Politics | - Part 5

Angola’s President Dos Santos to Retain Hold on Power After Retiring

LUADAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Jose Eduardo dos Santos is set to maintain control from behind the scenes when he steps down as Angola’s president next month after almost four decades in office. Dos Santos will until at least 2018 still be leader of the Movement for the Liberation of Angola, or MPLA, the party that has ruled the southern African nation since its independence from Portugal in 1975. And, this month the government pushed a law…

President Mugabe’s Party Is Said to Consider Early Zimbabwe Elections

Posted on by The Editorial Team

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa ) -Zimbabwe’s ruling party is considering calling elections early next year out of concern that President Robert Mugabe’s health is worsening and disputes among his supporters could galvanize opposition efforts to form an alliance, three officials familiar with the government’s plans said. While general elections must be held constitutionally by Aug. 21 in 2018, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front’s chances of maintaining its more than three-decade grip on power will…

Kenya Presidency Race Narrows, Run-Off Likely, Pollsters Say

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – The race for Kenya’s presidency between incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga has tightened less than three weeks before election day, with polls showing both candidates lack the support to avoid a second-round vote. Odinga, a former prime minister, is backed by 47 percent of voters, while Kenyatta is at 46 percent, according to a poll by Infotrak released in the capital, Nairobi, on Sunday. A separate survey by Ipsos showed…

Nigeria’s Former Ruling Party in Opposition Coalition Talks

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s former ruling party is in talks with other opposition groups to build a new coalition to try to prevent its main rival, the All Progressives Congress led by President Muhammadu Buhari, from winning a second term in the West African nation’s next vote in 2019. “We’re talking to more than 16 political parties to see how we can come and work together,” Ahmed Makarfi, chairman of the People’s Democratic Party,…

Nigeria Oil Thieves Keep a Lid on Output Even as Bombs Abate

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Agbada 2 flow station should have been buzzing with activity, pumping crude to one of Nigeria’s largest export terminals. Instead it was idle in the muggy, mid-morning heat as Wilcox Emmanuel, the facility’s manager, shrugged in resignation about the thieves who’d shut him down. As much as 30 percent of the oil sent by pipelines through the swampy Niger River delta is stolen, consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. estimates. That’s…

Struggling Kenyans Headache for Kenyatta as Elections Approach

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – About two-thirds of Kenyans say they’re worse off economically, expressing concerns that should “worry” President Uhuru Kenyatta as he seeks re-election in a vote in three weeks, pollsters Ipsos and U.S-based John Zogby said. Almost half of the population cite the cost of living and hunger as the most serious problems they grapple with daily, followed by unemployment, Nairobi-based Ipsos said in an opinion poll published on Wednesday. The survey found…

Kenya Says Election Jitters Pose Risks to Growth Prospects

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Political uncertainty surrounding Kenyan elections next month and a dry-up in banks’ lending to businesses and individuals could hurt the short-term growth prospects of East Africa’s biggest economy, according to the Treasury. The Aug. 8 elections may create uncertainty that could weaken foreign and local investor confidence, Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge said in a statement on the ministry’s website on Thursday. “The economy remains vulnerable to the shocks emanating from the…

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