World Bank

South Sudan
Central bank looks for a loophole in Doha's $1bn lawsuit

Proceedings in the case between the Bank of South Sudan and Qatar National Bank in a Washington DC court have been going on for nearly a year now.

DRC
New census project scraps ‘joint effort' with CENI and ONIP

The population identification and census process commissioned by the government will be overseen solely by Deputy Prime Minister and Planning Minister Guylain Nyembo along with the Institut National de la Statistique (INS).

Egypt
French giant Alstom bags Bashtil-Itay al-Barud section

Alstom Ferroviaria, Alstom’s Italian subsidiary, has secured the lion’s share of the contract for the modernisation of the Cairo–Alexandria railway line.

The New Guard
Sudan, Morocco, Ethiopia

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

SudanAmgad Fareid Eltayeb, former communist who has the ear of Burhan

MoroccoFadoua Mezgueldi, ‘green' finance pro serving the continent

EthiopiaMistresilasie Tamerat, rising opposition figure in Addis Ababa

Ethiopia
Macron to stop off in Addis on business

The French head of state plans to stop over in Ethiopia's capital after the Africa Forward summit on 11 and 12 May in Nairobi. He will be escorted by a small number of carefully selected companies on this short visit.

Kenya
French-Lebanese consortium wins feasibility study contract for Nairobi's urban train

Projected to take 24 months, the $5.7m contract will also cover the preliminary design and the preparation of tender documents for future work on the Kenyan capital’s metro system.

Tanzania
Chinese-Tanzanian trio secures road contracts worth $117m

The Tanzania Rural and Urban Roads Agency has awarded the first five contracts under a World Bank-funded programme aimed at improving access to rural areas in the south, centre and north-west of the country.

Central Africa
Bank of Central African States ends talks on restoration funds

After six years of negotiations, the BEAC and foreign operators have been unable to reach an agreement on the terms for repatriating funds for the rehabilitation of mining and oil sites in the CFA franc zone.

DRC
Kinshasa gains ground in lithium arbitration against AVZ Minerals

The World Bank tribunal has lifted the interim measures requiring the Congolese government to reinstate AVZ Minerals' rights over the Manono licence. The decision gives the authorities more room to manoeuvre in reorganising the development of one of the world's largest untapped lithium deposits.

Madagascar
Prime minister chooses new diplomatic adviser

The Malagasy head of government, Mamitiana Rajaonarison, has selected a diplomat, until now posted in France, to replace Ibrahim Norbert Richard, appointed to the Indian Ocean Commission.

North Africa
Mahgreb experts launch strategic think tank

Three specialists from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria have launched a new 'incubator' of ideas, the Paris-based Policy Network for Transitions. Its aim is to help local elites meet long-term climate and economic challenges in the Maghreb.

Madagascar
Prime minister leads mission to Washington

Prime Minister Mamitiana Rajaonarison is set to make his first official overseas visit on 16 April when he travels to Washington, with his priority on renewing AGOA. Accompanied by Malagasy officials and private sector representatives, he will attend the spring meetings of the World Bank and the IMF.

Lesotho
Collateral victim of the Trump administration, textile sector seeks survival plan

A mainstay of the national economy and heavily reliant on the US market, the sector, which employs around 40,000 people, is paying a heavy price for the rise in tariffs and the suspension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

Ethiopia
Foreign bank representative offices under scrutiny by National Bank

With the opening of the Ethiopian banking sector comes a greater supervision of the activities of these offices. Officially limited to non-financial commercial liaison missions, they play a key role in the parallel currency market.

Cameroon, Congo
World Bank injects $395m into Congo Basin forests

The funding for the first phase of the Sustainable Congo Basin Forest Economies Program, running until 2034, has just been approved.