With a war chest of a billion dollars, Abu Dhabi Ports is hunting for projects in Africa in a bid to match its arch-rival DP World. Backed by the emirate's highest authorities, the parastatal, which in less than two years has gone from sub-regional player to global giant, is nevertheless struggling to build a proper African empire.
Trident OGX has managed to become the operator of Congo's MKB concession, previously held by the state oil company. This is how the US firm pulled it off.
The Cameroonian state has been a majority shareholder in the French subsidiary of Africa 24 for the past two years. After a period of observation, it has been trying to regain control of the pan-African channel's editorial line since the end of 2021 with the aim of securing friendly coverage on a continental scale.
In a move eagerly awaited by President Touadéra, Tunisia, Senegal, Togo and Bhutan will send rapid reaction forces to the UN's peacekeeping mission in CAR in the first quarter of 2022. The sheer number of extra troops, to which Ghana has also pledged to add its own before the summer, is proving a logisitical challenge for MINUSCA.
As the 2023 presidential election approaches, President Ali Bongo is trying to regain control of the leadership of the Parti Democratique Gabonais but is struggling to get party leaders to accept his chosen candidate for the top job.
An instrumental figure in the mining sector under Alpha Condé, but sidelined since the coup, Alkaly Yamoussa Bangoura has just set up a consultancy firm dedicated to the industry.
After advising the special oil unit, COS Petrogaz, housed within the president's office of Senegal, on the technical and financial issues involved in the Tortue gas mega-project, the British technical and strategic consultancy firm specialising in hydrocarbons, Gaffney, Cline & Associates, was retained at the end of December by neighbouring Mauritania to "develop a strategic vision for the oil sector".
Short of ideas as to how to deal with the coup leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, at the start of this month the US State Department opened a dialogue with the resistance committees in Khartoum who are campaigning actively for an end to the military regime.
Heavily in debt since the cancellation of a $46.6m contract to manage Ministry of Health data, Mike Macharia is making his final move by preparing a lawsuit against the Kenyatta administration.
Officially owned since December 2020 by the public entity Kuvimba Mining House, Bindura Nickel still has several allies of the magnate Kudakwashe Tagwirei on its board, thereby perpetuating the ambiguity as to who is really in charge of the mining assets belonging to this new state-owned company.
Issad Rebrab's heirs, who now run the Cevital industrial empire, have set up an online marketplace on the back of their Uno hypermarkets. Their aim is to break free from their current partners, African giant Jumia and Algerian start-up Yassir.
Levi, who oversaw the launch of mobile money at mobile operator Inwi, controlled by King Mohammed VI, has flown the coop for a new job in Dubai.
The European Parliament's delegation for relations with North Africa and its human rights subcommittee will convene in late January to discuss the case of Tunisia, and MEPs may subsequently adopt a resolution denouncing the constitutional abuses perpetrated by Kais Saied.
