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Aug
05
2020
By The African Mirror
South Africa’s diamond polishers look to lockdown lovers to add shine

South Africa’s diamond polishers look to lockdown lovers to add shine

BUSINESS
TANISHA HEIDBERG and SISIPHO SKWEYIYA SOUTH Africa's diamond industry, famed for sales the world over and supplying gems for the British crown jewels, is looking closer to home to revive its fortunes following the coronavirus slump. Even before the new virus triggered the COVID-19 pandemic, diamond prices and demand were weak. Global economic weakness has exaggerated that and Anglo American's De Beers unit last week reported a plunge in earnings. Some of the many small players who polish the rough diamonds that De Beers and other miners unearth say they have been pleasantly surprised by the extent of lockdown jewellery-buying…
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Aug
03
2020
By The African Mirror
Shoprite pulls out of Nigeria

Shoprite pulls out of Nigeria

BUSINESS
AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER AFRICAN supermarket giant Shoprite is quitting the Nigerian market after 15 years, the company has announced. Shoprite has  26 stores in eight Nigerian states and employs 2000 people. It also has over 300 Nigerian suppliers, including small businesses and farmers. In its latest trading update, Shoprite explained its reasons for the shock move. “Following approaches from various potential investors, and in line with our re-evaluation of the Group’s operating model in Nigeria, the Board has decided to initiate a formal process to consider the potential sale of all, or a majority stake, in Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited,…
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Aug
02
2020
By The African Mirror
The IMF’s $4bn loan for South Africa: the pros, cons and potential pitfalls

The IMF’s $4bn loan for South Africa: the pros, cons and potential pitfalls

BUSINESS
DANNY BRADLOW, SARCHI Professor of International Development Law and African Economic Relations, University of Pretoria THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a R70 billion (US$4.3 billion) loan for South Africa to help the country manage the immediate consequences of the fallout from COVID-19. The Conversation Africa’s editor, Caroline Southey, asked Danny Bradlow to shed some light on what South Africans should expect. What conditions has the IMF attached to the disbursement? The IMF has provided the funding through its Rapid Financing Instrument. This is designed to support countries facing an urgent need for financing due to a crisis such…
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Aug
12
2020
By The African Mirror
Black activists praise Biden’s pick of Harris, but warn challenges remain

Black activists praise Biden’s pick of Harris, but warn challenges remain

BUSINESS
MICHAEL MARTINA and TREVOR HUNNICUTT DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate Joe Biden's pick of Kamala Harris as his running mate showed his commitment to Black voters, African-American activists said, but they warned it would not guarantee him the support he needs to win. In choosing Harris to be the first Black woman on a major party presidential ticket in U.S. history, Biden signalled to activists he was heeding the lessons of 2016 when the first decline of Black voter turnout in 20 years helped Republican President Donald Trump win the White House. Some prominent Black political operatives had urged Biden to choose…
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Aug
12
2020
By The African Mirror
Angola’s beleaguered dos Santos steps down from Unitel

Angola’s beleaguered dos Santos steps down from Unitel

BUSINESS
CATARINA DEMONY ANGOLAN billionaire Isabel dos Santos will leave her job in the administration of telecoms operator Unitel amid ongoing tensions between board members, Portugal's news agency Lusa reported on Tuesday. "After 20 years dedicated to the creation, development and success of Unitel, I chose to leave the position of member of the company's board of directors," dos Santos, who holds a 25% stake in Unitel, said in a statement cited by Lusa. Dos Santos' decision to leave her position at Unitel, which dominates Angola's telecoms market, is related to a "climate of permanent conflict" among the company's board of…
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Aug
11
2020
By The African Mirror
East African integration is alive – even though leaders haven’t been united over COVID-19

East African integration is alive – even though leaders haven’t been united over COVID-19

BUSINESS
Peter O'Reilly, Post-doctoral Research Associate, Liverpool John Moores University Chris Vaughan, Senior Lecturer in African History, Humanities and Social Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University THE outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed further fault lines in the workings of the East African Community (EAC), often perceived as a beacon of regional integration on the continent. There have been some gestures of regional solidarity. For example, the Secretariat dispatched mobile testing laboratories across the region. But the overall response of the partner states – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda – has been fragmented. The EAC was re-established in…
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Aug
13
2020
By The African Mirror
Review of nine African ‘blue economy’ projects shows what works and what doesn’t

Review of nine African ‘blue economy’ projects shows what works and what doesn’t

BUSINESS
IFESINACHI OKAFOR-YARWOOD, Lecturer, University of St Andrews AFRICA has 38 coastal countries and six islands whose maritime industry is estimated to be worth US$1 trillion per year. This figure will increase as they develop their offshore hydrocarbon, energy, tourism, maritime transport, shipping and fishing sectors. These industries are collectively called the “blue economy”. They are recognised as central to Africa’s sustainable development. They can also play a key role in achieving the continent’s Agenda 2063. This includes achieving integration, prosperity and peace. But for this to happen, it’s important that the benefits are equally distributed. And resources must be used…
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Aug
20
2020
By The African Mirror
Cooperatives help cross border traders stay in business during COVID-19

Cooperatives help cross border traders stay in business during COVID-19

BUSINESS
VIOLETA GONZALEZ and TOYIN ABIODUN IT’S March 2020 and a quarter of the world is in lockdown. In the small landlocked African country of Rwanda, the borders are unusually quiet. Instead of the bustle of thousands of cross border traders carrying all manner of goods on foot and by bicycle, now only cargo trucks are permitted to ferry essential goods such as food items between countries. These measures, while necessary to contain the spread of COVID-19, have come at a great cost to traders, their families and cross-border communities. Most of Rwanda’s cross border traders are women and rely on…
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Aug
20
2020
By The African Mirror
South Sudan central bank runs out of foreign exchange reserves

South Sudan central bank runs out of foreign exchange reserves

BUSINESS
DENIS DUMO South Sudan, battered by years of conflict and corruption, has run out of foreign exchange reserves and can no longer stop the pound's depreciation, a senior central bank official in the oil-producing has revealed. Daniel Kech Pouch, the bank's second deputy governor, told a news conference that the country's oil revenues had dropped, hitting its foreign exchange reserves. South Sudan gets almost all of its revenue from crude oil, but current output, at around 180,000 barrels per day, has plummeted from a peak of 250,000 bpd before the outbreak of conflict in 2013, according to official figures. "It…
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Aug
19
2020
By The African Mirror
From Africa to America, businesses and insurers face survival showdowns

From Africa to America, businesses and insurers face survival showdowns

BUSINESS
WYNAND RUMNEY and NOOR ZAINAB HUSSAIN WYNAND du Toit's safari camp in South Africa's Pilanesberg National Park lies abandoned, its tents ripped open by baboons and its survival in the balance after his insurer rejected his COVID-19 claim. In the United States, Miami restaurant owner Luis Debayle has laid off two-thirds of his staff and is desperate for an insurance payout that could help avert the prospect of closure. Meanwhile, Munich beer garden boss Christian Vogler is heading to the German courts in an attempt to wrestle about 1 million euros ($1.2 million) from his insurer. Businesses around the world,…
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