| 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. Are the icy relations between the US and South Africa beginning to thaw? On Thursday, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with South Africa’s Trade Minister, Parks Tau, in Washington. And the US embassy welcomed a deputy head of mission in Pretoria this week, with a new ambassador expected to arrive soon, ending close to a year of temporary representation in South Africa.  US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, left, and Greer in Stockholm, Sweden, on July 29. Photographer: Magnus Lejhall/TT News Agency/AFP/Getty Images The meeting with Greer, while not yielding an immediate breakthrough on trade talks for South Africa, is significant, and comes just days before President Cyril Ramaphosa travels to the US. For months, the White House has largely ignored South Africa’s entreaties to consider offers for a deal to ease the crippling 30% tariffs imposed on some exports to America that government estimates suggest could cut 100,000 jobs in Africa’s biggest economy. The discussion signals the US may now be ready to engage, as do the words of Marc Dillard, who will serve as the No. 2 in the Pretoria embassy after the arrival of Leo Brent Bozell II. Speaking on the lawns of the official US residence in the capital — which with its commanding view of the city is aptly named Hill House — Dillard stressed the importance of forging close relations between the countries. He spoke of the 600 American companies in South Africa, the restoration of some health aid and the flurry of meetings he had to attend before being dispatched.  WATCH: Africa Practice adviser Ziyanda Stuurman speaks about the outlook for US-Africa trade and threat of sanctions against senior South African politicians on Bloomberg TV. So, some progress. Yet a divide remains. The US is still offering refugee status to South Africa’s White Afrikaans-speaking community after falsely claiming they face a genocide, and South Africa’s international court case against Israel remains an irritant to the Trump administration. Thursday’s sitdown at least reopens a path to rapprochement, and moves relations on from Donald Trump’s Oval Office ambush in May. — Antony Sguazzin and Loni Prinsloo Key stories and opinion:
South Africa Hails ‘Constructive’ US Trade Negotiations
Trump’s Trade Envoy, South African Minister Said to Plan Meeting
Ford, Glencore Cut Jobs as South Africa’s Economy Stagnates
South Africa Set to Name New Ambassador to US to Ease Tension
America’s Africa Policy Is Clear. Success Isn’t: Justice Malala Ramaphosa moved to defuse tensions sparked by his warning that the African National Congress risks losing South African-voter support unless it learns from a key political rival. The president earlier in the week suggested that his colleagues can take lessons from better-run municipalities led by the Democratic Alliance, the second-largest party in a coalition government. That unusual public candor drew widespread criticism, including from quarters of the ANC, for providing ammunition to its chief rival.  Ramaphosa. Photographer: Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images Google is planning four new infrastructure hubs in Africa to connect its latest underwater fiber-optic cables for the continent, Alex Okosi, the company’s Africa managing director, said in an interview. The hubs are “new investment” for the tech giant that Okosi says has surpassed the $1 billion it pledged to spend in 2021 over five years. Africa is home to the fastest-growing and youngest population globally, increasingly hungry for improved access to technology. Almost two decades after a disturbing trend of young, lean people who were under-nourished as children showing up at clinics in northern Ethiopia with diabetes, the unusual form of the disease is finally getting a name. Type 5 diabetes affects about 25 million people, mostly in poorer countries, and has been neglected and under-researched, a group of experts wrote in The Lancet Global Health journal. Malian prosecutors appealed a court ruling to release four Barrick employees on bail. The staff, including a regional manager detained last year amid rising tensions over the company’s largest gold mine in Africa, will remain in jail pending the review. Mali’s junta accused the officials of money laundering and financing terrorism, including tax-related offenses, as the dispute over the Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex escalated. Zimbabweans should focus more on their gold-backed currency that’s set to become the sole legal tender and less on whether to phase out the dollar, central bank Deputy Governor Innocent Matshe said. His comments underscore the resolve to adopt the ZiG as the only currency by 2030, replacing the greenback. Separately, a US lawmaker introduced legislation to block Zimbabwe from securing new funding from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank until it pays $3.5 billion it owes to displaced White farmers.  A ZiG banknote. Photographer: Cynthia R Matonhodze/Bloomberg While China, India and the US want Africa’s critical minerals, Singapore’s main target is different: the continent’s carbon offsets. The Southeast Asian city-state aims to increasingly tap African countries for the credits to boost trade and meet its own net-zero ambitions. At the same time, it’s seeking to establish itself as a carbon-trading hub for Asian companies seeking to buy the offsets to meet their climate targets. Next Africa Quiz — In which country will Uber offer safari trips into a national park that includes the capital city? Send your answers to gbell16@bloomberg.net.  On this week’s Next Africa Podcast, reporter Nduka Orjinmo joins Jennifer Zabasajja to explain what’s behind the surge in terrorist activities in Africa and the role technologies like drones and Starlink are playing. Data Watch - Ghana’s central bank surprised with a bigger-than-expected interest-rate cut and projected inflation will continue to slow.
- S&P assigned Guinea a credit rating for the first time as the start of production at the Simandou iron-ore mine and other projects are expected to drive strong economic growth.
- Senegal’s eurobonds are posting the weakest returns in Africa this month as investors await the outcome of an IMF inquiry into the underreporting of debt.
- The European Union pledged a €1.3 billion package to support Namibia’s clean energy plans and the local processing of critical materials.
- South Africa’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged, despite inflation slowing unexpectedly in August. The decision is the first since the policy committee said it will target the bottom of the current target range of 3% to 6%.
Coming Up - Sept. 21 Guinea referendum on new constitution to determine presidential-term limits
- Sept. 22 Lesotho inflation data for August
- Sept. 23 Interest-rate decisions for Nigeria, Lesotho and Morocco, South Africa central bank’s leading indicator
- Sept. 25 Sierra Leone interest-rate decision, Zambia second-quarter GDP data, September inflation & trade data for August, South Africa producer inflation for August & third-quarter consumer confidence, Seychelles election
- Sept. 26 Botswana GDP data for the second quarter, Zambia budget
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