Africa

🇿🇦 South Africa is set to become the first African country to introduce shared parental leave following a ruling by the Johannesburg High Court. The new interim conditions will see fathers enjoy up to four months of parental leave — from the previous maximum of ten days — and associated benefits. Additionally, the parents of surrogate children, and adoptive parents to children under the age of two will enjoy the same parental leave rights. Gender equality campaigners have hailed the decision.

🇳🇬 The U.S. SEC has temporarily suspended trading of shares belonging to Tingo, a company that has been the subject of alleged malpractices. “It appears to the Securities and Exchange Commission that there is a lack of adequate and accurate information concerning the securities of Tingo Group because of questions and concerns regarding the adequacy and accuracy of publicly available information in the marketplace,” the SEC said on Nov.13. Tingo was the subject of a damning report by short-seller Hindenburg Research earlier this year. The company’s owner, Dozy Mmobuosi, has been the subject of news reports over the past year for his interest in buying a soccer club in the U.K., though that has largely proven unsuccessful.

🇿🇲 China called on all creditors to work together and participate in Zambia’s debt restructuring in accordance with the principle of “common action and fair burden” agreed in June, Reuters reports. The comments by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday were in response to reports that the IMF and official creditors had “expressed reservations” about a deal Zambia struck with commercial bondholders. Campaign group Debt Justice has calculated that bondholders would receive more money back than official creditors — who include China, France, and India — if the deal went ahead.

🇸🇩 The war in Sudan has left more than half the country’s population in dire need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations. It estimates around 25 million people require assistance. The resident U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left a wave of destruction since fighting broke out on April 15. Nkweta-Salami warned that the conflict threatens a repeat of the deadly ethnic conflict in Darfur 20 years ago.

🇧🇫 Burkina Faso’s military junta has been accused by human rights groups of using an emergency law to forcefully enlist perceived dissidents in the army to fight insurgents. Human Rights Watch said Burkinabe security forces notified at least a dozen journalists, civil society activists and opposition party members about their impending conscription. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also said two prominent journalists were set to serve three months in the army in line with the conscription policy. Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power in a coup last September, signed a general mobilization decree in April 2023 allowing the conscription of civilians to fight jihadist insurgents.

The initial funding Kenya is seeking from the United Nations in order to deploy 1,000 police officers to Haiti. The country’s Interior minister told lawmakers the money would be used to pay for various aspects of the deployment, including training, transport, the purchase of weapons, and anti-riot equipment. He was responding to questions concerning issues such as the provision of insurance for officers and a stipulation that Kenyan taxpayers’ money should not be spent on the mission. Kenya earlier this year announced its intention to deploy troops to the Caribbean country. The United States pledged $100 million to support the Kenya-led multinational security force. Kenyan civil society groups have criticized the plan to intervene in Haiti, calling it an attack on the country’s sovereignty.

Local investors shy away from Africa’s EV revolution

THE NEWS

A lack of local investment in African electric vehicle companies threatens the growth of the continent’s green transportation sector. It undermines efforts to introduce cleaner forms of mass transport that would reduce pollution in heavily congested cities.

Demand among individuals and companies for e-buses, electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers is surging across the continent, say industry insiders and analysts.

As of March 2023, e-bike manufacturer Ampersand had a waitlist of over 7,000 in Kigali alone. Kenya has an estimated 2,000 e-bikes on the road and the government plans to increase the figure to 200,000 by the end of 2024. Swedish e-mobility company Roam in July opened a plant in Nairobi with the capacity to produce 50,000 e-bikes a year. And Uganda signed a five-year deal with e-bike and battery swapping company Spiro to replace 140,000 internal combustion engine (ICE) bikes with electric bikes.

However, limited financing has fallen well short of the levels needed to keep up with that demand, making it hard for companies to produce vehicles and keeping the cost of EVs high for consumers. As much as $9 billion in financing may be required by 2030 to grow a sustainable market for electric two-wheelers in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia, according to a report by the Shell Foundation charity.

Local banks and investors have been slow to back the EV sector for reasons including low risk appetite, lack of information and the nascent stage of the sector in Africa, Edwin Muchoki, an e-mobility investment consultant at VBD Autotech, told Semafor Africa. He said investment in EV companies on the continent has been primarily led by international investment firms.

MARTIN’S VIEW

Many local banks and investors are risk averse, but their interest in the EV sector is bound to grow as EVs become more prominent in Africa. The uptake of e-bikes confirms demand and the industry’s potential viability.

But more needs to change beyond fundraising for the EVs to genuinely take off.

More government incentives are also needed to enable the success of EVs in Africa. In October, Ethiopia exempted electric vehicles from VAT, surtax and excise tax. Kenya lowered the power tariff for charging stations by 30% for domestic users, and plans to halve excise duty for electric vehicles. Meanwhile, Nigeria in May 2023 announced a 10-year tax relief program for EV manufacturers. More countries need to follow their example to create lasting change.

Read on for The View from Tanzania and Room for Disagreement

Liberians are voting today in a run-off to select their next president. The eventual winner will have to address a pervasive feeling among citizens that their lives are not getting better. According to a poll by Gallup conducted ahead of the first round of polls in October, 56% of Liberians said their standard of living has worsened, maintaining a trend since incumbent President George Weah took office in 2018.

Weah, a former international football star, is seeking re-election after riding dissatisfaction with establishment politicians to become president in the last election. But his job approval rating has dropped steadily in the years since, from 65% last year to 54% in Gallup’s poll. Weah will face Joseph Boakai, a former vice president, for a second chance at fixing deep issues that still ail the country. Notable among those surveyed is a perception of insecurity, with 53% of locals saying they have had either money or property stolen from them in the past year.

Senegal’s power utility Senelec signed an agreement to supply Senegal with 40 megawatts of electricity through a battery energy storage system. The system will be built by Infinity Power, a joint venture between Egyptian renewables firm Infinity and UAE-owned energy company Masdar. The project will be operated by Infinity Power’s Parc Eolien Taiba N’Diaye (PETN) windfarm, located 70 kilometers north of Dakar. The battery system will be built in 2024 to be ready for operation in 2025.

Bolt, the Estonian ride-hailing company that rivals Uber in seven African countries, will shutter its food delivery product in Nigeria and South Africa. The company started offering food delivery in both countries in 2021 but will cease on Dec. 7, citing a need to “streamline our resources and maximize our overall efficiency,” according to a spokesperson. Bolt said it had achieved less than a 5% share of food deliveries in Nigeria despite investing “heavily” in low commissions and customer incentives. Competition in Nigerian online food delivery features multipurpose ecommerce platforms like Jumia and Spanish app Glovo, as well as venture capital-backed food startups like Eden Life, Chowdeck and Chow Central.

North African super app Yassir is setting its sights on beginning operations in Nigeria. The six-year old company, which raised $150 million last November to offer a one-stop shop for commerce, put out a call for a marketing strategy manager who will be based in Lagos.. Yassir’s presence has been primarily focused on French-speaking North African countries Algeria (where it began), Tunisia, and Morocco. It began offering 30-minute grocery delivery services in South Africa last December, a few months after launching in Senegal.

— Alexander Onukwue

South Africa has launched a marketing campaign to position itself as the ultimate tourist destination with comedian Trevor Noah as its front person. Dubbed “The Best of Us,” Noah highlights tourist attractions on offer in the country. In a nearly two-minute long advert released last Thursday, Noah — who is said to have received $1.7 million to front the campaign — takes the audience on a tour of the sites in South Africa while debunking myths and misconceptions about the country’s tourism heritage. The campaign includes references to Table Mountain, wildlife in Kruger National Park, and surfing in Durban’s Golden Mile. The campaign is part of South Africa’s drive to welcome 21 million visitors by 2035. Last year the country received 5.8 million international tourists.

• As Israel intensifies its attack on the Gaza Strip and the enclave’s humanitarian situation deteriorates, questions are growing over the Israeli army’s war strategy.
• The latest entry in the escalating global struggle between news publishers and giant digital platforms is a paper that makes the case that Google owes U.S. publishers billions.
• Mike Johnson’s secret weapon? Deep ties that span across social, fiscal, and MAGA conservatives — each of which created trouble for prior speakers.

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