Zambia’s currency, the Kwacha, surged 1.3% on Wednesday March 30, 2016 traded at $11.1 after Mopani Copper Mines’s parent company, Glencore Plc, announced it will invest $1.1 billion to rehabilitate three of its mines. The Swiss miner thus scaled up $150 million the $950 million investment it announced in October 2015. The statement announced a new offer for more...

In Tunisia, the High Independent Audiovisual Communication Authority (HAICA) fined MFM Radio with 50,000 dinars ($24,853). The private media was sanctioned for illegally airing its programs in Sousse. The communication authority backed its decision saying MFM’s licence does not cover Mahdia. “By continuing airing in Sousse, MFM has been categorized as a station with no authorization to...

Zambia will add 420 MW to its grid this year, according to its National Development Agency. The additional capacities will come from a 300M MW coal-fired power plant and a 120 MW hydroelectric plant. “The 300 MW from the Maamba Collieries Coal fired Power Project will be made available in mid-year 2016,” said Partick Chisanga, director of Zambia Development Agency. “The idea is to have a...

In Nigeria, the power crisis, be it electricity’s or oil’s, could lead banks to bankrupcy. This is, according to Vanguard, the concern of Adeola Adenikinju, university professor and director of Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Laws (CPEEL). “If nothing is done there is that possibility of banks going bankrupt. Some of the banks are exposed to the energy sector, oil sector and...

Mali’s Ministry of Mines announced on Tuesday that the Morila gold mine will close in 2019, six years later than initially planned, as its reserves prove greater than anticipated. Morila which is owned by Rangold Resources, AngloGold Ashanti and Mali’s government, produced since its opening in 2000, 209 tons of gold. “The remaining reserves were larger than we thought. Research is under...

Gabon’s Minister of interior, decentralization, security and public hygiene, Pacôme Moubelet-Boubeya, received on March 29, 2016, Helmut Kulitz, head of European Union’s (EU) delegation to Gabon who came to reiterate the availability of his institution, to assist the country through the elections this year. Kulitz told Mr. Moubelet-Boubeya that the EU was not trying to interfere in...

“Communication across cultures”. This is the theme of the coming World Public Relations Forum which will take place in Toronto, Canada, from May 29 to May 31, 2016. A session on communication trends in Africa has been planned for the event. Hosting the session is South African public relations expert and principal consultant with VMA Group Global, Daniel Munslow. VMA Group Global is a...

Revenues and profit of Nairobi Securities Exchange dwindled in 2015 as volume of transactions fell due to newly introduced 10% tax on trade and rising interest rates which drove investors toward products with fixed returns. In this context, the firm plans to diversify its sources of revenues and is currently working on a possibility for Kenyan investors to invest in three other markets: South...

Algerian minister for post and ICT, Iman Houda Feraoun, announced on March 28, 2016, new submarine fiber optic cable would be operational in February 2017. This cable goes from Oran to Valencia, Spain, Algérie Presse Service (APS) reported. The infrastructure will boost internet in Algeria, which is already connected to Italy and France through the Algiers-Palma and Annaba-Marseille fiber optic...

In July 2016, Egypt will pay back $1.8 billion it owes its creditors from Qatar and Paris Club, governor of Central Bank, Tarek Amer, announced on March 27. “We will pay back $800 million we owe Paris Club and billion dollars to Qatar in July,” he told a local news channel. “We will pay bay back on time independently of pressure on our foreign currency reserves,” Amer added....