<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="544" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/images-1-820x544.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-596528" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/images-1-820x544.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/images-1-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/images-1-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/images-1-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/images-1-1536x1020.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/images-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Meta logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 22, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



PRETORIA, March 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s government has proposed to remove the luxury excise duty on smartphones worth below 2,500 rand ($136.37) from April 1 to support digital adoption for low-income households, the National Treasury said on Wednesday.



Currently, so called ad valorem excise duties on smartphones are charged at a rate of 9%.



&#8220;Government proposes that as of 1 April 2025 this duty rate be applied only to smartphones with a price paid greater than 2,500 rand at the time of export to South Africa,&#8221; treasury said in its budget statement.



This proposal will &#8220;enhance smartphone affordability at the lower end of the price spectrum and support efforts to promote digital inclusion for low-income households,&#8221; it added.



The move comes as South Africa plans a total shutdown of 2G and 3G networks by December 31, 2027 to free up radio waves for faster 4G LTE and 5G networks.



Critics of the plan had argued that phasing 2G and 3G networks risked exacerbating the digital divide as many low-income consumers, particularly those in remote areas, may not afford newer smartphones designed for faster networks.



Communications Minister Solly Malatsi told Reuters last year that the ad valorem excise duties contribute to the high cost of smart devices and that he was in talks with treasury to cut these.



($1 = 18.3330 rand)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)

FILE PHOTO: llustration shows Meta logo

South Africa to remove luxury duty on lower value smartphones

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="390" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Z7OUSBHECZMJVEHQT7G2AZVSQU.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-573028"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South African Rand coins are seen in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/Illustration/File photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African markets were on edge on Wednesday as the finance minister prepared to present a revised annual budget, with local media reports suggesting there was still no agreement between the two largest political parties.



At 0830 GMT the rand traded at 18.3475 against the dollar, down more than 0.7% on Tuesday&#8217;s closing level.



The Johannesburg Stock Exchange&#8217;s Top-40 index was down 0.1% and the benchmark 2030 government bond was marginally weaker.



The budget has been the biggest test so far of South Africa&#8217;s fractious coalition politics.



It was due out three weeks ago but was postponed at the last minute because of disagreements in the coalition over a plan to hike value-added tax by 2 percentage points to 17%.



Local media have reported that the amended budget is likely to propose a smaller VAT increase, in a concession&nbsp;the finance ministry hopes will help it pass.



But it is still not clear&nbsp;if that&nbsp;will work.



The biggest party in the coalition, the African National Congress, needs the support of at least one other big party in parliament&nbsp;to pass the fiscal framework.



All other big parties including the second-biggest in the coalition, the Democratic Alliance, have publicly opposed raising VAT.



Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana&#8217;s budget speech is expected to start around 1200 GMT.



&#8220;Uncertainty reigns as reports indicate no final agreement between the ANC and DA within the (coalition), meaning the budget could still face opposition in parliament,&#8221; Andre Cilliers, currency strategist at TreasuryONE, said.



&#8220;While investors were hoping for a clear fiscal path, speculation suggests the ANC will push ahead regardless, setting up a potential political battle that could impact markets.&#8221;



(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Andrew Heavens)

Z7OUSBHECZMJVEHQT7G2AZVSQU

South African markets on edge before budget showdown

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-596161" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">ACCRA, GHANA &#8211; MARCH 3: Cassiel Ato Forson, Ghana&#8217;s finance minister, speaks during the National Economic Dialogue on March 3, 2025, in Accra, Ghana. The National Economic Dialogue brings together representatives from government, business, and civil society for a dialogue around the theme &#8220;Resetting Ghana: Building the Economy We Want Together&#8221; and takes place ahead of the reading of Ghana&#8217;s national budget in Parliament on March 11. (Photo by Ernest Ankomah/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, March 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Baah Forson said on Tuesday that the West African nation faced significant external debt service costs over the next four years.



&#8220;The next four years we&#8217;ll be made to call upon to pay $8.7 billion representing 10.9% of GDP, with heavy concentration in the year 2027 and 2028,&#8221; Forson told parliament in his first budget speech.



He that Ghana will have to pay $2.5 billion in 2027 and $2.4 billion in 2028.



&#8220;In spite of all these upcoming domestic and external debt service obligations, no buffers were built to cushion this unprecedented debt service burden,&#8221; Forson said.



The West African nation is emerging from its deepest economic crisis in a generation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, higher global interest rates and years of excessive borrowing.



President John Dramani Mahama, who took office in January, has vowed to boost the economy and create jobs. He faces the fallouts of a cost-of-living crisis, an ongoing bailout from the International Monetary Fund and a sovereign debt default in the cocoa and gold-producing nation.



(Reporting by Christian Akorlie; Writing by Sofia Christensen and Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Bate Felix and Tomasz Janowski)

National Economic Dialogue Held In Ghana

Ghana faces significant external debt service, finance minister says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-495905" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Nigeria&#8217;s President Bola Tinubu looks on after his swearing-in ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria May 29, 2023. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, March 11 (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria&#8217;s government has started vetting potential candidates to lead its more than 100 diplomatic missions, with appointments expected &#8220;very soon&#8221;, 18 months after President Bola Tinubu recalled all ambassadors, sources familiar with the matter said.



Nigeria, Africa&#8217;s most populous country and a key Western ally in the fight against Islamist insurgents in West Africa, has operated without ambassadors since September 2023.



The minister of foreign affairs has previously blamed a lack of funds for the delay in naming new diplomats.



A government source told Reuters that the issue &#8220;is being resolved&#8221; and &#8220;that means the appointment will be announced very soon.&#8221;



Nigeria&#8217;s security services were conducting background checks on possible appointees and had started sharing their findings with the relevant agencies within the presidency and legislature, an intelligence official told Reuters.



A spokesperson from the presidency referred questions to the foreign affairs ministry, which declined to comment. The sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak on the matter.



Since coming to power in May 2023, Tinubu has prioritised fixing Nigeria&#8217;s struggling economy, with foreign policy taking a back seat, said a former ambassador who served in Africa and the United States.



The government has this year budgeted 302.4 billion naira ($198.30 million) to run its foreign missions.



The former Nigerian ambassador said he was informed by government officials that the issue of the absence of ambassadors in their countries had come up in discussions between Tinubu and some foreign leaders.



&#8220;Assurance had been given that they will soon be appointed,&#8221; said the former ambassador, who declined to be named.



($1 = 1,525.0000 naira)



(Reporting by Ope Adetayo, additional reporting by Ben Ezeamalu in Lagos; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

FILE PHOTO: Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu looks on after his swearing-in ceremony in Abuja

Nigeria to appoint ambassadors, 18 months after worldwide recall, sources say

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="480" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/6XIG4R3DRFK2ZPWEVWERAVU4PA.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-590617"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The new logo of the Nigeria oil company is seen at the NNPC Mega Gas Station in Abuja, Nigeria August 30, 2022. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LAGOS, March 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s state oil company NNPC Ltd has begun discussions with the Dangote Oil Refinery to extend its contract for supplying crude oil in the naira currency, the company said.



The original six-month agreement, which ends later this month, was implemented in October after local refineries, including the Dangote facility, reported difficulties securing crude supplies.



The initiative aimed to alleviate those supply issues by allowing refineries to purchase crude in naira through NNPC Ltd. Under the existing arrangement, NNPC Ltd says it has supplied 48 million barrels of oil to the Dangote Oil Refinery.



While the initial plan included supplying seven other smaller refineries, only the Dangote refinery ultimately benefited from the agreement, and even it did not receive the initially agreed-upon volumes.



NNPC Ltd said that &#8220;discussions are ongoing towards&#8221; a new contract. The details of the potential new contract, including volume, pricing, and duration, are yet to be disclosed.



(Reporting by Isaac Anyaogu; editing by David Evans)

6XIG4R3DRFK2ZPWEVWERAVU4PA

Nigeria’s NNPC, Dangote Refinery in talks to extend naira-based crude supply deal

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBCYKZR44FM2XJAGL3GJEWP3KA-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-542097" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBCYKZR44FM2XJAGL3GJEWP3KA-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBCYKZR44FM2XJAGL3GJEWP3KA-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBCYKZR44FM2XJAGL3GJEWP3KA-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBCYKZR44FM2XJAGL3GJEWP3KA-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBCYKZR44FM2XJAGL3GJEWP3KA-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBCYKZR44FM2XJAGL3GJEWP3KA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A person enters the JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. New York headquarters in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., June 30, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



March 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;J.P.Morgan on Tuesday downgraded South African equities to &#8220;neutral&#8221; from &#8220;overweight,&#8221; citing concerns over an economic slowdown and the effectiveness of the country&#8217;s policy reforms.



&#8220;While South Africa&#8217;s investment case on reforms remains an attractive point of departure, it is unlikely to result in meaningful (economic) growth that&#8217;s above 2% in the coming two years,&#8221; the brokerage said in a note.



Since the aftermath of the 2008-09 global financial crisis, the government of Africa&#8217;s most industrialised nation has struggled to deliver economic growth rates high enough to make a dent in inequality and unemployment.



In January, South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago told Reuters in an interview that the region&#8217;s economic growth could be close to 2% in 2025.



Last month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said his government would launch a second wave of reforms to try to bolster economic growth, by boosting struggling state companies and investing in infrastructure.



But despite improved power availability in the past year and optimism that the ruling Government of National Unity (GNU) coalition will seek to push through growth-enhancing reforms, the operating environment is expected to remain challenging for many businesses.



&#8220;We expect foreign investors to apply a wait-and-see approach while domestic investors will have to straddle the options of GNU’s imperfect execution of its reform agenda,&#8221; the brokerage said.



Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to cut U.S. financial assistance to South Africa, citing disapproval of its land policy and of its genocide case at the International Court of Justice against Washington&#8217;s ally Israel.



&#8220;Global dynamics resulting in South Africa/U.S. relations being strained by matters involving expropriation, ICJ case and domestic affairs around affirmative action&#8230;create uncertainty around the performance of South Africa&#8217;s domestic assets,&#8221; JPM said.



The brokerage said it prefers Emerging European equities within the Central &amp; Eastern Europe, Middle East &amp; Africa (CEEMEA) region, but prefers South African stocks to Middle East and North Africa&#8217;s (MENA) equities.



(Reporting by Siddarth S in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Varun H K)

A person enters the JPMorgan Chase & Co. New York headquarters in Manhattan, New York City

JPMorgan downgrades South African equities on economic slowdown concerns

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="469" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/I7JNEWQ4GVLM3NU76F6XVVSAV4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-564821"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People walk on the street around Kwame Nkrumah circle in Accra, Ghana, December 2, 2016. Picture taken December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, March 10 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s&nbsp;economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter of last year,&nbsp;dragged down by a weaker performance of the industry sector, the&nbsp;country&#8217;s statistics agency said on Monday.



Gross domestic product grew by 3.6% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, the data showed, compared with a revised 7.5% in the third quarter.



Economic growth for the year 2024 was at 5.7%.



Growth in the&nbsp;fourth quarter&nbsp;was&nbsp;mostly&nbsp;driven by&nbsp;the services sector, which grew 6.3%,&nbsp;and&nbsp;agriculture,&nbsp;which rose 2.9%, government statistician Samuel Kobina Annim said,&nbsp;adding that the industry sector only&nbsp;expanded by 0.2%.



The West African country is emerging from its deepest economic crisis in a generation, with turmoil in the vital cocoa and gold industries.



Ghana&#8217;s consumer inflation rate slowed for the second month in a row in February, to 23.1% from 23.5% in January.



However, it remains well above Bank of Ghana&#8217;s 8% target with a margin of error of 2 percentage points either side.



President John Dramani Mahama, who returned to office in January, has promised to cut taxes and expenditure to attract investments and lift growth.



(Reporting by Christian Akorlie; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Bate Felix and Toby Chopra)

I7JNEWQ4GVLM3NU76F6XVVSAV4

Ghana’s growth slows in fourth quarter of 2024

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="3500" height="2224" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/7XTI2CWP3BLPFASXQO4LHAPT4I.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-595714"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A view of processing facilities at Tenke Fungurume, a copper and cobalt mine 110 km (68 miles) northwest of Lubumbashi in Congo&#8217;s copper-producing south. Picture taken January 29, 2013. REUTERS/Jonny Hogg/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



March 9 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The United States is open to exploring critical minerals partnerships with Congo, the State Department said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday, after a Congolese senator contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal.



Democratic Republic of Congo, which is rich in cobalt, lithium and uranium among other minerals, has been fighting Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who have seized swathes of its territory this year.



Talk of a deal with the U.S. &#8211; which is also in discussions with Ukraine over a minerals pact &#8211; has circulated in Kinshasa for weeks.



&#8220;The United States is open to discussing partnerships in this sector that are aligned with the Trump Administration&#8217;s America First Agenda,&#8221; a State Department spokesperson said, noting that Congo held &#8220;a significant share of the world&#8217;s critical minerals required for advanced technologies.&#8221;



The U.S. has worked &#8220;to boost U.S. private sector investment in the DRC to develop mining resources in a responsible and transparent manner,&#8221; the spokesperson said.



Kinshasa has not publicly detailed a proposal, instead saying it is seeking diversified partnerships.



&#8220;There is a desire for us to diversify our partners,&#8221; Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said last week, adding there were &#8220;daily exchanges&#8221; between Congo and the U.S.



&#8220;If today American investors are interested in coming to the DRC, obviously they will find space &#8230; DRC has reserves that are available and it would also be good if American capital could invest here,&#8221; he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-regional-stability">REGIONAL STABILITY</h2>



Andre Wameso, deputy chief of staff to Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, travelled to Washington earlier this month for talks on a partnership, two sources told Reuters.



On February 21, a lobbyist representing the Congolese Senator Pierre Kanda Kalambayi sent letters to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other American officials inviting U.S. investment in Congo&#8217;s vast mineral resources in exchange for helping to reinforce &#8220;regional stability&#8221;.



That initiative was not sanctioned by the broader Congolese government or presidency, according to two Congolese officials. There are, however, several initiatives underway, albeit in nascent stages, sources from Congo&#8217;s presidency, its ministry of mines, and from Washington told Reuters.



A Congolese delegation had been scheduled to meet with the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 6, but cancelled the meeting at short notice, according to two sources.



&#8220;I think it&#8217;s certainly something that will pique people&#8217;s interest in Washington, and I think it has attracted interest,&#8221; said Jason Stearns, a Congo expert at Canada&#8217;s Simon Fraser University, noting that Congo&#8217;s mineral supply chains are currently dominated by China.



But, he said, the U.S. does not have state-owned companies like China does, and no private American mining companies currently operate in Congo.



&#8220;So if the Congolese want to make this work, it will probably not be by offering a U.S. company a mining concession. They&#8217;ll have to look at more complicated ways of engaging the U.S.&#8221;, he added.



(Reporting by Congo newsroom, Sonia Rolley and Portia Crowe; Editing by David Holmes)

7XTI2CWP3BLPFASXQO4LHAPT4I

US open to minerals partnerships with Democratic Republic of Congo

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="459" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-820x459.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-595637" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-820x459.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-1536x859.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A logo of the World Food Program is seen at their headquarters after the WFP won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, in Rome, Italy October 9, 2020. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



DAKAR, March 7 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The United Nations World Food Programme said on Friday it would halt food and nutrition assistance to more than 2 million people in Nigeria and the Central Sahel region next month without urgent funding to bridge shortfalls.



The U.N. food agency (WFP) said in a statement it required $620 million to continue supporting refugees in Chad and Mali and food-insecure people in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria.



&#8220;The global shrinkage of foreign aid is posing a significant threat to our operations in Western Africa,&#8221; said WFP Regional Director Margot van der Velden.



The funding squeeze comes as the lean season &#8211; the period in between harvests when hunger peaks &#8211; is expected to hit earlier than usual across West Africa&#8217;s Sahel region south of the Sahara.



&#8220;With millions expected to face emergency levels of hunger at the peak of the lean season, the world must step up support to prevent this situation from getting out of control.&#8221;



Conflict, displacement, economic crises, and climate shocks such as devastating floods last year are driving a hunger crisis in West Africa.



An estimated 52.7 million women, men, and children are projected to experience acute hunger between June and August 2025, the WFP said. These include refugees in Chad, Mali, and Mauritania, of which around 700,000 are Sudanese refugees.



The proportion of the population facing extreme hunger in West and Central Africa is also projected to rise over 20% by June 2025.



The WFP receives half of its funding from the United States, which has been reviewing and cutting foreign aid programs.



The statement did not specify whether the lack of funding was linked to the U.S. It said West and Central Africa remained &#8220;chronically underfunded&#8221;.



(Reporting by Ayen Deng Bior; Editing by Sofia Christensen)

FILE PHOTO: World Food Program wins the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize

WFP calls for urgent funding to prevent food aid halt in West, Central Africa

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="564" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-820x564.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-595588" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-820x564.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-131x90.jpg 131w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-768x528.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-1536x1057.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Samaila Zubair, Chairman &amp; CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation, speaks during a session Climate change adaptation: Finding appealing business models at the CEO Forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Monday, June 13, 2022.</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, March 10 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The African Finance Corporation said it is accelerating efforts to mobilise the continent&#8217;s own money for investments, and tapping investors in the Middle East and Asia, as developing nations grapple with seismic shifts in geopolitics and funding flows.



Samaila Zubairu, chief executive of the AFC &#8211; a development finance institution owned by Nigeria&#8217;s central bank and other African financial institutions &#8211; said in an interview the lender is ready to weather a world in which the United States and Europe cut financial aid and turn increasingly inward.



&#8220;The only thing we want &#8230; to change, is to get domestic capital more available for investment within the continent,&#8221; Zubairu said.



&#8220;We would accelerate our initiatives to mobilize domestic capital from African pension funds, African institutional investors, to invest domestically,&#8221; he said, adding that in the long term, some $15-$20 billion could come from domestic pension funds.



U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s America First agenda, and cuts in U.S. aid money, could drain billions from projects in Africa. European countries are also slashing aid funding, with Britain redirecting much of it to boost defence spending.



Africa&#8217;s low savings rates and shallow markets have stymied efforts to mobilise local pools of cash.



Zubairu said the AFC, which deploys $2.5-$3 billion each year, would scale up fund allocation &#8220;prudently&#8221; by choosing projects other backers could pile into.



It launched the pilot project InfraCredit to support pension fund investments in much-needed infrastructure projects, with



oil-rich Nigeria&#8217;s sovereign wealth fund providing guarantees on local currency debt.



The project has mobilised some 230 billion naira ($152 million), including investments from 21 pension funds, which previously invested almost exclusively in government debt.



Zubairu said he expects to launch similar programs as early as this year in Botswana, Angola and Kenya.



&#8220;This is kind of program that we think needs to be replicated at scale,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If we do programs like this, then you see a lot more billions available for investment.&#8221;



Pension funds had also placed money in the Infrastructure Climate Resilience Fund, boosting a $52 million commitment from the European Investment Bank, he said.



Investors from the Gulf and Europe are also looking to place money in other AFC projects, such as ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms which designs and finances industrial projects.



Trump has yet to publicly signal his plans for U.S. investment in the Lobito Corridor &#8211; a railway project linking resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo with Zambia and Angola&#8217;s Atlantic port of Lobito.



Former U.S. President Joe Biden&nbsp;visited the site&nbsp;during his inaugural &#8211; and only &#8211; trip to Africa.



Zubairu said he was confident Trump would see the value in backing the corridor, though it was a strong, bankable framework that would move forward regardless.



($1 = 1,510.0000 naira)



(Reporting By Libby George and Karin Strohecker, editing by Clelia Oziel)

Key Speakers at Africa CEO Forum

AFC chief pushes to unlock billions from African pension funds

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="480" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/COY2BEOYYZNMNCJM4URY33M2AY.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-594609"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A logo of Alstom is seen at the Alstom&#8217;s plant in Semeac near Tarbes, France, February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



RABAT, March 7 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;France will lend Morocco 781 million euros to finance the purchase of 18 high-speed trains made by Alstom&nbsp;ALSO.PA, the French embassy in Rabat said on Friday.



The trains are part of a plan to extend the high-speed rail network from Kenitra on the western coast to Marrakech before the 2030 World Cup that Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal.



Alstom will supply Moroccan state-owned rail operator ONCF, with Avelia Horizon double-decker trains that can carry 640 passengers with a speed of 320 km/h, the embassy said in a statement.



ONCF also aims to expand its network to double the number of cities it serves to 43, or 87% of the Moroccan population, by 2040.



In February, ONCF said it will also buy 150 trains under concessional loans from Spain and South Korea as it expands urban, intercity and high-speed rail networks.



South Korea&#8217;s Hyundai Rotem&nbsp;064350.KS&nbsp;will supply 110 urban trains worth $1.5 billion, while Spain&#8217;s CAF will build 40 intercity trains for $813 million.



The deals include investments in the country&#8217;s nascent rail industry, ONCF said last month.



(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

COY2BEOYYZNMNCJM4URY33M2AY

Marrakech Express upgrade – French loan to help Morocco buy 18 fast trains ahead of World Cup

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="433" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/V3GAS2DKHFO7PLO4JIKEEFCTKY-1.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-594606"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The retired coal-fired Komati Power Station, operated by Eskom, is seen near Komati village, in the Mpumalanga province in South Africa, May 9, 2024. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 7 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African power utility Eskom resumed scheduled power cuts on Friday and said they would last across the weekend, after outages at the country&#8217;s nuclear power station and one of its mammoth coal plants.



The loss of power from units at the Koeberg nuclear plant and Kusile coal station meant Eskom was 2,700 megawatts (MW) short of its generation capacity over the past 14 hours, the company said in a statement.



It will implement &#8220;Stage 3&#8221; outages, requiring up to 3,000 MW to be shed from the national grid, until Monday morning while it replenishes its emergency reserves.



&#8220;Eskom is focused on deploying extra engineering resources to expedite the repair of units currently offline,&#8221; it said in a statement, adding that it expected to return 6,200 MW of capacity to service by Monday evening&#8217;s peak in electricity demand.



Power cuts have been a regular feature of life in South Africa for more than a decade, with outages reaching record levels in 2023 when they occurred on more than 300 days in the year.



The power cuts stopped in March last year but have resumed intermittently since the end of January. Eskom said on Friday that the country was far from returning to the dark days of 2023.



&#8220;South Africa is in no way returning to the levels of loadshedding that we experienced in 2023,&#8221; said Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom&#8217;s group executive for generation, using a term for power outages.



The loadshedding stages Eskom implements are an incremental system where Stage 1 sees up to 1,000 MW of capacity cut from the grid and Stage 6 &#8211; with 6,000 MW cut &#8211; the highest level implemented to date.



South Africa&#8217;s electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa will brief reporters on Saturday on Eskom&#8217;s performance.



(Reporting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning and Hugh Lawson)

V3GAS2DKHFO7PLO4JIKEEFCTKY (1)

South African power cuts resume as key plants fail

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="486" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/NPXHFCMBVFI2FHKA2NZV6MMVN4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-594603"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bottles of Heineken beer are displayed in a cooler at a bar in Gurugram, India, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Priyanshu Singh/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 7 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Soufflet Malt and Heineken&nbsp;HEIN.AS&nbsp;have entered into a commercial partnership in which the French grain group will invest 100 million euros ($108.51 million) to build a new malting factory in South Africa to supply malt to the Dutch brewer.



The malt factory, which is Souffle&#8217;s second in Africa, will be located next to Heineken&#8217;s Sedibeng Brewery near Johannesburg, and is set to be operational by mid-2027.



The partnership &#8220;means replacing 4,500 containers of barley coming from abroad for local barley from local shops, making sure that we got a shorter supply chain,&#8221; Heineken Managing Director Jordi Borrut said at the signing event.



Right now, Heineken imports all of its barley for its South African operations.



Soufflet Malt, one of the world&#8217;s largest malt makers, will source 100% of the barley locally from South African commercial and small scale farmers and will supply malt to Heineken&#8217;s operations in the country, Jeremy Antier the managing director of Soufflet South Africa said at the same event.



With a production capacity of nearly 100,000 tonnes, the facility will create 55 full-time jobs and support over 200 local South African barley growers, Jeremy said.



Jordi said the partnership also forms part of its merger commitments with wine and cider maker Distell to procure key inputs from local suppliers, producers and farmers.



($1 = 0.9216 euros)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

NPXHFCMBVFI2FHKA2NZV6MMVN4

Soufflet Malt partners with Heineken on $108 million South African factory

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-594554" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">KYIV, UKRAINE &#8211; JUNE 16: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (R) attend a joint press conference on June 16, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The delegation of African leaders led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Senegalese President Macky Sall arrived in Kyiv on a peace mission. (Photo by Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 7 (Reuters) &#8211; Ukraine&#8217;s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will hold talks in South Africa with President Cyril Ramaphosa on April 10, Ramaphosa&#8217;s spokesman said on Friday, as the Ukrainian leader tries to shore up international support after the U.S. halted all military aid.



South Africa seeks to project itself as non-aligned on the Ukraine war but has good relations with Russia, with both countries belonging to the BRICS group of emerging economies &#8211; which also includes China, India, Brazil and others &#8211; that is trying to challenge the Western-dominated economic order.



South Africa has refused to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin&#8217;s decision to invade Ukraine three years ago and has abstained from voting on U.N. resolutions on the war.



&#8220;The visit is a continuation of ongoing engagements held by President Ramaphosa with President Putin and President Zelenskiy on an inclusive &#8230; process that will provide a path to peace between Russia and Ukraine,&#8221; spokesman Vincent Magwenya told Reuters.



The U.S. ambassador to South Africa in 2023 accused the country of shipping arms to Russia in breach of its professed neutrality. An inquiry found no evidence that a Russian ship had collected weapons from a naval base near Cape Town.



Zelenskiy&#8217;s planned visit to South Africa comes at a pivotal moment in the war, following his public feud with Donald Trump in the White House last Friday and the U.S. president&#8217;s decision to halt Washington&#8217;s military aid to Kyiv.



Trump has stepped up efforts to end the war and also to improve U.S. relations with Russia, prompting European leaders on Thursday to back plans to spend more on defence and reaffirm their determination to stand by Ukraine.



(Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Writing by Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning and Gareth Jones)

Ukrainian President Zelensky Meets With African Leaders In Kyiv

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy to visit South Africa for talks in April

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1005" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PWU3K5SDE5N4XBOT5CAUJSIEMM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-594536"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Workers walk near a tugboat carrying coal barges at a port in Palembang, South Sumatra province, Indonesia, January 4, 2022, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Nova Wahyudi/ via REUTERS/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



(Reuters) &#8211; The United States is withdrawing from the Just Energy Transition Partnership, a collaboration between richer nations to help developing countries transition from coal to cleaner energy, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday.



Reuters reported on the withdrawal on Wednesday, based on several sources in key participating countries.



Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has withdrawn the U.S. from JETP agreements with South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam, a department spokesperson said.



The move was consistent with an executive order President Donald Trump signed that said the U.S. had previously joined initiatives that &#8220;do not reflect our country&#8217;s values or our contributions to the pursuit of economic and environmental objectives,&#8221; the spokesperson said.



JETP, which consists of 10 donor nations, was first unveiled at the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland in 2021.



South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam and Senegal were subsequently announced as the first beneficiaries of loans, financial guarantees and grants to move away from coal.



Joanne Yawitch, head of the&nbsp;JETP&nbsp;Management Unit in South Africa, said on Wednesday that the United States had communicated its withdrawal from the plan there.



In Vietnam, two foreign officials with direct knowledge of the matter&nbsp;also said on Wednesday that&nbsp;Washington was withdrawing from JETP in the country.



Another source familiar with the matter said the U.S. had withdrawn from the JETP in Indonesia and South Africa.



&#8220;We have been informed by the U.S. of their withdrawal,&#8221; said another South Africa-based source in the donor group.



&#8220;There remains significant finance available, and the International Partners Group remains fully committed to supporting South Africa to deliver on its just energy transition through the partnership,&#8221; the person said.



Since Trump returned to office in January, Washington has slashed foreign aid and championed development of fossil fuels.



The sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak on the matter.



U.S. commitments for Indonesia and Vietnam exceeded $3 billion in total, mostly through commercial loans, while in South Africa the commitment was for $1.063 billion out of $11.6 billion pledged for the country.



(Reporting by Tim Cocks in Johannesburg, Francesco Guarascio in Hanoi, Fransiska Nangoy in Jakarta, additional reporting by Timothy Gardner in Washington; Writing by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Tony Munroe, Sharon Singleton and Marguerita Choy)

PWU3K5SDE5N4XBOT5CAUJSIEMM

US withdraws from plan to help major global polluters move from coal

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3334" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/7PQPUDNLRFNEHOE2URISJZW7ZY.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-584693"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A view of the Mild Hydrocracking Unit (MHC) at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, Nigeria, July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Marvellous Durowaiye/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, March 6 (Reuters) &#8211; Canada&#8217;s Africa Oil Corporation will double its Nigerian output and the size of its reserves there once it completes its deal for full ownership of Prime Oil next Tuesday, a senior company executive said.



Africa Oil will increase to full ownership its shareholding in Dutch entity Prime Oil &amp; Gas Coöperatief, whose main assets include indirect stakes in deep-water producing Nigerian fields operated by TotalEnergies and Chevron.



&#8220;On closing of that deal we will significantly change the scale of our business, we will double production, we double reserves and significantly boost our liquidity position,&#8221; Oliver Quinn, chief commercial officer at Africa Oil told Reuters.



Once the deal is complete, Africa Oil expects to produce around 35,000 barrels per day, he said.



&#8220;They are very significant value barrels because they have very low lifting cost of under $10, so the margin on the barrels is high and typically sell at premium to Brent,&#8221; said Quinn.



With its partners, Africa Oil said an infill drilling campaign was planned this year to maintain output in mid-life fields.



Besides Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, the company is also present in Namibia&#8217;s prolific Orange Basin via a 40% stake in Impact Oil and Gas with exposure to the Venus discovery.



Operator TotalEnergies expects to take a final investment decision in 2026 and propel Namibia to becoming an oil exporter at the turn of the decade.



&#8220;Our focus is to add to the cash generation machine, which runs through the decade while on the backend Namibia Venus comes onstream and then we have significant growth in that asset,&#8221; Quinn said.



(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

7PQPUDNLRFNEHOE2URISJZW7ZY

Africa Oil Corp bullish on Nigeria growth, Namibia long game

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="478" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/WAJGL7OAY5JL5DAZF2BSHHX5HM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-594117"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The logos of companies Rand Merchant Bank, FNB, and Wesbank are seen outside the FirstRand offices in Cape Town, South Africa, March 11, 2019. Picture taken March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 6 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s FirstRand Ltd&nbsp;FSRJ.J&nbsp;on Thursday posted a 10% rise in first-half earnings, helped by&nbsp;topline growth and&nbsp;stronger overall credit performance.



Its normalised earnings rose to 20.9 billion rand ($1.14 billion) in the six months ending Dec. 31, from 19.1 billion rand a year earlier, the bank said.



FirstRand, which also operates across certain markets in sub-Saharan Africa and the UK, declared an interim dividend of 219 cents per share, up from 200 cents a year earlier.



The group, whose businesses include FNB, RMB&lt;RMHJ.J&gt;&nbsp;WesBank and Aldermore, said the stronger credit performance was driven by retail credit in South Africa trending ahead of expectations and a much stronger credit outcome in the UK operations.



As a result, the group&#8217;s credit loss ratio &#8211; a measure of bad loans as a percentage of total loans &#8211; at 84 basis points is ahead of FirstRand&#8217;s initial through-the-cycle (TTC) expectations, the lender said.



Net income after cost of capital (NIACC) increased 12% to 6.2 billion rand, while overall group net interest income &#8211; which represents the difference between earnings from loans and what banks pay on deposits &#8211; increased 4%, driven by core lending advances growth of 7% and continued deposit growth of 8%.



($1 = 18.3016 rand)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Kim Coghill)

Reuters

South Africa to remove luxury duty on lower value smartphones

South African markets on edge before budget showdown

Ghana faces significant external debt service, finance minister says

Nigeria to appoint ambassadors, 18 months after worldwide recall, sources say

Nigeria’s NNPC, Dangote Refinery in talks to extend naira-based crude supply deal

JPMorgan downgrades South African equities on economic slowdown concerns

Ghana’s growth slows in fourth quarter of 2024

US open to minerals partnerships with Democratic Republic of Congo

WFP calls for urgent funding to prevent food aid halt in West, Central Africa

AFC chief pushes to unlock billions from African pension funds

Marrakech Express upgrade – French loan to help Morocco buy 18 fast trains ahead of World Cup

South African power cuts resume as key plants fail

Soufflet Malt partners with Heineken on $108 million South African factory

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy to visit South Africa for talks in April

US withdraws from plan to help major global polluters move from coal

Africa Oil Corp bullish on Nigeria growth, Namibia long game

South African lender FirstRand posts 10% rise in earnings

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Reuters

South Africa to remove luxury duty on lower value smartphones

South African markets on edge before budget showdown

Ghana faces significant external debt service, finance minister says

Nigeria to appoint ambassadors, 18 months after worldwide recall, sources say

Nigeria’s NNPC, Dangote Refinery in talks to extend naira-based crude supply deal

JPMorgan downgrades South African equities on economic slowdown concerns

Ghana’s growth slows in fourth quarter of 2024

US open to minerals partnerships with Democratic Republic of Congo

WFP calls for urgent funding to prevent food aid halt in West, Central Africa

AFC chief pushes to unlock billions from African pension funds

Marrakech Express upgrade – French loan to help Morocco buy 18 fast trains ahead of World Cup

South African power cuts resume as key plants fail

Soufflet Malt partners with Heineken on $108 million South African factory

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy to visit South Africa for talks in April

US withdraws from plan to help major global polluters move from coal

Africa Oil Corp bullish on Nigeria growth, Namibia long game

South African lender FirstRand posts 10% rise in earnings

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