Over the past week, there were many important stories from around the African continent, and we served you some of the most topical ones.
Here is a rundown of the backstories to some of the biggest news stories in Africa that we covered during the week:
Egypt: In defence of bread subsidy
According to Mohamed Mait, Egypt’s finance minister, the nation’s budget for 2024–2025 will allocate $2.66 billion for wheat subsidies and $3.13 billion for petroleum product subsidies. A total of $12.67 billion was set aside for social protection measures, with 134 billion Egyptian pounds going specifically towards food subsidies.
The largest food crisis to hit Africa in forty years is currently affecting communities in Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Somalia, among other places. Conflict is the main cause of Africa’s food crisis, as evidenced by the fact that 82% of the record 149 million Africans experiencing acute food insecurity live in conflict-affected nations but Egypt’s case is quite different.
Egypt is a significant importer of wheat, other staple goods, and petroleum into the world market and one of the most affected by poor grain supply in the aftermath of the Russian/Ukraine war. The country is currently dealing with foreign exchange shortages, a gaping budget, and balance of payments imbalances. About 60 million of Egypt’s 105 million inhabitants benefit from the nation’s subsidy program, which provides discounted prices on items like sugar, rice, and bread.
But its disposition towards subsidies is antithetical to the stance of multilateral bodies, the World Bank the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international bodies which are its main aid sources as it anticipates receiving more than $20 billion from the agreement mediated by the IMF. The country has moved from the verge of economic collapse to receiving over $40 billion from the UAE, IMF and likely investments from Saudi Arabia in just days in March.
In a 2023 assessment, the IMF contended that the wealthy benefited mostly from these subsidies because they consume the most. In the case of subsidies on energy, higher-income groups primarily profit from energy subsidies and the connection to the power grid is heavily biased toward higher-income people, and electricity subsidies are especially regressive. However, the impoverished would also suffer if they were eliminated. Even though there are notable differences in the types of energy products consumed across income groups, the poor would still experience a significant welfare impact from the elimination of subsidies.
Ongoing development in the Middle East, particularly the Israel and Hamas war as the boundary between Egypt and Israel stretches 206 kilometres (128 miles) along the eastern edge of the Sinai Peninsula from the de facto tripoint with Palestine (Gaza) to the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea makes Egypt a geopolitical interest for the Western powers and its institutions who are tilted towards Israel in the conflict means the aids might not cease despite subsidies. The world cannot afford a broken Egypt at this critical time; cheap bread might just be the key.
Senegal Decides: The end of CFA Franc?
As Senegalese vote for their next president on Sunday, campaign promises of controversial opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko to consider the implementation of reform of the West Africa region’s CFA franc currency at a regional level first, and if that failed, would consider creating a national currency, if his preferred candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, wins the next presidential election.
“We will try to implement a monetary reform at the sub-regional level first,” Sonko said. “If that fails, we will decide as a nation.”
“There’s no sovereignty if there is no monetary sovereignty,” said Faye, speaking at the same press conference.
Sonko claimed that the CFA franc, which is pegged to the euro and is used by eight members of the West African Monetary Union, has an impact on regional economic progress and that it is time to look into other choices.
The CFA stands for the African Financial Community or Communauté Financière Africaine representing two currencies the West African and Central African backed by the French government and have a fixed exchange rate to the euro which are although distinct, practically equivalent. Fourteen countries utilize the CFA franc, 12 of which were formerly French colonies. The French colonies used to use currencies pegged to the French franc, but a number of them departed the franc zone after gaining independence: Tunisia in 1958, Morocco in 1960, Guinea in 1959, Algeria in 1964, Madagascar, and Mauritania in 1973.
Given the level of autonomy attained by many former African French colonies since their independence, particularly in West Africa, critics of persisting neocolonialism object to the monetary situation. With an anti-France wave growing in the sub-region, the spread of military coups and ideological shifts towards Russia and China which are both global rivals to France’s African dominance, and the election launching a new president for Senegal, the jury is out on what would be the diplomatic leanings of the country as incumbent Macky Sall bows out.
South Africa’s ruling ACN struggles
During the week, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC) threatened legal proceedings against a rival political party, uMkhonto weSizwe (Spear of the Nation) headed by a former president, and ANC chieftain, Jacob Zuma, manifesting a new level of cracks between the party. The party has a bad reputation due to months of unrest between former President Jacob Zuma and current President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In January, the ANC accused Zuma of insubordination and suspended him over what it described as “exceptional circumstances”. Zuma had criticized the ANC leadership in December and said that he would support the newly established uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party, which was named for the ANC’s former military wing, which had opposed apartheid but had disbanded when South Africa gained independence. Later on, Zuma declared that he would continue to be an ANC member.
The move seemed to irritate the ANC, whose popularity has been dwindling in recent elections due to high rates of poverty and unemployment in one of the most economically unequal nations in the world. The recent instability around the energy sector has forced the rationing of electricity for over a year and has also become a political point as the country builds up towards its next presidential elections in May.
There is a long history of internal conflict and dissension within the ANC, the first episode being in the 1930s as a result of the conservatives’ win in the late 1920s, which caused the leaders of the party to divide over whether or not to cooperate with the Communist Party. In recent history, however, following Thabo Mbeki’s constitutional ban from serving a third term as president of South Africa, there were indications of dissatisfaction within the party before the 2007 national conference. Had Mbeki been able to secure a third term as party president, he would have had significant influence over the selection of the nation’s next president in 2009 which was strongly challenged by sacked Vice president at the time, Jacob Zuma.
Fresh elections are in view again and the ACN’s turbulent history has repeated itself, with opposition voices like the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and a parliament divided across eighteen political parties, the May 29 election might prove to be the biggest test yet for Nelson Mandela’s former party which has ruled South Africa since the end of white minority rule thirty years ago. With Zuma’s political base out of the equation for the ANC, a coalition which the party has also ruled out might be required to remain in power.
Niger: US efforts to regain lost ground in Africa suffers setback
The week began with the Niger Republic, one of the West African countries burdened with terrorist operations in the Sahel, announcing an end to military ties with the United States, dealing a blow to Washington’s recent push for a renewed global influence in Africa.
A surge of terrorism has hit the West African subregion, killing hundreds of people, destroying both private and public property, and uprooting millions of people. States and international organizations both inside and outside the sub-region have created and implemented various mechanisms to deal with the problem in response.
Over a thousand US forces are reportedly stationed in Niger, according to the US military. Furthermore, the US has a drone station in the country’s north, which is crucial for monitoring extremist groups in the Sahel region of Africa, which is located just beneath the Sahara desert.
The event draws attention to the US’s recent efforts to rebuild its alliance in Africa. Niger serves as the centre of US activities in West and North Africa, especially at Air Base 201, one of the most expensive construction projects the US government has ever carried out abroad. Despite its stated purpose of aiding counterterrorism efforts, the project is largely seen as a geopolitical posture against US global rivals China and Russia, both of whom African nations have recently leaned toward for military and economic ties.
International and regional sanctions have been imposed on Niger as a result of a coup that resulted in the removal of President Mohamed Bazoum. The US effectively stopped supporting Niger militarily, and the base’s activities were limited to observation to keep an eye on US soldiers.
