Features | - Part 161

Zuma Is Said to Allow Gupta Probe in Bid to Keep Job

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African President Jacob Zuma agreed to the appointment of a commission to probe allegations that his son’s business partners had exerted undue influence over state decisions, a move aimed at defusing calls for him to step down immediately, three ruling-party officials with knowledge of the matter said. The rand fell. Zuma, 75, announced the formation of the commission late Tuesday, two days after he agreed to the probe in a…

Zuma Is Said to Face Ouster Bid at South African ANC Meeting

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African President Jacob Zuma will face a fresh bid to force him from office when the ruling African National Congress’s top leadership meets this week for the first time since he relinquished control of the party to his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa. A proposal to order Zuma to step down before his term ends in 2019 will be discussed at a Wednesday meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee in the southern…

Bitcoin Is Teaching Libertarians Everything They Don’t Know About Economics

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin changes prices too quickly to be a currency and processes transactions too slowly to be a payments system, but it is juuust right for teaching libertarians everything they don’t know about economics. Not that they’re paying attention. If you listen to bitcoin’s biggest backers, it’s supposed to be our gleaming future, one where we can make money just by holding it, move it anywhere in the world for…

Angolan Leader Denies Targeting Predecessor’s Family in Shake-Up

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angolan President Joao Lourenco denied he’s targeting the family of his predecessor, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, whose eldest daughter was among hundreds of officials fired after he took the helm of Africa’s second-biggest oil producer in September. “This isn’t about chasing people,” Lourenco told reporters Monday in the capital, Luanda. “It’s about fixing situations that proved to be harmful to the public interest.” Since replacing Dos Santos, Lourenco has removed his daughter,…

Egypt Presidential Vote in March as Top El-Sisi Rival Out

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s top election body said Monday that the next presidential election will be held in March, and gave prospective candidates about three weeks to declare. So far the race has only one potential contender: incumbent Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. His most serious possible challenger to date, former premier and air force general Ahmed Shafiq, backed out of contention late Sunday after a mysterious string of events. That left the field wide open…

Zimbabwean Opposition Leader Tsvangirai Suggests He May Retire

Posted on by The Editorial Team

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – The leader of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party hinted Monday at his possible retirement, less than two months after the end of his long-time foe President Robert Mugabe’s almost four-decade rule. “We must recognize the imperative that new hands, with the full blessing of the people, must take this struggle and this country forward,” Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change said in a statement emailed from the capital, Harare. Mugabe, 93,…

As Chaos and Despair Grow in Libya, Qaddafi Son Plans Comeback

Posted on by The Editorial Team

TRIPOLI (Capital Markets in Africa) – The fugitive son and onetime heir apparent of Libya’s late Muammar Qaddafi is planning a comeback. Seif al-Islam “decided to run in presidential elections and I see a big chance for him because all the big tribes are supporting him,” said Abdel Majeed al-Mansouri, who headed Libya’s economic development board before 2011 and was close to him. “People are frustrated. Even those who were against the old regime will side…

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