ARC Chronology

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14 Oct 2019 Algiers (Algeria) RFI. Algerians protest against the new hydrocarbons code as they argue the legislature is illegitimate as there have not been new elections to elect a new government;

14 Oct 2019 Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) Agence Ecofin. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has provided a 20.8 billion FCFA ($34.9m) loan for development of Léraba plain to improve farmer productivity and incomes;

14 Oct 2019 Kinshasa (DRC) FT. Switzerland-based commodity trader Trafigura invests $450m in a copper and cobalt processing plant at the Mutoshi mine;

13 Oct 2019 Tunis (Tunisia) Al Jazeera. Exit polls forecast Kais Saied to win the presidential runoff election;

13 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) BusinessDay. President Muhammadu Buhari mandates the Federal Capital Territory Administraton (FCTA) to build 5,000 houses in Abuja;

13 Oct 2019 Casablanca (Morocco) Jeune Afrique. Salaheddinne Mezouar resigns as president of Morocco’s largest business cartel, the Confédération Générale des Enterprises du Maroc (CGEM), for comments made about Algeria’s current political situation;

13 Oct 2019 Conakry (Guinea) RFI.  Several members of the Front National pour La Défense de la Constitution have been arrested ahead of planned protests against a proposed constitutional amendment;

13 Oct 2019 Libreville (Gabon) Gabon Review. Gabon has raised 126.3 billion FCFA ($212.3m) for the bond issue launched in the Communuaté Economique et Monetaire de l’Afrique Centrale, surpassed its target of 100 billion FCFA ($168.1m);

13 Oct 2019 Libreville (Gabon) Direct Infos Gabon. International Monetary Fund (IMF) review mission expresses satisfaction with progress made under three-year economic reform programme;

13 Oct 2019 Mogadishu (Somalia) Reuters. A source says that unidentified people fired three mortars at the international aiport, which serves as a compound for the United Nations and the African Union;

13 Oct 2019 Cairo (Egypt) Reuters. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says he will meet with Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, to discuss the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project;

12 Oct 2019 Dakar (Senegal) Dakar Actu. President Macky Sall receives former president Abdoulaye Wade at the presidential palace, where the two hold three-hour discussions on various political topics;

12 Oct 2019 Bamako (Mali) RFI. Prime minister Boubou Cissé launches a voluntary disarmament initiative in the conflict-afflicted central region;

12 Oct 2019 Windhoek (Namibia) CGTN. The ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO Party) launches its election campaign;

12 Oct 2019 Harare (Zimbabwe) Reuters. A labour court rules that the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association 40-day strike is illegal and orders doctors back to work in 48 hours;

12 Oct 2019 Harare (Zimbabwe) Fin24. The Public Accountants and Auditors Board declares hyperinflation in Zimbabwe;

12 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) BusinessDay. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) discovers hydrocarbon deposits in Gongola Basin of the Upper Benue Trough;

12 Oct 2019  Abuja (Nigeria) Today.ng. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court orders the federal government to investigate mass killings in Benue State;

12 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) Today.ng. World Bank earmarks NGN500m ($1.4m) for 50 Borno State communities affected by Boko Haram insurgency;

12 Oct 2019 Conakry (Guinea) Reuters. Guinea and Liberia sign a deal to allow Guinean mines to export iron ore through Liberia;

11 Oct 2019 Lusaka (Zambia) MiningMX. Finance minister Bwalya Ng’andu confirms that mining companies claim the government owes them $380m in tax refunds, much higher than the $215m Ng’andu claims is owed;

11 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) BusinessDay. Uber Technology Inc launches pilot phase of its boat business in Lagos in conjunction with Texas Connection Ferries, a local boat operator, and the Lagos State Waterways Authority;

11 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) Premium Times. President Muhammadu Buhari  places temporary ban on foreign travel by all cabinet ministers and other government officials to enable ministers to lead the process of 2020 budget defence at the National Assembly;

11 Oct 2019 Kaduna (Nigeria) PM News. Nigerian Army rescues six abducted schoolgirls in Kaduna;

11 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) PM News. Federal government and China sign a $3.9-billion contract to link Abuja (Federal Capital Territory) and Itakpe/Warri by rail;

11 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) BusinessDay. Aviation minister Hadi Sirika says the ministry has made a special grant request of NGN10 billion ($28m) for completion of runway reconstruction at Akanu Ibiam International Airport (Enugu);

11 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) Vanguard. The Senate plans to reduce political parties from 91 to five;

11 Oct 2019 Algiers (Algeria) El Watan. Anti-government protests take place across the country for the 34^th consecutive Friday;

11 Oct 2019 Libreville (Gabon) Gabon Review. Liberia’s President George Weah undertakes a 72-hour visit to Gabon, to discuss trade relations;

11 Oct 2019 Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) RFI. Gunmen kill 15 Muslim worshippers at the Salmossi mosque at Mansila commune in north-east Burkina Faso;

11 Oct 2019 Douala (Cameroon) Investir au Cameroun. Italian-Swiss consortium Terminal Investment Limited plans to renegotiate contracts related to the Douala-Bonaberi autonomous port, whose management it took over from France-based Groupe Bollore in September;

11 Oct 2019 Libreville (Gabon) Direct Infos Gabon. Gabon’s three mobile phone operators – Gabon Telecom, Moov and Airtel Gabon – generated 108 billion FCFA ($181.5m) by the end of June, an 11.5% increase compared to 2018;

11 Oct 2019 Libreville (Gabon) Gabon Review. The petroleum and hydrocarbons ministry extends the deadline for the submission of bids for the 12th call for tenders for the allocation of oil exploration licences in shallow and deep waters to 10 January 2020;

11 Oct 2019 Harare (Zimbabwe) Reuters. United Kingdom-based mining company Vast Resources plans to sign an agreement to prospect and mine diamonds in eastern Zimbabwe;

11 Oct 2019 Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) Deutsche Welle. President John Magufuli tells Burundian refugees to “go back home”;

11 Oct 2019 Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) BBC. Prime minister Abiy Ahmed wins the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his peace deal with Eritrea and reforms in Ethiopia;

11 Oct 2019 Rabat (Morocco) Reuters. The Banque Centrale Populaire purchases the Republic of Congo-based Banque Commerciale Internationale from France-based BPCE;

11 Oct 2019 Johannesburg (South Africa) Al Jazeera. The high court dismisses former President Jacob Zuma’s application for a permanent stay of his corruption charges and the case will go to trial;

10 Oct 2019 Accra (Ghana) AFP. An Accra court charges nine people with treason for plotting to overthrow the government;

10 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) Vanguard. Federal government pays Ireland-based Process & Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID) £250,000 ($314,817) cost ordered by a United Kingdom court;

10 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) Business News. Federal government demands $62 billion from oil majors for past profits based on a Supreme Court decision;

10 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) Premium Times. International Monetary Fund (IMF) backs President Muhammadu Buhari on proposed VAT increase;

10 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) Today.ng. Experts express concern over 7.5% VAT estimates in the 2020 national budget proposal;

10 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) Vanguard. Investigation panel states that poor communication between the army and police caused soldiers at a checkpoint in Ibi (Taraba State) to kill policemen and civilians on 6 August;

10 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) Today.ng. Federal government discovers 1,260 abandoned mining sites;

10 Oct 2019 Khartoum (Sudan) Reuters. The ruling Transitional Sovereignty Council appoints Nemat Abdullah Khair as the first female head of the judiciary;

10 Oct 2019 Lyon (France) Cameroon-info.net. President Paul Biya and France’s President Emmanuel Macron hold their first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the Global Fund to Fight, Malaria, Tuberculosis and AIDS conference;

10 Oct 2019 Yaounde (Cameroon) Investir au Cameroun. France-based Carrefour and CFAO Retail announce the establishment of five supermarkets across Cameroon by the end of 2020 which necessitate an 80 billion FCFA ($134.4m) investment;

10 Oct 2019 Libreville (Gabon) Direct Infos Gabon. France-based Manuel Prom, signs a 53.8 billion FCFA  ($90.4m) joint exploitation agreement for the Ezanga oil bloc, with state-owned Gabon Oil Company and United Kingdom-based Tullow Oil;

10 Oct 2019 Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire) Jeune Afrique. France-based construction firm Bouygues,has reached an agreement with the Ivorian government on financing the $1.49 billion Abidjan Metro;

10 Oct 2019 Yaounde (Cameroon) Investir au Cameroun. Public works minister Emmanuel Djoumessi bans Nigeria-based construction company Atidolf Nigeria from carrying out projects in Cameroon for two years because of its failure to complete the 72-km Esse-Soa road construction worth 36 billion FCFA ($60.5m);

10 Oct 2019 Dakar (Senegal) Agence Ecofin. Petroleum minister Mouhamadou Makhtar Cisse announces that Senegal has postponed to 4 November the launch of an oil licensing round;

10 Oct 2019 Dakar (Senegal) RFI. Interior minister Aly Ngouille Ndiaye announces that only citizens from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will be allowed into Senegal visa-free;

10 Oct 2019 Luanda (Angola) IOL.Italy-based oil company ENI CEO Claudi Descalzi says that the Agogo1 well in offshore Angola will begin production in December;

10 Oct 2019 Lagos (Nigeria) Punch. Attorney-general Abubakar Malami says the government is seeking $64 billion from oil companies after regulations stipulate the government can re-visit revenue-sharing deals if the oil price exceeds $20 per barrel;

10 Oct 2019 Gaborone (Botswana) Journal du Cameroun. President Mokgweetsi Masisi refuses to meet for a presidential debate on 11 October reportedly due to pre-arranged government business;

10 Oct 2019 Rabat (Morocco) Reuters. King Mohammed VI approves prime minister Saad Dine El Otmani’s new list of ministers for his cabinet;

10 Oct 2019 Maputo (Mozambique) WorldOil. United States-based oil company ExxonMobil awards three contracts worth $13 billion to build an LNG plant in northern Mozambique;

10 Oct 2019 Lusaka (Zambia) Lusaka Times. Finance minister Bwalya Ng’andu says the government owes mining companies $215m in tax refunds as of 30 June;

10 Oct 2019 Kampala (Uganda) Daily Monitor. Uganda Bureau of Statistics says that the economy grew 6.5% in 2018/2019 after a rebasing of the GDP;

10 Oct 2019 Johannesburg (South Africa) Citizen. The United States treasury department sanctions the Gupta brothers – Ajay, Atul and Rajesh – and Salim Essa, for misappropriation of state assets;

10 Oct 2019 Johannesburg (South Africa) Business Day. President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government will not sell power stations, despite backing the proposals of finance minister Tito Mboweni who suggested power station auctions;

10 Oct 2019 Algiers (Algeria) Reuters. The World Bank says Algeria will grow at 1.3% in 2019, down from 1.5% in 2018;

10 Oct 2019 Kampala (Uganda) BBC. Ethics and integrity minister Simon Lokodo says that the government will re-introduce an anti-homosexual law that recommends the death penalty for homosexuality;

10 Oct 2019 Kinshasa (DRC) Reuters. The World Health Organisation says the Ebola epidemic is confined to a small rural area but militias and moving people make it hard to eradicate;

10 Oct 2019 Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) Reuters. The Bank of Tanzania (central bank) says that gold exports rose 25.1% year-on-year in August due to higher output;

9 Oct 2019 New York (United States) Jeune Afrique. United States ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft criticises the Malian government for its lack of progress in implementing resolutions from the 2015 peace accord;

9 Oct 2019 Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire) Agence Ecofin. Cote d’Ivoire-based banking and insurance company NSIA says Banque Nationale du Canada has not officially informed it of its desire to sell its 22.07% stake in NSIA;

9 Oct 2019 Bamako (Mali) Agence Ecofin. The Assemblée Nationale votes to amend the 2019 budget law, to reduce the national budget by $557m;

9 Oct 2019 Tunis (Tunisia) Reuters. Preliminary results show that moderate Islamist party Ennahda has won 52 of 217 seats and will have to form a coalition to govern;

9 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) The Punch. The federal government may revoke  the licences of eight power distribution companies over breaches of provisions of the Electricity Power Sector Reform Act in July;

9 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) The Punch. Federal government estimates NGN8.155 trillion ($22.83 bilion) expected revenue in the 2020 budget;

9 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) BusinessDay. Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) estimates that the planned 35% reduction in charges will save shippers NGN480 billion ($1.34 billion) annually;

9 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) Leadership. Federal government proposes establishment of ten national parks to help reduce the impact of emissions;

9 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) The Punch. Federal government plans to service debt with NGN2.45 trillion ($2.86 billion) in 2020;

9 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) The Guardian (Nigeria). President Muhammadu Buhari presents NGN10.72 trillion ($30.01 billion) 2020 budget to the National Assembly;

9 Oct 2019 Accra (Ghana) Forbes. Local oil company Springfield Exploration and Production Ltd spuds the Afina-1x well in the West Cape Three Points Block 2 in offshore Ghana;

9 Oct 2019 Cairo (Egypt) Reuters. The World Bank forecasts Egypt’s economy to grow 5.8% in 2019, lower than the 5.9% government target;

9 Oct 2019 Luanda (Angola) MacauHub. The Instituto de Gestão de Activos e Participações do Estado says that 55 state-owned companies lost a combined $173m in 2018;

9 Oct 2019 Rabat (Morocco) Morocco World News. Economy minister Mohamed Benchaaboun says the economy will grow 2.9% in 2019, lower than the previously forecast 3.2%;

9 Oct 2019 Lusaka (Zambia) IOL. Milingo Lungu, the provisional liquidator of Konkola Copper Mines, which the government is attempting to liquidate from United Kingdom-based mining company Vedanta Resources, shuts down the smelter earlier than scheduled for annual maintenance;

9 Oct 2019 Pretoria (South Africa) Business Day. President Cyril Ramaphosa backs the economic reform document of finance minister Tito Mboweni despite criticisms from the ruling African National Congress and alliance partners;

9 Oct 2019 Nairobi (Kenya) Bloomberg. National assembly majority leader Aden Duale says that legislators approved a $86 billion debt limit for Kenya;

9 Oct 2019 Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Bloomberg. Ethiopian Communications Authority director-general Balcha Reba says that Ethiopia may give up majority control of its telecommunications monopoly once it has sold 49% of the company;

9 Oct 2019 Tunis (Tunisia) Al Jazeera. A Tunisian appeals court frees presidential candidate Nabil Karoui from prison before the second-round run off election on 13 October;

9 Oct 2019 (Africa) Reuters. The World Bank cuts its growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa to 2.6% in 2019, 3.1% in 2020 and 3.2% in 2021, down 0.2% for a previous forecast for 2019;

8 Oct 2019 Maputo (Mozambique) AFP. National police commander Bernardino Rafael admits that four police officers were involved in the murder of election observer Anastacio Matavele;

8 Oct 2019 Maputo (Mozambique) Reuters. United States-based oil company ExxonMobil says it will invest more than $500m in the initial construction phase of its LNG project;

8 Oct 2019 Accra (Ghana) The Africa Report. Ghana’s 2018 gold output rises to 4.8 million ounces, making it the largest gold producer in Africa;

8 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) Al Jazeera. President Muhammadu Buhari presents a $33.8 billion budget for 2020, the largest budget ever presented in Nigeria;

8 Oct 2019 Abuja (Nigeria) The Guardian (Nigeria). Oxfam reveals that 94 million Nigerians currently live below the poverty line;

8 Oct 2019 Lagos (Nigeria) ThisDay. Federal government will demolish the old Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) terminal in Ikeja (Lagos State) as new terminal begins operation in December;

8 Oct 2019 Luanda (Angola) MacauHub. A presidential order formalises a public tender for the concession of the Luanda Port Multipurpose Terminal;

8 Oct 2019 Khartoum (Sudan) Reuters. Finance minister Ibrahim Elbadawi says Sudan has received half of the promised $3 billion aid from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates;

8 Oct 2019 Kinshasa (DRC) Mining Weekly. Canada-based Ivanhoe Mines has appointed Mark Farren as CEO of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper mine;

8 Oct 2019 Bamako (Mali) Reuters. Terrorist group Al Qaeda claims responsibility for attacks on two army bases in Mali last week;

8 Oct 2019 Gaborone (Botswana) CNBC Africa. Finance minister deputy-secretary Kelapile Ndobano says the economy will grow 4.3% in 2019 and 4.6% in 2020;

8 Oct 2019 Kampala (Uganda) BBC. Police cancel a concert of opposition politican Robert Kyagulanyi (also known as Bobi Wine) due to a lack of security;

8 Oct 2019 Lusaka (Zambia) Water Power Magazine. The Rural Electrification Authority announces the completion of an $8.6m mini-hydropower station in North West Province;

8 Oct 2019 Rabat (Morocco) Xinhua. The Moroccan Tourism Observatory says that 9.3 million tourists visited Morocco in the first eight months of 2019, up 6.4% year-on-year;

8 Oct 2019 Harare (Zimbabwe) National Post. The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority increases the average electricity tariff by 320% to improve power supply;

8 Oct 2019 Antananarivo (Madagascar) Global Construction Review. France-based engineering company Colas, along with Norway-based hydropower company SN Power, and local firm Jovena plan to develop the 120 megawatt Volobe hydropower plant on the Ivondro River;

8 Oct 2019 The Hague (Netherlands) RFI. Lawyers for former president Laurent Gbabgo have requested that the International Criminal Court (ICC) remove his jail release conditions, which they claim violate his civil and political rights;

8 Oct 2019 Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire) Agence Ecofin. Côte d’Ivoire will receive a $147m loan of from the International Development Association (IDA) for the implementation of water and sanitation projects

8 Oct 2019 Conakry (Guinea) Aminata.com. The Front Nationale pour La Defense de la Constitution has called for a national protest on 14 October against President Alpha Conde’s plan to modify the constitution;

7 Oct 2019 Bamako (Mali) RFI. Key opposition parties and civil society groups boycott national inclusive dialogue as it kicks off in Mali;

7 Oct 2019 Maputo (Mozambique) Reuters. United States-based oil company ExxonMobil says it will not take a final investment decision on its $30 billion LNG plant on 8 October, despite earlier reports;

7 Oct 2019 Xai-Xai (Mozambique) eNCA. Unidentified gunmen reported to be part of the riot police unit kill Anastacio Mtavele, the head of a local election observation mission, in Gaza Province;

7 Oct 2019 Harare (Zimbabwe) Reuters. A treasury document shows that the economy will contract by 6% in 2019 due to drought and poor electricity generation, but is forecast to rebound in 2020;

7 Oct 2019 Kampala (Uganda) IOL. The Bank of Uganda (central bank) cuts its key lending rate from 10% to 9% to help economic growth;

7 Oct 2019 Kampala (Uganda) Reuters. State-owned airline Uganda Airlines receives two airplanes from Canada-based manufacturer Bombardier, doubling its fleet;

7 Oct 2019 Nairobi (Kenya) Electrek. Kenya-based Stanbic Bank announces it raised $41.45m in its first green bond, which will be used to build climate-resilient student accommodation in Nairobi;

7 Oct 2019 Kigali (Rwanda) Reuters. Mobile telephone maker Mara Group launches its first made-in-Africa smartphones;

7 Oct 2019 Lagos (Nigeria) The Punch. The BUA Group protests against the decommissioning of its BUA Ports and Terminal in Port Harcourt (Rivers State), stating that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) did not follow due process in decommissioning the jetty.

7 Oct 2019 Cairo (Egypt) France24. The irrigation ministry calls for active United States involvement in negotiations with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD);

7 Oct 2019 Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) BBC. President Sahle-Work Zewde says that two private firms will be given telecommunication licences by the end of July 2020;

7 Oct 2019 Rabat (Morocco) Morocco World News. The economy and finance ministry says that the country has a MAD21.8 billion ($2.2 billion) budget deficit as of June 2019;

7 Oct 2019 Rabat (Morocco) North Africa Post. United States-based ratings agency S&P Global Ratings upgrades Morocco’s economic outlook from negative to stable due to continuing fiscal consolidation;

7 Oct 2019 Rabat (Morocco) Reuters. The Office des Changes (foreign exchange regulator) says that the trade deficit increased by 2.4% year-on-year to $14.5 billion in the first eight months of 2019;

7 Oct 2019 Windhoek (Namibia) Xinhua. Deputy prime minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah signs a memorandum of understanding with Guinea to cooperate in the energy sector;

7 Oct 2019 Kinshasa (DRC) MiningMX. The government says the International Monetary Fund may renew its financial support within six months;

7 Oct 2019 Harare (Zimbabwe) EWN. The Zimbabwe Energy Regulation Authority raises petrol prices by 25%;

7 Oct 2019 Dakar (Senegal) Agence Ecofin. The European Union will allocate $30m to the Senegalese government to fund sustainable development projects;

7 Oct 2019 Conakry (Guinea) Reuters. Australia-based mining company Fortescue Metals Group confirms it has submitted a bid to develop two blocks in the Simandou iron ore deposit.