The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, has said that Central Africa needs strict public spending, economic diversification and more regional trade to bolster growth that has been hindered by falling oil prices and security threats. Lagarde who declared this during a regional tour in Cameroon on Friday noted that growth in the resource-rich Central...

Due to off-season rains, Mali’s Compagnie malienne pour le développement du textile (CMDT) said announced it was suspending cotton-ginning in most producing regions. “Since we cannot harvest rain-soaked cotton, we must let it dry before harvesting and this will slow down ginning”, Abdoulaye Dolo, CMDT’s number two, said at the national radio. Executives did not say how long the pause...

The Ivorian subsidiary of Cimenteries d'Afrique (CIMAF) is going to expand its assets in the countries by building a new production unit in San Pedro. This was announced on Thursday 7, 2016 by Emmanuel Essis Esmelle, director general of Centre de Promotion des Investissements en Côte d’Ivoire (CEPICI). For a cost FCFA35 billion, the new infrastructure will boost the group’s annual...

China’s Dongfang Electric Corporation (CDEC) and Shanghi Electric will build in Egypt, two charcoal-powered plants that have a total capacity of 4,000 MW. The Minister of Power, Mohamed Shaker, announced last Wednesday, the signing of the construction agreements for these plants. CDEC will build a 1,980 MW plant and Shanghi Electric a 2,400 MW plant. The construction of these...

The Consumers association of Malawi requested from the national court, an injunction regarding the decision of Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) and Electricity Supply Corpporation of Malawi (Escom), to increase, for the second time in two months, the tariffs of electricity. Cama’s lawyers asked the court to suspend the decision until it is reviewed. “We are seeking an injunction...

The renowned investor George Soros says the situation in 2016 is extremely similar to that in 2008 when the last economic crisis occurred. This time however, the crisis may not be due to the American subprime but rather to the current economic struggle that China faces. “Unfortunately, China has a major adjustment problem. It has many decisions to take and could very well transfer its...

Bank of Tanzania governor, Prof Benno Ndulu, on January 7, said the Tanzania’s economy should grow by 7% in 2016 and sustain this rate over the next years due to the improved performances of the industrial sector which compensated for the drop in the prices of commodities. “In spite of the current inflation Tanzania and most East African countries experience, the country will keep recording...

In France and Europe, African diasporas are about to benefit from four new African TV channels. These are Senegal’s Sen TV, Cameroon’s Equinoxe TV, B-One from DR Congo and Gospel Music TV, the brand channel which offers American, urban, traditional and modern gospel music. These channels are available on the Bouquet African Max broadcasted on Orange’s TV. The Bouquet Africain Max is edited...

Bowleven in its operation update on the Bomono Permit, onshore Cameroon, announced that the extended flow testing program at Moambe and Zingana has been completed. The company revealed that the result of the program till date, continue to support plans for the first supply of about 5 to 6 Mmscfd of gas for the generation of power as stipulated in a development...

Frontier Resources International (FRI) in its update on Thursday announced that the Zambian Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water Development has renewed the Block 34 exploration licence for an additional three years. According to the company, a four year exploration licence was granted on 25 March 2011 over Block 34. On 8 January 2015, the company filed for an extension to the...