Africa

1. Digging deep
2. Green jobs
3. No to ‘bad governance’
4. Ceasefire at last?
5. Nairobi airport’s revamp

Also, the Springboks captain gets behind a nutrition initiative in South Africa.

Hello! Welcome to Semafor Africa! Sending Kenyan Special Forces to Haiti was always going to be fraught with risk and unpredictability. It’s faced serious pushback from Kenyan opposition and ordinary Kenyans (including the anti-Finance bill protestors), and now that troops have been there a month and have tangled with the gangs in Port au Prince, there will likely be some revisiting of this decision.

I have been thinking about how the Kenyan mission, and Haiti more generally, has been covered because I was on panel discussing this at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago this week. While I learned a lot about Haiti’s historical media representation from my fellow panelists of Haitian/Haitian American journalists, it struck me how similar its coverage has been to most countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

It made me consider the takeaways for the work we do here at Semafor Africa as we strive to help improve broader coverage of the continent. The clearest one is how important it was to keep giving voices to the journalists who are from the cities and communities we cover whenever possible at the bare minimum.

🟡 Follow us on social media here and WhatsApp. And if this email was forwarded to you, sign up here to get it in your inbox too.

Cameroon bets on bauxite

The value of a bauxite mining deal agreed by the Cameroonian government and Camalco, a subsidiary of Australia-based mining firm Canyon Resources. The initial 20-year agreement will see Camalco carry out the direct shipping ore project at the Minim-Martap mine in the north of the country. It will mine 99.1 million tons of bauxite suitable for industrial production.

A greener economy could create more jobs

Investing in renewable energy and a green transition could generate at least 3 million new direct jobs in Africa by 2030, according to a new report by Kenya-based nonprofit FSD Africa. The solar energy sector is projected to account for more than half of that total, while a quarter is to come from jobs in the agriculture sector, the report said. About a fifth of the jobs will be created in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and DR Congo. Achieving a green economy in Africa requires financial investments “estimated at over $100 billion annually,” the report’s authors noted, but a skilled workforce is just as essential in “driving and benefiting” from the promise it offers.

Nigerians protest rising costs, ‘bad governance’

LAGOS/KANO — Nigerians took to the streets on Thursday to protest the rising cost of living in the country. Thousands of residents in the capital Abuja, Lagos, and other major cities marched in grievance with banners bearing complaints about hunger, bad governance, and the effects of soaring inflation.

Protesters in some instances were met with forceful reaction by law enforcement agencies.

In Abuja, police officers deployed tear gas before midday to deter those who gathered around the Eagle Square, an open-air auditorium close to the Nigerian president’s residence often used for presidential ceremonies. A court order granted to the capital city’s minister on Wednesday required protests to be limited to a stadium located away from the central business and government agency districts.

In Kano and Lagos — Nigeria’s largest states by population — thousands of protesters marched through several parts of each metropolis, including towards the respective governors’ lodges. Protesters at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos were also hit with tear gas, according to multiple reports by local news media. The tollgate is a significant site: In Oct. 2020, police fired at unarmed protesters to forcefully end the EndSARS protest against police brutality.

Many mobile internet subscribers to Nigeria’s four major network operators reported poorer-than-usual connectivity on Thursday. A spokesperson for the Nigerian Communications Commission, which oversees internet service providers, told Semafor the agency had not received quality of service complaints and said it did not direct operators to control access.

Angola brokers ceasefire in eastern DRC

An Angola-brokered ceasefire in eastern DR Congo (DRC) continues to earn international backing, and has been endorsed by top international diplomats including US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The United Nations has also voiced its support for the deal. The ceasefire, agreed to on Tuesday in Luanda between the Congolese army, FARDC, and the M23 rebels, is scheduled to begin at midnight on Aug. 4, according to Angola’s minister of external relations. More than 2,500 people were killed in the conflict last year, and millions have been displaced.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the US State Department “welcomed” the ceasefire, adding that it was “ready to support” its implementation and monitoring. The Luanda agreement was the second such eastern DRC ceasefire brokered in recent weeks. Last month, the US announced that it had secured a commitment from parties for a two-week cessation of hostilities to facilitate humanitarian aid. The UN said it hoped the ceasefire would help create “conditions for de-escalation of tensions between the DRC and Rwanda and enable the safe return of those internally displaced to their homes.”

A $2 billion Kenyan airport proposal

→ What’s happening? A $2 billion proposal by Indian conglomerate Adani Group to expand and operate Kenya’s largest airport under a 30-year concession has attracted stiff opposition. The group, founded by billionaire Gautam Adani, has vast interests across sectors including energy and transportation.

→ Any more details? Adani Group would build and refurbish terminals at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), upgrading taxiways, and potentially constructing a new runway. Adani Group would receive an 18% equity stake in the airport after 30 years.

→ What’s the problem? A perceived lack of transparency. Details of the proposal were first revealed by a Kenyan whistleblower, digital entrepreneur Nelson Amenya, on X. The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) confirmed negotiations with Adani were ongoing. This is despite a consulting firm having recommended a “competitive bidding procedure.”

→ Any other concerns? Adani Group has been the subject of multiple government investigations, including in Australia and the United States, over alleged fraud and corruption. The company has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

→ What has Kenya’s government said? No deal has been signed with Adani Group, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said on Tuesday, stressing that the proposal would undergo due process. Two days earlier, President William Ruto said no deal had been agreed but backed the use of private financing to upgrade JKIA.

— Martin K.N Siele in Nairobi

Kenyan special forces have completed their first month in Haiti, with mixed results so far. Johanna Leblanc is a national security law and foreign policy expert who has served as an advisor to the Haitian government and as a senior congressional staffer on Capitol Hill.

Elections

🇬🇭 Ghana’s ex-president John Dramani Mahama said he planned to renegotiate terms of an IMF bailout and boost local ownership of future oil and mining projects if he wins a new term in office in Dec. 7 elections.

Geopolitics

🇸🇩 Sudan’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday the government would accept an invitation to attend Washington-mediated peace negotiations with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Geneva later this month.

🇲🇦 French President Emmanuel Macron supported Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara in a letter to King Mohammed VI of Morocco that was made public on Tuesday. In response, Algeria said it would recall its ambassador to France.

🇰🇪 🇺🇬 Kenya and Uganda revived talks on the extension of a petroleum pipeline from Eldoret in western Kenya to Kampala, in a move that would cut fuel transport costs and give Kenya a competitive advantage, officials of the two states said.

Economy

🇰🇪 Annual inflation in Kenya slowed to 4.3% in July, a four-year-low, from 4.6% in June. The decline was attributed partly to a stronger shilling which helped lower transport costs.

Deals

🌍 Private equity firm Helios Investment Partners raised $200 million for a new fund to invest in African businesses focused on climate mitigation and adaptation.

🇪🇬 Egyptian e-commerce startup Cartona raised $8.1 million in a round led by Cairo-based investor Algebra Ventures.

🇰🇪 Chinese vehicle manufacturer Chery will invest $20 million in a new assembly plant in Kenya in partnership with local dealership Afrigreen Automobile.

Governance

🇬🇳 Guinea’s military leaders proposed a maximum of two presidential terms of five years, and the creation of a senate in a draft constitution. The plan will be put to a referendum before adoption.

🇹🇿 Human Rights Watch on Wednesday accused the Tanzanian government of forcefully evicting more than 82,000 people of the Maasai community from their ancestral lands in the northern Ngorongoro Conservation Area to use it for conservation and tourism purposes.

Mining

🇹🇿 Tanzania’s trade minister said the government would sign a contract worth $77.4 million with Chinese firm Fujian Xho Company to implement the Maganga Matitu Iron Ore project.

Children in South Africa’s eastern Zwide region are set to benefit from a partnership between the country’s World Cup-winning rugby union captain Siya Kolisi and the KFC Add Hope initiative. It follows a July campaign to raise funds to provide nutritious meals. KFC raised funds through the Kolisi Foundation which are intended to bolster food security and promote education through nutrition. The proceeds will support six schools in Zwide, in the country’s Eastern Cape Province, by providing breakfasts for about 4,000 children.

• Will the Fed rescue clean energy?
• Kamala Harris’ confusing record on immigration is under the microscope.
• Anyscale, software provider for OpenAI, hires new CEO.

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 64th independence day to the people of Benin!! 🇧🇯

Happy 64th independence day to the people of Niger!! (Aug. 3) 🇳🇪

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, Muchira Gachenge, and Jenna Moon