Archives

The New Guard
Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, DR Congo, Ethiopia

Every Wednesday, Africa Intelligence spotlights a new generation of movers and shakers in business and politics.

SenegalMouhamadou Lamine Bara, the PR man advising Macky Sall's opponents

Equatorial GuineaTeresa Isabel Nnang Avomo, GEPetrol's new boss at the service of the vice president

DR CongoTrésor Mputu moves from football to politics

EthiopiaKidus Fisaha Asfaw, from Mountain View to green construction

DRC
Albert Yuma's young guard take helm of DRC's Gécamines

The state miner's new chairman and general managers appointed by Kinshasa to give Gécamines a new lease of life were all in the good books of the firm's all-powerful former boss Albert Yuma Mulimbi. They also each worked at one time for private mining firms operating in DRC, such as AngloGold and Glencore.

Senegal
Military drone procurement sparks scramble

At the initiative of air force chief of staff General Papa Souleymane Sarr, Senegal is consulting a number of firms over its plans to acquire several observation drones. Among the potential suppliers are French companies Delair and Eos Technologie.

Ivory Coast
Cogitech is army's preferred supplier for northern border protection

Cogitech, a company headed by Abdoulaye Zeba, is working with the Ivorian army general staff to install military surveillance equipment on the country's borders. It has signed new agreements with Chinese group Huawei, Motorola and American drone manufacturer Skydio.

Guinea
ECOWAS tries to reboot dialogue between Conakry junta and opposition

The US embassy in Conakry last week hosted a delegation from Guinea opposition parties, including Union des Forces Démocratiques de Guinée (UFDG), l'Union des Forces Républicaines (UFR) and the RPG to try and restart dialogue with the junta.

East Africa, Ethiopia, Somalia
Somaliland conflict takes a regional turn

Somaliland, long seen as a haven of stability in a troubled region, is facing increasing unrest as fighting continues around the town of Las Anod between the breakaway province's army and militias loyal to Somalia and backed by al-Shabaab fighters.

Madagascar
Rajoelina's reshuffle ruffles generals' feathers

Senior army officers are unhappy with the appointment as defence minister of General Josoa Rakotoarijaona, who took part in the 2009 coup, not least because other top brass once loyal to the head of state have been sidelined.

Egypt
Construction giants in dispute over €1.7bn Alexandria metro line

Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors are in dispute over the award of a €1.7bn deal to build a metro line in Egypt's second city. Projects such as this one backed by international financial institutions are vital for Egyptian firms suffering from a dearth of foreign currency.

Algeria
President's office rejects foreign minister's diplomatic appointments

Ramtane Lamamra had drawn up a list of postings for several ambassadors and consuls for the upcoming diplomatic reshuffle, but President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's office vetoed some of the appointments.

Algeria
Axing of Algeria's energy transition ministry deals fatal blow to Solar 1000 MW project

After the axing of the Solar 1000 MW project, Sonelgaz subsidiary Sonelgaz ENR-CEEG will now pilot the 15,000 MW programme until 2035.