Ugandan Communications Commission (UCC), in collaboration with local police, conducted on January 20 an anti-telecom fraud operation that resulted in the arrest of 8 people. UCC reported it has also seized over 1,500 SIM cards and 4 SIM Boxes, in the areas of Masanafu, Rubaga division, Kasubi, Clement Hill Road in Central Division and Nakawa market. In Masanafu, Rubaga Division, police found a...

Following the January 9 Islamist attack that killed 89 soldiers in Chinégodar, in Niger, more than 7,000 people fled to Mali and localities near the region, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement. “In Niger, about 5,000 people have fled to the towns of Banibangou and Oualam, where 7,326 Malians are already refugees. In Mali, nearly 1,000 Nigerien refugees, including...

Mobile operator Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, the national telecom market leader, announces it is in talks with the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), for a possible further tariff increase. “The company, together with the other industry players, continues to engage with POTRAZ in an effort to go back to a tariff regime that will ensure continued viability of...

The French Development Agency (AFD) is giving Tunisia €27.3 million (TND85.04 million) to reshape its health sector with digital tools. The loan deal was approved on 15 January 2020 by the House of People's Representatives. According to Tunisia’s Minister of Health, Sonia Besheikh (pictured), the project targets 15 hospitals and activities include the update of ICT systems in the...

Installation of trunk and branch units has commenced; marine operations are scheduled for completion in March 2020 Djibouti Telecom, Somtel, Telkom Kenya and SubCom today announced that Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1 (DARE1) submarine cable system has landed in La Siesta Beach (Djibouti) and the marine installation is underway. In addition to the installation of the trunk, the...

The Central bank of Kenya has approved the acquisition of 100% of Kenyan bank Transnational Bank Plc by Access Bank, Nigeria’s biggest bank in terms of assets. The operation will be effective as from 1 February 2020. The main shareholders of Transnational Bank, Archers and Wilcock Limited (23.75% of shares), Sovereign Trust Limited (23.03%), Duggan Limited (15.53%), Pyramid Trustees Limited...

Old Mutual Alternative Investments, the investment arm of South African financial and insurance group, Old Mutual, has acquired a 20% stake in Seven Uquo Gas, a Nigerian-based oil and gas company. The 20% interest was acquired from LSE-listed Savannah Petroleum and the transaction was carried out through Old Mutual’s African Infrastructure Investment Fund 3. The investment targets in terms of...

The UK-Africa Investment Summit opens today in London with the aim of establishing and strengthening ties between the UK and African countries, as the kingdom leaves the EU on 31 January. British PM Boris Johnson (pictured) says he wants to make sure Brexit will not harm the relations his country has with the Black continent. Several billion dollars worth of deals are expected to be signed...

France, Turkey, the United States, Italy, China, and Russia say they will no longer grant support to the warring parties in Libya. This was during the conference on Libya held on January 19 in Berlin. At the end of this meeting, which was attended by Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Abdel Fattah al-Sissi alongside Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel, the participating countries called for...

Yesterday, in Abuja, the ministers of finance and central banks’ governors of the ECOWAS’ five English-speaking countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and The Gambia), together with Guinea, rejected the ECO - which is supposed to become the single currency used by all ECOWAS member states.  The six members of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) strongly oppose the...