Crypto News: Next Africa: A power struggle

Welcome to Next Africa, a daily newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it’s headed. Sign up here. In today’s edition, we look at:

An increasingly noisy row over the future of Eskom
Ebola’s impact on mothers and babies in Congo
Workers being paid to teach robots their jobs

Keeping the Wires

South Africa’s power utility Eskom has held off on crippling rolling outages for more than a year and started a green-energy business to fill demand for renewables.

The coal-reliant firm even turns a profit these days, following seven years of losses when households and businesses endured daily electricity cuts.

Reforms designed to modernize Eskom — a century-old monopoly — have also moved along. The legal framework is being built to separate generation, distribution and transmission units to help boost competition, allowing private companies to access the grid.

There’s a catch, though, that comes with better performance.

Cyril Ramaphosa at the Kusile Power Station on April 10.

The company’s leaders aren’t eager to lose Eskom’s profitable transmission assets. That’s put them at odds with the plan endorsed by President Cyril Ramaphosa who, because they work for a state-owned company, is ultimately their boss.

Business groups insist that to create a fair environment in which private companies can supply and trade electricity, transmission assets must be owned by an independent operator, rather than Eskom, the dominant player in generation. Ramaphosa agrees.

The spat has now gone public.

In an interview last week, Eskom’s Chairman Mteto Nyati dug in, warning that the government shouldn’t leave the business in an unsustainable state and suggested the proposal will worry the utility’s creditors.

Taxis in central Johannesburg during a power outage in February 2023.

The presidency countered that the impression left by the head of the board was “unfortunate.” The National Treasury and a task team set up to advise the government support the breakup, leaving Eskom’s leadership out on a limb.

A stable electricity system has taken away one of the biggest anchors that held back South Africa’s economy for more than a decade, and an ambitious reform project was meant to ensure the lights stay on for decades to come.

Yet disagreement may slow, if not derail, that process and set Eskom up to return to turmoil and the dark days of loadshedding. — Paul Burkhardt

What Everyone’s Reading

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema’s party is confident of a win in Thursday’s election, even as challenger, Brian Mundubile, eats into support by making the high cost of living a central campaign target. While the incumbent can boast impressive economic numbers, that progress hasn’t translated into better standards for many citizens.

Nigeria’s central bank expanded eligibility for participation in Open Market Operations, allowing individuals, companies and more financial institutions to trade in securities. The measures add to steps Governor Olayemi Cardoso has implemented since taking over at the central bank three years ago, including liberalizing the foreign-exchange market.

A group of companies including TotalEnergies warned that Madagascar’s requisition of the island’s only oil-storage facility could disrupt fuel supplies by preventing tankers from unloading. The government last week decreed that it would need the Galana tanks to unload a ship that arrived on Wednesday carrying 67 million liters of diesel, just as another tanker carrying oil products sourced by the firms was due to dock.

Maternal deaths have doubled in the epicenter of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak, as pregnant women avoid hospitals and medical staff and supplies are diverted to fight the virus. The mounting toll is exposing two threats to mothers and babies: The breakdown of routine maternity care and the largely unknown consequences for those who contract the Bundibugyo strain.

This month’s most lucrative emerging-market carry trade is attracting foreign investors to South African rand bonds at the fastest pace since January. Separately, planned capital investment slumped 81% in the first half of 2026 as the Iran war strained business confidence and the number of government projects declined sharply.

South Africa’s Top Court Rejects Appeal of Impeachment Ruling

The Constitutional Court denied a direct application to appeal a lower court’s ruling that interdicted a parliamentary committee from holding public hearings as part of a probe into whether Ramaphosa should be impeached.

E-Finance Eyes Egypt Expansion With $96 Million Tamweely Deal

Egyptian financial technology firm E-Finance is set to acquire a non-banking financial-services provider in a deal to tap into a rapidly expanding market.

Quote of the Week

“If things improve, I will try my luck again.”

James Wahela

A shop owner after returning to Malawi

Wahela was among thousands of migrants repatriated to their home countries amid anti-foreigner protests in South Africa.

Last Word

Tens of thousands of Indian workers are being paid extra to record how they use their hands, from stitching shoes to welding steel. Artificial intelligence companies are competing to collect videos to give their machines new skills. The tasks are being filmed by workers who are effectively teaching robots to take over their jobs.