| 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. South Africa's turn hosting the Group of 20 nations was supposed to be a time to focus on the priorities of the developing world. Instead, it's been all about a wholesale Western turn inward and an abandonment of the Global South. As finance chiefs gathered in Cape Town this week under the theme of "solidarity, equality and sustainability," European ministers held their own mini-summit on how they'd dramatically increase defense spending in response to US President Donald Trump's demands.  South African President Cyril Ramaphosa greets attendees at the G-20 meeting in Cape Town on Wednesday. Photographer: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg The UK's announcement that it would largely fund its arms boost by reducing foreign aid was particularly biting. Domestic concerns now outweigh the soft power and comity that's defined international relations for generations. The British cuts follow similar moves by the Netherlands last week and the US in January. It marks a Western retreat from international assistance that supports health-care systems, governance and education across the emerging world. Add to that Washington's decision to permanently end USAID-funded projects across Africa and the week certainly wasn't the spotlight South Africa had hoped for when it took over the leadership of the G-20 from Brazil.  WATCH: G-20 business negotiator Cas Coovadia speaks with Bloomberg's Joumanna Bercetche. A mysterious flu-like illness and new mpox strain that's stricken almost a thousand people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent weeks point to how integral Western funding has been — the response to such outbreaks was almost entirely foreign-supported. "There will be millions of people who will not live two or three years from now because of these decisions," said Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Development Programme. "The collective intelligence that you normally see and wisdom of the G-20 is just not kicking in." With the world scrambling to adjust to Trump's policy onslaught, it may be hard to reset minds on African needs in its first G-20 presidency. — Neil Munshi Key stories and opinion:
G-20 Finance Heads Fail to Reach Consensus on Climate Finance
Arms Splurge Overshadows Aid at Africa's First G-20 Presidency
South Africa Seeks 'Meaningful Deal' With US Amid Strained Ties
Trump Terminates Many USAID-Funded African Health Programs
South Africa's Diplomatic Losses Are Hard To Stem: Alex Parker Ghana's new president says the nation's finances are worse off than he expected after an initial assessment of state agencies' debt. John Mahama vowed to reset the economy after benefiting from a protest vote against the previous government, winning December elections by the widest margin since 2000. His new administration is in talks with the International Monetary Fund to refine its $3 billion program, which includes ambitious revenue projections. New central bank governor, Johnson Asiama, vowed to implement clear policies with a focus on curbing inflation that's been weighing on households and businesses.  Attendees at Mahama's inauguration in Accra on Jan. 7. Photographer: Ernest Ankomah/Bloomberg Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed traveled to neighboring Somalia for talks with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the two nations mend ties strained by a dispute over Addis Ababa's quest to gain access to a port. He was greeted by intermittent mortar shelling near the main airport by suspected Islamist militants. A year ago, Abiy announced plans for an agreement with the self-governing region of Somaliland — territory over which Somalia claims sovereignty — for rights to set up a military base. In exchange, the enclave was promised an unspecified stake in Ethiopian Airlines, Africa's biggest carrier. Some of the world's oldest family-owned chocolatiers have closed down across Europe over the past year — casualties of a fourth straight season of tight cocoa supplies that have driven up prices. Larger companies, such as Nestle and Hershey, have all taken hits to their share prices, but their scale has enabled them to ride out market disruptions. Europe is responsible for about half of global cocoa bean imports and most of that is bought from West Africa, where harsh weather and virulent crop diseases have hit harvests hard.  A cocoa farmer in Kwabeng, Ghana. Photographer: Paul Ninson/Bloomberg Democratic Republic of Congo is starting to enforce a long-planned state monopoly to control production of hand-dug cobalt, stepping up efforts to boost prices for the battery metal by leveraging the country's dominance over global supplies. The company, to be known as EGC, is considering buying the metal from small-scale miners during a four-month suspension of exports it imposed last week and stockpiling the material. The measures mark an unprecedented effort by the central African nation that's the world's biggest producer of cobalt to regain control of market. Rwanda is courting European football clubs to maintain sponsorship deals as Congo steps up pressure on the teams to sever ties, accusing its neighbor of destabilizing its mineral-rich eastern region. Earlier this month, Congo asked Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich to terminate the "Visit Rwanda" tourism campaign and ditch the "blood-stained" sponsorship. Separately, the UK will suspend most financial aid to Rwanda over its support for rebels seizing territory in Congo, and will coordinate with partners on potential sanctions.  The "Visit Rwanda" logo on the sleeve of an Arsenal shirt on Nov. 26. Photographer: Stuart MacFarlane/Getty Images The Trump administration dismantled a US initiative to increase electricity supply in Africa after more than a decade of work, sources say. It has listed almost all of Power Africa's programs for termination and fired most of its staff. It may retain some projects, particularly those aimed at connecting with US companies under other American agencies. Former President Barack Obama initiated the program, operated by USAID, to add 30 gigawatts of cleaner electricity generation capacity and 60 million connections to homes and businesses. Next Africa Quiz — Which African nation's president fired his trade minister following protests over prices? Send your answers to gbell16@bloomberg.net. Data Watch - South African inflation accelerated after the statistics office revised the data used to calculate household expenditure. At 3.2% in January, it remains close to the bottom of the central bank's target range.
- Angola's finance minister has received approval to raise as much as $3 billion in eurobonds and at most $1 billion through the sale of yen-denominated bonds to fund the 2025 spending plan.
- ArcelorMittal South Africa will go ahead with its plan to shutter crucial steel mills in the country, resulting in the loss of about 3,500 direct and indirect jobs.
- Kenya's annual inflation rate climbed to a five-month high in February as food prices continued to increase.
Coming Up - March 3 Nigeria PMI report for February, Angola reserves, South Africa manufacturing PMI & new-vehicle sales for February
- March 4 South Africa fourth-quarter GDP data, Egypt PMI report
- March 5 Ghana inflation for February, South Africa first-quarter business confidence, February PMI reports for Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa, Central Bank of West African States interest-rate decision
- March 6 South Africa current-account data for the fourth quarter, Mauritius inflation & reserves data for February
- March 7 Mauritius inflation & reserves data for February, Seychelles inflation, South Africa reserves
 On this week's podcast, Bloomberg's Nduka Orjinmo joins Jennifer Zabasajja to explain why cash agents are so popular in Nigeria. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment