The French courts have seized several properties belonging to the clan of President Denis Sassou Nguesso in the affair known as ill-gotten gains, reports AFP, citing a source close to the case. The judges in charge of the investigation ordered the seizure of three immovable properties in the Paris region: two at Courbevoie and the villa Suzette, a luxurious residence of nearly 500 square metres...

DR Congo is considering taking back from Swiss gold refiner Argor-Heraeus SA, about 3 tons of gold mined from its subsoil, between 2004 and 2005, by an armed group in a gold concession close to the town of Mongbwalu in the Ituri district, Province Orientale. “This issue of 3 tons of gold is a priority for the government which, through the ministries of Mines and Justice, is currently studying...

Angola has just laid the cornerstone for a training centre dedicated to commercial fishing. The infrastructure, of a total cost of USD 98 million will be located in Bela. Its construction will take 36 months, according to the Angolan minister of Fisheries Victoria de Barros Neto. Funded through a credit line granted to Luanda by the Spanish government, this centre will replace another one, built...

SkyPower, one of the world leaders in the development of solar plants, signed an agreement with Djibouti on the installation of solar plants of a global capacity of 200 MW. These plants will be set up in four phases spread over four years. They will have an estimated cost of USD 440 million including social responsibility investments of USD 11 million. These social projects will help improve the...

For the cocoa campaign that begins in Côte d'Ivoire, the farmer price will be FCFA 1,000 the kilogram. This increase of around 20% compared to the farm gate price of the previous season fulfils a promise made by President Alassane Outtara. On the producers' side, it is time to celebrate and all rejoice about this decision which allows them eventually to improve their living standard. "It is...

The Angolan government has postponed the issuance of a €1.5 billion Eurobond due to the deteriorating economic situation in the country, reports Reuters Agency on 30 September, citing a source from the Ministry of Finance. The second largest crude oil producer in Africa, has not set a new date for the issuance, added the same source. The road-show for this operation should have taken...

Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, proceeded on 2 October 2015, to a cabinet reshuffle. Whilst keeping Philémon Yand as his Prime Minister, the head of state laid off eleven ministers. Subsequent substantial portfolio changes as well as new arrivals in the governmental staff are noticeable. Indeed, there is for example the reinstatement of Louis Paul Motazé and Bidoung Nkpatt at the heads of...

The Inspector General of Police Special Task Force On Pipeline Vandalism has arrested no less than 33 suspected vandals and recovered 330,000 litres of PMS, tapped from Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation’s (NNPC) pipelines and loaded into 10 trucks. Commander of the task force, Valentine Olumese, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) disclosed this while handing over the recovered...

China National Petroleum Corporation's (CNPC) Soraz oil refinery in Niger has resumed production after a 45-day shutdown due to a mechanical failure, according to a company spokesman. The refinery, a joint venture between CNPC and the government, has a capacity of 20,000 bo/d and processes oil from the West African country's Agadem field which started production in 2011. "Output has restarted at...

Petrochemicals group Sasol has taken a pause and foresee its stand on the possible resumption of crude oil imports from Iran, after the landmark July 14 agreement, which set the prospect for the lifting of sanctions on the country. Historically, Iran is a major source of crude oil for South Africa. At one stage, it was South Africa’s largest supplier of crude oil. According to Sasol...