Investors praise DR Congo’s improved business climate – Africanews English

The second edition of the DRC Country Risk Conference was well attended by investors and senior Congolese officials.
The DRC’s Finance Ministry organised the conference to help investors understand the risks and opportunities in the country.
A study conducted by a pan-African rating agency known as Bloomfield showed that the DRC has improved its business climate.

“The grade this year has improved by 40 basis points from 5.1 to 5.5 on the scale of ten and that represents a moderate risk on our scale with regard to that methodology. What it means is that we are actually telling investors that they can come and invest in DRC,” said Stanislus Zeze, the Chief Executive Officer of Bloomfield.
That has boosted the confidence of some investors in the DRC’s mining sector.
“Overall, this is a good thing, because we can see that the government is willing to make improvements,” said Marie-Chantal Kaninda, the Chief Executive Officer of Glencore DRC.
The DRC has been a difficult environment to do business in over the past four decades due to widespread corruption, low electricity coverage and poor infrastructure. In 2014, the World Bank’s Doing Business report ranked it as 183rd out of 189 countries.
The Congolese President has vowed to take further steps improve the business climate.
The DRC has vast deposits of minerals. But millions of its citizens are living in poverty due to decades of conflict and political instability.

The second edition of the DRC Country Risk Conference was well attended by investors and senior Congolese officials.

The DRC’s Finance Ministry organised the conference to help investors understand the risks and opportunities in the country.

A study conducted by a pan-African rating agency known as Bloomfield showed that the DRC has improved its business climate.

That has boosted the confidence of some investors in the DRC’s mining sector.

“Overall, this is a good thing, because we can see that the government is willing to make improvements,” said Marie-Chantal Kaninda, the Chief Executive Officer of Glencore DRC.

The DRC has been a difficult environment to do business in over the past four decades due to widespread corruption, low electricity coverage and poor infrastructure. In 2014, the World Bank’s Doing Business report ranked it as 183rd out of 189 countries.

The Congolese President has vowed to take further steps improve the business climate.

The DRC has vast deposits of minerals. But millions of its citizens are living in poverty due to decades of conflict and political instability.

Agriculture

Zim takes investment opportunities to Türkiye indaba – The Herald

Africa Moyo Deputy News Editor

Zimbabwe’s investment opportunities will take centre-stage during the 4th Türkiye-Africa Business Forum where Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Ambassador Frederick Shava is expected to lead the country’s delegation.

The economic business forum is set for Thursday and Friday next week at the Istanbul Congress Center in Istanbul.

In an interview yesterday, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Türkiye, Alfred Mutiwazuka, confirmed Harare’s participation.

He said Zimbabwe’s delegation will comprise officials from ZimTrade, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), Government institutions and private sector companies.

“In line with Zimbabwe`s engagement and re-engagement drive, Minister Shava will have a meeting with Professor Dr Omer Bolat, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye to discuss among other issues: the Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement signed in 2018 and ratified by Türkiye in February 2022 and implementation of the Agreement to Establish the Türkiye-Zimbabwe Business Council signed in 2016 by the CZI and Türkiye’s Foreign Economic Relations Board,” said Ambassador Mutiwazuka.

“The Minister will engage players in the agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transport and infrastructure sectors with a view to inviting them to invest in Zimbabwe.”

Ambassador Shava is also expected to participate in a panel on “Türkiye and Opportunities under the AfCFTA”, a topic that the Turkish authorities have shown great interest in, as they advance Türkiye-Africa cooperation.

Some members of the Zimbabwe delegation will participate in other panel meetings on digital transformation, health technologies, sustainability of value chains in the agro-industries and manufacturing sectors, women entrepreneurship, free zones, the AfCFTA, financing of trade and investments and banking during the two-day conference.

Ambassador Mutiwazuka said the Türkiye-Africa Economic Business Forum offers mutual benefits to both Africa and Türkiye, through increased economic cooperation.

“The Forum demonstrates the emerging role of African countries as dynamic players in the global business arena. African countries and Zimbabwe, in particular, benefit from the increasing economic development of Türkiye economic cooperation hinged on the ‘win-win’ principle,” he said.

Africa benefits from this forum in various ways including facilitating increased trade and investment between Africa and Türkiye by promoting economic relations and encouraging Turkish businesses to invest on the continent.

Increased investments are expected to lead to job creation, infrastructure development, and increased revenue for African nations.

African countries are also expected to benefit from infrastructure development since Türkiye has expertise in infrastructure projects such as construction, transportation, and energy.

Through the forum, Africa can benefit from Turkish investments and technologies, which address crucial infrastructure gaps in many African countries.

Türkiye also has experience in the manufacturing and industrial sectors, which can be shared with African nations to enhance their own industrialisation efforts.

President Mnangagwa has reiterated that Zimbabwe is on an unrestrained path to industrialisation and modernisation, and the country is expected to benefit from its participation in the business forum.

It is expected that collaboration with Türkiye in the manufacturing and industrial sectors can help Africa develop local industries, reduce import dependency, and create employment opportunities.

With many countries experiencing food shortages, it is expected that through participation in the business forum, African countries will benefit Türkiye’s advanced agricultural technologies — machinery and implements — and knowledge that help to improve productivity, increase food security, and enhance agricultural value chains.

This knowledge transfer can contribute to sustainable agricultural development in Africa.

The Türkiye -Africa Economic Business Forum also promotes tourism and cultural exchanges and investment in the tourism industry, thereby creating employment opportunities, and fostering cultural understanding.

African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals, Ambassador Albert Muchanga has said this year’s Türkiye-Africa Economic and Business Forum convenes against the background of global challenges of climate change and its adverse impact of heat waves, flooding and drought, inflation, geopolitical tensions, food and energy insecurity as well as the lingering Covid-19 pandemic is some parts of the world.

But he said while this is a period of multiple challenges, it is also a period of opportunity and hope, and the “key lever is cooperation because it is a vital instrument in meeting the world’s complex challenges which no country or region can solve on its own”.

“The Türkiye-Africa Economic and Business Forum is a strategic lever in this regard,” said Ambassador Muchanga.

Southern Africa

Farmers urged to intensify fodder production and meet demand – The Herald

Farmers urged to intensify fodder production and meet demand

Filda Gwati and Ashton Mutyavaviri

WITH demand for livestock feed projected to soar in the wake of the forecast El Nino weather phenomenon that will most likely devastate pastures, farmers across the country need to intensify fodder production to curtail the subsequent shortages of quality animal feed, enhance livestock health and boost overall agricultural output.

Livestock Farmers Union chairperson Mr Sifiso Sibanda yesterday told this publication that farmers must intensify fodder production to address the shortage of quality feeds and enhance livestock health.

“We now have farmers who are into fodder production so they just need to intensify their activities,” he said.

Mr Sibanda said in Region 5, which receives little rainfall, farmers are doing the fodder production to increase their feed options in case of droughts.

“In Beitbridge, for example, fodder producing farmers are drilling boreholes to sustain their fodder projects given that the water table in most parts in high as we move towards Limpopo. Farmers are drilling as little as 10 metres to hit the water table and start drawing water,” said Mr Sibanda.

Fodder, which primarily consists of grasses, legumes, and other crops, serves as a vital source of nutrition for livestock, including cattle, goats, and sheep, he said.

Insufficient access to high-quality fodder has been a persistent challenge for Zimbabwean farmers, resulting in reduced productivity, malnutrition, and economic losses within the livestock sector.

Added Mr Sibanda: “The intensified fodder production drive is expected to have a cascading positive effect on the livestock sector, leading to improved animal health, increased milk and meat production and enhanced farmer incomes. It will also contribute to food security by reducing the country’s reliance on imported animal feeds.”

Recognising the importance of fodder in ensuring the well-being of livestock and the subsequent impact on the national economy, Government launched the on-farm forage improvement programme (OFFIP) to climate-proof the livestock sub-sector.

Under this initiative, farmers are being encouraged to adopt modern farming techniques, such as improved pasture management, conservation agriculture, and the utilisation of drought-resistant crop varieties.

Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Dr John Basera recently revealed that farmers were provided with velvet bean seeds and labula bean seeds for planting to sustain their livestock during periods of drought.

Extension services and training programmes are being rolled out to equip farmers with the necessary knowledge and skills to implement these practices effectively, said Dr Basera.

“Local agricultural research institutions are playing a pivotal role in the initiative by developing and disseminating improved fodder varieties that are well-suited to Zimbabwe’s agro-ecological conditions. These varieties exhibit enhanced drought tolerance, disease resistance and high nutritional value, thereby contributing to increased livestock productivity,” he explained.

Agriculture

Chad President Promises Transition to Civilian Rule as Opposition … – Voice of America – VOA News

Yaounde, Cameroon —

Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby is touring the nation, touting his efforts to maintain peace and restore civilian rule, in accordance with resolutions set forth in October 2022 at the Inclusive and Sovereign National Dialogue. But Chad’s political opposition says the central African state remains plagued by hunger, poverty and armed conflict since the military leader took power in April 2021.

This week’s visit to Abeche, capital of the Ouaddai region and the country’s fourth-largest city, was the 21st stop since Deby launched his tour to explain progress made in developing the central African state and ending what officials call endemic poverty.

Deby’s message to civilians in Abeche was broadcast by Chad’s national TV.

Deby said drinkable water has been extended to several villages and towns, including Abeche. Many hospitals have either been constructed or equipped to respond to civilian health needs, and primary education is free to enable all Chadian children to have an education, he said, adding that his government is funding many agriculture and livestock projects to make youths and women economically independent.

Deby said political parties and civilians should prepare for free elections by November 2024. He said despite difficult living conditions caused by humanitarian crises, including floods and intercommunal conflicts, Chad is still home to about 400,000 civilians fleeing conflicts in neighboring Sudan.

Deby was named head of an 18-month transitional council on April 21, 2021, following the death of his 68-year-old father from injuries sustained while visiting troops on the front line.

The junta’s transition to democracy expired in October 2022. However, the Inclusive and Sovereign National Dialogue, initiated by military leaders and held August 2022 to October 2022 in N’djamena, extended that transition by 24 months. The dialogue also determined Deby will be eligible to run for the presidency when elections are held in November 2024.

Timan Erdimi leads the Union of Resistance Forces, or UFR, a Chadian Rebel Group. He returned to Chad in August 2022, after 10 years in exile in Qatar, to participate in the national dialogue to pave the way for a return to democratic rule.

Erdimi told reporters Monday in Keoura, his hometown, that Deby has failed to put in place a committee to follow up on resolutions of the Doha peace talks and is not implementing resolutions of the national dialogue.

He said he wants the international community to be witnesses that Chad’s military government is not fully implementing a peace deal signed by more than 40 opposition groups in the Qatari capital, Doha, in August 2022. Erdimi said the military leader’s interest is to maintain a strong grip on power.

Erdimi said the central African state has been afflicted by hunger, poverty and armed conflict since Deby gained power as president of the Transitional Military Council in April 2021.

Chad’s government says it will respect its promise to return to civilian rule by November 2024.

Tama Ahamat, a political affairs lecturer at the University of N’djamena, said Chad’s fragmented opposition, which is made up of over 200 political parties and about 500 civil society groups, will find it difficult to beat Deby in an election. If Chad’s opposition and rights groups were united, Ahamat added, they could have made it clear during the national dialogue that Deby should not be eligible to run for the presidency.

Chad’s government says more than 1,400 representatives of rebel groups, civil society, trade unions, political parties and government officials attended the 2022 national dialogue in N’Djamena.

France, the European Union and the African Union have asked Deby to meet the November 2024 election deadline.

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