Features

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – A screw-like device found in the wreckage of the Boeing Co. 737 Max 8 that crashed Sunday in Ethiopia has provided investigators with an early clue into what happened, as work begins in France to decode the black boxes recovered from the scene. The so-called jackscrew, used to set the trim that raises and lowers the plane’s nose, indicates the jet was configured to dive, based on a preliminary review, according…

NAiROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – A Kenyan court has annulled a contentious banking law that caps what lenders can charge consumers for loans at 4 percentage points above the central bank rate, calling the legislation “vague, imprecise, ambiguous and indefinite.” The Nairobi High Court suspended the implementation of the ruling for 12 months to give the National Assembly an opportunity to reconsider the provisions, according to the Thursday judgement. Boniface Oduor filed the lawsuit…

GABORONE (Capital Markers in Africa) – Botswana’s ruling party is in the midst of its worst crisis since taking power at independence from the U.K. in 1966 as a leadership battle rages ahead of an elective congress next month. A political feud between President Mokgweetsi Masisi and his predecessor, Ian Khama, has exposed divisions within the Botswana Democratic Party as it’s preparing to hold a leadership vote on April 5 and contest general elections later this year. The…

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markers in Africa) – French President Emmanuel Macron has meanwhile held discussions with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed about a new contract for Toulouse-based Airbus SE as part of a renewal of the Ethiopian Airlines fleet, a French official said Thursday. Though the African carrier already operates the European planemaker’s A350 wide-body, all of its other jets are Boeings, including 787 Dreamliners for which it was one of the first global customers, and a variety of 737s. Macron…

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markers in Africa) – Ethiopia has sent black boxes from a crashed Boeing Co. 737 jet to France for decoding after refusing to hand them to U.S. authorities that had kept the Max model flying after most other regulators grounded it. The flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders have arrived at the Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses, France’s air-accident investigator, with coordination meetings underway and technical work set to start Friday. The BEA said it will download data but hasn’t been…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Record cocaine busts in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde have fueled fears of a resurgence of drug trafficking in West Africa that’s likely to benefit Islamist militant groups in the region. Authorities in the two former Portuguese colonies have intercepted as much as 10.4 metric tons of cocaine this year, more than the total amount seized on the entire continent between 2013 and 2016, according to the latest data available…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Wins in Nigeria’s parliamentary vote look set to strengthen the position of President Muhammadu Buhari after his re-election last month, as he bids to boost a listless economy and defeat Islamic State fighters during his second and final term. The former general’s party, the All Progressives Congress, has won more than 60 of the 109 Senate seats and is heading for a majority in the lower House of Representatives, according to partial results announced by…