Hi, Quartz Africa readers!
Tick, Tick…
Last month, ahead of his ill-fated African tour, then US secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, warned African governments about the amount of debt they were loading up from China. In reaction, there was collective eye-rolling around the world, and especially in Africa, as China’s largest debtor seemed to be lecturing African countries, without irony, about the perils of taking on too much Chinese debt.
That said, African debt, regardless of where it comes from, was a key topic when I spoke with IMF Africa director Abebe Selassie at a Quartz/Invest Africa Q&A event for investors in New York this week. The IMF has cautioned African countries over the last six months of the risks of mounting debt which has been exacerbated over the last few years by falling commodity prices in some countries and by over-spending in others.
“What we are pointing to is the need to push back against this increase in debt,” said Selassie. For him and his colleagues, borrowing to build capacity is all well and good if governments spend wisely. “What’s really needed now is to try and capture the return on investments by those governments that invested in roads, electricity, water supply etc,” he said. Ultimately, the IMF think there still hasn’t been a broadening of the tax base to collect more revenue in most of those countries as they try to diversify their economies away from over-reliance on commodities.
Selassie said he doesn’t see Chinese debt as any more significant than private capital market raises and eurobonds. “What is really important is transparency, the framework and what use the money is put to and very importantly, that it’s generating capacity, building executions so as to be able to service this debt.”
Some analysts have described the African debt situation as a ticking time bomb. In fact, an upcoming paper from Brookings argues the IMF and World Bank haven’t rung the debt alarm bell loudly enough and claims they won’t do so till at least one of Africa’s big five economies Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Ethiopia and Kenya becomes debt distressed. Among other metrics, the paper assesses debt dynamics or the sustainability of debt by looking at the difference between the debt interest rate and economic growth (r-g). By that measure it clearly shows the cost of borrowing for most African nations far exceeds economic growth.
— Yinka Adegoke, Quartz Africa editor
Stories from this week
Tanzania’s government wants bloggers to pay over $900 for a licensing fee. Over the last two years, president John Magufuli’s administration has clamped down on both traditional and digital media outlets. But as Abdi Latif Dahir reports, new electronic regulations will give officials unfettered powers to police the web.
How the extended rule of China’s president will shape Africa’s future. China scrapped presidential term limits last month, paving the way for president Xi Jinping’s indefinite rule. As the world’s most-populous nation ties its fate to one man, Cobus van Staden details what this means for Africa’s economic and political growth.
Write Facebook user terms in English, not Swahili. A US senator’s ill-placed comments to Mark Zuckerberg. It was a throwaway quip by senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, but in casting Swahili, a language spoken by nearly 100 million Africans, in the role of unintelligible he showed an under-appreciation of the scale of Facebook’s impact on the world. Some of those Swahili speakers in Kenya were impacted by Cambridge Analytica’s misbehavior during last year’s election.
A European university has added “animals” to its African studies curriculum. Leiden University announced a research project to include “animal perspectives” in the programs of its African studies center. Lynsey Chutel explains both the project’s well-meant intentions and the uncomfortable questions it raises about the derogatory representation of Africans.
Literary journals are giving Africans a space to “write back” at the global culture.
Titles like Kwani, Saraba, Brittle Paper and Johannesburg Review of Books are just a few of the
new African writers to find their voice and shirk the negative imagery and share their own experiences.
African fashion doesn’t need a “Vogue Africa”, but Vogue needs African fashion. While in Lagos last week, veteran supermodel Naomi Campbell called on Vogue magazine to launch at Africa edition to diversify its product. But Ciku Kimera finds African fashion insiders are skeptical Vogue would get it right without comprehensive African input or whether it would be needed in the first place.
Chart of the Week
How mobile phone subscriptions are deepening financial inclusion in West Africa. Mobile money accounts in West Africa grew 21% in 2017 to reach 104.5 million people. That means there are now 13 times more active mobile money agents in the region than the total number of bank branches and ATMs, writes Yomi Kazeem.
Other Things We Liked
The subverted role of African women in political leadership. When African leaders ratified a continental free trade agreement in March, none of the leaders in the celebratory photo was female. For Tana Forum, Nanjala Nyabola assesses the subject of equality of women in African political domains.
Rhodesia is getting a new life online from American white supremacists. The territory over what is now Zimbabwe was once a battle site between black liberation fighters and a white minority that wanted to retain control over the country. In the New York Times, John Ismay reports on how a yearning for the past is playing out again now on social media.
Why American officials get China’s expanding role in Africa so wrong. Both US Republicans and Democrats alike perceive China as neo-imperialist when it comes to Africa. In the Washington Post, Deborah Bräutigam unpacks what’s really going on and tried to explain the big picture, whether it’s job creation or land acquisition.
Keep an eye on
Taiwan president to visit Swaziland (April 17-21). President Tsai Ing-wen will visit the southern African state to mark half a century of diplomatic ties.
Africa at the Salone del Mobile, Milan (April 17-21). Artists including Ethiopian-American Jomo Tariku will present at the international interior design show in Milan as part of an exhibition titled “Africa & Latin America: Rising Design.”
Nairobi Tech Week (April 19 – 21). The leading tech event will hold hackathons in the Kenyan capital and bring together industry leaders to discuss ways to foster and strengthen a developer community in sub-Saharan Africa.
Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa (April 21-22). The annual meeting will bring together African leaders in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia to explore issues around African-led security solutions.
*This brief was produced while listening to Elijah’s Special by Elijah’s Rhythm Kings (South Africa)
Our best wishes for a productive and thought-filled week ahead. Please send any news, comments, suggestions, a paid-for license to blog in Tanzania and free Swahili lessons for US senators to africa@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter at @qzafrica for updates throughout the day. This newsletter was compiled by Abdi Latif Dahir and edited by Yinka Adegoke.
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