The president's chief of staff and other senior members of government are complicating any steps towards reconciliation with the Anglophone separatist movement by digging in their heels.
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Politics 
The granting of an optical fibre concession to a company controlled by Omar Denis Jr Bongo, son of former Gabonese president Omar Bongo and grandson of Congolese president Denis Sassou Nguesso, has provoked a wave of protest among Congo Telecom employees.
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Politics 
Struggling to find funds for his undersea heavy minerals exploration projects in West Africa, Canadian geologist Robert J. Griffis is back on firm ground in Ghana to prospect for gold.
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Mining By setting particularly short deadlines on tender calls for French army transport contracts in West Africa, France has pulled the rug from under the feet of potential competitors of the existing contractor, Bolloré group, which should thus be able to continue to provide its services.
US Judge Keith Ellison decided late November that Sarbonne Estate cannot block the Department of Justice's seizure of Nigerian national Kola Aluko's villa.
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Energy Jean-Luc Mélenchon is increasingly using Emmanuel Macron's policies on Africa to attack the centrist leader as the clock ticks down to France's 2022 presidential election, in which the far-left firebrand has already declared himself a candidate.
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Diplomacy 
Africa's coffee producers would like to impose the same demands on multinationals as Ghana and Ivory Coast have done on cacao but are struggling to coordinate their efforts. Their battle has everyone involved, from the Fine Coffees Association to the International Coffee Organization.
The inter-regional institution's 20 December meeting, announced by Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, will give presidents Kenyatta and Farmajo a chance to discuss the border crisis their ministers are unable to settle.
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Diplomacy Les échanges diplomatiques continuent de se multiplier, en amont de la visite du président djiboutien Ismaïl Omar Guelleh en France, prévue pour fin janvier.
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Diplomacy 
AfriMet, which has pumped half a million dollars into lithium developer Tantalex Resources in the DRC, is keen to get involved in other countries rich in the metal, with Zimbabwe top of the list. The move is a way of diversifying into battery metals, which are in great demand for electronics, a sector AfriMet already serves as a "3T" trader.
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Mining French electricity company Engie is looking to take advantage of South Africa's wish to free itself of its dependence on coal to build a gas-fired power station in the Coega Special Economic Zone.
The low-profile but well-connected Groupe Bourouag Construction has won a contract to build 950 social housing units, brushing aside criticism from beneficiaries and its main client, the public agency AADL.
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Business The son of industry minister Moulay Hafid Elalamy has set up a real estate company in Paris and is exerting his influence on the family group by restructuring its management and Saham's activities.
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Business 
