Splashing the cash on critical minerals

Ahoy! 👋🏽

Amid the frenzied diplomacy at the UN General Assembly in New York last week, a quiet breakthrough was made in financing for the energy transition. Under the auspices of the Minerals Security Partnership, Western officials engaged their counterparts from resource-rich nations, pledging to expedite funding for mining projects. The US- and EU-backed MSP is eager to diversify critical minerals supply chains by driving investment in strategic projects. This entails additional financing for mining and extraction, as well as industrial activities, such as processing, refining, and recycling of minerals. In New York, the Partnership invited copper and cobalt heavyweights, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, to attend its first in-person MSP Forum, joining existing African member Namibia and a dozen other global players. The Partnership also brought together Western development banks and export credit agencies under a new MSP Finance Network, tasked with coordinating investment in 32 critical minerals projects. The involvement of such bodies promises to strengthen environmental, social and governance standards across the extractive industries, broadening the pool of potential investors. Indeed, the MSP is already bearing fruit, with the US International Development Finance Corporation using last week’s gathering to make important commitments to Kabanga Nickel in Tanzania and Pensana Rare Earths in Angola. Washington DC has also leveraged the MSP to respond to Chinese critical minerals export bans, including backing a partnership between Belgian industrial firm Umicore and Congolese state miner Gécamines to extract and refine germanium at a tailings facility near Lubumbashi. 

Chequebooks at the ready! 

AP editorial team

📈 43%

Zimbabwe has devalued its gold-backed currency – launched in April 2024 – by 43%, in a bid to enable greater exchange rate flexibility. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has also lifted its benchmark interest rate from 20% to 35%, and capped the amount of foreign currency an individual can take out of the country at USD 2,000, down from the previous allowance of USD 10,000. 

🇰🇪 Just peachy

Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is facing impeachment amid accusations of undermining President William Ruto’s government, promoting divisive politics, and fueling unrest. Parliamentary majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah is among those who initiated formal impeachment proceedings, with over 250 MPs already backing the motion. Gachagua, who hails from the influential Mount Kenya region, has dismissed the charges, insisting he retains strong grassroots support. However, his position appears increasingly tenuous, as Interior Secretary Kithure Kindiki, a trusted Ruto ally, takes on more prominent responsibilities. Gachagua’s isolation deepened following allegations of his associates' involvement in violent anti-government protests. While Gachagua claims the charges are politically motivated, the growing divide between him and Ruto signals broader instability within Kenya’s leadership. The impeachment motion requires a two-thirds majority in parliament to pass, with a vote expected to take place in the second week of October. 

 🇧🇯 Benin’s Got Talon

Authorities in Benin arrested prominent businessman Olivier Boko and former Minister of Sports Oswald Homeky in connection with a conspiracy to depose President Patrice Talon. According to initial investigations by the Court for the Repression of Economic Offences and Terrorism, the pair attempted to hire the Commander of the Republican Guard, Colonel Djimon Dieudonné Tévoedjré, to stage a coup on 27 September, promising him a total of XOF 1.605 billion (USD 2.7 million). Boko, once a close ally of Talon, has reportedly become estranged from the president after he revealed ambitions to contest the 2026 presidential election. Talon would be ineligible to stand for re-election that year, based on current statutory term limits. Given the timing of the plot’s revelation, Boko allies have condemned the arrests as politically motivated and as consistent with Talon's track-record of political persecution. Boko's case notably mirrors the 2018 downfall of businessman Sébastien Adjavon, another presidential aspirant, who was charged with drug trafficking ahead of the 2021 polls. The incident has sparked speculation that Talon may seek to amend the constitution to enable him to run for a third term – or that he is sidelining powerful figures ahead of handpicking his successor.

🇿🇲 Debt deal

Zambia is inching ever closer towards restructuring its outstanding debt, having reached a deal with two Chinese state-owned banks. The agreement with China Development Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China entails restructuring USD 1.5 billion worth of loans. In June 2024, Zambia became the first country to restructure its debt under the G20 Common Framework mechanism, a process which took nearly four years. While the overall restructuring of USD 3 billion in Eurobonds cut around USD 900 million dollars from Zambia's public debt, the country still owed around USD 3.3 billion to other commercial creditors. The latest negotiations with the two Chinese state-owned lenders, along with deals in-principle with Nedbank Group and ZTE Technologies, mean that Lusaka’s debt slate may finally be wiped clean – but only if these creditors are satisfied they have received equivalent terms. 

🇬🇶 🇬🇦 Bad neighbours

Equatorial Guinea and Gabon are presenting their respective claims for three uninhabited islands in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea, before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The dispute, which has lingered since 1972, when Gabon’s army expelled Equatorial Guinea’s soldiers from the island of Mbanié, has been reinvigorated by the prospects of oil finds and both countries' need to bolster waning petroleum production. The two countries have already awarded permits elsewhere along their disputed boundary. Mbanié island forms part of both Gabon’s Igoumou concession, which was previously held by Shell, and Equatorial Guinea’s unlicensed EG-29 block. In 2016, following UN mediation, both countries agreed to let the territorial dispute be settled by the ICJ, which is expected to deliver its final and binding verdict in 2025. Equatorial Guinea bases its claim on the 1900 Treaty of Paris, dividing French and Spanish colonial assets; while Gabon relies on the 1974 Bata Convention, which Equatorial Guinea disputes, claiming it lacks an original copy.

⚽ Striking gestures

Samuel Eto'o, President of the Cameroonian Football Federation, has been banned from attending national team matches for six months after violating FIFA's disciplinary regulations. The ban follows an undisclosed incident during Cameroon's 3-1 extra-time loss to Brazil in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup round-of-16, where the Indomitable Lionesses' only goal was scored by namesake Naomi Eto (no relation). This incident caps a tumultuous year for the former Cameroonian striker. In July, he was fined USD 200,000 for a brand deal with an online gambling firm, which the Confederation of African Football ruled as an ethics violation. Additionally, Eto'o has been in conflict with his country's sports ministry, criticising their appointment of Belgian Marc Brys as the men's team coach as "illegal” because it circumvented the federation he leads.

📆 AVCA Sustainable Investing in Africa

The third AVCA Sustainable Investing in Africa Summit will be held in London on 10 October. Focused on climate adaptation and mitigation, resilient infrastructure and gender inclusion, the Summit convenes investors to explore how to orient private capital towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and best practices for investing with a sustainability lens.

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📚 Fifteen Colonial Thefts – Sela K. Adjei & Yann LeGall

As the title suggests, Fifteen Colonial Thefts explores the history of colonial violence in Africa through the prism of fifteen African belongings, looted at the height of the imperial area. Chapters from scientists, curators and activists are accompanied by illustrations from established and emerging African artists, exploring the collective trauma and loss of cultural, historical and spiritual knowledge. 

🎹 Hear My Cry – Ezra Collective

Hear My Cry by Ezra Collective blends Afrobeat rhythms with jazz and grime influences in a way that’s both spiritual and celebratory. Each instrument on the track feels perfectly placed. Femi Koleoso’s drumming drives the beat with sharp, intentional rhythms that lock perfectly with the bass line, while the trumpet solo leaves a lasting impression.

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