” to African governments, Dr. Xavier Ichani, an international relations researcher at Kenyatta University, in Nairobi, told Semafor Africa. “Governments need to move with speed and address the grievances of the people,” he said, adding that a failure to do so will see the masses “rise up.”

Ethiopia floats its currency in a bid to secure loans

Ethiopia has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a $3.4 billion bailout to support economic reforms over the next four years.

The agreement was announced on Monday after Ethiopia allowed its currency to be traded on the open market instead of at a fixed rate as part of reforms — a key step in securing the IMF loan. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the agreement was “a testament to Ethiopia’s strong commitment to transformative reforms.”

Removing the central bank’s fixed rate is part of sweeping reforms aimed at easing the chronic shortage of foreign currency that have plagued the country’s economy.

The birr’s value against the dollar fell by 30% after it was allowed to float on Monday, said the country’s biggest lender, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia became the third African economy in as many years to default on its government debt in late 2023. That contributed to its credit rating being downgraded last year to “junk territory” by the Fitch Ratings agency.

Other key elements of the reforms include ending mandatory foreign exchange surrender requirements for exporters, liberalizing import and capital flow rules, allowing non-bank currency exchanges, and deregulating how commercial banks allocate forex to importers.

Locals receiving remittances will also be permitted to hold foreign currency accounts to have them use an official exchange avenue instead of the informal market.

— Samuel Getachew

Nigeria’s government offers Dangote refinery olive branch

The Nigerian government proposed selling crude oil to Dangote Refinery in the local naira currency, a step towards allaying threats to the $20 billion facility’s full operational capacity and easing the pressure of dollar demand on the economy.

The plan, approved by the Nigerian president’s cabinet, would see state-owned oil company NNPC sell 445,000 barrels per day of crude oil to the refinery at a fixed dollar-to-naira exchange rate. NNPC would sell four of the 15 monthly cargoes of oil the refinery requires, while the refinery would source the rest from foreign markets. The proposal was outlined on Monday by Zacch Adedeji, who heads Nigeria’s federal tax agency.

The move follows weeks of finger-pointing between Dangote and oil producers, as well as with regulators who accuse the company of seeking to monopolize the local market for fuel. Dangote alleged that it had to buy locally produced oil at above market prices from the international arms of oil companies operating in Nigeria. But those dollar-denominated transactions were “significantly straining Nigeria’s foreign-currency liquidity,” the government said in recommending transactions with NNPC in naira, according to Bloomberg.

A spokesperson for Dangote Refinery did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the government’s proposal.

— Alexander Onukwue in Lagos

Anthony Osijo was recently appointed CEO of Bboxx, a data-driven clean energy company based in Kigali, Rwanda. He has a remit to expand the company’s reach across the continent.

Governance

🇿🇦 The African National Congress expelled former South African President Jacob Zuma on Monday. It took the step after Zuma launched a rival party to compete in May’s general election, which helped cost the ANC a parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994.

🇺🇬 A Ugandan court charged 36 supporters of an opposition party with terrorism offenses, which they denied, after they were deported from neighboring Kenya where they had reportedly traveled to attend a course.

🇸🇸 South Sudan’s main political opposition said they were committed to exiting the ongoing Tumaini Initiative for peace negotiations in Nairobi, arguing its original purpose had been diverted.

🇿🇦 South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa named Mandisa Maya as the country’s first female chief justice. Maya, 60, was the first Black woman to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal and the first woman to be appointed deputy president.

Tech

🇳🇬 Nigeria’s telecoms regulator directed mobile network operators to reactivate phone lines that were suddenly disconnected over the weekend, as part of a bid to push subscribers to link phone numbers with their national identification numbers, a move which sparked widespread frustration.

Deals

🇰🇪 Shareholders of Kenyan cement company Bamburi agreed to an acquisition offer of $180 million from Tanzania’s Amsons Group.

🇳🇬 Nigeria’s fourth largest telecoms operator 9Mobile was acquired by British company LH Telecoms for an undisclosed sum.

🌍 Private equity firm Adenia Partners acquired the subsidiaries of French industrial gas producer Air Liquide in 12 African countries, including Ghana, Senegal and DR Congo.

Security

🇲🇱 The Tuareg separatist group in Mali claimed victory over the country’s army and Russia’s Wagner Group after intense fighting last Thursday in the Tinzaouatene district. The insurgents said they had seized weapons and taken prisoners.

🇿🇦 South African police said they had arrested 95 Libyan nationals suspected to be receiving military training illegally on Friday.

🇨🇩 The US treasury imposed sanctions on members of the Congo River Alliance for fuelling violent conflict and civilian displacement in the DR Congo.

🇹🇿 The US and Tanzania are in talks on potential support interventions to prevent fighting between Islamic State-backed insurgents and Mozambique’s army forces from spilling across the border and into the country.

Energy

🇿🇦 French oil giant TotalEnergies said on Monday it would exit the Brulpadda and Luiperd gas fields off the coast of South Africa, saying they were not economically viable to develop.

🇪🇬 Egypt’s petroleum and mineral resources ministry said it had signed agreements with Shell Egypt, Malaysia’s Petronas, and Cheiron Energy to invest $340 million to boost oil and gas production in the Mediterranean and Gulf of Suez.

Mining

🇹🇿 Tanzania agreed to pay Australian-based mining company Indiana Resources $90 million for unlawful expropriation of the Ntaka Hill Nickel Project, after the East African nation changed its mining laws in 2017 and 2018.

France has posthumously honored six African soldiers who were massacred by French soldiers in Senegal in World War II. It comes ahead of the 80th anniversary of an unknown number of West African soldiers being gunned down at Thiaroye military camp, in Senegal, by French troops whom they had fought alongside. But the move prompted a sharp response from Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. The honorees, who are now described as having “died for France,” include four Senegalese nationals, one Côte d’Ivoire national, and one person from Burkina Faso. Paris is attempting to ease tensions with its former colonies. But Sonko, in a post on X, said the “tragic story” was not France’s to tell alone, adding that it was not up to Paris to determine how many Africans were “betrayed and murdered” after fighting to save France.

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