| 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. South Africa’s year-old ruling alliance is teetering on the edge — again. The dust had barely settled after a dispute over the national budget when President Cyril Ramaphosa fired a deputy trade minister who’s a member of the Democratic Alliance, the second-biggest member of the coalition, for undertaking an international trip without permission. An outraged DA leader John Steenhuisen said Andrew Whitfield was ostensibly axed for a relatively minor misdemeanor and suggested the real reason was that he was doing his job well and asking difficult questions. Steenhuisen also complained why several members of Ramaphosa’s African National Congress facing corruption allegations got to retain their cabinet posts.  South African election campaign posters in April 2024. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg “This unilateral action is the result and a product of a flagrant double standard,” he said. “If this situation is not corrected, it will go down as the greatest political mistake in modern South African history.” Ramaphosa hit back, saying he was merely exercising his constitutional rights and that Whitfield had blatantly and deliberately disregarded the rules. He had asked Steenhuisen — who is agriculture minister — to suggest a replacement from the DA for the deputy minister. The so-called government of national unity is a fragile tie-up with its partners often vying for public attention and points scoring. They have sparred over land expropriation, school admission and language policy, and long-held plans to introduce universal national health insurance. The DA and ANC also clashed over the National Treasury’s proposal to raise value-added tax, causing the passage of the budget to be delayed twice — and ushering in days of crisis talks. It remains unclear whether Whitfield’s removal will be the final straw. While Steenhuisen gave the president until Saturday to fire ANC members of his executive implicated in wrongdoing, he didn’t specify what would happen if the ultimatum to his boss is ignored.  Steenhuisen at a DA rally in Pretoria in February 2024. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg “Let it be clear that the president shall not yield to threats and ultimatums, especially coming from members of the executive that he has the prerogative to appoint,’’ Ramaphosa’s office said. The DA may decide yet again that it can wield more influence over policy from within the government than from the opposition benches. It will also be loath to open the door to the ANC teaming up with populist parties to retain power — a prospect that would spook investors and drag down the nation’s assets. For many South Africans, it’s a case of “here we go again.” That the government is at the precipice over a seemingly resolvable issue bodes ill for the prospects of it being able to tackle the substantive crises that are sure to come. — Mike Cohen and Paul Vecchiatto Key stories and opinion:
Ramaphosa Accused of ‘Double Standard’ by Key Coalition Partner
DA Backs South Africa Budget Bill Despite Deputy Removal ‘Assault’
South Africa’s Second-Biggest Party Rules Out Coalition Exit
South Africa Businesses Ask Ramaphosa to Save Ruling Coalition
A New Coalition Will Set South Africa Back: Justice Malala  In this week’s Next Africa podcast, Winnie Byanyima, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, joins Bloomberg’s Janice Kew and Jennifer Zabasajja to discuss HIV treatment in Africa after US aid cuts. Kenya’s government labeled protests in which at least 16 people died this week as “terrorism” and vowed to bring to book the people who planned them. “It was riots, chaos and anarchy,” said Interior Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen. Demonstrations took place in at least half of Kenya’s 47 counties to commemorate the first anniversary of riots that culminated in the storming of parliament and in which at least 60 people were killed. An investigation is under way into claims of excessive force by the police, the security watchdog said.  WATCH: Ondiro Oganga reports on Kenyan protests on Bloomberg TV. A temporary administrator plans to restart production at Barrick Mining’s Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex in Mali. A dispute between the nation’s military junta and the Canadian miner escalated on June 16 when a court in Bamako ruled the state could take over management of the mine for six months. Barrick shuttered the operation — one of its most important assets — after the Malian authorities blocked bullion exports and detained senior employees. The firm, among the world’s biggest gold producers, has turned to international arbitration proceedings. Angola’s finance minister hailed the Lobito Corridor, a railway project to transport critical minerals from central Africa’s copper belt to an Atlantic port, as a model for funding infrastructure that doesn’t add to already high debt. The US International Development Finance Corp. is finalizing a more than $500 million loan for work on the line. The US State Department last year said the government and American companies had committed almost $5 billion to projects along the corridor. TotalEnergies and its partners are poised to resume work at a $20 billion project thanks to improved security and can still start producing liquefied natural gas in Mozambique from 2029, according to CEO Patrick Pouyanne. The company is now convinced that the situation is stable enough, and that it can organize, welcome and accommodate workers at the plant, he said. Construction of the facility was halted in 2021 due to Islamic State-linked militant attacks in the area. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu signed four new tax laws, marking the latest chapter in his push to reform the economy of Africa’s most-populous nation. The new rules, which overhaul some levies that date back to the West African country’s colonial era, are designed to boost government revenue as a share of gross domestic product from levels that rank among the lowest in the world. As a whole, reforms have helped improve investor sentiment toward Nigeria, even as they initially fan a cost-of-living crisis that sparked deadly protests last year.  A market in Lagos, Nigeria. Photographer: Benson Ibeabuchi/Bloomberg A Pretoria court delayed the funeral of ex-Zambian President Edgar Lungu, after his nation’s government sought to block his family from burying him in South Africa, where he died June 5. The case ratcheted up a feud between the current head of state and his predecessor’s relations, some of whom are facing criminal charges in Zambia. The southern African nation’s government argues that he should have an official funeral at home. Next Africa Quiz — Which two countries are due to sign a peace deal later on Friday after three decades of fighting? Send your answers to gbell16@bloomberg.net. Data Watch - Africa doubled new hydropower capacity last year, adding 4.5 gigawatts of generation from the technology even as funding challenges limit faster growth.
- Zambia’s annual inflation eased to a 14-month low in June after a rally in its currency helped curb the cost of imports.
- Senegal secured a $115 million World Bank loan to strengthen its debt-management processes after budget data showed interest payments jumped by almost a quarter in the first three months of the year.
- South African stocks are heading for their best first-half performance in almost two decades, and higher precious-metal prices could pave the way for further gains. Also, the government achieved its first back-to-back primary budget surplus in 16 years.
Coming Up - June 30 Ethiopia and Bank of Central African States interest-rate decisions, Kenya and Uganda inflation for June, first-quarter GDP data for Morocco, South Africa money supply, trade & budget balances for May
- July 1 Nigeria PMI report for June, South Africa manufacturing PMI & new vehicle sales for June, Angola reserves data
- July 2 South Africa inflation-expectations data
- July 3 June PMI reports for Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Mozambique,
- July 4 Zambia and Ghana PMIs for June
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