Journalist Hassan Hanafi, who joined al-Shabab was executed on April 11, 2016 at the Mogadishu Police Academy in Somalia. He was condemned for his involvement in the murder of at least five Somali journalists between 2007 and 2010. Hassan Hanafi confessed his crimes, according to Abdulahi Hussein, an executive from the military court, cited by French Press Agency (AFP). Hassan Hanafi...

World Bank injected $29.65 million in the Menengai geothermal project, in Kenya. The bank’s arm Climate Investment Fund carried out the transaction. The loan was guaranteed by six financial institutions: African Development, Asian Development Bank, European Reconstruction and Development Bank, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank. “Kenya is...

The Houndé gold mine in Burkina Faso, owned at 90% by Canadian mining company Endeavour, entered construction stage after the firm’s board gave its approval. The firm which started with the licences it had earthworks, said construction works would begin by the end of this month. The company was expected to produce at the Houndé project 190,000oz/yr over a ten-year mine life at a global cost...

In South Africa, Illovo Sugar’s shareholders received a new bid from British firm Associated British Foods (ABF). The new offer outweighs the R20/share offer that the British firm who has a 51% stake in Illovo, and wants to acquire the remaining shares, submitted last February. As share’s price surpassed its offer, ABF was forced to raise it to R25/share. The new offer has already been...

Nigerian Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, confirmed news about Panda bonds mentioned by Reuters last month. He said his country, Africa’s top GDP ranked economy, plans to issue Panda bonds (issued and subscribed in Yuan Renminbi, China’s currency) to plug its budget deficit. “The opportunity now, with the renminbi being a reserve currency, we are looking obviously at the lowest cost of...

Singaporean trader Olam has entered Nigeria’s animal feed industry. The group just announced it has injected about $150 million to develop a hatchery, poultry breeding farms, and two animal feed mills. It should be Nigeria’s biggest animal feed project. The infrastructures will be established in Kaduna and Kwara states. Kaduna will host the hatchery, poultry breeding farms and a feed...

According to World Bank, Sub Saharan Africa will record in 2016 a growth of 3.3%, slightly higher than previous year’s 3%. This is far from 6.8% recorded in 2013 and 2008. “Plunging prices of commodities, oil’s mainly, as well as weak global growth, in emerging economies especially are behind the lackluster performance,” the institution said in its statement. Asides oil producers that...

The Energy and Water Regulatory Authority (EWURA) in its recent publication has decrease the price of petrol and slightly increased that of diesel and kerosene. According to the Director General of EWURA, Felix Ngamlagosi, the retail prices for petrol has reduced by 4.57% while diesel and kerosene increased by 2.02%, and 2.45%, respectively. He stated that compared to the publication released...

The prices of crude oil on Tuesday rose beyond $43 a barrel, its peak level so far in 2016, driven by hopes that oil producers this weekend will arrive at a decision to ease the oversupply and a weak US dollar. Several members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) including non-members such as Russia are meeting in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday to agree on a production...

The declining prices of oil in the global market has been is a blessing to Tanzania, which saved $728.2 million on oil alone in one year. According to data from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) the amount spent on the importation of crude oil reduced by 20.7% at the end of the year. The country imported oil of about $3.525 billion during the year ending January 2015 but it reduced...