Dear Friends,

Your latest Africa Briefing is here for you. Have a great one and please share far and wide!

• Algeria.  Russian state media reported that Algeria and Russia will hold joint naval exercises in the western Mediterranean. The report didn’t disclose precise dates, though Russia’s Admiral Grigorovich frigate has already arrived in Algiers (Bloomberg). 

• Amini. Salesforce Ventures and Female Founders Fund have backed Kenya-based climate-tech startup Amini, which seeks to bridge the environmental data gap in Africa (TechCrunch). 

• De-Dollarization. The Bank of China is pushing Zambia to increase trade using the Chinese yuan. The move would be the latest shift in the de-dollarization trend as China challenges the greenback's dominance. Note: Zambia is Africa's second-largest copper producer, and China is the world's largest copper consumer (Market Insider). 

• Guinea-Bissau. President Umaro Sissoco Embalo dissolved the opposition-dominated parliament days after an “attempted coup” by "certain political interests within the State apparatus" (Reuters).

• Kenya. The International Criminal Court's Deputy Chief Prosecutor Nazhat Shameen Khan said she was ending investigations into the post-election violence in Kenya. The decision ended a 13-year legal saga which involved senior Kenyan politicians. In 2010, the Hague-based tribunal started probing post-election fighting in the country where prosecutors said 1 300 people died and some 600 000 others were left homeless. The suspects included former and current Kenyan Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto (RFI). 

• Niger. The country scrapped its military partnership with the European Union, which had been helping it fight against jihadists. Instead, the country wants closer military cooperation with Russia (The Economist).  

• Nigeria. An inquiry was called after a drone attack by Nigeria’s military killed at least 85 civilians (New York Times). 

• South African Recession. The Southern African giant’s economy contracted as its minerals and manufacturing sectors were dragged down by power cuts and failing railways — both state-owned sectors (Reuters).

Context: Considering its COP28 season, this week’s Graphic gives a rundown of Africa’s clean tech ecosystem across various sectors. Africa is rich in green minerals, but can it compete in green technologies? 

This weekend the African Union will host its Sixth Congress of African Economists in Lusaka, Zambia (African Union). This year’s theme, “Financing Africa’s Development Beyond Crisis”, offers Africa’s leading economists and financiers the opportunity to discuss the continent’s perspectives on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, and climate change. 

Meanwhile, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina boldly stated that “Africa has no reason to be poor” if the continent were to manage its natural resources well. In a lecture, Adesina said “We have US$6.2 trillion in natural resources, so how in the world are we still poor? We simply need to pull up our socks, stamp out corruption, and manage our resources in the interest of our countries and our people.” (Devex). 

On the opposite side of the continent in East Africa, a Regional Court threw out a legal challenge to a multi-billion dollar oil pipeline project in Tanzania and Uganda that environmental and human rights campaigners have condemned. The East African Court of Justice ruled it did not have the jurisdiction to hear the challenge by several civil society groups because it was filed too late. The pipeline is part of a US$10bn project led by French energy giant TotalEnergies to develop Ugandan oilfields and ship the crude to Tanzania for export (The East African).

Finally, South Africa is pursuing a multimillion-dollar deal with a Russian bank. Investigative journalist Susan Comrie reports that the country’s state-owned Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation is considering a bid by Russian private banking firm Gazprombank to invest at least US$200 million in a refinery, despite the oil company’s board and committee voicing concerns about the partnership’s suitability. South Africa’s Reserve Bank warned that “the possible imposition of secondary sanctions on South Africa … could lead to financial instability in South Africa” and “the South African financial system will not be able to function if it is not able to make international payments in USD.” (amaBhungane). 

Deals such as this exemplify actions of the ruling African National Congress that hold the country back from its potential. The weak economy will not help the campaign of Cyril Ramaphosa, the leader of the ANC, to be re-elected as president of South Africa next year. Polls suggest that support for the ANC will fall below 50% for the first time since the end of apartheid. Such a result would probably force the ANC to form a coalition government with opposition parties. 

COP28 is in full swing and by the close of the first day, the plenary had formalised a loss and damage fund — a boon for the continent (The Guardian). South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, meanwhile invited more countries to support the country's Just Energy Transition and efforts to address climate change impacts on developing economies. Last Sunday, Ramaphosa presented the long-awaited Just Energy Transition Implementation Plan to UN Secretary-General António Guterres at COP. 

News24 reminds us that the UK, US, Germany, France and EU pledged an initial US$8.5bn to support South Africa's climate commitments at COP26 in Glasgow two years ago. Since then, Denmark and the Netherlands joined the International Partners Group, bringing the value of the Just Energy Transition Partnership to US$9.3bn. 

Meanwhile, in Kenya and Tanzania, floods and landslides related to the El Niño climate pattern, are causing unusually heavy rains in the region. Some 300 people have died.

A trial against Zambia's former first lady Esther Lungu, the wife of ex-President Edgar Lungu, has begun in Lusaka. She has been charged with the theft of three vehicles, a title for a property in Lusaka and possession of US$400 000 alleged to be proceeds of crime (BBC). 

Next week Egypt will hold a presidential election. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is seeking a third term, despite promising otherwise in 2018. He is expected to win since he controls almost all state institutions. 

Jean Kaseya, the Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told reporters that climate change is the biggest threat to human health in Africa. It will, as he predicts, supercharge some infectious diseases and increase the non-communicable disease burden of state healthcare systems. Since the start of this year, Kaseya said Africa has faced 158 disease outbreaks (Reuters).  

Another two attempted coups over the last two weeks; with one in Sierra Leone and the other in Guinea-Bissau. Starting with the latter, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo dissolved an opposition-dominated parliament on Monday and said legislative elections would be set without specifying a date. Clashes between two army factions that broke out in the capital on Thursday night and continued on Friday were an attempted coup, Embalo said (Africa News). The incident in Guinea-Bissau follows a failed coup attempt in Sierra Leone on Nov. 26, the second in five months and during which 2,000 prisoners escaped (Al Jazeera). 

In the Horn of Africa, Somalia welcomed last Friday’s decision by the UN Security Council to fully lift an arms embargo on the government, while maintaining a ban on sales to the country's Islamist militants. The decision maintained the embargo on supplying weapons to the Islamist Al-Shabaab and other rebel groups (News24).

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) put Elon Musk’s internet service, Starlink, and distributors of its products in SA on notice. In a statement in Tuesday’s Government Gazette, South Africa’s communications watchdog said Starlink was not licensed to operate in the country. It added that it had found that some entities were illegally distributing Starlink products in SA (BusinessDay).