The International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank’s arm for private sector, announced in the past six days, that it would inject $395 million in two projects developed in West Africa. First, the institution will pour $195 million into the expansion of the Tema harbour, 30 km from Accra, Ghana’s capital. It will be IFC’s most significant port investment and commitment in an...

After a 40-year break, German car maker Volkswagen will restart assembling cars in Kenya. The Wolfsburg-based group announced on September 7 that it would establish an assembly unit in Thika (40 km North-East of Nairobi), to serve all East African nations. The news came through the Managing Director of Volkswagen South Africa, Thomas Schafer, after meeting with Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s...

In Uganda, the head of the State House Land Department, Gertrude Njuba, proposed amendments to the land Act which will tighten laws against land grabbing. Beyond simplifying expropriation procedure for stat use, the government of Uganda wishes for control of laws and land agents to be strict in order to discourage land grabbing. “In some countries like Tanzania, land belongs to the state, but...

The Central Bank of Ghana has approved interest payments for money deposits related to virtual wallet service, offered by telecom operators. Subsequently, MTN Ghana quickly relayed the news to its Mobile Money users. Users concerned are the ones that deposited cash between January 1 and June 30, 2016. Interests will be paid in two tranches for each of the first two quarters. Those for the first...

Mining firm Kodal has expanded its zone of exploration in Mali, by acquiring the Kolassokoro permit, which is known to be lithium-rich. The permit is adjacent to the Madina project, provides the firm a 500 km² area with high-quality lithium. The move is part of Kodal’s strategy to identify profitable opportunities for minerals of value in West Africa. “Lithium has become a huge investment...

In Gabon, the candidate to the presidential elections and rival of Ali Bongo, Jean Ping, finally addressed the Constitutional court of Gabon rejecting official results that proclaimed Bongo winner. Ping up till now refused to resort to legal ways, estimating that the Court was already in favor of Bongo. He however changed his mind accepting the recommendation of the International Community....

In Kenya, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has demanded for the submissions of expressions of interest to evaluate and determine the credibility of the South Lokichar field development plan (FDP) presented by Tullow Oil & its JV partners at the end of 2015. The ministry through the World Bank funded Kenya Petroleum Technical assistance project also plan to improve its capacity to assess...

The government of Japan will provide to Senegal a concessional loan of FCFA41 billion to support its Universal Health Cover program (CMU) lanched in 2013. This was revealed following a meeting between Senegal’s Presdient Macky Sall and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference for African Development VI (TICAV VI) held in Nairobi, last month....

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will lend Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Niger and Mauritania, a total of $575.2 million to support development projects in each of these countries. The news was reported by l’Agence de presse africaine (APA). Senegal will receive $378.6 million for a regional project to connect the Dakar train to the airport and for its poverty reduction...

In Gabon, Prime Ministre Daniel Ona Ondo has made public on the 7th August 2016, on TV, a cabinet shuffle that affected three key positions within the goverment. Denise Mekamme, Minister for Higher education and Scientific Research prior to the shuffle, was appointed as the new Minister of Justice of Human Rights, thus replacing Séraphin Moundounga who quit his position. She herself has been...