Over the past year, oil suppliers active in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recorded losses and shortfalls of $31.5 million, down from $288.6 million in 2023 (-89%). Daniel Mukoko Samba, Minister of the National Economy, disclosed the figures on May 6, 2025. This gap is bridged by subsidies.

Without providing specific figures, Calixte Ahokpossi, mission chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), confirmed Samba’s report: “We found that losses and revenue shortfalls have decreased significantly.” Earlier this month, the IMF began the first review of its new program with the DRC.

This sharp decline contrasts with the IMF’s January 2025 report, which estimated deficits of $77 million for the first half of 2024-more than double the annual total now announced by Daniel Mukoko Samba. According to the latest certified figures, shortfalls amounted to $16 million in the first half and $15.52 million in the second half of 2024.

While Congolese authorities have not explained this discrepancy yet, the IMF report notes that the government has pledged “to strengthen transparency in the calculation and certification of losses and shortfalls due to oil companies, by improving the operational capacities of the Strategic Products Price Regulation Committee, set up in February 2023, and by involving all the ministries concerned”. This suggests earlier assessments may have been inaccurate.

Planned improvements include revising methods for calculating revenue losses, rigorously monitoring key parameters influencing petroleum product pricing, and ending the cumulative remuneration of oil logistics companies in the tariff structure by eliminating the mutualization of their operating costs.

Roadmap

These measures are part of a roadmap adopted in November 2023, following a May 2023 audit on the price structure and an IMF technical assistance mission in July 2023. In September 2024, the government launched molecular tagging in the eastern zone to prevent subsidized fuel diversion to ineligible uses. The decision to exclude the mining sector from diesel subsidies in the southern zone also aligns with this reform effort.

The IMF’s July 2024 report acknowledged that the roadmap helped “contain the accumulation of liabilities to oil companies, which were reduced from $545 million to $122 million in 2023.” The institution encourages continued efforts to reduce revenue shortfalls. However, subsidies could rise again in 2025 due to a 13% drop in pump prices, which has increased domestic consumption of finished petroleum products to nearly 50%.

This article was initially published in French by Pierre Mukoko and Boaz Kabeya (intern)

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho

Africa Global Logistics (AGL) announced an investment of CFA4 billion to expand its logistics hub in Kribi, Cameroon. The goal is to keep pace with rising container traffic at the city’s deep-sea port.

Officially opened on June 8, 2022, the Kribi Logistics Hub is now entering its second phase of development. This new stage, expected to wrap up by the end of July 2025, includes 10,000 square meters of new paved yard space and a brand-new 3,000-square-meter warehouse. The extension alone carries a price tag of about CFA3 billion.

AGL Cameroon’s managing director, Thibaut Lamé, shared these updates on May 8, 2025, during a ceremony to mark the commissioning of 10 new container trucks. These vehicles, worth about CFA1 billion, are part of the total CFA4 billion investment package and are meant to meet the growing logistics demand triggered by the launch of Kribi Port’s second container terminal.

The expansion of the Kribi Logistics Hub aligns with the increase in port activity tied to the new terminal. Operated by Kribi Conteneurs Terminal (KCT), a company in which AGL is a key shareholder, the second terminal is set to significantly boost capacity. According to port officials, Kribi’s container handling capacity is expected to jump from 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year to nearly one million TEUs.

To help manage that growth, AGL is paving another 10,000 square meters of yard space in this second phase. That is on top of the 7,700 square meters already completed in the first phase. A third round of expansion is already planned for 2026, which will add similar surface area and bring the total container yard to 2.7 hectares.

The third phase will also include 9,000 square meters of new warehouses. These will be added to the 3,000 square meters under construction now and the 6,000 square meters built during phase one. According to Thibaut Lamé, the new warehouse space will allow AGL to handle a wider range of goods, including rubber and sawn wood, in addition to processed cotton and cocoa, which the Kribi hub began with.

On May 8, 2025, the Ministry of Transport, Communication Routes and Opening-up issued an official letter listing 240 unapproved river and lake ports slated for immediate closure. The document, referenced N° VPM/MTVCD/CAB/563/2025 and signed by Deputy Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba, was addressed to the Ministry of the Interior, Security, Decentralization, and Customary Affairs.

The measure aligns with resolutions from the 46ᵉ and 52ᵉ meetings of the Council of Ministers held on August 28 and October 9, 2020, respectively, focusing on regulating the river sector. It also follows Ministerial Letter No. VPM/MTVCD/CAB/458/2024 dated October 15, 2024, concerning the closure of so-called "illegal" ports.

The listed sites span multiple provinces, with the document specifying the names, locations, and in some cases, the owners of the affected infrastructures.

At the 17ᵉ ordinary Council of Ministers meeting on October 11, 2024, President Félix Tshisekedi instructed the government to enhance safety in river and lake navigation after a shipwreck on Lake Kivu. He emphasized combating clandestine ports, supervising boat construction, and strengthening regular technical monitoring by Ministry of Transport experts.

Following this directive, the Ministry had already initiated an operation to close unauthorized ports in response to a series of incidents on the waterways.

Boaz Kabeya (intern)

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), state-owned Lignes Maritimes Congolaises (LMC) is about to add two vessels to its fleet, according to its Board Chairman Lambert Mende Omalanga. The executive announced the move on May 6 in Matadi, after meeting with Kongo Central Governor Grâce Bilolo. 

“I have come to announce to the governor of Kongo Central province, Grâce Bilolo, that we are about to acquire two floating units to improve working conditions for our provincial management,” Omalanga said.

Mende, a former Communications Minister, emphasized that the two ships have been ordered from shipyards in Rotterdam, Netherlands, as part of LMC’s five-year recovery plan (2023–2027). Under the latter, the firm should buy five new vessels and second-hand multipurpose ships, using state funds. 

The five-year plan aims to bolster the state-owned company’s fleet and increase its share of Congolese foreign trade shipping from 0.3% in 2021 to 2% by 2027. This would represent a growth in transported volume from 45,000 tonnes to 395,195 tonnes.

To support this expansion, LMC also plans to develop dry ports in Matadi, Boma, Lufu, and Kinshasa, reinforce storage facilities in Dar es Salaam, and build a dry port in Kolwezi (Lualaba). The company intends to acquire containers to optimize the logistics chain and improve trade flow.

LMC used to have 10 sea-going vessels, but its whole fleet was liquidated two decades ago. The public shipowner was created in 1974 to handle the international maritime transport of Congolese goods.

Lambert Mende also noted that the government has instructed LMC to collect shipping royalties, a measure intended to compensate the company for past losses.

This article was initially published in French by Ronsard Luabeya (intern)

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho

Indian electric motorbike maker Spiro is entering the Cameroonian market. The company wants to promote electric mobility and support local industrial development, according to a May 10 announcement by CEO Kaushik Burman.

Spiro’s plan aligns with Cameroon’s goal of developing a local automotive industry. Under the 2025 finance law, electric vehicles are now exempt from the 12.5% excise tax. In addition, new electric motorbikes, batteries, and charging stations will benefit from a 50% reduction on their taxable value for a 24-month period.

The project will begin in July 2025 with the deployment of 100 electric motorbikes in Douala. Spiro will also set up a network of battery swap stations, with one station every 3 kilometers. The goal is to ease concerns about battery range and reduce operating costs. According to Rahul Gaur, Spiro’s General Manager for West Africa and Cameroon, “users will spend only CFA1,500 to cover 100 kilometers, which is cheaper than fuel-powered bikes.”

In Phase 2, Spiro plans to build a motorbike assembly plant in Cameroon. This facility will help meet user demand and ensure a smooth rollout of services.

The project is expected to create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs. On average, each battery swap station will employ about 3.5 people. Additional jobs will be created at the assembly plant and at future maintenance centers, where local engineers and technicians will be hired to encourage technology transfer.

Spiro’s expansion into Cameroon is part of a broader strategy backed by a CFA29.1 billion loan from Afreximbank, based on an agreement signed on May 17, 2024. The funding will support the development of an automated battery swap network and the rollout of new electric bike models, aimed at making clean mobility more affordable and practical.

The company is already active in Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. With its entry into Cameroon, Spiro is expanding its presence in the CEMAC zone. Founded in 2019, the company reports more than 3 million electric bikes in operation across Africa, with a total of over 341 million kilometers covered.

Cameroon is also seeing local efforts in this space. The start-up Bee plans to invest CFA610 million to introduce Tembo electric motorbikes.

Cameroon officially launched the second container terminal at the Kribi deep-sea port on May 9. The new terminal was inaugurated during a ceremony led by Transport Minister Jean Ernest Ngallé Bibéhé Massena.

According to Patrice Melom, head of the Port Authority of Kribi (PAK), the expansion has allowed the port to triple its handling capacity in just seven years.

When the first terminal opened in March 2018, it could process about 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year. The second terminal now adds a 715-meter-long quay, twice the length of the first, as well as a 30-hectare operational yard, five quay cranes (each with a 65-ton lifting capacity), 15 yard cranes, 25 tractors, and 30 trailers. With this upgrade, the port can now handle more than 1 million TEUs per year.

The new terminal’s modern infrastructure also allows Cameroon to welcome ultra-large vessels. On May 8, the MSC Turkiye, the world’s largest container ship, docked at Kribi. “Kribi is now one of only five ports in sub-Saharan Africa able to host ships of this size,” said Philippe Labonne, president of Africa Global Logistics (AGL).

AGL is the main shareholder in Kribi Conteneurs Terminal (KCT), the Cameroonian company that operates both container terminals. AGL was created after Bolloré Group sold its African transport and logistics assets. KCT is a joint venture that includes French shipping firm CMA CGM and Chinese company China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), which also built the port itself.

The second phase of Kribi’s development not only added the second terminal and yard space, but also extended the port’s protective breakwater by 675 meters. The entire second phase, launched in 2019, cost 400 billion CFA francs. Eximbank of China financed 75% of that through a loan.

The port’s third phase is already in the works. It will include a mineral terminal and a hydrocarbons terminal, with construction scheduled to start in 2027 and 2028 respectively.

According to PAK’s director general, these new facilities will support the export of strategic mineral resources from Cameroon and the wider sub-region, as well as national energy ambitions.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) parliamentarians met in Lomé from May 6 to 9, 2025. They adopted recommendations to lower air ticket prices across West Africa. They urged governments to scrap several taxes starting January 1, 2026, to cut air travel costs.

At the session’s close in Lomé, lawmakers demanded the removal of four taxes: ticket tax, tourism tax, solidarity tax, and foreign travel tax. They also pushed for a 25% cut in passenger service and airport security charges.

Fanta Conté, co-president of the presidium, declared, “It is imperative to act to make air transport accessible and competitive.” 

The parliamentarians aim for a deep reform of air transport taxation. They proposed a regulatory framework to cap taxes and fees, create a regional fund to support airlines, and establish a single West African airspace. This airspace would pool infrastructure and lower operating costs.

The meeting’s data showed ECOWAS taxes and fees are 103% higher than other regions. Security costs exceed global averages by 70%, and government taxes by 47.4%. These surcharges push ticket prices up by 20% on domestic flights, 48.6% on regional routes, and 36.5% on international flights.

Mamadou Sako, co-chairman of ECOWAS Parliament’s joint infrastructure committee, called the issue political. “The facts are in, and the solutions have been identified. What is needed now is a firm and collective will to turn this corner and strengthen regional integration,” Sako said.

The parliamentarians also pleaded for the establishment of a monitoring committee to ensure these measures follow the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.

This article was initially published in French by Esaïe Edoh

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho

A marketing expert by trade, he leverages his skills to support businesses. With a passion for both music and technology, he also developed a platform designed to give artists international visibility.

Congolese marketing specialist and renowned trainer, Gracy Omokoso (photo) is the Chairman and CEO of Streameex, a streaming platform dedicated to live broadcasting of concerts and events in Africa.

Launched in 2021, Streameex aims to bring African artists closer to their audiences through a high-quality streaming experience. The platform also provides event organizers with powerful tools to achieve their goals, enhance their impact, and offer the public unforgettable moments.

Streameex is an initiative of Go Freelance, a communication and digital marketing consulting agency co-founded by Gracy Omokoso. This platform was born from the desire to allow artists to showcase their art on a global scale while offering music lovers an immersive and engaging experience.

Gracy Omokoso graduated from the National Pedagogical University of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he earned a bachelor's degree in marketing in 2015. That same year, he began his professional career at AG Partners, a communication agency, as an advertising manager and digital officer. From 2021 to 2024, he worked as a digital marketing coach at Kadea Academy. Since 2024, he has been working as an independent consultant in this field.

By Melchior Koba,

Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji

In Kumasi, the historic capital of the Ashanti Kingdom in Ghana, traditional buildings stand as living testaments to the cultural legacy of one of West Africa’s most influential peoples. Descendants of a powerful empire founded in the 17th century, the Ashanti have preserved a distinctive architectural style—one that is both functional and symbolic, deeply rooted in the rhythms of the natural world.

Constructed primarily from earthen materials—a mix of clay, water, and plant fibers—Ashanti buildings are notable for their thick, insulating walls, perfectly suited to the tropical climate. Structural elements often incorporate locally sourced wood such as bamboo and palm, while roofs are typically thatched, allowing for natural ventilation and comfortable interior temperatures. This use of sustainable, local materials speaks to an environmental sensibility that predates modern ecological movements.

Homes are traditionally organized around a central courtyard, which serves as the heart of communal life. It is within these open-air spaces that families gather, ceremonies unfold, and daily life is shared—promoting both intimacy and social cohesion.

What truly sets Ashanti architecture apart, however, is its intricate wall decoration. Geometric patterns and, more significantly, adinkra symbols—visual expressions of Ashanti philosophy—adorn the surfaces. These motifs, either carved or painted, convey concepts such as wisdom, harmony, bravery, and spirituality. Each building becomes a visual narrative, a vessel of memory and meaning.

The functions of these structures vary: from homes for extended families to spiritual sanctuaries for traditional priests, royal mausoleums, and palaces.

Today, the Manhyia Palace—residence of the Asantehene, the king of the Ashanti—embodies a modern reinterpretation of this architectural heritage, blending ancient symbolism with contemporary design. It stands, like other historic sites in the region, as a powerful symbol of cultural continuity and pride.

Just over 50 kilometers from Johannesburg, South Africa, lies Maropeng—the visitor center for the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the richest fossil-bearing regions on the planet.

This extraordinary area offers a journey through nearly four million years of human evolution, inviting visitors to reconnect with our shared origins.

The word Maropeng, meaning “returning to the place of origin” in Setswana, captures the spirit of the site. From the moment visitors step inside, they embark on an immersive experience that blends adventure, science, and reflection. The journey begins with a symbolic underground boat ride through the elements—water, fire, air, and earth—echoing the Earth’s formation. It then leads to a vibrant, multimedia exhibition that traces the major milestones in human development—from the earliest hominids to Homo sapiens. Fossils, lifelike reconstructions, interactive exhibits, and displays on DNA, language, tools, and climate change create a compelling, educational experience.

Maropeng is closely linked to some of the most significant discoveries in paleoanthropology. Nearby, in the Sterkfontein Caves, scientists uncovered the famed skull known as "Mrs Ples," an Australopithecus africanus estimated to be 2.5 million years old, as well as “Little Foot,” one of the most complete early hominid skeletons ever found, dating back over 3 million years. In 2015, the neighboring Rising Star caves revealed another groundbreaking find: Homo naledi, a previously unknown human ancestor that sparked worldwide interest and debate.

But Maropeng doesn’t just tell the story of the past. It also engages visitors in thinking about the future. Issues like climate change, biodiversity loss, and human responsibility are woven into the narrative, encouraging each guest to consider their place in the world—and the legacy we are leaving behind.

Today, Maropeng stands as a beacon of educational tourism in southern Africa. Beyond its museum, it offers on-site accommodation, a panoramic-view restaurant, and guided excursions to archaeological hotspots. It is a place where science meets conscience—a powerful reminder that humanity’s roots are African, and that understanding where we come from is essential to shaping where we’re going.