| Welcome to Next Africa, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it's headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. Mauritius has a final hurdle to overcome to regain control of the Chagos islands: sign-off from US President Donald Trump. Britain has ruled the Chagos for more than two centuries and together with America has operated a military base there since the 1970s. After long negotiations, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government agreed to cede sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius and pay it an undisclosed fee for the rights to continue operating the base on Diego Garcia, the main island, for 99 years.  The Chagos archipelago. Source: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group/Getty Images A draft agreement setting out the terms of the transfer has been concluded, but Trump's administration needs to give the okay before it can be ratified, according to Mauritian Attorney General Gavin Glover. "The base is American and British. So we understand why Mr. Starmer wants Mr. Trump to have a look at the document before it is signed," Glover told the state broadcaster. "We are somehow at the mercy of what the Americans will tell the British and that's a little unfortunate. But we remain confident that things will go well." That's not guaranteed though: Marco Rubio, Trump's pick for secretary of state, told Politico the accord posed a serious threat to US security interests in the Indian Ocean. The Mauritian government needs signoff on the deal to correct what it considers the historical injustice of being stripped of part of its territory and receive payments that will help shore up the state's finances. The former British colony stands to earn as much as £90 million ($110 million) a year and the UK has agreed to front-load transfers, Mauritian media outlets have reported. That may not carry weight with Trump and his team, who've made no secret of their intention to put American interests first. — Kamlesh Bhuckory Key stories and opinion:
Mauritius, UK Await Trump Okay After Agreeing Draft Chagos Deal
A Guide to the UK's Pending Handover of the Chagos: QuickTake
UK, Mauritius Say 'Good Progress' Has Been Made in Chagos Talks
UK Closes In on Chagos Deal With Seven Years of Upfront Payments
Evicted From an Island Paradise, They Want Reparations From UK Dozens of private healthcare companies operating in Uganda and other lower-income countries received millions of dollars in public funding to expand access to services. Yet they've denied emergency treatment to some critically ill patients, a Bloomberg investigation has found. The firms got more than $9 billion over 25 years from the International Finance Corp., the World Bank unit that invests in for-profit businesses. Instead of helping those most in need, the initiative has exacerbated a two-tier system in which wealthier patients get first-class care and those who can't afford to pay are turned away or face abusive debt-collection tactics.  WATCH: How a Ugandan clinic exposed a healthcare tragedy. Mozambique is considering restructuring its public debt after the government lost about $664 million of revenue due to post-election unrest, the country's new finance minister said. Her comments sparked a sell-off in the nation's dollar bonds. Carla Louveira, who President Daniel Chapo appointed as finance chief last week, declined to say which liabilities the government is looking to revamp. Protests that erupted after the disputed Oct. 9 vote have shaken the southeast African nation and disrupted regional trade. Tanzania's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party named Samia Hassan as its presidential candidate in elections due to be held this year. Hassan was President John Magufuli's deputy and succeeded him after he died in office four years ago. She becomes the first woman to be nominated for the post by the party that's led the gas-rich East African nation since independence in 1961.  Samia Hassan. Photographer: Neema Irene Ngileme/Bloomberg Nigeria's commercial capital is capitalizing on a year-end extravaganza that's fired up the tourism industry. Revelers that visited Lagos for Detty December, a month filled with concerts and other activities, boosted the state's coffers by $71.6 million, according to Idris Aregbe, a special adviser to the regional governor. More than 1.2 million people joined in the festivities. Nigeria's Afrobeats stars such as Grammy award-winning duo Burna Boy and Wizkid, and singer Arya Star, performed at sold-out venues. ArcelorMittal's plans to shut down a century-old steel mill in South Africa are holding President Cyril Ramaphosa's dream of fostering a $257 billion infrastructure boom to ransom. The plant — and two others the company wants to idle — supply the materials needed for the vaunted rollout of power-transmission towers, rail lines and new roads. Ramaphosa says those projects will turn the country into a construction site, boost sluggish growth and provide much-needed employment. Industry groups estimate the closures place at least 100,000 relatively high-paying jobs at risk.  An ArcelorMittal furnace in the town of Vereeniging. Photographer: Gianluigi Guerci/AFP/Getty Images Some water-bottling companies in South Sudan halted production after the government introduced a new tax on plastics. Factories have run out of plastic bottles following a standoff with customs in clearing supplies of the containers, according to Adam Kubanja, chairman of the Association of South Sudan Manufacturers. The two-week deadlock imperils the supply of safe drinking water for 1.5 million residents of Juba, the capital. Crippled by decades of war, South Sudan lacks piped water, grid electricity and other basic amenities. Thank you for your responses to our weekly Next Africa Quiz and congratulations to Sammy Kibet who was first to identify Mozambique as the African nation with the world's tallest serving leader. Sasol, the largest maker of motor fuels from coal, is looking to revive its international chemical business, including a sprawling US complex, to boost earnings and open up an option to potentially list it, Simon Baloyi, the company's chief executive officer, said in an interview. The South African company's shares initially jumped on the news. Sasol reported its first loss since 2020 last year and took billions of dollars in writedowns. Thanks for reading. We'll be back in your inbox with the next edition on Friday. Send any feedback to mcohen21@bloomberg.net | 
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