Category: Africa

The world is chaotic: Covid-19, economic uncertainty, and war. Amid the signs of chaos, it is said that the obvious signs of danger or opportunity can be missed. But no one is missing the power grab being made by Tunisia’s President Kaïs Saïed, following the recent dismissals of ministers, including Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, and Minister of Economy, Finance and Investment Support Ali Kooli, and the suspension of parliament. Saïed also recently announced plans to strip legislators of immunity and assume power of the state prosecutor’s office. But is this danger or opportunity? The most obvious comparison to this situation is Lebanon…but to what extent is Tunisia like Lebanon?

On a global scale, people are angry at the current health and economic environment with protests becoming increasingly prevalent. The question for political analysts and investors is whether the anger and unrest boils to an unsustainable level for some countries….

Congrats to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on his re-election (we all know who will win)…But how has Abiy Ahmed fared as Prime Minister? And what criteria do we use to grade him?

Covid-19 is the introduction and closing to many personal and business conversations these days. It is also the starting point for most economic discussions across the globe. Discussions on the African continent are no different. But, in the context of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the Covid-19 pandemic may be a distraction from the realities of deeper economic problems…

The distribution of vaccines is changing the economic outlook in 2021 with most politicians and investors forecasting a continued recovery. Yet the political and economic risks that preceded the covid-19 pandemic remain alongside the lockdown measures necessary to combat the virus. The year will be turbulent for some countries as public confidence and investor sentiment vacillates with optimism and skepticism on vaccine acceptance rates and economic output numbers. Several countries are likely to be bellwethers for the markets, or at least, provide some directional insight on the global economy’s recovery…

There are many elections in Africa in 2021, but they won’t all be competitive. Some of the countries on the calendar, like Benin, Chad, and the Republic of the Congo, have very strongly entrenched incumbents. The 2021 election calendar in Africa, in comparison to 2020, however, will have many international observers from afar and maybe on the ground, as in Libya…

Africa, in the eyes of some political analysts, has been an after-thought for Washington these last four years. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing; it speaks to the political and economic stability that dominates most of the 54 countries on the continent. That said, Biden will encounter a few major issues that may not test bipartisanship but will surely require more than an after-thought approach…

Can Nigeria’s President employ the strategy of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince in privatising a state oil corporation?

American President Donald Trump explicitly floated the idea of delaying November’s presidential election by way of a tweet on 30 of July…