Mali completes takeover of gold mines abandoned by foreign companies
The takeovers and failure to disclose how the operations will be funded highlight the complex challenges facing Mali as it seeks to regain control of its natural resources and leverage high commodity prices to boost the economy, mirroring moves by other West African states including Burkina Faso and Niger.
Mali's military leaders, who took power after coups in 2020 and 2021, announced their intentions to nationalise the mines last year.
Since taking power the military government has pressured foreign mining companies through increased taxes, revised contracts, regulatory crackdowns and a general pivot from Western investors to Russian interests.
Mali produces about 65 tons of gold annually, making it Africa's second-largest producer. Gold prices, meanwhile, have remained strong this year, spurred largely by US President Donald Trump's tariff impositions and wider geopolitical uncertainty.
However, making a success of Mali's gold assets has previously proved difficult.
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Daily Maverick
an hour ago
- Daily Maverick
Help pressurise Putin to agree to a ceasefire, Ukraine urges African countries
Under almost constant deadly bombardment by Russia, Ukraine has appealed to African countries to pressure Russia to agree to an unconditional ceasefire in the 40-month-old war. Ukraine does not ask much from Africa. Mainly just more principled votes at the UN condemning Russia's invasion. But now, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has issued the ceasefire appeal through African journalists visiting Ukraine in a brief respite between concerted missile and drone attacks on the capital, Kyiv, and other cities. He noted that Ukraine had accepted the US proposal for an unconditional, full ceasefire. 'Now we need to pressure Russia to say unconditional yes and to accept a ceasefire… That is why it is also important to support our peace efforts from your countries, from your capitals,' he told the journalists. Just before we arrived in Kyiv on a study tour, hundreds of projectiles had hit the city on 17 June. A few days later we visited the epicentre of that attack, an apartment building in the Solomianskyi district, which had taken a direct missile hit, collapsing 32 apartments from the ninth floor to the ground floor, killing 23 civilians and injuring 27 more. Workers were clearing rubble. They were joined by two boys, aged about 11 and wearing hard hats, who had volunteered to help their neighbours. An elderly woman sat on a bench in the grounds, quietly weeping. Tsiupko Mykola, the deputy head of the local emergency services, said 13 surrounding buildings had also been damaged, including a kindergarten. So far none of the dead seemed to be children, 'but there are several unidentified bodies still', so they didn't know for sure. Could the Russians have mistakenly hit this civilian target? He rolled his eyes. 'You can see with your own eyes it is a residential building that took a direct hit,' he said, adding that there were no military targets in the vicinity. Five more civilians died elsewhere in Kyiv that night. Two days after we left Ukraine, Russia launched 352 drones, 11 ballistic and five cruise missiles, killing at least six civilians in Kyiv and one in Bila Tserkva. Then, on Sunday, 29 June, Ukraine suffered its largest Russian attack in a single night, when a barrage of 537 drones and missiles again hit Kyiv and several other cities, including some as distant from the front as Lviv in the far west of the country, which is rarely targeted. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US think tank, said Russia had significantly ramped up its use of drones over the last nine months, 'increasing from approximately 200 launched per week to more than 1,000 per week by March 2025 as part of a sustained pressure campaign'. The United Nations human rights office reported on Sunday that civilian casualties in Ukraine had increased by 37% from December 2024 to May 2025, compared to the same period the previous year, with 968 civilians killed and 4,807 injured. The majority of these casualties occurred in Ukrainian-controlled areas. 'The war in Ukraine — now in its fourth year — is becoming increasingly deadly for civilians,' said Danielle Bell, the head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Unacceptable Russian demands Ukraine's special envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Maksym Subkh, said it had been more than three months since Ukraine had offered an unconditional ceasefire, but Russia had not accepted the offer. In the last two rounds of direct negotiations in Istanbul in May and June, the Russians had put preconditions for negotiations that were completely unacceptable, said Subkh. Apart from claiming the Ukrainian land they had occupied — and even some land still under Ukrainian control — Russia had insisted that Ukraine should not join Nato; it should not maintain strong and modern armed forces; it should destroy the weapons it had received from its Western partners to counter Russia's aggression; and it must adopt Russian as an official language. Subkh said these demands showed that Russia was treating Ukraine as a colony, adding that Ukraine was experiencing the hardship and brutality African people had experienced during their colonisation. Meanwhile, Russia was continuing its constant shelling of Ukraine and 'the death toll is rising dramatically'. He said the conditions that either side had should be discussed after the ceasefire, during negotiations. He stressed that Ukraine remained determined to join the European Union and Nato, as it saw no other way of getting the security guarantees it needed for its protection. EU membership The EU ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernová, told us that the EU had had to step up its military support because at the start of the war Nato had 'armed Ukraine for defence, not victory', as the US feared a nuclear backlash. And the EU — or at least almost all of it — remained committed to admitting Ukraine as a member. However, while Ukraine was rapidly fulfilling the many conditions required to join the EU, the EU was not in a position to accept it because one member state, Hungary, was blocking Ukraine's accession. Mathernová said polls indicated that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's party might lose elections later this year, and so the objection to Ukraine joining the EU could fall away. Foreign Minister Sybiha said that in the two rounds of direct peace talks in Istanbul this year, Russia had shown it was not serious by sending low-level delegations. Now it was time 'to engage all instruments of diplomacy … time for full diplomatic mobilisation'. Apart from putting pressure on Russia to agree to an unconditional ceasefire, it was crucial that African countries should support Ukraine by backing resolutions at the UN General Assembly seeking an end to the war. Sybiha was clearly referring to Ukraine's past disappointments that so many African countries — including South Africa — had abstained from UN General Assembly resolutions condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and demanding that it withdraw its forces. This was often because these countries had historical relations with the Soviet Union, although Subkh pointed out that Ukraine had also been part of the Soviet Union and many African leaders had been educated or received training in Ukraine. Military support Sybiha also sent a message to African leaders who had committed themselves to Russia, referring apparently mainly to those African countries which receive military support from the private military company Wagner, or its successor, the Africa Corps. 'Look at facts, first of all, and sooner or later you will get the bill,' said Sybiha. 'So that is why it is always important to diversify your relations with different parties. To diversify your security, to diversify your energy security, your food security.' Subkh stressed that Ukraine had had good relations with Africa for a long time, and noted that it had intensified relations since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Last year, it opened eight new embassies in Africa. Mathernová said that after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia had switched the focus of its disinformation campaign away from Western countries and 'massively invested' in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The West underestimated the importance of this shift, 'because the imperialist nature of this war, the imperialist desire of Putin, was so obvious in our case. 'And looking at it from different parts of the world, it's not so obvious. 'And I must say that they are so, so, so much better, the Russians, at the game of disinformation, false narratives, coming up with using existing grievances and just multiplying and making them a lot bigger.' Mathernová said Russia had switched its disinformation campaign to Africa, Asia and Latin America because it knew it would be successful internationally, as 'it's the West against the rest, right?' Moscow's disinformation includes characterising the Ukraine government as neo-Nazi and accusing it of being a puppet of the West. 'People are exhausted' In three visits to Ukraine — in November 2023, May 2024 and now June 2025 — I found that the Ukrainian people remained remarkably resilient in the face of unprovoked aggression, death and destruction. But the growing strain of the war, amid the rising toll of death and destruction, had also become apparent. Mathernová said the Ukrainian leadership was doing remarkably well. 'But people are exhausted, tired. They don't see a clear end.' She noted that President Volodymyr Zelensky's popularity had ebbed and flowed, from 98% when the war started, down to about 50% and then to above 70% after US President Donald Trump called him a dictator in the White House earlier this year. Nonetheless, she said, 'Ukrainians are knowingly by now facing a situation where there is no good and bad option. It's bad and worse options, right? 'I mean, that's the reality.' She believes the war will end 'with a temporary loss of some territories, but a sovereign and independent Ukraine.' For that to happen, an unconditional ceasefire is necessary very soon to stop the steady destruction of Ukraine and its people. Yet we do not hear the South African government using its friendship with Russia to demand that it stop bombarding Ukraine so that peace negotiations may begin. DM Peter Fabricius was visiting the Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine on a journalists' study tour sponsored by those three governments.
IOL News
3 hours ago
- IOL News
Can Angola overcome corruption to attract Western investment?
Angola hosted the US-Africa Business Summit in Luanda, hoping to showcase investment opportunities and strengthen ties with American and other Western businesses. Image: Supplied ANGOLA'S government has been working hard to court Western investors, but a fundamental problem continues to hold the country back: rampant corruption. In late June, Angola hosted the US-Africa Business Summit in Luanda, hoping to showcase investment opportunities and strengthen ties with American and other Western businesses. The event brought together heads of state, ministers, and executives from both continents. It was meant to signal that Angola is open for business beyond its traditional oil sector. However, behind the optimistic speeches and networking, a deep scepticism lingers among Western investors, who have seen promising talks before but remain wary of putting their money into a system widely seen as opaque and corrupt. Analysts and experts argue that Angola must 'get its house in order' internally if it wants to regain the trust of Western investors. 'Our business environment has discouraged foreign investors from investing in Angola,' according to Osvaldo Mboco, an Angolan analyst in international relations. Mboco points out that despite Angola's eagerness to attract capital, endemic corruption and legal insecurity continue to undermine investor confidence. In practical terms, contracts are hard to enforce, and the rules of the game can change without warning, a major red flag for any serious international investor. According to Mboco, Angola will only fully benefit from high-profile events like the US-Africa summit if it can ensure solid legal guarantees for investments and demonstrate that contracts and property rights will be respected. In other words, Angola needs to clean up governance, enforce the rule of law, and stamp out graft — essentially, make a convincing break with the practices that have scared investors away. Another expert, Crispin Senga, reinforces this assessment bluntly. 'The Angolan economy is not in a position to attract foreign investment mainly due to corruption, which still reigns in the country,' Senga observes, also citing insecurity and poor communication channels as contributing factors. Despite a change in leadership and repeated promises of reform in recent years, corruption still permeates many levels of business and government in Angola. This creates uncertainty for Western companies, which worry that deals might be derailed by bribery, favouritism, or sudden policy shifts. Senga warns that Angola has been too focused on polishing its external image, for example, hosting summits, making international pledges, while neglecting the internal reforms needed at home. As he puts it, as long as Angola continues to prioritise projecting a good image abroad but lets its domestic reputation slide, 'it will be difficult to achieve great results.' Essentially, no amount of international public relations can substitute for real changes on the ground that investors can see and feel. Indeed, Angola's international image will ultimately only improve if its internal conditions do. Senga insists that the consolidation of Angola's reputation globally 'must be done internally first.' The country needs to demonstrate that it has a friendly and stable business environment where foreign investors are welcome and protected. That means clear regulations, transparency in public deals, and visible punishment of corruption when it occurs. Western investors, unlike some others, tend to have shareholders and compliance rules that prevent them from operating in highly corrupt environments — they face legal and moral pressure to avoid paying bribes or getting entangled in scandal. Many Western companies recall Angola's past notoriety for corruption and want proof that those days are ending. President João Lourenço, who took office in 2017, launched an anti-corruption drive and even went after some high-profile figures from the previous regime. Those moves initially raised hopes. However, progress has been mixed and slow, with critics saying much more needs to be done to reform the judiciary and ensure transparency. In global rankings like Transparency International's index, Angola still scores near the bottom, almost at the very end, though not literally the last, reinforcing the perception that graft remains a way of life. This lingering reputation means that even when Angolan officials invite Western investors with attractive offers, many stay on the sidelines waiting for concrete signs of change. The contrast with non-Western investors is telling. Angola has long managed to draw investments and loans from countries like China, which often attach fewer governance conditions. Chinese-financed projects, roads, railways, and housing developments exchanged for oil have proliferated over the past two decades, even as Western private investment (outside the oil industry) largely stagnated. But Western nations and institutions demand certain standards. As Crispin Senga notes, the United States and its allies have their own criteria in dealing with African partners, emphasising values such as democracy, human rights, good governance, free markets, and combating corruption. In practice, this means US or European funding is more likely to flow to Angola if the Angolan government can demonstrate accountability and clean governance. It's a different approach from the one Angola was used to during its years of easy oil-backed loans. Now, if Angola wants diversified investment in manufacturing, infrastructure, technology, and agriculture from Western companies, it must convince them that their money won't vanish into shadowy patronage networks or be stymied by bureaucracy and graft. A clear example of the gap between announcements and reality is the much-touted Lobito Corridor project. This major infrastructure initiative, a railway linking Angola's Atlantic port of Lobito to the mineral-rich regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond, has been hailed as a flagship of US-Angola cooperation in Africa. Western leaders often cite the Lobito Corridor as a model project that can boost regional trade and showcase high-standard investment. During the summit in Luanda, the corridor was highlighted as a cornerstone for economic integration, and it had been the subject of high-level attention even before that. In late 2024, then US President Joe Biden visited the region and drew attention to the Lobito Corridor as a symbol of America's commitment to African infrastructure. In April this year, a delegation of ambassadors from the US and Europe, led by American diplomat James Story, toured the corridor, underscoring international support. On paper, the project has backing from the Group of 7 nations, the European Union, and the US. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the U.S. Export-Import Bank. It has been praised by visiting diplomats as a model of international cooperation and seemingly represents exactly the kind of big-ticket investment Angola desires from the West. Yet, for all the fanfare, the dollars have been slow to arrive. The US DFC announced around $250 million in financing for the Lobito Corridor back in February 2024, and additional investments totalling $553m were earmarked to modernise the railway line and expand the port facilities. As of mid-2025, however, not a single dollar of that promised funding has been disbursed. The Lobito Corridor project, while still moving forward, has had to rely on the resources of its concession consortium, known as LAR, and other interim financing. Despite Angolan participation in the project, the consortium itself is made up exclusively of European firms, which, for now, are effectively carrying the costs themselves. They publicly downplay the delay in funding, expressing confidence that the pledged money will eventually come, but the holdup is noticeable. Each month that passes without the US development funds is a reminder that Western financing often comes with strings and scrutiny. Before releasing money, agencies like the DFC typically conduct extensive due diligence, ensuring that procurement is clean and funds won't be misused. The slow trickle of funds for Lobito may simply be bureaucratic, but it also symbolises Western caution: grand announcements will not automatically translate into cash until Angola proves it can meet the standards expected. The Lobito Corridor case illustrates a broader pattern. Even when Western governments and companies see potential in Angola — whether due to its strategic location, natural resources, or market size — they proceed carefully and often conditionally. Angola's officials have promoted the country's potential in forums from Washington to Brussels, touting reforms and new investment laws. But many in the international business community remain unconvinced that the climate on the ground has truly changed. Decades of entrenched corruption and closed-door deals cannot be reversed overnight, and Angola's reforms to date, while notable, have yet to transform how business is done in a way that the average investor can tangibly experience. Meanwhile, Angolan authorities sometimes express frustration that Western investors are not seizing opportunities quickly enough, especially as competitors from China, the Middle East, or elsewhere show up more readily. The difference often comes down to trust: Western investors need to trust that their capital will be safe and their ventures treated fairly. Right now, that trust is in short supply. For Angola, the stakes are high. The country is emerging from a difficult period of low oil prices and a pandemic-induced economic slump, trying to diversify an economy that has long been heavily dependent on oil exports. Western investment could bring in not just money but also expertise, technology, and jobs in sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, and renewables, helping Angola reduce its reliance on oil and create broader prosperity. The government in Luanda clearly recognises these benefits; that's why it has been actively engaging with Western partners and hosting events like the US–Africa Business Summit. Yet, as analysts have pointed out, good intentions and high-profile events will mean little unless Angola demonstrates real change. Corruption is not just a moral issue; it has a direct economic cost. Each instance of graft or nepotism can scare away a potential investor or derail a project that might have created jobs for Angolans. Conversely, every concrete anti-corruption reform — such as enforcing transparent public tenders, empowering an independent judiciary, or protecting whistleblowers — sends a positive signal to investors that Angola is serious about doing business the right way. In the end, Western investors will return to Angola only when they see evidence that their mistrust is no longer warranted. That means more than just promises; it means visible action and consistent enforcement of rules. Angola will need to continue and deepen the anti-corruption campaign started under Lourenço, ensuring it's not just targeting political rivals but truly improving governance at all levels.
eNCA
5 hours ago
- eNCA
US Senate in final push to pass Trump spending bill
WASHINGTON - US senators were in a marathon session of amendment votes as Republicans sought to pass Donald Trump's flagship spending bill, an unpopular package set to slash social welfare programs and add an eye-watering $3-trillion to the national debt. The president wants his "One Big Beautiful Bill" to extend his expiring first-term tax cuts at a cost of $4.5-trillion, boost military spending and fund his plans for unprecedented mass deportations and border security. But senators eyeing 2026 midterm congressional elections are divided over provisions that would strip around $1-trillion in subsidised health care from millions of the poorest Americans and add more than $3.3-trillion to the nation's already yawning budget deficits over a decade. Trump wants to have the package on his desk by the time Independence Day festivities begin on Friday. Progress in the Senate slowed to a glacial pace Monday, however, with no end in sight as the so-called "vote-a-rama" -- a session allowing members to offer unlimited amendments before a bill can move to final passage -- went into a 17th hour. Trump defended the bill in a series of Truth Social posts overnight Tuesday, as "perhaps the greatest and most important of its kind in history" and said failure to pass would mean a "whopping 68 percent tax increase, the largest in history." With little sign of the pace picking up ahead of a final floor vote that could be delayed until well into the early hours of Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called for Republicans to "stay tough and unified." Vote-a-ramas have been concluded in as little nine or 10 hours in the recent past and Democrats accused Republicans of deliberately slow-walking the process. "They've got a lot of members who were promised things that they may not be able to deliver on. And so they're just stalling," Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters. "But we're just pushing forward amendment after amendment. They don't like these amendments. The public is on our side in almost every amendment we do." Given Trump's iron grip on the party, he is expected to eventually get what he wants in the Senate, where Republicans hold a razor-thin majority and can overcome what is expected to be unified Democratic opposition. That would be a huge win for the Republican leader -- who has been criticized for imposing many of his priorities through executive orders that sidestep the scrutiny of Congress. But approval by the Senate is only half the battle, as the 940-page bill next heads to a separate vote in the House of Representatives, where several rebels in the slim Republican majority are threatening to oppose it.
