North Africa’s Economy
Sahel: Unrest in Mali over dismal road conditions
Kati, Mali, Aug 27, 2019 (AFP) - More than 1,000 trucks loaded with merchandise were blocked Tuesday at the entrance to Mali's capital Bamako on the fourth day of protests against the poor state of the country's roads. AFP reporters witnessed the line of trucks...
Egypt: One third of Egyptians live with less than $1.4 per day
Cairo, July 30, 2019 - Nearly a third of Egyptians live below the poverty line, up from 27.8 percent in 2015, Egypt's flagship state-owned newspaper Al Ahram reported on Tuesday, citing official figures. "The poverty rate has reached 32.5% across the republic for...
Libya: Oil production from Sharara back after sabotage on pipeline
Tripoli, July 22, 2019 - Libya announced the resumption of production Monday at its largest oil field and the loading of crude at a shipping terminal, following a three-day suspension due to "sabotage" of a pipeline. Al-Sharara, about 900 kilometres (560 miles) south...
Algeria: Arrest of former industry minister Youcef Yousfi paves way for probes on major corruption cases in energy sector
Commentary by Arezki Daoud: Algeria has been plagued by widespread corruption ever since Bouteflika became president in 1999. All the men and women he hired essentially set out to restructure the legal system to protect their interests, and created bureaucratic...
Egypt: Consumers in Egypt confronted with higher fuel prices
Cairo, July 5, 2019 - Egypt increased fuel prices Friday in its latest round of subsidy cuts under a reform package agreed with the International Monetary Fund, authorities said. The latest cut in fuel subsidies is a condition of a $12-billion loan secured from the...
Egypt: General Sisi attacks businesses, accuses them of plotting against him
Cairo, June 25, 2019 - Egyptian authorities raided 19 businesses Tuesday accused of funding a plot to overthrow the state, the interior ministry said. Footage broadcast on Egyptian television showed police officers raiding the firms in the capital Cairo and the cities...
Libya: Parliamentary speaker calls for the shutdown of national oil production
Libya's National Oil Company has warned that any bid to tamper with the sector could escalate unrest in the conflict-hit country, after the parliamentary speaker called for a halt to production. In a statement issued late Saturday, NOC said it "is concerned by recent...
Algeria: Businessman Hassen Arbaoui detained in corruption probe
Algiers, June 20, 2019 - Algerian authorities on Thursday detained a third automobile tycoon as part of an investigation into corruption, state television said. Hassen Arbaoui was "detained along with six other people", the state broadcaster said, adding that the...
Algeria: Sovac caught in a complex web of corruption
An Algerian public prosecutor has officially communicated the facts in the corruption case related to the SOVAC company, the exclusive representative of Volkswagen in Algeria, which resulted in the sending of little known yet one of the country's biggest fortunes,...
Algeria: Business tycoon Ali Heddad jailed six months over illegal passport possession
Algiers, June 17, 2019 - Algeria's top businessman Ali Haddad, a key supporter of ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was jailed for six months on Monday for holding two passports, in the first conviction in a string of corruption probes. The business tycoon was...