South Africa Economy 5-31-24

Nominal GDP $380.906B, Per capita GDP $6,190.74, Population 60,414,595, Debt to GDP 73.9%, Inflation 21.9%, Unemployment 28.4%, Labor force 60%, Urban 68%, Rural 32%, Average salary 19,200/yr,  Exports $121.321M, Imports $93.440M, Trade surplus $27.881M, Land area 470,900 sq miles, Arable land 12%, 82% have access to clean water.

Exports:  South Africa is the second largest producer of gold in Africa and is the world's largest producer of chrome, manganese, platinum, vanadium and vermiculite, the second largest producer of ilmenite, palladium, rutile and zirconium. It is also the world's third largest coal exporter.

South Africa's Top 10 Total Imports

Mineral fuels including oil: $22.5 billion (21%)

Machinery including computers: $12.9 billion (12%)

Electrical machinery, equipment: $12.3 billion (11.5%)

Vehicles: $8.4 billion (7.8%)

Plastics, plastic articles: $2.6 billion (2.5%)

Pharmaceuticals: $2.4 billion (2.3%)

The total value of exports (FOB) is US$ 121,321 million. The total value of imports (CIF) is US$ 93,440 million. At the HS6 digit level, 4,449 products are exported to 216 countries and 4,462 products are imported from 233 countries.

South Africa is a parliamentary representative democratic republic, wherein the President of South Africa, elected by parliament, is the head of government and of a multi-party system. It consists of three branches. The executive branch consists of the President of South Africa and the Cabinet of South Africa. The National Assembly is the legislature. The Judiciary has 6 Judges.

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) has dominated South Africa's politics. The ANC is the ruling party in the national legislature, as well as in eight of the nine provinces. The Western Cape is governed by the Democratic Alliance.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

South Africa Problems 5-31-24

Inflation is reported at 21.9%, but if you add food and gasoline costs, inflation is 30% to 35%. Unemployment is 28.4% and Debt to GDP is 73.9%. 

JOHANNESBURG, May 13 (Reuters) - South Africans will vote in a national election on May 29 with an unprecedented sense of uncertainty about the outcome, as polls suggest the African National Congress will lose its majority after 30 years in power.

With coalition government looking like a possibility for the first time since the end of apartheid, a dizzying array of 70 parties from Marxists to social democrats to free marketeers are vying for voters' attention in the last weeks of campaigning.

The following are the key issues that matter to voters who will elect a new National Assembly that will then choose the next president.

Jobs

South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, trapping millions of people in poverty and making them reliant on social grants, and the problem is worse now than it was at the end of apartheid.

The joblessness rate stood at 32.4% in 2023, nearly 10 points higher than in 1994, when the ANC came to power. Young people account for more than half of the country's unemployed, with a rate of over 40%.

Economy

The root cause of the joblessness crisis is sluggish growth. South Africa's economy has barely grown in more than a decade, with economic growth averaging 0.8% since 2012. Falling tax revenue has caused government debt to rise, with debt-servicing costs consuming a greater share of the national budget than basic education, social protection or health. The debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to reach 74.1% in the current fiscal year, up from 63.3% five years ago.

Power Cuts

Known to South Africans as "load-shedding", scheduled power cuts imposed by state utility Eskom because of an inability to generate enough electricity to meet demand are the bane of households as well as companies. Eskom has been struggling to keep its ageing fleet of coal-fired power plants operational. The utility became dysfunctional in part due to a flourishing of corruption during the administration of former president Jacob Zuma from 2009 to 2018.

Corruption

A long series of corruption scandals involving ANC figures or people connected to them has created a perception among many South Africans that the greed of people in office is contributing to poor service delivery for everyone else.

An inquiry established in 2018 to examine allegations of high-level corruption during Zuma's years in power found the problem had been systemic in government, a phenomenon that became known as "state capture". Zuma himself denies any wrongdoing.

Since taking over from Zuma, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said tackling corruption was a priority, but opposition critics say his administration has done too little to stop the rot.

Crime

South Africa has one of the world's highest rates of violent crime, making it unsafe to venture into certain neighborhoods. The problem is worse in the densely populated townships on the peripheries of cities where many Black working class people live.

The murder rate for 2022/23 was the highest in 20 years at 45 per 100,000, a 50% increase from a decade ago, police figures show. That is higher than in Honduras, a country plagued by extreme gang violence.

High levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality have created fertile ground for crime to take root in South Africa, compounded by the proliferation of organized criminal groups and a flood of illegal weapons in recent years.

Immigration

Since the end of apartheid, South Africa has attracted large numbers of refugees and immigrants from other African countries, seeking a safe-haven and job opportunities. The most recent census, in 2022, found that 2.4 million of South Africa's population of 62 million were immigrants, compared with 835,000 in 1996, the year the post-apartheid constitution was promulgated.

Over the years, anti-immigrant sentiment has risen, and South Africa has experienced several violent crises when immigrants have been beaten up or killed by mobs and their businesses have been looted.

With voters turning against African immigrants, the government as well as the opposition have increasingly talked about tightening immigration laws to reduce the number of arrivals, and about cracking down on undocumented immigration.

In April, the government approved a policy report on toughening up the country's immigration laws. It raised the possibility that South Africa could withdraw from United Nations conventions on refugees to "deter economic migrants who come to South Africa disguising as asylum seekers". A bill based on the report is expected to be introduced in parliament should the ANC remain in power after the election.

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/key-issues-south-african-voters-wide-open-2024-election-2024-05-13/#:~:text=South%20Africa%20has%20one%20of,at%20the%20end%20of%20apartheid.

Comments

From the Reuters report above, it sounds like the South African government is aware of its problems and is responsive to the needs of its citizens. If Trump is elected in 2024, the increase in US oil production will reduce global oil prices and global inflation will be reduced.  

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Nigeria Economy 5-30-24

Nigeria has low very Labor force participation rate and a very high population. 

Nominal GDP $390.002B, Per capita GDP $1755.32, Population 223,804,632, Debt to GDP 38.8%. Inflation 69.18% 2021-2024, Unemployment 6%, Labor force 24.4%, Average Salary $2280/yr to $4260/yr, Exports $46.93B, Imports $4.04B, Trade surplus $42.89B, Population is 53% Urban and 47% rural. Land area 356,669 sq miles. 80% of land is Desert. 40% is Wildlife habitat. Arable land is 5.34M sq miles.

Homelessness in Nigeria is an issue affecting some 25 million people in the country.

Main industries are cement, oil refining, construction and construction materials, food processing and food products, beverages and tobacco, textiles, apparel and footwear, 

pharmaceutical products, wood products, pulp paper products, chemicals, ceramic products, plastic and rubber products, 

electrical and electronic products, base metals: iron and steel, information technology, automobile manufacturing, and other manufacturing.

Exports include petroleum and petroleumproducts, chemicals, vehicles, aircraft parts, vessels, 

vegetable products, processed food, beverages, spirits and vinegar, cashew nuts, processed leather,

 cocoa, tobacco, aluminum alloys.

Imports industry supplies, machinery, appliances, vehicles, aircraft parts, chemicals, base metals

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Nigeria

87% of the population lack access to clean water and sanitation.

Onsite septic tank is the primary method of disposing sewage in Nigeria. It is usually located within an average of 5 m to a shallow well which is the major source of domestic water supply.

The one water treatment plant can serve up to 700,000 people in Abuja Nigeria.

50% of Nigeria’s population live in villages. There are no water treatment plants and they need to add chlorine to the water they get from their wells. UNICEF says 117,000 children die in Nigeria each year due to water-related illnesses - the highest number of any nation. There are 128,000 villages in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s land mass is 356,669 square miles. Texas is 268,597 square miles. The population of Nigeria is 223,804,632. The population of Texas is 30,976,754.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

Nigeria Problems 5-30-24

Nigeria is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in a generation, leading to widespread hardship and anger. A liter of petrol costs more than three times what it did nine months ago, while the price of the staple food, rice, has more than doubled in the past year. 

These two figures highlight the difficulties that many Nigerians are facing as wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living. Like many nations, Nigeria has experienced economic shocks from beyond its shores in recent years, but there are also issues specific to the country, partly driven by the reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu when he took office last May.

Overall, annual inflation, which is the average rate at which prices go up, is now close to 30% - the highest figure in nearly three decades. The cost of food has risen even more - by 35%.

However, the monthly minimum wage, set by the government and which all employers are supposed to observe, has not changed since 2019, when it was put at 30,000 naira - this is worth just $19 (£15) at current exchange rates.

Many are going hungry, rationing what food they have or looking for cheaper alternatives.

In the north, some people are now eating the rice that is normally discarded as part of the milling process. The waste product usually goes into fish food.

Widely shared social media videos indicate how some are reducing portion sizes. One clip shows a woman cutting a fish into nine pieces rather than the average four to five. She is heard saying her goal is to ensure her family can at least eat some fish twice a week.

What is causing Nigeria's economic crisis? Inflation has soared in many countries, as fuel and other costs spiked as a result of the war in Ukraine. But President Tinubu's efforts to remodel the economy have also added to the burden. On the day he was sworn in nine months ago, the new president announced that the long-standing fuel subsidy would be ending.

This had kept petrol prices low for citizens of this oil-producing nation, but it was also a huge drain on public finances. In the first half of 2023, it accounted for 15% of the budget - more than the government spent on health or education. Mr. Tinubu argued that this could be better used elsewhere. However, the subsequent huge jump in the price of petrol has caused other prices to rise as companies pass on transportation and energy costs to the consumer.

One other factor that is pushing up inflation is an issue that Mr. Tinubu inherited from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, according to financial analyst Tilewa Adebajo. He told the BBC's Newsday programme that the previous government had asked the country's central bank for short-term loans to cover spending amounting to $19B. The bank printed the money, which helped fuel inflation, Mr Adebajo said.

What has happened to the naira? Mr. Tinubu also ended the policy of pegging the price of the currency, the naira, to the US dollar rather than leaving it up to the market to determine on the basis of supply and demand. The central bank was spending a lot of money maintaining the level. But scrapping the peg has led the naira's value to plunge by more than two-thirds, briefly hitting an all-time low last week.

Food commodity prices rose from Eggs at 32% to Onions at 123%. Like in the US and everywhere else, when you add the food cost increases to the reported inflation percent, inflation is in the 30% to 40% range.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68402662

Comments

The President of Nigeria needs to recognize his mistakes with money printing and currency crashing by pegging their currency to the US dollar. He needs to share his view of “current conditions” and his recovery plan with his citizens.

The food cost problems outlined above affect the poorest 12 million citizens more than it affects the 100 million of the 112 million population.

Biden’s support of the Climate Change Hoax prompted him to reduce oil and natural gas production. Supplies were reduced and prices rose. Natural gas produces Nitrogen, needed to grow food. It also increased the price of gasoline that made distribution costs rise.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Egypt Economy 5-29-24

Egypt has a very low Labor force participation rate and a very high population. 

Nominal GDP $398.397B, Per capita GDP $3770.13, Population 112,716,598, Debt to GDP 92.7%. Inflation 20.4%, Unemployment 7.5%, Labor force 23.87%, Average Salary $5,065/yr, Exports $35.63B, Imports $72.54B, Trade deficit $36.91B, Population is 43% Urban and 57% rural. Homelessness in Egypt is an issue affecting some 12 million people in the country. Egypt is 66% desert.

Exports include refined petroleum, crude petroleum, petroleum gas, nitrogenous fertilizers and gold^.. Export partners include Turkey, Italy, US, Spain, India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, UK and Greece.

Imports include refined petroleum, wheat, cars, crude petroleum and maize. Import partners include China, US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, India, Germany Italy Brazil and France.

Main Industries include textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals and light manufacturing

Egypt's economy relies mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum imports, natural gas, and tourism.

In 2023, Egypt's import list featured the following prominent commodities: petroleum products with a value of $7.4 billion, iron or steel raw materials worth $4.2 billion, wheat valued at $3.8 billion, medicines and pharmaceutical preparations totaling $3.6 billion - Mar 14, 2024

Exports $35.63B

Oil                 $12.9B

Natural Gas  $2.081B

Gold             $891.26M

Chemicals    $6.6B

Total            $22.47B

With high population growth, Egypt continues to rely on imports for more than 50 percent of its food and agricultural product needs. With limited agricultural resources, low agricultural productivity, and a rapidly growing population, Egypt is the world's largest wheat importer. Arable land in Egypt is 3%.

The Egyptian government subsidizes for 60% of its citizens. The US imports $1.9B in food to Egypt.

Monthly apartment rent is advertised at $165 to $319 in for 900sq feet.  In cities, monthly apartment rent is $250 to $650.

67% of Egyptian citizens own property. Housing cost in large cities is high. This suggests intergenerational wealth is at play. Grand Parents and Parents are leaving paid-off homes to their kids.

Education in Egypt is divided into secular and Islamic options. Within secular education there are public, private and international schools. Islamic schools, known as Al-Azhar schools, run a curriculum similar to the standard national curriculum, but with extra emphasis on Islamic values and Quran studies.

Education system. The public education system in Egypt consists of three levels: the basic education stage for 4–14 years old: kindergarten for two years followed by primary school for six years and preparatory school (ISCED Level 2) for three years. Curriculum: Agriculture, english, arabic, arts, music, social studies, mathematics, religious studies, and industrial education. Some of the schools also provide European languages, usually Spanish or French.

Egypt's job market is characterized by a growing demand for skilled professionals in various sectors, including technology, healthcare, renewable energy, e-commerce, finance, content creation, data science, customer service, construction, and marketing.

Comments

Egypt has a population of 112,716,598 with a Nominal GDP of $398,397B, the size of a small state with a fraction of Egypt’s population. This is too many people with too little money. Egypt needs to grow their economy, but their Debt to GDP is rising. Egypt needs to develop more export business by investing to develop more products it can export. They need to produce what they consume to reduce their Trade Deficit.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

Egypt Problems 5-29-24

Global events have contributed to the devaluation of the Egyptian pound, high inflation, and a lack of foreign currency. Although Egypt had started to recover its tourism industry and economy after COVID-19, the Russian war in Ukraine contributed to a rise in food prices and a lack of forex. 

Recently, the Israeli-Hamas crisis has caused a further decline in the tourism industry. Due to the lack of foreign currency, the International Monetary Fund and Egypt agreed to terms on a $3 billion loan program, which may be increased.

https://fas.usda.gov/data/egypt-economic-challenges-continue-effect-egypt#:~:text=Global%20events%20have%20contributed%20to,and%20a%20lack%20of%20forex.

In 1979, Fouad Ajami wrote that Egypt finds herself between her “pride and place, between her limited material resources and her unbounded psychological esteem for herself, between her old glory and her current poverty." Forty years later, Egyptians are still immersed in the same contrast, and their struggle to leave poverty is still evident. The economic figures such as GDP coming from Egypt in the last three years raise three questions: 1) Is the Egyptian government on the right track to end its long-standing struggle with poverty, or are the figures nothing but recurrence of the previous wave of economic improvement before 2011? 2) Why are Egyptians unhappy with the recent reforms? and 3) What are the missing policies to make Egyptian society benefit from economic reforms?

Contrast—The Egyptian economy before and after 2011

The positives of economic reform prior to 2011 were undeniable. However, a thick wall prevented a great part of the Egyptian society from benefiting from such reform. Prior to 2011, there were three ways for Egyptians to make their way to the market and benefit from its growth: to be a local or national leader in the National Democratic Party (NDP), to be close with the party’s leaders, or to be part of the informal sector. Some Egyptians chose the NDP way; others have no choice but the informal market, which eats their money and gives them very little economic and social benefits.

Five years before the 2011 uprising Egypt witnessed significant progress in most of its economic indicators. In contrast, the poverty rate increased from 16.7% in 1999/2000 to 25.2% in 2010/2011. Moreover, in parallel with the new organized communities that started to grow in Egyptian cities, slum communities spread all over Egypt. The same scenario has repeated itself with the current government: in a time of quantifiable economic improvement, poverty increased to 32% in 2017/18.

Two factors were behind such distortion in the years before 2011: first, the political system allowed some Egyptians to have greater access to the market and to benefit from its reforms than others. Second, the vast majority of Egyptians earned their living and grew their business in the informal sector, which denied them any social progress.

https://www.atlasnetwork.org/articles/why-egypt-is-not-on-a-path-to-end-its-long-struggle-with-poverty?

Comments

The articles above suggest that Egypt’s government and it’s population are lacking common goals after being buffeted by global trends driven by covid and inflation.  The pending increase in supply and reduction of oil prices needs to play a part in this planning. Egypt exports crude oil. Egypt’s high population and low labor force participation are their main problems.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

African Economies 5-28-24

Prior to 1619, African Kings who had conquered neighboring countries began to sell their captives into slavery. In 1619 the British became major importers of African slaves to North America. 

In 1652, the Dutch established a trading company in South Africa. In 1691 the Dutch began to colonize South Africa and established farms. The British took over South Africa in 1806 and the Dutch farmers remained.

The era of European colonialism in Africa ran from 1884 to 1914, when European countries seized control of many African countries. Decolonization occurred slowly after 1945. The power voids that resulted from decolonization resulted in civil wars between power-based factions that further damaged the economies of many of these countries from 1945 to the 1980s. Islamic terror groups continued the violence by invading countries from the 1980s to 2020s. 25% of Africa is desert.

Africa has 51 countries. Nominal GDP totals $3.1448T, Per Cap totals $2150.6, Debt to GDP 63.5%

Africa’s total Population is 1.460,481,772. Inflation is reported from 2021 to 2024 at 17.8%, but is actually higher.

Country          NGDP $B  PerCapGDP   Population   Debt to GDP

Egypt              398.397B     3770.13     112,716,598        92.7%

Nigeria            390.002B     1755.32     223,804,632        38.8%

S Africa           380.906B     6190.74      60.414,595         73.9%

Algeria            244.107B     4874.71      45,606,480         32.6%

Ethiopia          155.804B     1473.36    126.527,060         33.0%

Morocco         147.343B     3979.87      37,840,044         69.7%

Kenya             112.749B     2118.00      55,100,586         67.0%

Angola              93.796B     2550.00      36,684,202         80.5%

Tanzania          84.033B     1326.63      67,438,106         37.0%

Ivory Coast       79.430B     2728.08      28,873,034         34.5%

Ghana              76.628B     2328.97      34,121,985          71.1%

DRCongo         67.512B      675.48     102,262,808          58.2%

Uganda            52.390B    1163.03       48,582,334          52.0%

Tunisia             51.271B    4190.60      12,458,223           79.0%

Cameroon        49.262B    1721.95      28,647,293         123.0%

Libya                40.194B    5872.22        6,888,388           81.0%

Zimbabwe        32.424B    2005.87      16,665,409         284.9.%

Senegal           31.141B    1714.65      17,763,163           74.0%

Zambia            29.536B    1435.89      20,569,737           65.0%

Sudan             25.569B      533.84      48,106,006          256.0%

Guinea            23.205B    1542.76      14,190,612           35.5%

Mozambique   21.936B      647.13      33,897,354           96.4%

Mali                 21.309B      912.64      23,293,698           38.3%

BurkinaFaso   20.785B      888.03      23,251,485            61.2%

Botswana       20.756B    7758.37        2,675,352          123.0%

Benin             19.940B     1449.11     13,712,828            53.0%

Gabon            19.319B    8831.82       2.436,566             57.4%

Niger              17.073B       630.80    27,202,843               3.9%

Madagascar   15.763B      529.56     30,325,732             54.0%

Mauritius        14.819B   11751.51      1,300,557             69.3%

Congo             14.407B    2857.61      6,106,869             13.3%

Rwanda          13.927B    1031.69    14,094,683              63.3%

Malawi            13.176B      579.70    20,931,751              68.0%

Namibia          12.647B    4785.68      2,604,172              68.5%

Chad              12.596B      702.85    18,278,568               43.2%

Somalia          11.515B      717.41    18,143,378                6.0%

Mauritania      10.357B    2337.91      4,862,989              48.1%

Eq Guinea      10.041B    6502.19      1,714,671              37.7%

Togo                 9.111B   1004.46      9,053,799               66.0%

S Sudan           6.267B     417.44     11.088,796              60.8%

Liberia              4.347B     800.21       5,418,377              54.5%

Djibouti             3.873B   3761.24      1,136,455               41.8%

Sierra Leone    3.519B      414.96     8,791,092                89.0%

Burundi            3.190B     245.81    13,238,559                72.7%

C African R      2.760B     539.24      5,742,315                50.1%

Cabo Verde     2.598B   4502.78         598,682              113.1%

Gambia           2.388B     903.29       2,773,168                75.8%

Seychelles       2.085B   20889.55       107,660               123.0%

Guinea Bissau 1.991B   1028.22      2,150,842                 77.8%

Eritrea             1.982B        56.73      3,748,901               146.0%

Cameros         1.364B     1377.02       852,075                101.8%

Totals         3.1448T       $2150.6        1.46B                      63.5%

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)

https://www.worldometers.info/geography/how-many-countries-in-africa/

Exports include petroleum, petroleum products and other raw materials and commodities. Mining gold, diamonds, minerals and rare earth minerals continue to be exported.

Imports include mineral fuels, industrial goods, machinery, transport equipment and durable consumer goods

Africa needs clean water and cheap energy. There are 87 hydroelectric plants in Africa,

There are 718 million Christians and 598.5 million Muslims. In 2023, Nigeria had the largest Muslim population in Africa, with around 99 million people who belonged to an Islamic denomination. Egypt and Algeria followed with 87.5 million and 41.2 million Muslims, respectively. Apr 28, 2023

In 2023, 957 thousand (45%) Africans lived in urban areas. 687 thousand live in rural villages.

The highest inflation rates in 2021-2021 in Africa are in Zimbabwe, Sudan and Ethiopia.

Africa has adapted to the technologies needed to continue and expand trade and want to include manufacturing to their exports to create jobs. If Africa can increase consumption by its citizens, it will increase demand and demand will increase trade and Nominal GDP. African citizens need to focus on their economies and increase their productivity.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

 

African Problems 5-28-24

Africa got a slow start in developing sustainable economic growth. Their participation in the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s was limited to providing raw materials to developed Western countries and that economic model has continued.  

Africa had been home to previous powerful ancient empires like Egypt and Ethiopia. The other African countries had their own Kingdoms, but the infrastructure improvements made by the European countries were not affordable to raw material providing countries.

Africa’s population was divided and spread out, living in villages without clean water or sanitation. Africa’s internation trade centers included mining areas where jobs were available and Trade and Government centers were located where ports and road systems already existed. These mining and trade centers had more infrastructure.

The villages had the Missionaries who brought in resources like schools, medical treatment, water wells and septic tank systems. Villages continued to build their own structures and provide their own food and irrigation systems.

Africa’s culture was influenced by Tribal Rules aimed at assigning responsibility to family members. If the father of the family died, the oldest son took responsibility for his mother and siblings. These rules continued to be followed.  This gave the governments a chance to focus on trade and economics unless violence broke out between political factions or droughts created famines. 

Africans continued their colorful cultural celebrations with drums and dance. Our familiarity with this was kept alive by National Geographic Magazine, news reals and tourism.

Current economic conditions finds African countries are suffering from Biden’s Inflation, higher energy costs and a declining global economy.

Of Africa’s 51 countries, 7 have Debt to GEP at 100% or above. Zimbabwe tops the list with a Debt to GDP at 284.9%. 7 countries have a Nominal GDP above $100B. Egypt tops the list with a Nominal GDP of $398B.

4 countries have populations above 100M. Nigeria tops the list with a population of 223.8M.

Most have large rural populations living in villages without clean water or sanitation. Most don’t have adequate roads or electricity. Jobs are scarce and living costs are high. Governments are continually distracted with fighting poverty and disease.

African countries continue to be sources of needed raw material including rare earth material needed in computer chips. China is active in African countries to secure supplies of rare earth material.

If Trump is elected in 2024, African countries could see a reduction in energy prices and lower inflation, but also lower Export dollars for those who provide crude oil.

Overall, for Africa it’s more of the same. Mining will continue to supply demand and Some countries could add low wage manufacturing to their list of exports.

African political destabilization has persisted as opposing factions have wasted time fighting each other.  European Colonization from 1884 to 1914 ended the Kingdoms. Ending this period introduced the battle for control between political factions until 1945 when decolonization began. The establishment of democracies with Presidents and Legislatures did not bring factions together. Now counties are breaking up as factions take control of pieces of these countries.   

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader