During a roundtable organized for its twenty-fifth anniversary, the Group of Experts and Scientists (GESC) warned of the danger faced by Malagasy lands in view of foreign investors’ appetite for land.  "The reason for this meeting is our observation that Malagasies would eventually end up stateless on their own land, if they continue to sell land deliberately to foreigners. This is...

France will disburse over €275 million ($339.4 million) to support Benin government action plan (PAG). This was revealed yesterday March 5, by France’s president Emmanuel Macron during a press briefing.  Following the visit of Benin’s President, Patrice Talon, to his French counterpart, five sectors have been selected to benefit from this funding. They are namely the health,...

The South African government accused Tiger Brands, the giant food supplier, of being responsible for the listeriosis outbreak that hit the country in January 2017. The symptoms of this Listeria-caused disease are notably fever, nausea and muscle pain. It mainly affects weak persons such as elderly people and pregnant women.     According to data from WHO, this pandemic...

 “Due to frauds in the electricity sector which creates a shortfall of about CFA40 billion ($74.8 million) every year in the country’s revenues, the Ivorian power utility service (CIE) has set 400, 000 smart meters, to date”. The statement was made by CIE’s secretary general, Emmanuel Kouadio.  He also announced that this operation to modernize the national grid’s...

World Bank has just approved a $375 million loan from the International Development Association (IDA) to support Ethiopia’s national electrification program.  “Through this program, we hope to facilitate the provision of electricity services to all Ethiopians nationwide by 2025.  This means that children will be able to study at night, health facilities will be able...

  During the Paris international agricultural show (held from Feb 24 to March 4, 2018) Ndeye Coura Mbaye Diop, coordinator of the Inclusive and Sustainable Agribusiness Development Project in Senegal (PDIDAS) advocated for the security of land tenure. This was reported by le Soleil. “The security of land tenure is one of the prerequisites to attract local and international investors....

The Moroccan banking group Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) increased its share in the capital of Maroc Traitement des Transactions (M2T) by concluding a purchase agreement with the investment firm, AM Invest. The amount of the transaction was not specified but the annual financial statements show that the BCP’s 54.7% share in 2016 increased to 63.7% on December 31, 2017. According to the...

In Senegal, the average borrowing rate on loans granted by banks for housing-related expenses reached 8.69% at the end of January 2018. Compared to that of December 2017 which was just 6.4%, this is an increase of 2.21%. This rise is puzzling because in December 2017, the country had the lowest rate on housing loans within WAEMU and in just one month, it has become the country with the highest...

In 2017, Tunisia’s public debt increased to 69.9% of GDP, the finance ministry revealed on Saturday, March 3. According to the statement relayed by Xinhua, the debt stood at TND68, 073.7 million (about $28, 378.2 million) in 2017. This figure, which reflects a deterioration in the country’s public finance situation, represents a significant increase compared to 2016 when the...

Egypt’s foreign exchange reserves reached $42.524 billion at the end of February 2018 compared to $38.209 billion the previous month. According to the country’s central bank, this is the highest in the country's modern history and the foreign exchange reserves increased since the country signed in 2016, a 3-years extended fund facility (EFF) agreement worth $12 billion with...