Central Africa Archive

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Though the deal was approved on a Friday night, Ghana’s opposition made sure it wouldn’t be buried. A week ago, lawmakers in the West African country passed a new agreement on military cooperation with the United States. It features terms that have proven controversial, including granting the U.S. access to Ghanaian radio channels and tax exemptions on imported military equipment. Perhaps most importantly, it also gives the U.S. military the “unimpeded” freedom to deploy across the country. “We will […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Senior Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. What good is an African free trade deal that doesn’t include the continent’s two largest economies? That’s the question economists are asking after both Nigeria and South Africa refrained from joining the 44 countries that signed onto the African Continental Free Trade Area, or ACFTA, during a summit meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, on Wednesday. Though they were not the only holdouts, they were by far the most significant. Taken together, the two countries represent one-third of Africa’s gross domestic […]

After more than five years of negotiations, Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, signed into law a new mining code earlier this month. The code faced strong opposition from mining companies, which now face higher royalties and taxes. The government has said it may be willing to negotiate terms on a case-by-case basis. Congo has extensive mineral wealth and is the top source of cobalt globally and the top source of copper in Africa. In an email interview, Thomas Lassourd, a senior economic analyst at the Natural Resource Governance Institute, or NRGI, discusses why the government decided […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Two months after U.S. President Donald Trump crudely denigrated African countries during talks with American lawmakers on immigration reform, Rex Tillerson embarked on his first trip to the continent as secretary of state. The five-country tour that began this week was a clear attempt at damage control that also shed further light on U.S. priorities in the region. Before departing, Tillerson announced a new pledge of $533 million for humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia, his first stop, and a host […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Government critics in the Democratic Republic of Congo who insist that “Kabila must go” gained a new ally this week: the government of Botswana. In a statement Monday, Gabarone delivered the harshest criticism Congolese President Joseph Kabila has yet received from another African nation over his country’s recent turmoil, pinning Congo’s multifaceted security and humanitarian crisis on Kabila’s refusal to respect democratic norms. “We continue to witness a worsening humanitarian situation in that country mainly because its leader has […]