BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Feb

26

2026

SA Finance Minister delivers turning-point budget: R2 billion for crime, no vat hike, and relief for households

BUSINESS

SOUTH Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tabled the country's 2026 Budget before a packed National Assembly on Wednesday, declaring that the country has reached "an important turning point in the management of our public finances." In a speech that balanced fiscal discipline with targeted relief, Godongwana announced significant new spending on peace and security, scrapped a proposed VAT increase, provided inflation-linked tax relief to households, and gave pensioners a small but welcome grant top-up. R2 Billion for the Fight Against Crime In one of the most eye-catching commitments of the Budget, the Minister allocated R2 billion specifically toward fighting organised…

Feb

26

2026

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

How Morocco is redrawing Africa’s avocado trade map

BUSINESS

AFRICA exported roughly 430,000 tonnes of avocados in 2025, but the balance of power moved north. Preliminary 2025 data show a decisive shift in volumes, logistics strategy, and market access, signalling how infrastructure and route stability now matter as much as farm output. According to the 2025 edition of the FAO Tropical Fruits Market Review by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, total African avocado exports rose 16.7% in 2025 to about 430,000 tonnes, underpinned by strong demand in Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. Morocco accounted for the largest share of that expansion. Its export volumes increased by…

Feb

24

2026

By LYLA LATIF

Africa’s public finances are in a mess: a new book explains why and what to do

BUSINESS

PUBLIC finance, or how governments at all levels raise and allocate money, is in evidence everywhere you look. That pothole destroying your car. The health clinic without medicine. The dilapidated school. Public money is not government money. It is yours, writes Kenyan finance scholar Lyla Latif in her new book Governing Public Money. Drawing on a decade of experience across 32 countries, the author sets out what ails Africa’s public finances and what could change. The Conversation Africa asked her about the book’s main themes. What prompted you to write this book? Most books on public finance are written by…

Feb

20

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Tinubu signs executive order redirecting oil revenues directly into Federation Account

BUSINESS

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed an executive order requiring that all government oil and gas entitlements be paid directly into the Federation Account, eliminating a set of deductions he described as structural distortions that have long weakened revenue flows to Nigeria's federal, state, and local governments. The order, designated Presidential Executive Order 9 of 2026, was signed on February 13 and has since been gazetted. Its full title is the Presidential Executive Order to Safeguard Federation Oil and Gas Revenues and Provide Regulatory Clarity, 2026. Under the new directive, all Royalty Oil, Tax Oil, Profit Oil, Profit Gas, and other…

Feb

19

2026

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Africa looks within to boost mining industries

BUSINESS

ACCORDING to sector analysts, intra-African collaboration in mining is becoming a strategic pathway for African states to move beyond raw extraction to building stronger domestic and regional capabilities. “By building technical competence internally and fostering peer-to-peer partnerships, African countries can strengthen institutions, negotiate better investment deals, and capture greater economic value from their resources,” according to Ishmael Nalule of the Africa Centre for Energy and Mineral Policy. Gabon is the latest to take this approach, signing a geoscience cooperation pact with South Africa’s Council for Geoscience. The agreement will modernise mineral mapping, conduct new surveys, and train a new generation…

Feb

19

2026

By KENNEDY MKUTU and JAN BACHMANN

Sand mining and Kenya’s building boom: better rules are needed, but not from the top down

BUSINESS

THE sun is rising in Kenya’s Kajiado county, just outside Nairobi, and a truck is rumbling over dusty ground towards a riverbank. Young men guide the driver to a parking spot and then spring into action, each with a scoop, filling the truck from a heap of the most desirable building sand for which the area is famous. The driver passes the time with a snack and a mug of tea poured from a flask by a mobile vendor. He pays each of the young men around US$10 for their labour and the landowner US$40-US$50 for the sand. The driver…

Feb

18

2026

By CHIDI ANSELM ODINKALU

Africa’s trade blocs were designed to unite the continent: four reasons they haven’t delivered

BUSINESS

IN a rapidly fracturing world, regional integration could be a source of resilience for the African continent. The African Union agreed in 2019 to establish the African Continental Free Trade Area, founded on the building blocks laid by eight regional economic communities. These are the Arab Maghreb Union, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (Cen-Sad), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (Eccas), the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). But integration has…

Feb

14

2026

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Kenya, South Africa to reset cost of living

BUSINESS

AFRICAN governments are rolling out fresh measures aimed at restoring consumer purchasing power and shoring up economic confidence amid intensifying public scrutiny over the rising cost of living. Major economies such as Kenya and South Africa are shifting away from heavy reliance on subsidies and short-term price controls on essential goods, opting instead for interventions designed to influence disposable income and expand wealth-creation opportunities for low-income earners. Across the continent, public discontent has persisted despite official data pointing to easing inflation and gradual macroeconomic improvement. Many households say the benefits of stabilisation have yet to translate into tangible relief, fuelling…

Feb

14

2026

By BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT

Transnet charts course from crisis to growth as mining sector partner

BUSINESS

SOUTH Africa state-owned logistics enterprise Transnet has moved beyond stabilisation into a recovery and growth phase after three years of intensive restructuring, with every key performance indicator now showing improvement, Group Chief Operating Officer Solly Letswalo told the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town. Speaking to journalist Jeremy Maggs in a podcast interview focused on how the state-owned logistics company is enabling mining competitiveness, Letswalo painted a picture of an organisation that has transformed from a demoralised workforce facing potential collapse to one united behind measurable performance targets. Three years ago, Transnet was fighting for survival with all operational and…

Feb

13

2026

By The African Mirror

The 183 million ton target: how Transnet Freight Rail is rebuilding South Africa’s economic backbone

BUSINESS

FOUR years ago, Russell Baatjies would have faced a chilly reception from South Africa's mining executives. Today, the chief executive of Transnet Freight Rail stands before a packed room at Mining Indaba, welcomed not with scepticism but with cautious optimism - and a shared determination to reach an ambitious goal: 183 million tons of rail freight by the end of this financial year. The target represents more than just a number. It's a beacon of recovery for an organisation that hit its lowest point at 149 million tons, down from a peak of 226 million. It's a lifeline for mining…