The Editorial Team |

Four Seats Enough, Rwanda’s Opposition Declares Vote Victory

KIGALI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Rwandan opposition parties won just four seats in parliamentary elections — but that’s enough for one of their leaders to hail a victory for democracy in the tightly controlled East African nation. The outcome of the Sept. 3 vote marks the first time a party not in the Rwandan Patriotic Front coalition has secured lawmakers since the country was torn apart by a 1994 genocide. Provisional results show the…

Recession Hands South African Opposition Potential Lifeline

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s surprise recession provides an opening for opposition parties heading into next year’s elections against the ruling African National Congress. The question is whether they can capitalize on it. News of the economic slump on Tuesday marked the first real setback for the ANC in months. Since appointing Cyril Ramaphosa as president in February, surveys showed the party making headway in winning back support lost during the scandal-marred rule of…

Ramaphosa’s South African Recession Heightens Election Risk

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – President Cyril Ramaphosa’s job of getting South Africa back on track just got a lot more perilous with the surprising news that the economy has slipped into recession. He must walk a fine line between restoring investor confidence battered by almost nine years of misrule by his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, while reducing widespread poverty. And next year’s general elections are looming. The “Ramaphoria” that buoyed the markets and the public at large after…

Steinhoff Ex-CEO Says He Didn’t Know of Financial Irregularities

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Steinhoff International Holdings NV ex-Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste said he wasn’t aware of any financial irregularities and quit as head of the global retailer after disagreeing with the board on how to deal with a dispute with auditors Deloitte LLP. In his first public appearance since the accounting crisis that wiped billions of euros of the company’s market value in December, Jooste challenged the widespread view that he is responsible for…

MTN Ghana’s IPO Set to `Lift the Gloom’ From Accra Stock Market

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Accra’s share market is poised for a massive boost in liquidity Wednesday when shares start trading in MTN Group Ltd.’s local unit. While MTN sold only about a third of the shares available in the initial public offering, the 1.1 billion cedis ($238 million) raised is still more than three times larger than the next biggest Ghana IPO. The sale attracted thousands of individual investors and vastly increases the…

Zambia to Trim Budget Gap; May Be Considering Higher Mine Taxes

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LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zambia plans to trim its fiscal deficit next year even as Africa’s second-biggest copper producer boosts spending. It may be considering raising mine taxes to achieve that, according to analysts. The Finance Ministry is targeting a budget shortfall of 6.5 percent of gross domestic product next year, compared to 7.4 percent this year, according to a medium-term expenditure plan that sets its fiscal course until 2021. At the same time, it…

Biggest Congo Coltan Miner Resumes Buying After Output Halt

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Societe Miniere de Bisunzu Sarl, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s biggest coltan miner, resumed purchases of the ore after a three-month shutdown at one of the country’s largest deposits. Output restarted at SMB’s mining permit, comprising seven sites at Rubaya in east Congo, on Aug. 14 and the company began buying the minerals extracted by artisanal diggers on Tuesday, Freddy Nzonga, the company’s director of traceability, said by phone….

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