Election of AU new Chair postponed -Africa Business News Roundup

Election of AU new Chair postponed
The African Union summit meeting in Kigali will be voting for a new AU commission on Monday to replace the outgoing AU commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
There are three candidates, two of them women, former Uganda vice president Specioza Wandira Kazibwe and Botswana Foreign Minister Pelonomi Venson Moitoi, and Equatorial Guinea Foreign Minister Agapito Mba Mokuy.
#Election of a new #AU Commission set to go underway this morning. #27thAUSummit #AUKigali2016 pic.twitter.com/LpcW9i2GGu
— Jacob Enoh Eben (@EnohEben_J) July 18, 2016
However, due to no outright winner, the elections were adjourned. None of the candidates for AUC Chairperson has attained the required 2/3.
Botswana's candidate for AUC chair Venson-Moitoi got the most votes in the first round – at 16, with Uganda getting the least #AUKigali2016
— carien du plessis (@carienduplessis) July 18, 2016
.@carienduplessis Elections of the new AU Commission took place, but no outright winner emerged. Postponed till next AU Summit.
— Jacob Enoh Eben (@EnohEben_J) July 18, 2016
Morocco seeks to rejoin African Union after 32 years. In a message to the AU summit in Rwanda, the Moroccan King Mohammed VI said the time had come for his country to retake its place within its institutional family, reports the BBC.
EAC-EU trade deal signing called off
The comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the East African Community (EAC) and the European Union (EU) will not be signed today as earlier planned.
Reports cite Tanzania’s decision to halt signing, citing the “turmoil” that the EU is experiencing following Britain’s exit. The agreement was due to be signed at a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya today.
More…
African passport launched
On Sunday, the African Passport was launched. The outgoing Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Dlamini-Zuma issued the first two copies to Chairperson of the AU and Chadian president, Idris Deby Itno and Rwandan president Paul Kagame.
Video of first @_AfricanUnion passports being issued at #27thAUSummit #KigaliConvention https://t.co/rgiVrWrcYs via @abi_negn
— Calestous Juma (@calestous) July 17, 2016
The document has five languages used for inscriptions on it, English, French, Arabic, Portuguese and Swahili.
South Africa’s economy beats Egypt
The South African economy is Africa’s second biggest only behind Nigeria. According to the latest projections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), South Africa has gone ahead of Egypt after recording a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of around $275 billion, $5 billion more than Egypt’s $270 billion.
#SA has overtaken Egypt to be 2nd biggest economy in #Africa. New data by IMF shows #SA with a GDP of $275 billion & Egypt with $270 b.
— Clayson Monyela (@ClaysonMonyela) July 17, 2016
On the flip side, The East African reports that Nairobi tipped to outpace SA, Nigerian cities in growth race. The anticipated growth rates mean Kenya’s cities are expected to be more attractive to businesses dealing in consumer goods and services compared to other leading African cities.
Global leaders at UNCTAD 14 in Nairobi
The 14th UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) begun on Sunday in Nairobi with leaders calling for tangible resolutions that will drive global development through sustainable investments.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Amina Mohammed was appointed President of UNCTAD for the next 4 years.
CS Ministry of Foreign Affairs @AMB_A_Mohammed is the President of the UNCTAD 14! #UNCTAD14KICC @NanaGecaga pic.twitter.com/0pIBujShT1
— KICC_Kenya (@KICC_kenya) July 18, 2016
UNCTAD will focus on four areas: the challenges and opportunities posed by the multilateral system in trade and development; the enhancement of overall and sustainable development through trade, investment, financing, and technology in order to achieve prosperity for all; achieving a structural economic transformation to enable economic flexibility, address obstacles to trade and development, and benefit from available opportunities; and finally, how to contribute to the active implementation of the global Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 issued by the United Nations in September 2015.
Zimbabwe says sanctions to blame for cash crunch
Zimbabwe’s finance minister blamed international sanctions on Sunday for a cash crunch that has forced the government to delay wages to soldiers and civil servants as President Robert Mugabe faces rare popular protests.
More here.
Nigeria Finds a National Crisis in Every Direction It Turns –Dionne Searcey
Militants are roaming oil-soaked creeks in the south, blowing up pipelines and decimating the nation’s oil production. Islamist extremists have killed thousands in the north. Deadly land battles are shaking the nation’s center. And a decades-old separatist movement at the heart of a devastating civil war is brewing again.
On their own, any one of these would be a national emergency. But here in Nigeria, they are all happening at the same time, tearing at the country from almost every angle.
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