| Welcome to Next Africa, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it’s headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. Gold’s rally may well be the silver lining for some of Africa’s most cash-strapped nations. As US President Donald Trump’s tariffs sow chaos in global financial markets, bullion’s haven status offers a boon for many in Africa where deposits are abundant. The gold price, which was already at record levels, has climbed by nearly a quarter since his Jan. 20 inauguration. In Zimbabwe, mired in economic crisis for 25 years, production of the precious metal surged 61% in April from a year earlier, driven by a rush to gold fields by small-scale panners and diggers who’ve more than doubled their output.  An illegal gold mine on the site of a former cocoa farm in Kwabeng, Ghana. Photographer: Paul Ninson/Bloomberg Gold export earnings jumped by three-fifths in the first two months of the year in Ghana, which is still struggling to emerge from a debt crisis. Its central bank has bolstered reserves of the metal, a move that already helped stabilize the notoriously volatile cedi — it’s the best performing currency against the dollar since the start of April. Namibia is also adding more gold to its reserves, while Zimbabwe’s government is restarting minting its bullion coins. The production boost is “for the greater good of the country,” said Wellington Takavarasha, the head of an organization that represents 700,000 small-scale miners in Zimbabwe. “We must capitalize on this rally.”  Zimbabwe’s “Mosi-oa-Tunya” gold coin. Photographer: Jekesai Njikizana/AFP/Getty Images But not everyone is benefiting, especially when it comes to formal operations. Mali’s military junta is stuck in a dispute with Barrick Mining over taxes that’s kept the nation’s biggest mine closed since January. Even in Ghana, one of Africa’s largest producers of the metal, the plans of AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields have been frustrated by permit refusals. It’s not good news for all the miners too. In the conflict-ravaged east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the price surge is causing misery. Armed groups are extending their control over gold deposits throughout the region and the insecurity is forcing farmers to abandon their fields for dangerous jobs digging in the pits. — Antony Sguazzin and Godfrey Marawanyika Key stories and opinion:
Namibia Joins Central Banks’ Gold Rush to Hedge Against Shocks
Barrick CEO Vows to Defend Rights as Mali Junta Seeks More Money
Gold Fields and AngloGold Pause Talks Over Ghana Mega Mine
Death and Desperation in South Africa’s Illegal Gold Mines
Why Gold Is Safe Haven of Choice in Trump’s Trade War: QuickTake Armed drones targeted a major Sudanese naval base, the fourth such raid on its Red Sea coastline in as many days, as authorities struggle to tame a blaze at a nearby port that’s crucial to the flow of humanitarian aid. The latest salvo in a two-year war between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces militia attacked the Flamingo Bay naval base in Port Sudan and comes days after strikes on other major infrastructure, including the airport, that are crucial to the military’s war efforts. Listen to reporter Simon Marks discuss the latest escalation in the North African nation’s two year-long civil war with Jennifer Zabasajja in this week’s Next Africa podcast.  Damage from a drone attack in Port Sudan on Tuesday. Photographer: AP Photo Trump’s plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars of funding to the African Development Bank will have outsized repercussions, said Samuel Maimbo, who plans on engaging the superpower if he’s elected to lead the lender later this month. The White House will eliminate $555 million in contributions to the AfDB’s main fund for the continent’s least-developed countries, as it was “not currently aligned to administration priorities.” Zimbabweans are snapping up properties as a haven against currency uncertainty and the frequent economic policy U-turns that have scared off investors, at a time when a popular hedge — the country’s stock market — is underperforming. Buyers include local business owners, miners who are cash-flush from a rally in the gold price and Zimbabweans living abroad, estate agents say.  A view of Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. Photographer: Jekesai Njikizana/AFP/Getty Images KoBold Metals reached an agreement to develop one of the world’s biggest hard-rock lithium deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The decision by the firm, backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, to buy Australia’s AVZ stake in the Manono deposit comes after Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi met with Massad Boulos, Trump’s senior adviser for Africa, to discuss American investment and security assistance. Separately, a regional bloc will investigate a formal claim by Congo that Rwanda is pillaging its minerals and fueling conflict. An Ivory Coast court postponed a decision on whether former Credit Suisse Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam is eligible to lead the country’s biggest opposition party, after his defense team submitted new evidence. The case comes in the wake of a separate court ruling last month that effectively disqualified Thiam from running for president in elections in the world’s top cocoa-producing nation scheduled for October. The ruling was delayed to May 15.  Thiam supporters during a protest in Abidjan on April 24. Photographer: Issouf Sanogo/Getty Images Kenyan President William Ruto plans to scrap some tax breaks to help shore up the state’s coffers, a change in strategy that comes after proposals to introduce new levies sparked deadly protests and nearly toppled his government last year before they were abandoned. While Ruto has been widely derided for his aggressive bid to increase state revenue during his first two years in office, his administration contends that it is necessary to collect additional money because the country is heavily indebted. Next Africa Quiz — What group of people has the US offered refugee status to? Send your answers to gbell16@bloomberg.net. Data Watch - Tanzania has curbed the use of foreign exchange in all local transactions to prop up the shilling, which is Africa’s worst-performing currency this year.
- Nigeria has paid off $3.4 billion borrowed from the International Monetary Fund during the Covid-19 pandemic, exiting the list of countries that are in debt to the Washington-based lender.
- Safaricom, East Africa’s biggest company, said annual profit rose 11% for the year ended March, exceeding expectations.
- Ghana plans to start next season’s cocoa harvest in August, two months ahead of schedule.
Coming Up - May 12 MTN first-quarter results
- May 13 Uganda interest-rate decision, South Africa first-quarter unemployment data, Namibia inflation for April, Africa CEO Forum starts in Abidjan
- May 15 April inflation releases for Nigeria, Botswana and Cape Verde, South Africa mining data for March
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