Africa Briefs

Uganda, Tanzania agree on oil pipeline

Tanzania and Uganda signed an agreement on Sunday paving the way for the construction of a crude oil pipeline running from Ugandan oilfields to the Tanzanian port of Tanga, a Tanzanian government spokesman said.

Uganda discovered oil reserves in 2006 and needs the planned 1 445-km East African Crude Oil Pipeline to be in place to start commercial production. The pipeline is estimated to cost US$3.5 billion, according to the two governments.

Hassan Abassi, Tanzania government spokesman, said on Twitter that 80% of the pipeline will run through Tanzania.

Tanzania will earn 7.5 trillion shillings (US$3.24 billion) and create more than 18 000 jobs over the next 25 years, or more, that the project is in place, Abassi said after the signing ceremony attended by Tanzania's president John Magufuli and Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni in Chato, northwestern Tanzania.

Uganda has not given a date for when construction of the pipeline will begin but said last year that once construction begins, it would take 2-1/2 to three years to complete. – Nampa/Reuters

Nigeria stops giving forex for food imports

Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday directed the central bank to stop issuing foreign exchange for food and fertiliser imports, according to a statement by his spokesman.

It follows a similar order the president issued last year that the nominally-independent bank only partly followed, with some food importers still receiving foreign exchange.

But Thursday's directive will completely ban providing foreign currency for all imported food and fertiliser, the spokesman told Reuters. "Nobody importing food should be given money," Buhari said.

Since his election in 2015, Buhari has sought to cut foreign imports, particularly agricultural products. Expanding Nigeria's farm sector is a key pillar of his economic policy.

But the bans on imports like rice have seen prices surge, sparking widespread frustration. – Nampa/Reuters

Algeria hunting season returns after ban

Curbs on hunting are to be lifted in Algeria from today after a ban of more 25 years first imposed during its bloody civil war of the 1990s.

The hunting season will run until February 15, said agriculture minister Abdelhamid Hamdani, quoted by national news agency APS.

Hunting was banned and farmers' rifles confiscated to prevent them falling the hands of Islamist militants during the war.

But wild boar hunting, for which Algeria is a destination for shooting holidays, was authorised in 2014 to combat the large increase in their numbers due to the ban. – Nampa/AFP