Africa Briefs

Zim keeps main lending rate at 35%Zimbabwe's central bank said on Friday it had kept its main lending rate at 35%, part of efforts to reduce excess liquidity that could be used to buy foreign currency and put pressure on the local currency.Exporters will now be able to retain their US dollar earnings for 60 days, from 30 previously, to allow them to better manage cashflows, the bank said in a mid-term monetary policy statement. – Nampa/ReutersZambian central bank governor firedZambian president Edgar Lungu on Saturday summarily dismissed central bank governor Denny Kalyalya and replaced him with former deputy finance minister Christopher Mphanza Mvunga, a statement from State House said.His dismissal comes barely three days after the central bank cut its benchmark lending rate by 125 basis points to 8% to try to safeguard financial sector stability and protect livelihoods in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.Mvunga, seen by political analysts as an ally and close friend of the president, worked previously as a senior auditor at Deloitte & Touche between 1988 and 1993 before joining the banking sector. – Nampa/ReutersDRC grants new export ban waiversDemocratic Republic of Congo on Saturday gave mining companies an indefinite waiver to an export ban on cobalt hydroxide and carbonate, as well as tin, tungsten, and tantalum concentrates after meeting the country's biggest miners in Kinshasa.The mines ministry also announced an export ban waiver on copper concentrate, but said the duration of that waiver was still to be determined, with companies expected to submit proposals a week from now.Congo, the world's leading producer of cobalt and Africa's biggest copper producer, banned exports of copper and cobalt concentrates in 2013 to encourage miners to process and refine the ore in the country.But insufficient smelting capacity has driven it to repeatedly issue waivers, the most recent of which was set to expire on Saturday.Congo produced 38 816 tonnes of cobalt in the first half of 2020, up 6% year-on-year according to the central bank. Production of "3Ts" concentrates – tin ore cassiterite, tungsten ore wolframite, and tantalum ore coltan - plunged, however. – Nampa/ReutersSA seeks proposals for emergency powerSouth Africa has issued a request for proposals to procure 2 000 megawatts of emergency power, a step needed to help plug a severe energy shortage, the department of energy said on Saturday.South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom has been forced to cut power regularly, hobbling economic growth in Africa’s most industrialised country as unreliable coal-fired plants struggle to generate enough electricity to meet demand."All power procured under this programme is expected to be fully operational by not later than the end of June 2022," the department said, adding it expected to attract around R40 billion of investment.Bidders would need to conform to South Africa's policies designed to broaden economic participation for the black majority and to make commitments to job creation and skills development. – Nampa/Reuters

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