Zimbabwe’s new President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed as one of his deputies in the ruling party the leader of the military takeover that led to ex-president Robert Mugabe’s overthrow.

Constantino Chiwenga recently retired as army chief, prompting speculation that he would receive a political post.

The appointment is seen as a first step towards becoming vice-president.

Mr Chiwenga retired this week, more than a month after the army intervened in a row over Mr Mugabe’s succession.

The other deputy Zanu-PF leader is Kembo Mohadi, who was state security minister under the former president.

The 15 November takeover came days after Mr Mnangagwa, then deputy president, was fired by Mr Mugabe and left the country.

That move was seen as an attempt to install Mr Mugabe’s wife Grace as his successor instead of Mr Mnangagwa.

• The army chief who took power from Mugabe
• How Zimbabwe’s new leader will be different
• What next for Zimbabwe?

But Mr Mnangagwa had strong ties to the military, and following the intervention he was appointed president and inaugurated on 24 November.

Like Mr Mnangagwa, Mr Chiwenga used to be one of Mr Mugabe’s right-hand men, playing a central role in the seizure of white-owned farms and a brutal crackdown on the opposition after elections in 2008.

But he is said to be committed to rescuing Zimbabwe’s economy, which he believes is in such a dire state that it threatens national security.

Mr Mnangagwa has already appointed two former military men as ministers.

On 30 November former general Sibusiso Moyo, who played a prominent role in the takeover, was made foreign minister and former air force chief Perence Shiri was named minister of agriculture and land affairs.

Source: BBC

Tunisia has banned Emirates airline from landing in the capital Tunis after a number of Tunisian women were prevented from boarding its flights.

The move comes amid widespread anger in Tunisia, with rights groups condemning “racist and discriminatory” measures.

The transport ministry said the measure would stay in place until Emirates was able to “operate flights in accordance with law and international agreements”.

The UAE said “security information” had caused the delays.

“We contacted our Tunisian brothers about security information that necessitated taking specific procedures,” Emirati Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash said on Twitter on Sunday.

“We highly value Tunisian women and respect them,” he added.

Strained ties

Tunisian government officials said the UAE had banned Tunisian women from flying to or transiting through its territory.

On Friday the Tunisian government said it had asked the UAE ambassador to clarify what was happening and had been told that the measures had been temporary and had already been lifted.

Local media reported that Tunisian women had been blocked from boarding Emirates flights to Dubai over several days.

According to AFP news agency, some Tunisian women said their journeys to the UAE had been delayed and some that their visas had to undergo additional examination.

Tunisia has been trying to improve relations with the UAE that were damaged by its 2011 revolution.

Tunisia’s ruling Ennahda party also has links to Qatar, which has been cut off by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain over its alleged support for terrorism.

Source: BBC

The World Bank again declared that the Ethiopian economy would be Africa’s most expansive in 2017; it is forecast to expand by 8.3% in 2017, ahead of rival Tanzania’s projected 7.2% and runner up Côte d’Ivoire’s 6.8%.

Ethiopia has overtaken Kenya as Eastern Africa’s regional economic giant in recent years, but its politics remains fragile and strained by ethnic tensions. Investors, however, are bullish about the country’s prospects over the next decade and seem willing to bet that its economic take-off will not long be delayed for much longer.

Ethiopia has attracted significant levels of Western and Chinese investors, with the secret of its success being government-led public spending on infrastructure and strong local demand for goods and services.

As a result of these low costs and rising consumer demand, many diverse types of international businesses have entered the Ethiopian market or set up production facilities there, including Unilever, Tesco and drinks giant Diageo. Testimonials from their senior staff feature prominently on the Ethiopian government websites, such as the Ethiopian Embassy in London.

Among others it quotes Diageo’s CEO Ivan Menezes: “Africa is hugely important for Diageo and Ethiopia is going to be one of the cornerstone markets for us… It’s got good demographics, very good economic growth and we’ve got good support from the government. I see a market the size of Ethiopia having significant opportunities for all players to grow.”

Seeking to look beyond pro-government sources, however, African Banker spoke with Tai Wondwosen, Head of Standard Bank’s representative office in Ethiopia, about the opportunities that had led Africa’s largest bank by assets to set up shop in Addis Ababa.

The primary lure, she told us, was the bank’s need to act as an entry point for clients seeking to invest in Ethiopia, although the company was also seeking to consolidate its East African presence.

With the Ethiopian government actively planning to attract more outside investment, her bank was already working on positioning itself to support Addis Ababa by using its client base to facilitate more financing and attract interested clients to the country.

She told African Banker: “Standard Bank has key clients from South Africa, East Africa and international firms who are currently operating, or seeking to establish themselves, in Ethiopia, and who require our services to unlock opportunities within that market.

“We see many opportunities in the infrastructure space as well as in power generation and transmission.  We also anticipate many opportunities in all consumer-related industries, as Ethiopia’s remarkable growth has been underpinned by high public investment and a growing consumer base.”.

Industry and manufacturing, she  added, “are a top priority for Ethiopia, are likely to start making a more significant contribution in the country’s GDP going forward which will largely be facilitated by the increase in electricity supply.” The growing consumer base that caught the eye of Standard Bank is part of the demographic boom which also attracted Diageo’s CEO Ivan Menezes.

Growing consumer base

Ethiopia is Sub-Saharan Africa’s second most populous nation, and private consumption per head is expected by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to rise by more than one-fifth over the 2017–21 period (although it warns that this should be seen in context: in 2021, Ethiopia’s private consumption per head is still expected to only be around $585).

Moreover, consumers remain relatively underserved according to the EIU, with substantial scope for the right investors who get in early enough. There are already signs this is happening, as the example of US-based Pizza Hut shows. This May, the company announced that it would open three outlets in Ethiopia in 2017, becoming the first major international restaurant chain to invest in the country.

Geography is also lending a hand to the Ethiopian boom, as the country is likely to be a key destination for Chinese investment under its new overseas investment initiatives.

According to Jane Morley, Regional Manager of the EIU’s Middle East and Africa team: “New opportunities are also opening up because of Ethiopia’s role in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Ethiopia is likely to be one of key landing points for the maritime silk road, and will benefit from the Silk Road Fund (to which China has pledged some $124bn), meaning further investments in infrastructure.

“China is also likely to invest heavily in areas such as clothing and footwear – not least because of the cost advantage. McKinsey Global Institute recently put Ethiopia’s unit labour costs for the manufacture of polo shirts, for example, at $0.14 per unit, less than half the level in China or Vietnam.”

Unresolved ethnic tensions

There are, however, potential negatives to the story of Ethiopia as the next emerging market success story. First, the government is likely to retain its statist outlook, and investment in key sectors is thus likely to remain restricted. Second, there are tensions between ethnic groups over the exact boundaries of regional state areas; the Ethiopian federal model is based on ethnicity, which makes state governments sensitive about boundary changes and prone to react aggressively to what they perceive as incursions from other ethnic groups.

Finally, similar tensions reach into the heart of the federal government as well, with the perceived economic and political marginalisation of the Oromo and Amhara (respectively the largest and second largest ethnic groups in the country) the source of the protests which led to Addis Ababa imposing a state of emergency across much of the country until August.

Further violence is therefore possible, and if sustained, could raise the possibility of shareholder pressure or even disinvestment campaigns by human rights activists.

Too big a market to ignore

That said, according to a spokeswoman for the UK’s Department for International Trade, the most recent figures available for 2017 show that Ethiopia imported £186m in goods and services from the UK alone, with companies such as Unilever, Diageo, Pittards, Hela, Bagir, Kefi Minerals, and Altus Strategies already well established in the market there.

These companies have ridden out the violent protests of recent years and established themselves in Ethiopia despite occasional mutterings from the ruling left-wing Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front. Unstable as its politics may sometimes become, Ethiopia is clearly becoming too big for major companies to ignore in their calculations any longer.

Its economy could be a major driver of economic development for the increasingly integrated East African region, just as those of giants like China have been in Asia over the past three decades. Investors should therefore keep a keen eye open for the new opportunities ahead in Eastern Africa’snewest economic giant.

Source :  AFRICAN BUSINESS MAGAZINE

 

China’s relationship with Africa is usually viewed through the relatively narrow lens of infrastructure, construction, energy, and mining. However, Sino-African relations have the potential to be multifaceted. Higher education is one sector that would benefit significantly from greater cross-fertilisation between China and Africa.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the enrolment rate in 2013 was 77% for primary, 34% for secondary, but only 9% for higher education. This, coupled with the fact that by 2030, the number of youth in Africa will have increased by 42%, points to an urgent need to address higher education on the continent.

However, higher education in Africa is fraught with challenges, including limited financial and human resources and a lack of industrial linkages causing education to be out of sync with the needs of the economy. Africa could benefit from China’s involvement at multiple levels.

Technical education

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in African countries is limited by a lack of industrial support. According to research conducted by the Sino-Africa Centre of Excellence, many TVET institutes possess equipment, trainers, and curricula that are not up to industrial and international standards. Consequently, TVET graduates struggle to gain recognition by employers.

To bridge these gaps, African TVET institutions could partner with Chinese companies in Africa. For instance, Chinese firms could be incentivised to invest equipment, technology and human resources in technical training institutes.

Alternatively, they could be invited to jointly develop curricula and provide internships to TVET institutes. Africa’s technical education could thus benefit from industrial linkages with and technology transfers from Africa’s Chinese private sector.

University education

In the case of tertiary education, Chinese students could be a major contributor to Africa’s international student base. China is the largest exporter of students globally.

At the end of 2014, there were 1.7m Chinese students studying overseas. Chinese students abroad have a substantial economic impact on their host institutions.

For example, in 2012–13, Chinese students in New Zealand accounted for nearly one-third of tuition fee income, of which 50% was attributed to university students. Currently, African countries remain unexplored as higher education destinations.

With over 2,000 Chinese companies operating in Africa, China has the scope to be an important source of corporate partnerships for African universities. In this context, seeking partnerships with Chinese companies could be a great way for African universities to expand their private sector ties.

A pioneer in this approach is the African Leadership University (ALU), which has pan-African ambitions to provide world-class, low-cost tertiary education through a network of 25 campuses. ALU has been engaging Chinese students and corporates since 2015 to forge long-term relationships.

In conclusion, China could play an important role in the development of Africa’s higher education sector, as an investor, an industrial partner, or a market for students. African governments and institutes should think strategically about how to engage Chinese stakeholders and leverage these relationships to their fullest potential.

Isaac Fokuo is co-founder of the Sino-Africa Centre of Excellence and a 2014 Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow.

Source : AFRICAN BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Nigeria has enjoyed strong economic growth rates in the last two decades, benefiting from rising oil prices and expansion of non-oil sectors.

The plunge in oil prices in 2014 induced fiscal pressures and foreign currency shortages, and spilled over to non-oil sectors, tipping the economy into recession in 2016. Medium to long term prospects look optimistic, with solid fundamentals underpinning growth expectations.

The economy has grown by an average of 5.4% between 2008 and 2016, during which time its size more than doubled to US$400 billion by 2016, thereby becoming the biggest economy in Africa. The economy is projected to grow to over US$650 billion by 2022.

Nigeria is ranked 19 out of 54 African countries in the Quantum Global Africa Investment Index, largely reflecting the large size of the economy and population. It received US$4.4 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2016, becoming one of the largest beneficiaries of FDI in Africa.

Foreign exchange shortages have eased, especially with the introduction of the Exporters and Investors FX window in April 2017 to boost liquidity in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market. The government is intensifying its efforts to diversify the economy from oil to other sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors (financial services, information and telecommunications, entertainment, hotels and tourism). Today, the oil sector accounts for about 10% of GDP, compared with over 30% in the 1980s.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture is key to economic diversification, yet its full potential remains far from being fully realised. The sector contributes over 22% of GDP, and is by far the largest contributor to employment, absorbing about 60% of the working population.

Food imports accounts for 15% of total imports, reflecting considerable opportunities for import substitution and the establishment of export-oriented agricultural production. Investment opportunities lie in crops such as maize, rice, cocoa, cassava, cocoyam, cashews, potatoes, sugar, yams and vegetables, and in agricultural inputs (seeds and fertilisers) and production of equipment for irrigation and mechanised technologies.

MANUFACTURING

The contribution of the manufacturing sector remains below its potential, accounting for 10% of GDP in 2015, well below other African peers such as South Africa (13%) and Mauritius (16%). Nevertheless, manufacturing is the ideal sector to drive Nigeria’s industrialisation and structural transformation.

More investment is needed to create industrial clusters to increase value addition in resource sectors (oil refinery), agro-processing value chains, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and textile and footwear. The high fuel import bill (16% of total imports) highlights the need for investment in oil refineries.

SERVICES

The services sectors, including telecommunications, hotels and tourism, and entertainment, have posted solid growth rates in recent years and continue to hold potential. On average, these sectors have grown by 9.4%, 22% and 37% over the period 2010-2015, respectively. In the financial services sector, technological advancements are creating significant value in new financial products such as mobile banking, helping to boost efficiency and productivity and permitting greater financial inclusion.

TOURISM

The tourism sector – currently contributing 1.7% to GDP – has the potential to contribute more to the economy and to generate foreign exchange, create employment and promote tourism-based enterprises, especially in hotels, coastal resort development, amusement parks and other tourism infrastructure. These sectoral dynamics portends attractive opportunities in these sectors, and now is the time to unleash.

CHALLENGES

Nigeria’s huge infrastructure deficit, especially in power and transport, is a big constraint on economic activity. The low rate of household access to electricity (56%) and frequent power outages (averaging 33 per month) are raising the cost of doing business and reducing competitiveness.

With a population growth rate of 2.7% per annum, demand for power and other infrastructure is expected to continue expanding.  Substantial investment is needed to address the infrastructure deficit.

Investment is needed in generation, distribution and maintenance of existing energy infrastructure, gas pipelines, construction of solar farms and other off-grid power solutions and manufacturing of power equipment. A number of incentives have been put in place to encourage investment in infrastructure, presenting the best opportunity for strategic investors with long-term interest in the country.

OUTLOOK

Nigeria boasts an abundance of natural resources and a strategic location, which continue to engender a vast investment potential. It is the largest producer of oil in Sub- Saharan Africa, with over 37 billion barrels in proven oil reserves, holds the largest natural gas reserves on the continent, and has ample deposits of other solid minerals such as coal, limestone, iron ore, gold, and lead.

Its coastal ports allow easy access to the developed markets of Europe and America, while the extensive network of transport routes links the country to African markets. The country’s democracy is maturing and becoming firmly entrenched, with peaceful political transitions and stability in the last 2 decades.

These democratic gains combined with reforms on the governance especially on stemming corruption is helping to create a fertile ground for doing business.  The security situation is holding up, helping restore economic activity in the oil sector. On the governance front, issues related to corruption and security in the oil producing regions have often affected perceptions about investing in Nigeria.

The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2017 index ranks Nigeria 169 out of 190 countries, reflecting some bottlenecks in doing business. Despite recent challenges, Nigeria continues to present tremendous long-term investment prospects, and therefore now is the best time to invest in Nigeria.

Dr Seedwell Hove is a senior economist at Quantum Global Research Lab.

Source: African Business Magazine

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cautioned that Kenya’s rising debt levels need to be contained to cushion the economy from unplanned shocks.

The international lender’s Kenyan representative Jan Mikkelsen said while the economy had proved to be resilient to drought and a prolonged electioneering period this year, the rising public debt was a concern and needed to be checked to avoid any shocks to the economy in the future.

Kenya’s public debt has been on an upward trend in recent years, rising to Sh4.4 trillion by the end of September from less than a trillion shilling in mid-2014.

Mikkelsen said the country required clear policies to address the “debt vulnerability”, which could rise further if Treasury goes for another syndicated loan and a second Eurobond as indicated by Finance Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich two weeks ago.

“The fiscal deficit needs to be reduced a little bit to make more room for the private sector and also to reduce the public debt pressure,” he told Business Daily on the sideline of an event hosted at Strathmore Business School.

Political stability

“We still do see growth in the Kenyan economy quite resilient. It will of course assume that political stability returns to the country.”

A Budget Review and Outlook Paper (BROP) released in September showed that the level of public debt to GDP ratio was expected to rise to 59.0 per cent this fiscal year, from a previous target of 51.8 per cent.

The fiscal deficit was seen at 7.9 per cent from a previous forecast of 6.2 per cent.

The representative said an IMF mission will be visiting Nairobi in mid-December to review its programmes with the government.

The IMF has stand-by arrangement and a standby credit facility worth a total $1.5 billion that the Kenyan government can withdraw from in case of any significant external shocks.

Mikkelsen said the government had not made any request to withdraw from these facilities so far this year. The programme ends in March 2018.

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has resigned, bringing an end to 37 years of rule and sparking jubilant celebrations in the nation’s streets.
A letter from Mr Mugabe read out by the speaker of parliament said the decision was voluntary and he had made it to allow a smooth transfer of power.
The news abruptly halted an impeachment hearing that had begun against him.
The ruling Zanu-PF party says former vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa will succeed Mr Mugabe, in power since 1980.
Mr Mnangagwa’s sacking earlier this month triggered a political crisis.

It had been seen by many as an attempt to clear the way for Grace Mugabe to succeed her husband as leader and riled the military leadership, who stepped in and put Mr Mugabe under house arrest.
After the resignation announcement, lawmakers roared in jubilation.

Resignation and reaction – as it happened
Mr Mugabe, 93, was until his resignation the world’s oldest leader. He had previously refused to quit despite last week’s military takeover and days of protests.

According to the constitution his successor should be the current vice-president, Phelekezela Mphoko, a supporter of Grace Mugabe.
But Zanu-PF chief whip Lovemore Matuke told Reuters news agency that Mr Mnangagwa would be in office “within 48 hours”.

 

Driven by increased crude oil production and sustained growth in agricultural output, Nigeria’s economy grew by 1.4 percent to N29 trillion in the third quarter of the year (Q: 3 2017), from 0.7 percent in the second quarter of the year (Q2: 20170). National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, disclosed this, yesterday, in its Gross Domestic Product, GDP, report for Q3 2017, which revealed that nation’s GDP grew by 1.4 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in real terms from the revised 0.7 per cent recorded in the second quarter (Q2) of 2017. The NBS stated: “The nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, grew in Q3 2017 by 1.40 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms, the second consecutive positive growth since the emergence of the economy from recession in Q2 2017. “This growth is 3.74 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2016 ( -2.34 percent) and higher by 0.68 percent points from the rate recorded in the preceding quarter, which was revised to 0.72 percent from 0.55 percent (Q2 was revised following revisions by NNPC to oil output and hence led to revisions to Oil GDP) . Quarter on quarter, real GDP growth was 8.97 per cent. “In the quarter under review, aggregate GDP stood at N29,451,303.99 million in nominal terms higher when compared to N26,537,651.01 million in Q3 2016, resulting in a Nominal GDP growth of 10.98 per cent. This growth is higher relative to growth recorded in Q3 2016 of 9.15 percent.” The report, however, showed that the nation’s economy is still exposed to the risk of sliding back into recession, as only two out of 10 sectors grew during the quarter. While the oil and gas sector grew by 25.89 percent, the non- oil sector contracted by 0.76 percent. According to the NBS, the growth in GDP in Q3 2017 was driven by 25.89 percent growth in the mining and quarrying sector and 3.06 percent growth in the agricultural sector. Economy still technically in recession Economiy experts, however, opined that the negative growth recorded in the non-oil sector in Q3 figures indicates that the economy is technically still in recession. Managing Director/Chief Executive, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane said: “If you take away petroleum, it means that all other sectors are actually technically in recession, therefore something has to happen, and the only way to make thing happen is to increase electricity output as well as to stimulating the nation’s economy. We need to do more as a country in improving access to electricity.”

President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ACCI, Mr. Tony Ejinkeonye, similarly stated: “Aside from the oil sector that recorded a significant growth, agriculture grew by just by 3.6 percent while other sectors like manufacturing, real estate, education and financial institutions and insurance declined by 2.85, 4.12, 1.22, and 6.54 percent respectively. ” On his part, Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said the report showed that government still needs to do a lot in creating enabling environment for businesses. He said: “We know that the main recovery is from agriculture and oil; manufacturing didn’t do quite well. And that underscore the fact that we still have quite a lot to do in the issue of enabling environment for manufacturing to thrive because manufacturing sector contracted going by that number and that means that we still have a lot to do in the areas of cost of fund, power, and logistics. Oil sector growth’ll enhance non-oil sector Reacting to the development, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, CEO, Cowry Asset Management Limited, a Lagos based investing banking firm, said: “The fact that the economy grew by 1.4 per cent is very positive in the sense it will further boost confidence of investors in the economy. Investors go to economies that grow, not economies that are shrinking because you don’t expect to have a robust business in an economy that is shrinking. So, the growth of 1.4 per cent from 0.72 per cent shows that the economy is actually on a continuous recovery trajectory. “For the investing community, the implication is that the opportunity for improvement in returns is better now in the sense that it will eventually translate into positive performance by corporates. “Although, if you look at the performance of the GDP on sectorial basis, the major growth was recorded in the oil and gas sector. The non-oil sector contracted by 0.70 per cent, which actually implies that the growth we are experiencing may not translate to creation of jobs because we know that the structure of the oil and gas sector is that value chain in the oil and gas sector is not domesticated. So, the impact of growth in the oil and gas sector does not translate to direct creation of jobs within the economy.’’

Gen Constantine Chiwenga, 61, is being hailed as a political saviour after he led the military takeover in Zimbabwe, however he is under sanctions from the European Union and the US – for his role in a brutal crackdown on the opposition, and over the seizure of white-owned farms.
Zimbabweans took to the streets on Saturday to demand President Robert Mugabe’s resignation, holding aloft placards which declared: “Zimbabwe army – the voice of the people.”
Pastor Patrick Mugadza, hounded by the police in January this year for predicting that the 93-year-old leader would die in nine months’ time, went as far as to announce that he intended to name his son after the general.
“My wife is very, very pregnant. When the boy comes, I will be naming him after you, General Chiwenga,” Zimbabwe’s privately owned NewsDay newspaper quoted him as saying in an audio message.

Yet, Gen Chiwenga played a central role in keeping Mr Mugabe in power after he lost elections to his main rival, Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), in 2008, amid reports that Mr Mugabe was going to accept defeat.

“He told Mugabe: ‘We can’t lose elections. We can’t hand power to the MDC. We are going to obliterate them,” UK-based Africa confidential magazine editor Patrick Smith told the BBC, adding that he carried out the operation with Emmerson Mnangagwa, the man Gen Chiwenga is trying to install as Mr Mugabe’s successor as president.
“They are joined at the hip, with Mnangagwa the senior partner,” Mr Smith said.
After a long delay, the official results were announcing, saying that Mr Tsvangirai had not gained the 50% required for victory and so a second round was needed. Before the run-off, pro-Zanu-PF militias backed by the security forces attacked opposition supporters around the country, beating, raping and killing.
Mr Tsvangirai pulled out of the second round and Mr Mugabe remained in power.
A woman cries during a press conference in Harare on April 29, 2008 as she gives her testimony of post-election violence.Image copyrightAFP
Image caption
This opposition supporter was one of thousands who said their homes were attacked by pro-Zanu-PF militias
‘Caught cheating’
Gen Chiwenga joined the guerrilla war against white minority rule in the then Rhodesia as a teenager and got military training in Mozambique and Tanzania.
After independence, he received British training, as a new army, made up of ex-guerrillas and soldiers of the former white minority regime, was formed.

 

Protesters gathered outside the Libyan Embassy in central Paris following an exclusive CNN investigation into migrant auctions in Libya.

“We have to mobilize. We can’t let this kind of thing happen,” one protester told France 24 at the rally Saturday. “Did we really need to see such shocking pictures before taking a stand? I don’t think so.”
After obtaining footage of an auction, CNN’s Nima Elbagir and her crew went to Libya in October to investigate further.
“How can it be that in the 21st century, we’re selling human beings like merchandise?” one woman at the Paris protest said. “I cannot get my head around that!”

Libyan authorities this week launched a formal investigation into the auctions, overseen by the government’s Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency.
“Priorities of the investigation are not only to convict those responsible for these inhumane acts, but also to identify the location of those who have been sold in order to bring them to safety and return them to their countries of origin,” Anes Alazabi, an official with the agency, told CNN.
During its investigation, CNN witnessed a dozen men being sold at an auction outside of the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Some of them were auctioned off for as little as $400. Ultimately, CNN was told of auctions taking place at nine locations throughout Libya, but many more are believed to take place each month.
A man holds a placard reading “No to slavery in Libya” during Saturday’s march.
Tens of thousands fleeing conflict or searching for economic opportunity cross into Libya each year, looking to be smuggled across the Mediterranean Sea.
The United Nations estimates there are 700,000 migrants in Libya, and for years those who have crossed the Mediterranean have shared stories about beatings, kidnapping and enslavement.
“It’s not about color,” the woman at the protest said. “This goes beyond color or religion. This is about humanity.”