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April 29, 2020
Categories
  • Africa Integrity insights
  • Central Africa
  • East Africa
  • North Africa
  • Southern Africa
  • West Africa
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Navigating the Covid-19 Crisis in Africa

Notes from the Managing Director’s Desk

We at Africa Integrity send our very best wishes to readers in these challenging times.  I would add ‘extraordinary’ but, increasingly, the extraordinary has become the ordinary, as we have adjusted to a new normal. So, I hope this is an appropriate time to take stock of the Covid-19 crisis in Africa.

First, the good news. At the time of writing, there have been fewer that 35,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 across Africa, a continent of 1.2 billion people.  And, for now, the concentration of cases appears to be in northern Africa and South Africa.  I won’t speculate as to reasons behind this apparently low comparative rate of infection: we can only pray that the figures are broadly accurate and that the situation does not worsen.

It is also encouraging that many African countries were swift to implement lockdowns and social distancing measures, policies which may well have helped contain the outbreak. And the pandemic may have brought some fractious political systems together; a phenomenon in Tunisia that is examined by Sami Zahed below.

But there is bad news too.  A handful of regimes appear to have exploited the crisis to contain protests and oppositionists, for cynically political reasons.  Michael Kearsey and Vincent Magombe write below about two such cases: Algeria and Uganda.  Furthermore, as highlighted by Vincent, the grounding of much economic activity is having a tragic impact on many Africans already afflicted by poverty.  This is not to mention the devastation wrought on economies such as Nigeria and Angola by the dramatic fall in oil prices.  When we finally emerge from this crisis, a resumption of inward investment will be vital to resurrect many African countries.

For our part, we have continued to operate at full capacity throughout the lockdown.  In April, we completed projects in diverse countries, including Kenya, South Sudan, Madagascar, Comoros Isles, Ghana and  Cameroon.  Of course, restrictions on face-to-face contact make life for our investigators harder.  But they are a tenacious and imaginative bunch and we will continue to deliver on clients’ requirements.  It may just take us a short while longer than usual.

We also have a suite of offerings to help clients navigate their way through the crisis, including tailored monitoring of Covid-related legislative and regulatory changes in African countries that may have an impact on insurance, contractual and logistical arrangements. And we are developing our thoughts about fresh opportunities for investment in Africa post-crisis.  Please contact us for more details.

Finally, we are keen to do our bit at this difficult time.  You may have relatives, friends or colleagues in parts of Africa, cut off from support networks and unable, for now, to return home.  If so, our wide network of investigators in Africa may be able to offer them practical advice or other assistance.  If you know someone in this position, please contact me.  We shall offer whatever help we can – gratis, of course.

In the meantime, please stay safe and well with your families.

Julian Fisher

This article originally featured in Africa Integrity’s April 2020 Newsletter. To join our newsletter mailing list, please contact us.

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AFRICA INTEGRITY INSIGHTS

Twitter

Reform of #Nigeria’s petrol subsidy will be a key political issue for the new administration in the wake of next month’s election. With the cost-of-living worsening, any attempt to remove or cut the subsidy will trigger strong resistance #NigeriaDecides2023

Reuters Africa@ReutersAfrica

Nigeria will keep its costly but popular petrol subsidy until mid-2023 and has set aside 3.36 trillion naira ($7.5 bln) to spend on it, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said on Wednesday. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigeria-spend-75-bln-petrol-subsidy-mid-2023-2023-01-04/#:~:text=ABUJA%2C%20Jan%204%20(Reuters),Zainab%20Ahmed%20said%20on%20Wednesday.

Following the expulsion of a senior UN official and removal of Burkina Faso from the US AGOA trade program, reports that authorities are calling for the French ambassador to be recalled indicate the growing tensions between #BurkinaFaso and its traditional international partners

Jeune Afrique@jeune_afrique

Au #BurkinaFaso, les autorités de transition ne veulent plus avoir affaire à Luc Hallade, l'#ambassadeur français. « La question est plus de savoir ce que nous souhaitons faire de notre relation bilatérale », commente une source officielle à #Paris.
http://ow.ly/UQbZ50MhauL

Earlier this year, we examined the relationship between the conflict in Ukraine, food insecurity and societal instability in Africa. As Africa’s food crisis worsens in 2023, what will be the impact on social cohesion on the continent? #Africa #foodsecurity

Reuters Africa@ReutersAfrica

Across Africa, people are experiencing a food crisis that is bigger and more complex than the continent has ever seen, say diplomats and humanitarian workers https://reut.rs/3Yms7Mg
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