Wagner expands into southern Libya | PAE develops US bridgehead role in Mogadishu | IBK's fate under negotiations

Power Brokers and their Connections

Daily issue Thursday 20 August 2020 SPOTLIGHT  LIBYA   RUSSIA    Russian paramilitary group Wagner expands southern Libyan presence     Since the beginning of August, Wagner Group personnel have been beefing up Russia's presence in southwestern Libya, a few kilometres from oil fields held by militias affiliated with General Khalifa Haftar.  [...] CENTRAL AND WEST AFRICA  MALI   POLITICS    Closed door negotiations under way to decide IBK's fate   After being forced to resign by part of the army on 18 August, the former Malian president could be allowed to go to the United Arab Emirates, where he has been receiving medical care for months. Yet his future is currently the object of intense negotiations with the officers who carried out the putsch.  [...]      DRC   BUSINESS    German businessman Gernot Wagner hopes Inga III will lead to hydrogen plant, but Kinshasa unconvinced   Congolese authorities are wary of the ambitions of the head of Evagor, who wants to develop a hydrogen plant on the back of the Inga III mega-dam and to build nearly 10,000 km of railway tracks.  [...]      GUINEA   FRANCE   WEST AFRICA   BUSINESS    Previously convicted for aluminium foundry mismanagement, Monaco Resources co-founder now has eye on Alteo refinery   Among the potential buyers for the Alteo alumina refinery in Marseilles, currently in administration, is Monaco Resources, whose founder Axel Fischer was previously convicted in Germany for mismanagement of an aluminium factory.  [...]  TURKEY   GUINEA   BUSINESS    Talks aim to end double taxation and encourage Turkish investment EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA  LESOTHO   SOUTH AFRICA   POLITICS    Lesotho Highlands Water Project delayed by administrative problems   The second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, a cornerstone of South Africa's water supply strategy, is now not expected to be completed until December 2026. The new delay, which is the result of administrative hold-ups, risks creating difficulties in the province of Gauteng.  [...]      SOMALIA   BUSINESS    PAE develops American bridgehead role in Mogadishu   Pacific Architects & Engineers has become one of the US's main support service providers in the war against Al-Shabaab in a number of different fields.  [...] NORTH AFRICA  MOROCCO   BUSINESS    Moroccan firms urged to take over ferry links from Comanav and Comarit   Transport minister Aziz Rabbah wants to have Moroccan firms reinvest in the ferry market between Morocco and Europe, dominated by foreign companies. The El Moutea family, owner of City Bus, has already shown interest in taking a slice.  [...] OIL & GAS  MAURITANIA   STATE STRATEGY    Ghazouani assumes tighter control of oil by appointing technocrat minister   After four years in charge of oil and mining, Mohamed Ould Abdel Vetah has hung up the gloves and made way for a newcomer with no direct experience in either sectors.  [...]    FREE       MOZAMBIQUE    Zakher leads way on gas services partnership between Maputo and Abu Dhabi   The firm owned by the businessman Hassan El Ali recently signed a deal with Mozambique's national oil company ENH, thereby becoming one of the first Dubai-based operators to invest in the country's gas sector.  [...] MINING SECTOR  NAMIBIA    Namibia clears the way for Vedanta to relaunch zinc activities   The Namibian government recently relaunched an environmental authorisation process for modernisation of the Skorpion zinc mine. The move will speed things up if operator Vedanta decides to relaunch the project it put on hold in March.  [...] Discover our subscription offers

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