The most important developments in sub-Saharan Africa. Six days a week.
Rising oil prices keep pushing up costs for Africa's fuel importers: Brent crude jumped about 5% to around $105 a barrel on 8 October after new attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. In the Central African Republic, civil society groups on 8 October called a stay-away for 12 October against a fuel price rise to 1,150 CFA francs a litre for petrol and 1,400 for diesel. Uganda's shilling fell past 4,000 to the dollar for the first time this week, according to Bloomberg, while bus and taxi fares in Eswatini have risen by up to 38%. Exporters such as the Republic of Congo gain revenue, but importers face weaker currencies, faster inflation and protests.
Zambia's installed generating capacity has reached 4,722 megawatts (MW), up from 3,777 MW in 2024 and nearly twice peak demand of about 2,400 MW, energy ministry figures presented on 8 October show. Solar capacity rose from 178 MW to 1,028 MW, passing the 2026 target, after a drought in 2024 cut hydropower output and caused long power cuts. President Hakainde Hichilema warned that transmission and distribution lag behind new generation. A planned $300 million line from Kalumbila to Kolwezi, backed by a Congolese sovereign fund, Trafigura and the investor Gridworks, would carry up to 550 MW to the copper mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Grid investment will decide how much of the surplus Zambia can sell.
Niger's petrol supply gap keeps widening: the shortfall reached 196.6 million litres in the first eight months of 2026, against 159.7 million litres in all of 2025 and 47.3 million in 2024. Petroleum Minister Hamadou Tini presented the figures to the transitional advisory council on 5 October, adding that diesel has also moved into a deficit of 52.6 million litres this year. The Soraz refinery in Zinder, with capacity of 20,000 barrels a day, produces mostly diesel, while demand has recovered and fuel flows to border areas. The gap forces Niger to import more fuel at high world prices, straining the state distributor Sonidep and the budget; the minister said the figures do not automatically point to fraud.
