| 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 African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will have a second go at presenting a national budget on Wednesday, three weeks after his first attempt was derailed by a backlash from within the nation's coalition government. It's a tough ask. The minister has to fill a 191-billion-rand ($10.4 billion) hole in his three-year revenue and spending framework that opened up after his proposal to raise the value-added tax rate by two percentage points fell flat. His revised plans will need to win broad acceptance from ruling alliance members with widely disparate views.  Enoch Godongwana. Photographer: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg The Democratic Alliance, the second-biggest party, opposes any tax increases and wants Gondongwana to focus on spending cuts and improving tax compliance. Its larger rival, the African National Congress, is loath to walk back on its pledges to build new infrastructure and increase access to healthcare and other services — even though some within its ranks also don't want consumption taxes to be raised. Reaching a compromise is proving to be the toughest test yet for the 10-party coalition that was formed last year after the ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since winning multiracial elections in 1994. The party is seemingly still coming to terms with a political environment in which it doesn't hold all the cards. Talks have been taking place behind the scenes and the odds are that a deal will eventually be struck. Sources say Godongwana will win approval for a proposal to increase the VAT rate by a smaller margin in exchange for agreeing to a spending review and taking measures to speed up economic growth. Some expenditure cuts and adjustments to the tax mix are also possible. What's likely to ultimately emerge is a solution that noone in the coalition is completely happy with — yet one that will keep the government intact. — Ntando Thukwana Key stories and opinion:
South Africa's Cabinet Backs a Smaller Value-Added Tax Hike
This Is How South Africa Can Fill a $10.4 Billion Budget Hole
South Africa Budget Fiasco Is a Lesson for ANC: Justice Malala
South Africa Budget Unraveled After a Key Detail Was Kept Secret
Highlights of South Africa's Budget That Stalled on Tax Hike France returned two military facilities to Senegal's government, initiating a process that's likely to culminate in the withdrawal of about 350 troops stationed in the West African nation. The move follows a ceremony in Ivory Coast last month, where French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu handed over an army base to his Ivorian counterpart. France's roughly 400 soldiers in Ivory Coast will be reduced to less than 100 as the two countries maintain some military cooperation. France has also withdrawn troops from Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in recent years.  A French soldier in Niger in 2022. Photographer: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images Former Credit Suisse Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam has been picked to lead a broad opposition coalition in Ivory Coast ahead of presidential elections in October. The 62-year old's party, known by its French acronym PDCI-RDA, is aligning with more than a dozen others to form the Coalition for Peaceful Change. Tensions are building ahead of the vote, in which 83-year old President Alassane Ouattara is expected to seek a fourth term. Gangs of thieves are tapping pipelines in Nigeria that feed Africa's biggest liquefied natural gas plant to access condensate, a dangerous pursuit that's sent exports of the hydrocarbon plummeting. Criminals have targeted the conduits that traverse the country's Niger Delta region for decades, but a government crackdown on crude theft has driven them to focus on gas pipelines used to transport the even more valuable ultra-light form of oil that's easy to process at makeshift refineries.  Tug boats maneuver a liquefied natural gas carrier operated by Nigeria LNG as it arrives in the port of Sines, Portugal, on Jan. 13. Photographer: Zed Jameson/Bloomberg Kenyan President William Ruto signed a power-sharing agreement with opposition leader Raila Odinga, months after deadly anti-government protests shook the nation. The political pact will see the leader and his former rival work together to ease tensions and promote reconciliation. Odinga, who has unsuccessfully run for president five times, returned to domestic politics after failing to be elected African Union Commission chairman last month. The price of cocoa has slumped almost 40% since last year's record-breaking rally, which was fueled by supply fears and poor weather in top growers Ivory Coast and Ghana. The International Cocoa Organization forecasts a surplus after three consecutive years of deficit, with more rainfall across West Africa helping crops sprout new flowers and leaves. The market downturn is weighing on Ghana's economy.  A farmer cuts a cocoa pod on a farm in Azaguie, Ivory Coast. Photographer: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Bloomberg Mali will resume granting mineral exploration and extraction permits in mid-March, more than two years after suspending the process. The move marks a turning point in the implementation of reforms by the transitional government "to ensure rigorous governance of the mining sector," Minister of Mines Amadou Keita said. One of Africa's top gold producers, Mali has been under military rule since 2020, when General Assimi Goita ousted Ibrahim Boubacar's democratically elected government. Thank you for your responses to our weekly Next Africa Quiz and congratulations to Mike Kruiniger who was first to identify Gabon as the African country that will hold general elections this year after more than three years of military rule.  Tropical cyclone Jude. Source: NASA Worldview Tropical cyclone Jude made landfall near Mozambique's main coal-export terminal on Monday. The storm strengthened to the equivalent of a category 1 hurricane, Meteo France said. There were no reports of deaths and the impact on the port wasn't immediately clear. The nation's weather service warned of heavy rainfall, and the European Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Centre said there was a risk of flooding in some areas. 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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