According to a pamphlet from the organizers of a state-backed conference, the Africa Voluntary Carbon Markets Forum, scheduled from July 3-9 in the resort of Victoria Falls, the country intends to register projects generating the offsets on a carbon registry at its dollar-denominated Victoria Falls Stock Exchange.
In retrospect, Zimbabwe is attempting to become Africa’s carbon credit trading hub, as seen on Bloomberg, an American-based business news platform.
“The forum aims to create a pan-African focused register of carbon credits to be traded on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange,” the pamphlet sent to Bloomberg on Wednesday said.
“A key highlight of the forum will be the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between key stakeholders to establish the Pan-African Voluntary Carbon Credit Register and Victoria Falls Stock Exchange Carbon Market.”
Attendees and speakers from Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya have been confirmed, according to the announcement. The Victoria Falls Stock Exchange intends to begin trading in carbon credits by September, hoping to capitalize on significant changes in how the securities will be produced in the country.
Zimbabwe’s government declared last week that half of all carbon-credit program money will henceforth go to the government, with at least 20% going to local investors. All initiatives must be registered with the state, it said, adding that the uncontrolled nature of the trade has resulted in the majority of the revenues leaving the nation.
The Zimbabwean government’s statement roiled the $2 billion worldwide market for offsets, which are purchased by greenhouse gas producers to compensate for their emissions. The Court emphasized that unexpected instructions from governments arguing that they should gain more from ventures on their jurisdiction might risk project viability.
Each carbon credit is a ton of carbon dioxide equivalent removed from or prevented from entering the atmosphere. In a previous interview, the exchange’s chief executive officer, Justin Bgoni, stated that it will begin trading in securities sanctioned by the Zimbabwean government in September.
According to BloombergNEF, the southern African country is the world’s 12th largest producer of offsets, with 4.2 million credits generated from 30 registered projects last year. The country’s largest project, encompassing a 785,000-hectare (1.94 million-acre) stretch of forest in northern Kariba, is run in part by the South Pole, the world’s foremost seller of offsets.
The International Monetary Fund expects Uganda’s economy to grow by 5.5% this year, following a good half-year performance and some encouraging data from high-frequency activity and confidence indicators.
The International Monetary Fund Resident Representative, Ms Izabela Karpowicz, stated, “Inflation peaked in late 2022 but it’s now on a declining path. As it continues to decline and global uncertainties decrease, external demand would support a stronger recovery in 2024 and beyond, thus a return to pre-Covid-19 growth rate of 6 to 7%.”
Ms. Karpowicz, on the other hand, stated that dangers to this prognosis include geoeconomic fragmentation, a return to greater and more unpredictable global inflation, and climate change consequences. She stated that Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing increasing borrowing costs as a result of global monetary policy tightening in reaction to excessive inflation.
“Uganda is not spared from this. Yields on government securities peaked at 12-15 percent early in 2023 and the Uganda shilling has depreciated. Difficulty in raising concessional financing, coupled with a higher interest burden, means that fewer resources are available for discretionary spending, notably on development and climate change adaptation,” Ms. Karpowicz said.
She insisted that the best course of action for the Ugandan government is boosting tax revenues, which are below regional competitors. In her assessment, this move is not only necessary but can also help finance development investment while preserving governmental debt sustainability.
Additionally, Dr. Adam Mugume, the Executive Director of Research at the Bank of Uganda, identified the challenge Uganda’s reliance on external financing poses, stating that this constitutes a problem as it complicates the global financial squeeze.
He stated; “However, Uganda should be able to maneuver through given that most of Uganda’s external debt is from multilateral creditors, mainly World Bank, IMF, and African Development Bank. Uganda’s exposure to non-concessional loans is to a great extent limited and as such there is limited concern on risks associated with rollover of maturing loans from commercial lenders.”
Africa is home to vast and abundant reserves of natural resources, with resources ranging from black gold popularly known as oil to large reserves of cobalt, found all across the mineral-rich lands of the Congo.
Africa is home to nearly all valuable minerals that are essential to generating wealth, producing commodities, and advancing technology. Several African nations have prospered because of their mineral resources, some more so than others.
Africa is home to approximately 30% of the world’s entire mineral reserves. While some countries rely on oil, some are rich in diamonds, and others in gold, copper, cobalt, coal, iron ore, uranium, and others. According to a research report conducted by the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, the sister company to The Economist newspaper, Economist Intelligence Unit, South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, and Libya produce more than two-thirds of Africa’s mineral wealth, owing to their large oil reserves, with the exception of South Africa, which has an abundance of gold and other precious materials.
The report also indicates that high prices for copper, oil, iron ore, aluminum, and gas will encourage investment and all are contributing to reducing external imbalances, stabilizing currencies, and boosting economic development. Commodity prices are driving an export boom across the continent.
This is despite the fact that Africa is expected to be faced with increased risks brought on by rapid increases in commodity prices and inflationary pressures. Regardless, the continent will continue to be a key exporter of a number of commodities.
Below are the top 10 countries in Africa that exported the largest volumes of natural resources in 2022 and as such, generated the most wealth from its abundant reserves.
| Rank | Country | Predominant resources | Annual mineral production |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | South Africa | Gold, Manganese, Platinium, others | $124.96 billion |
| 2. | Nigeria | Oil, Iron Ore, Columbite, others | $52.69 billion |
| 3. | Algeria | Hydrocarbons | $38.70 billion |
| 4. | Angola | Diamond, Gold, Oil, others | $32.04 billion |
| 5. | Libya | Oil, Clay, Cement, Salt, others | $27.03 billion |
| 6. | Egypt | Gold, Copper, Silver, others | $23.22 billion |
| 7. | Ghana | Gold, Limestone, Iron Ore, others | $14.97 billion |
| 8. | Democratic Republic of Congo | Gold, Copper, Cobalt, others | $13.69 billion |
| 9. | Gabon | Manganese, Iron Ore, Uranium, others | $10.92 billion |
| 10. | Zimbabwe | Platinum, Chrome, Coal, Gold, others | $9.77 billion |
