<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106887249-1621862722565-gettyimages-1232959942-SPRWANDA-KIGALI-BASKETBALL_AFRICA_LEAGUE-INAUGURAL_SEASON.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-404760" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106887249-1621862722565-gettyimages-1232959942-SPRWANDA-KIGALI-BASKETBALL_AFRICA_LEAGUE-INAUGURAL_SEASON.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106887249-1621862722565-gettyimages-1232959942-SPRWANDA-KIGALI-BASKETBALL_AFRICA_LEAGUE-INAUGURAL_SEASON-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Benjamin Chukwukelo Uzoh 2nd R of Rivers Hoopers of Nigeria vies with Wilson Nshobozwa of Patriots Rwanda during the opening game of the the inaugural Basketball Africa League BAL in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda, May 16, 2021.
Cyril Ndegeya | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The National Basketball Association has formed its Africa business operation, luring investors and former players including, Dikembe Mutombo, Grant Hill and Junior Bridgeman.



The NBA Africa will oversee the league’s business throughout the continent, including operating Basketball Africa League, which launched on May 16. The entity will establish corporate partnerships, expand&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/17/genius-sports-wins-data-partnership-with-nbas-basketball-africa-league.html">content, media rights</a>&nbsp;and build new arenas. The NBA envisions basketball being a top sport throughout Africa in 10 years.



Specific terms of the investment in NBA Africa were not made available, but NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a press conference Monday that the enterprise value for NBA Africa is worth nearly $1 billion.





Nigeria-based industrial group&nbsp;<a href="https://yinkafolawiyogroup.com/about-us/the-group" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yinka Folawiyo</a>&nbsp;Group and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.heliosinvestment.com/helios-fairfax-partners" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Helios Fairfax Partners Corporation</a>, an investment holding company that trades on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.heliosinvestment.com/uploads/files/HFP-2021-Q1-Press-Release.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Toronto Stock Exchange</a>&nbsp;under the ticker symbol “HFPC,” are investors in NBA Africa. Former NBA players&nbsp; Luol Deng and Joakim Noah are also investors.



Silver and NBA chief operating officer Mark Tatum will have NBA Africa board seats, joining Babatunde Folawiyo (CEO of Yinka Folawiyo) and Tope Lawani (co-CEO of Helios Fairfax). NBA Africa will be led by CEO Victor Williams.



On the call with reporters, Williams said part of NBA Africa’s strategy is to accelerate the “development of basketball’s eco-system” via creating more youth academies that will serve as a pathway for talent and growing the NBA’s brand.



“This growth will come to life by, amongst other things, increasing the NBA’s footprint in Africa and opening additional offices in priority markets across the continent starting in countries like Nigeria, where there is already a strong affinity for the game,” said Williams.



The NBA’s business operation in Africa business is similar to its’ NBA China business, which has grown to over a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/11/trump-order-banning-business-with-wechat-could-affect-nbas-china-deal-with-tencent.html">$5 billion business</a>. It launched in 2008, with a $253 million investment from partners including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/DIS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Disney</a>. NBA China allowed the league to gain more access to the country’s top marketplace as China has a population of 1.3 billion.



“There are some structural similarities in that we’ve taken a geographical area and carved it into a distinct entity and added strategic partners because we recognize that was the best opportunity for growth,” said Silver when asked about NBA Africa’s comparison to its China business. “But I think the comparison probably ends there.”



Another significant difference is the NBA is now operating a league in Africa, whereas the Chinese Basketball Association is state-run. But NBA’s business relationship with China remains strained after a 2019 tweet by then Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/106887255-1621862852797-gettyimages-1200836666-02142020_cares_unified_game_haynes_0385.jpeg?v=1621862887&amp;w=678&amp;h=381" alt="Dikembe Mutombo #55 of the Away Team poses for a photo during NBA Cares Special Olympics Unified Game as part of 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend on February 14, 2020 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois." width="833" height="468"/><figcaption>Dikembe Mutombo #55 of the Away Team poses for a photo during NBA Cares Special Olympics Unified Game as part of 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend on February 14, 2020 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.Jeff Haynes | National Basketball Association | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



CCTV, the state-run broadcast network, has yet to air games for the 2020-21 season after briefly returning NBA games during the 2020 NBA Finals. Last year’s Finals featured the Los Angeles Lakers, a popular team in the country. NBA games are available for streaming due to Tencent’s $1.5 billion rights deal. And tensions between the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/13/american-chamber-of-commerce-in-china-unequal-access-for-us-business.html">U.S. and China</a>&nbsp;isn’t making business in the country&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/business/china-nba-anta-xinjiang.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">any easier to conduct</a>.







Still, the NBA continues to eye more global markets, and Africa is one of the fastest-growing on the planet, with a population of about 1.07 billion (sub-Saharan), according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/popfacts/PopFacts_2019-6.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">United Nations</a>. The NBA opened its African headquarters in Johannesburg in 2010.



Again, a big part of this business will be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/15/sports-money-basketball-africa-league-reveals-teams.html">growing the BAL</a>. The league consists of two conferences, 12 teams, and the top six clubs will compete in a single-game elimination tournament following the season to determine the champion. Amadou Gallo Fall is president of the league.



Speaking to CNBC about the league, NBA team owner Robert Sarver said BAL can be used as a pipeline to grow basketball talent in hopes some players will end up playing in the NBA. And having teams play in selected areas will help with scouting, too. Currently, 55 players from the continent, or with African roots (parents are natives), play in the NBA.



“From a talent perspective, one of the things that’s been a challenge in Africa is the continent is very large, and it’s very spread out,” said Sarver, who owns the Phoenix Suns. “So unlike the United States, where the top young players, regardless of what state you live in, come together and compete against each other a lot, that’s hard to do in Africa.

106887249-1621862722565-gettyimages-1232959942-SPRWANDA-KIGALI-BASKETBALL_AFRICA_LEAGUE-INAUGURAL_SEASON

NBA lures players and investors to form Africa business entity valued at nearly $1 billion

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="527" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1064245894-820x527.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-398696" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1064245894-820x527.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1064245894-300x193.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1064245894-768x494.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1064245894-1536x988.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1064245894-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>(Photo by SIMON MAINA / AFP) (Photo credit should read SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



May 22 (Reuters) &#8211; Ethiopia&#8217;s telecommunications regulator awarded one operating licence to a consortium led by Kenya&#8217;s Safaricom Vodafone, and Japan&#8217;s Sumitomo Brook Taye, a senior adviser at the finance ministry, said on Saturday.



The consortium, which includes Vodacom and British development finance agency CDC Group, paid $850 million for the licence, Brook said. South Africa&#8217;s MTN had also bid for a licence.



Africa&#8217;s second-most populous country is hoping that the opening of one of the world&#8217;s last major closed telecoms markets will create millions of online job opportunities.



The awarding of the new licence marks the &#8220;beginning of a new era in our country,&#8221; the Ethiopian Communications Authority said on Twitter.



As as as the licence fee, the consortium plans to invest up to $8.5 billion in infrastructure among other areas, Brook said, adding that it was expected to create up to one and a half million jobs.



&#8220;With over $8 billion total investment, this will be the single largest FDI (foreign direct investment) into Ethiopia to date,&#8221; Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Twitter.



The operator will begin with 4G services, Brook said.



&#8220;We will soon open a bid for the remaining licence,&#8221; said Balcha Reba, director-general of the Ethiopian Communications Authority.



Balcha said MTN&#8217;s offer of $600 million was deemed too low.



Safaricom in 2019 had estimated that it would have to pay about $1 billion for a new licence.



Representatives from Vodacom and CDC Group declined to comment. Vodafone and Sumitomo Group could not immediately be reached for comment. Safaricom said that the company would issue a statement on Monday.



The Ethiopian government is also preparing to sell a 45% stake in state-run mobile operator, Ethio Telecom. Earlier this month, the operator launched a mobile phone-based financial service.



For the moment, only Ethio Telecom will be able to offer mobile financial services as foreign operators are currently barred by law from participating. However, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that mobile financial services would be opened up to competition after a year. 



(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Writing by Ayenat Mersie; Editing by Alison Williams and Louise Heavens)

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Consortium led by Safaricom wins Ethiopian operating licence

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lazarus_Chakwera_2017-532x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-403813" width="514" height="773" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lazarus_Chakwera_2017-532x800.jpg 532w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lazarus_Chakwera_2017-199x300.jpg 199w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lazarus_Chakwera_2017-768x1155.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lazarus_Chakwera_2017-1021x1536.jpg 1021w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lazarus_Chakwera_2017-scaled.jpg 1361w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 514px) 100vw, 514px" /><figcaption>Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera&nbsp; Photo via Wikimedia Commons&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>



Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera warned on Wednesday that his country&#8217;s leading foreign exchange earner, tobacco, was in terminal decline and he urged a switch to high-growth crops like cannabis, which was legalised locally for some uses last year.



Chakwera made the comments during a state of the nation address in which he said tobacco was expected to earn less than $200 million in 2021, a figure roughly similar to the past two years but well below previous annual earnings that used to top $350 million.



&#8220;The inconvenient truth &#8230; is that while Malawi has come a long way by relying on tobacco as our &#8230; largest single crop contributor to our GDP, this reliance is now seriously threatened by declining demand worldwide,&#8221; Chakwera said. &#8220;Clearly we need to diversify and grow other crops like cannabis, which was legalized last year for industrial and medicinal use,&#8221; he added. Tobacco was a stain on an otherwise booming agricultural sector, which the president said would enable economic growth to recover to 3.8% this year, according to the latest forecasts, and would push it to 5.4% next year.



That compared with last year&#8217;s lacklustre 1.9% growth owing to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.



Decades of public health education have gradually convinced people worldwide of the dangers of tobacco, leading to a sustained drop in sales. At the same time, cannabis has started to be accepted as a medicine.



Malawi&#8217;s parliament passed a bill in February last year that makes it legal to cultivate and process cannabis for medicines and hemp fibre used in industry, but stops short of decriminalising recreational use. &#8220;I have directed (the) Ministry of Agriculture to begin a radical search for a basket of alternative crops so that by 2030, Malawi can do away with its reliance on tobacco, except in limited cases where there are pre-agreed quotas,&#8221; Chakwera said.



Countries around the world are either legalising or relaxing laws on cannabis, including several in southern Africa such as Zambia, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.



(Reporting by Frank Phiri Writing by Tim Cock Editing by Catherine Evans and Giles Elgood)

As tobacco declines, Malawi must switch to cannabis – President

LUSAKA, May 10 (Reuters) &#8211; Zambia&#8217;s finance ministry said on Monday that it had reached a broad agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on macroeconomic parameters, fiscal targets and policy objectives, during talks to secure a lending programme.



Both Zambia &#8211; Africa&#8217;s first pandemic-era sovereign default &#8211; and the IMF said more talks were needed to finalise a programme under the Fund&#8217;s Extended Credit Facility.



But the finance ministry said enough progress had been made to allow authorities to move ahead with preparations for debt restructuring talks with official and commercial creditors under a common framework backed by the Group of 20 major economies.



&#8220;The reform path is clear. We are committed to securing an IMF programme,&#8221; Zambia&#8217;s Finance Minister Bwalya Ng&#8217;andu said in a statement, following the conclusion of the latest round of talks.



The IMF earlier said there had been &#8220;notable progress&#8221; in talks with Zambia on policy measures to address macroeconomic imbalances.



&#8220;Building on the earlier discussions in February-March, there was broad agreement on the macroeconomic framework,&#8221; it said in a statement.



Zambia&#8217;s debt had been considered unsustainable even before the pandemic struck, and missing a coupon payment on a dollar bond in November tipped it officially into default.



It asked for a financial programme with the IMF late last year. And in January it sought debt relief under the new G20-supported common framework designed to help the world&#8217;s poorest countries overhaul the debt they owe to official and commercial creditors.



Zambia&#8217;s dollar bonds extended gains following the statements with the 2027 bond up more than 1 cent to trade at just over 64 cents on the dollar &#8211; levels last seen in early March last year just before the COVID-19 pandemic roiled financial markets, Tradeweb data showed.



Zambia&#8217;s external debt includes around $3 billion in outstanding Eurobonds and another $3 billion owed to China and Chinese entities. Tensions between those two groups of creditors have so far stymied restructuring efforts.



Private creditors told Reuters that the statements from Zambia and the IMF were positive, but they remained cautious.



&#8220;It does seem like talks will eventually get us the outcome we want to see but it will be difficult to see this getting completed before the elections (in August),&#8221; said Aberdeen Standard Investment&#8217;s Kevin Daly.



Daly, a member of the Zambia External Bondholder Committee, added that a debt deal under the common framework remained unlikely before next year.



&#8220;On the face of it, there is a suggestion that substantive progress has been made, with the focus moving from the causes of the imbalances to the remedies,&#8221; said a second creditor, who requested anonymity. 



(Additional reporting by Alexander Winning in Johannesburg and Karin Strohecker in London Writing by Joe Bavier Editing by Susan Fenton, Matthew Lewis and Barbara Lewis)

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Zambia, IMF make progress towards bail-out loan programme

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/GettyImages-1187120248-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-403414" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/GettyImages-1187120248-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/GettyImages-1187120248-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/GettyImages-1187120248-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/GettyImages-1187120248-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/GettyImages-1187120248-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Qatar&#8217;s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani attends the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup Final football match between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia at the Khalifa International Stadium in the Qatari capital Doha on December 8, 2019. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



MOGADISHU, May 6 (Reuters) &#8211; Somalia said on Thursday it was restoring diplomatic ties with neighbouring Kenya after it severed relations in December, accusing Nairobi of meddling in politics.



Relations between the countries have also been tense over the ownership of potential oil and gas deposits, some of which lie off the coast of Jubbaland, one of Somalia&#8217;s five semi-autonomous states.



&#8220;Now diplomatic relations are restored,&#8221; Abdirahman Yusuf, deputy information minister, told a news conference in Mogadishu, saying Qatar had helped in the process.



There was no immediate comment from the Kenyan government, though State House in Nairobi tweeted on Thursday afternoon that President Uhuru Kenyatta met with Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar and &#8220;received a special message from him.&#8221;



In November, Somalia expelled Kenya&#8217;s ambassador and recalled its own from Nairobi after accusing Kenya of interfering in the electoral process in Jubbaland.



In February 2019, Kenya recalled its ambassador after Mogadishu decided to auction oil and gas exploration blocks at the centre of their maritime rights dispute. The two countries had revived ties in November the same year.



The two are at present before the World Court to adjudicate the maritime boundary dispute. 



(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Additional reporting by George Obulutsa; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Bernadette Baum)

FBL-GULF-CUP-BHR-KSA

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shipping-containers-1096829-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-403190" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shipping-containers-1096829-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shipping-containers-1096829-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shipping-containers-1096829-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shipping-containers-1096829-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shipping-containers-1096829-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via SnappyGoat.com</figcaption></figure>



The ancient trade routes of East Africa’s Swahili Coast – a 3,000 kilometre littoral stretching from Somalia in the north to Northern Mozambique in the south – is riddled with illegal trading. These networks are connected to political instability in the wider region as well as the emergence of extremist movements which threaten to undermine and corrode the region’s fragile institutions.



The seizure of the town of Palma in the extreme north of Mozambique by armed groups associated with the Islamist Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamaah (ASWJ) in March has galvanised the world’s attention. Although the event seemed to come as a shock to governments of the region, analysts of the illegal trade have warned of the area’s vulnerability for several years. In 2018, a report by the United Nations sponsored Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI) revealed that a substantial <a href="https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/TGIATOC-North-Mozambique-Report-WEB.pdf">narcotic-trafficking</a> economy had emerged. Heroin, originally produced in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and often carried on ocean-going dhows, is routed through the area on its way to the wider global market.



But heroin is only one of many illicit trade items and the Palma incident is but one example of a much wider phenomenon. A <a href="https://www.counterextremism.com/sites/default/files/unholy-alliance-report-032921.pdf">recent report</a> by the distinguished scholar and former British diplomat, Sir Ivor Roberts, contains more detail of illicit trade and the way it fuels political extremism and crime across the entire wider region. Among items being traded from Somalia to Mozambique as well as inland (Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, the Central African Republic [CAR] and the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC]) are wildlife products, including ivory and rhino horn, small arms, narcotics, gold, gemstones and valuable ‘green minerals’ such as coltan, illegally logged wood, cigarettes, alcohol, counterfeit goods, sugar and human beings.



Roberts describes the scale of the problem as ‘staggering’. He writes that a recent survey in Kenya determined that 40 percent of consumer products, including cigarettes and alcohol, are illicit. As much as 70 percent of the alcohol sold in Uganda is thought to be illegal and a billion illegal cigarettes are sold in the region each year. Counterfeit goods alone rob Kenya of US$900 million a year, Roberts estimates.



The deepest implication of the problem is the power the illicit trade gives to those who carry it out and the extent to which this undermines legitimate governance. The <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=raO8jHBdDhYC&amp;redir_esc=y">blood diamond</a> financed civil wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, the DRC and elsewhere on the continent in the 1990s showed a close link between the proliferation of illicit trade, political instability and violence, irrespective of whether the participants have political agendas or not.&nbsp;



Among the political players who Roberts identifies as being financed by the illicit trade along the Swahili Coast are Al Shabaab who are responsible for numerous terror assaults in Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania, the Lord’s Resistance Army in Northern Uganda, Janajaweed in Sudan, the rump of Renamo in Mozambique and ASWJ in southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique. But attaching names and labels to the widespread phenomenon can be misleading. Much more representative are the so-called militia groups of the Eastern DRC and CAR which illustrates the point that the illicit trades are socially embedded and associated with dynamics which run in parallel (and in competition) with formal state institutions.



In the CAR for instance, at least 14 different armed groupings are active. The country is so unstable that the state’s writ runs hardly further than the capital, Bangui, and <a href="https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Situation%20Report%20-%20Central%20African%20Republic%20-%205%20Mar%202021.pdf">one-in-four</a> Central Africans are internally displaced or refugees abroad. The <a href="https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/illicit-flows-car-conflict/">armed groupings</a> trade in diamonds, small arms, human trafficking, illegal logging and wildlife products and exercise state-like powers, including informal taxation, in the areas they control. Sexual violence is reported to be endemic.



Roberts is clear on the issue. The region is being ‘picked apart’ by extremist groups, organised crime syndicates and urban gangs, <a href="https://www.newtimes.co.rw/opinions/illicit-trade-and-fight-east-africas-future">he writes</a>. The implication is that political extremism cannot be viewed separately from its criminal associations. Illicit trade has to be dealt with in parallel to initiatives to counter political extremism.



The experience of the regional power, Kenya, illustrates how pervasive the problem is and how difficult it is to control. Kenya has repeatedly acted against illegal trade for more than <a href="https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IPI-Termites-at-Work-A-Report-on-Transnational-Organized-Crime-and-State-Erosion-in-Kenya.pdf">30 years</a> but the problem simply pops up elsewhere. Kenya has a stronger state than any of its neighbours and has established a coast guard and an Anti-Counterfeit Authority. The government has repeatedly clamped down on illicit trade via Mombasa harbour and <a href="https://www.tralac.org/news/article/12732-cargo-scanners-give-kra-sh131m-more-daily-at-the-ports.html">Jomo Kenyatta Airport</a> in Nairobi. In 2016, the world’s largest bust of counterfeit pharmaceuticals was made in Kenya. However, no matter what action the Kenyan state takes, illicit traders circumvent it, moving goods through other entry points along the Swahili Coast, in cooperation with existing criminal networks, especially urban gangs, or corrupt officials and politicians.



The fight against the illicit tobacco industry in Kenya illustrates the regional dimensions of the problem. Kenya adopted the WHO Illicit Tobacco Trade Protocol in 2020, the only East African country to do so and a signal of how serious the government is about combatting illicit trade. But the country’s 20-year campaign against the trade – including the closure of loopholes which facilitated illegal imports, round tripping and underdeclared values in 2003 – is undermined by regional dynamics. The actions of criminal actors in Uganda, where excise taxes are notable lower and factory inspections virtually non-existent, has seen an increased stream of illicit product entering Kenya once again.



Illicit tobacco is often treated (by the international media) as a less significant problem than higher profile illicit trade in people, narcotics and wildlife products. But it has been a primary source of funding for terror groups ranging from the Irish Republican Army to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Inland of the Swahili coast, it financed the Forces Armées du Peuple Congolais (FAPC) insurgency in the DRC in the early 2000s. FAPC leaders were <a href="https://www.refworld.org/docid/4d957302c.html">convicted</a> of ‘rape, pillaging, destruction of schools and abduction of children’ in 2011.



The Swahili Coast and its hinterland is assailed by political instability. But it is now clear that the problem is not simply underdevelopment and political radicalism, but that illicit trade is an integral part of the problem. Solutions will have to address this too.



David Christianson has been a political scientist, NGO researcher and development banker. He entered business journalism in 1997 and was Diageo African Business Writer of the Year in 2006.

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NAIROBI, April 29 (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya&#8217;s and Nigeria&#8217;s currencies are expected to trade within existing ranges in the coming week, analysts and traders said. Tanzania&#8217;s currency is seen holding steady, while Uganda&#8217;s is expected to firm.



NIGERIA



The naira is seen range-bound next week as the central bank tries to boost forex sales through direct interventions to local firms and foreign investors, traders said.



The currency traded within a range of 410.46 naira to 422 naira on the over-the-counter spot market on Thursday after the central bank last week re-priced its futures rate upwards and sold dollars to foreign investors.



The naira was quoted at 485 per dollar on the black market on Thursday, a level it touched last week. It remains flat on the official market, which is backed by the central bank, at 381 naira, where it has been stuck since last July.



TANZANIA



Tanzania&#8217;s shilling is expected to hold steady next week as demand for the U.S. dollar from oil and manufacturing importers will be offset by inflows from foreign direct investments.



Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,310/2,324 on Thursday, the same levels recorded a week earlier.



&#8220;We expect the shilling to remain stable, supported by expected inflows from Chinese investors,&#8221; said Terry Karanja, a treasury associate at AZA, a Nairobi-based FX trading firm.



KENYA



Kenya&#8217;s shilling is also expected to be range-bound in the coming week, depending on the level of demand for dollars from importers, especially on the energy side as companies meet their end-of-month obligations, traders said.



On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 107.75/107.95 against the dollar compared with last week&#8217;s close of 108.40/108.60.



&#8220;It is expected to trade within the range of 107.50 to 108.50 in the coming week,&#8221; one trader at a Nairobi-based commercial bank said.



UGANDA



The Ugandan shilling is seen extending its gains in the coming days amid low appetite for hard currency from importers.



At 0845 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,590/3,600, compared to last Thursday&#8217;s close of 3,605/3,615.



Demand from importers is expected to remain flat, a trader at one commercial bank said.



&#8220;I think it has something to do with the overall slump in consumer spending due to the effects of COVID-19,&#8221; he said, adding the shilling could trade between 3,575-3,600.



ZAMBIA



The kwacha is likely to continue trading on the back foot against the dollar in the week ahead as demand for hard currency, driven by factors including debt servicing, continues to surpass supply. On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the currency of Africa’s second largest copper producer at 22.2740 per dollar, marginally down from a close of 22.2300 at the close of business last Thursday. Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO) said in a weekly note, although the central bank was likely to continue with foreign exchange injections, that market conditions still pointed to a troubled Kwacha. 



(Reporting by Omar Mohammed, Nuzulack Dausen, Elias Biryabarema, Chijioke Ohuocha. Editing by Mark Potter and Elaine Hardcastle)

NIGERIA-ECONOMY-INFLATION

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JOHANNESBURG, April 28 (Reuters) &#8211; Mozambique&#8217;s economy faces multiple challenges, including a growing insurgency against the government and recurring extreme weather events, ratings agency S&amp;P Global said in research report.



S&amp;P said militant attacks in Mozambique&#8217;s northeastren province of Cabo Delgado posed a &#8220;significant threat&#8221; to production facilities there, touted as among the biggest natural gas discoveries in the world.



Dozens of civilians were killed last month in Islamic State-linked attacks in the coastal town of Palma, near gas projects that are worth $60 billion and are aimed at transforming the country&#8217;s economy.



S&amp;P, which ranks Mozambique&#8217;s foreign debt at CCC+, seven rungs below investment grade, said it expected economic growth in the country to recover in 2021 on higher mining output, especially linked to liquefied natural gas (LNG) production.



But that rebound was subject to completion of the gas projects in the face of mounting security risks, as well as risks of droughts and flooding. Mozambique was battered by two massive cyclones in 2019, and another hit its shores in this year.



This week French energy group Total declared force majeure on its $20 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project following the insurgent attacks.



&#8220;If this project comes on stream as expected by 2024-2025, it will benefit Mozambique&#8217;s economic outlook, and support wealth levels that are currently very low by global comparison,&#8221; said S&amp;P.



&#8220;But most benefits will materialize beyond our current forecast horizon as gas production will likely come on stream in 2025 given the delays experienced in 2021.&#8221;



The ratings firm project gross domestic product (GDP) to expand 2.5% in 2021 after last year&#8217;s 1.25% contraction. It sees economic growth to average 5.5% from 2022 onwards. 



(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

mozambique-flag-3135227__340

Mozambique’s economy facing multiple risks as insurgency grows – S&P Global

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/45482233232_68671893d0_k-820x586.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-402718" width="836" height="597" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/45482233232_68671893d0_k-820x586.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/45482233232_68671893d0_k-300x214.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/45482233232_68671893d0_k-768x549.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/45482233232_68671893d0_k-1536x1097.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/45482233232_68671893d0_k.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 836px) 100vw, 836px" /><figcaption>Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi Photo: via Flickr</figcaption></figure>



GABORONE, April 27 (Reuters) &#8211; Botswana&#8217;s president will miss a Southern African regional meeting he had been due to chair on Thursday to discuss recent attacks on Mozambique after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19, prompting him to self-quarantine, his office said on Tuesday.



Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique will be attending a summit of a division of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), where they will receive a report on how they can help Mozambique&#8217;s Cabo Delgado province following Islamic State-linked attacks there.



Botswana is the current chair of that division, which is tasked with promoting peace and security in the region.



Vice President Slumber Tsogwane will lead Botswana&#8217;s delegation to the summit, the president&#8217;s press secretary, Batlhalefi Leagajang, said in a statement.



Leagajang said President Mokgweetsi Masisi self-quarantined was &#8220;out of (an) abundance of caution.&#8221;



Botswana has had more than 45,850 cases of the coronavirus and more than 690 deaths since the pandemic began, according to a Reuters tally. 



(Reporting by Brian Benza Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

45482233232_68671893d0_k

Botswana president in self-quarantine, to miss meeting on Mozambique attacks

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-94962278-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-402652" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-94962278-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-94962278-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-94962278-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-94962278-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-94962278-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>FRANCE &#8211; NOVEMBER 02: A customer exits a Total SA gas station shop in Paris, France, on Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. The company releases its earnings this week. (Photo by Antoine Antoniol/Bloomberg via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



PARIS, April 26 (Reuters) &#8211; French energy group Total declared force majeure on its $20 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique and confirmed it had withdrawn all staff from the construction site following insurgent attacks last month.



Dozens of civilians were killed in the Islamic State-linked attacks in the coastal Mozambique town of Palma, near gas projects that are worth $60 billion and are aimed at transforming the East African nation&#8217;s economy.



The violence in March has dealt a blow to plans by Total and rival Exxon Mobil, which also has an LNG project in Mozambique, to turn the country into a major LNG producer to rival Australia, Qatar, Russia and the United States.



It also comes as major energy companies reassess their approach to LNG, once seen as a fuel of the future because it has lower emissions than coal or oil but now under scrutiny in the drive to cut carbon emissions even more deeply.



&#8220;Considering the evolution of the security situation … Total confirms the withdrawal of all Mozambique LNG project personnel from the Afungi site. This situation leads Total, as operator of Mozambique LNG project, to declare force majeure,&#8221; the company said on Monday.



Total, which aimed to produce its first cargo from the project in 2024, suspended work on March 27 after the militant attack.



Declaring force majeure implies a weightier suspension and allows Total to cancel contractors.



&#8220;Mozambique was considered the next LNG El Dorado thanks to its large, low-cost resource base and ideal location to supply key demand centres,&#8221; said Thomas Adolff from Credit Suisse.



&#8220;But instead it is looking more like … Mozambique no longer playing a big role in the 2020s,&#8221; he added.



Carlos Zacarias, chairman of the institute that governs Mozambique&#8217;s energy development, told a news conference that Total would not fulfil contractual obligations while the force majeure was in place.



He added that Total had not abandoned the project.



Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi said this month that the government would work to restore peace.



The LNG project includes development of the Golfinho and Atum natural gas fields in the Offshore Area 1 concession and the construction of a two-train liquefaction plant with capacity of 13.12 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).



Total secured a $14.9 billion debt financing package in July to fund its rollout. On Monday the company said it had agreement from the lenders to pause the debt drawdown.



It also said it was too early to provide an updated project schedule, though there was speculation among some contractors that the delay could last at least a year.



(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Sudip Kar-Gupta and Sarah White in Paris, Manuel Mucari in Maputo, Alex Winning and Emma Rumney in Johannesburg Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov Editing by David Goodman, Edmund Blair and Pravin Char)

A customer exits a Total SA gas station shop in Paris, Franc

Total declares force majeure on Mozambique LNG after insurgent attacks

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/The_Royal_mile_in_Kampala.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-402592" width="835" height="549" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/The_Royal_mile_in_Kampala.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/The_Royal_mile_in_Kampala-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/The_Royal_mile_in_Kampala-768x506.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 835px) 100vw, 835px" /><figcaption>Kampala Photo: via Wikimedia Commons</figcaption></figure>



KAMPALA, April 26 (Reuters) &#8211; Uganda said on Monday it may approach its major creditors including China and the World Bank to negotiate a possible suspension of loan repayments amid a growing default risk after its debt load ballooned 35% in a single year.



The east African country gobbled up large credit lines from the World Bank, the International Monetary (IMF) and other lenders in 2020 to meet funding pressures triggered by the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.



The loans vastly swelled an already fast-rising debt pile for the country that had long worried some, including the central bank and the IMF.



Uganda&#8217;s total public debt surged to $18 billion as at December 2020, a 35% rise from a year earlier, fuelled by fresh borrowing to cover revenue shortfalls as measures taken to combat the coronavirus hit the economy hard and stifled tax collections. External creditors hold two thirds of the country&#8217;s debt, finance ministry data shows.



The country&#8217;s debt load is seen surging past 50% of GDP by the end of the current financial year in June, according to Finance Minister Matia Kasaija.



&#8220;I will approach them,&#8221; Kasaija told Reuters in an interview on Monday, referring to Uganda&#8217;s biggest creditors such as China, World Bank, IMF and others.



&#8220;I will not hesitate to approach them and say, &#8216;you guys can we suspend servicing these loans for, say, maybe two years?'&#8221;



Uganda is joining fellow African countries including Ethiopia, Zambia, Chad and others that are facing debt pressures either triggered or exacerbated by the effects of COVID-19.



In the fiscal year beginning July, the country will use up 20% of all its planned domestic tax revenues to repay interest rates on public debt, Kasaija said.



&#8220;It makes me uncomfortable. ..It is not a palatable idea,&#8221; he said, adding that debt repayments were swallowing up an increasingly disproportionate chunk of the country&#8217;s public resources.



Kasaija did not specify whether Uganda would seek relief under the G20&#8217;s Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) that some other nations have made use of, or under a different mechanism.



The country&#8217;s economy, which contracted 1.1% last year, is forecast to expand at 3.1% in 2021 helped by robust agriculture sector production and recovery of industrial activity.



Uganda&#8217;s external indebtedness was nearly wiped out in mid 2000s under the World Bank and IMF&#8217;s debt cancellation programs for poor and highly indebted nations.



But over the last decade the government of President Yoweri Museveni has vastly expanded its borrowing, mostly from China, to fund costly infrastructure including roads, airports, power plants and other projects.



The country is currently negotiating with China for a $2.2 billion loan to finance a much delayed standard gauge railway project.



A deal for that credit has been delayed by a demand by China that Uganda commit to repaying the loan with revenues from sales of its crude oil, among other issues, according to government officials.



&#8220;That one we refused, that one we totally refused. We can not mortgage our oil, that is a very sensitive resource, we can&#8217;t,&#8221; Kasaija said. 



(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; editing by Omar Mohammed and Lincoln Feast.)

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