Zambia power cuts leave most of the country in darkness

Much of Zambia has been plunged into darkness by a power cut, the country’s Energy Minister Dora Siliya has said. 

In a message on Facebook she said the blackout was caused by faulty equipment and that only the Southern and Western provinces – supplied by a hydroelectric power plant at the Victoria Falls – were unaffected.

The incident is a repeat of a similar blackout on 11 December. Zambia – a hydroelectric-dependent country – has had erratic rainfall.

The 1.4 million people who live in the capital Lusaka are suffering after an inconsistent rainy season from last October to March this year.

津巴布韦将在2016年把人民币纳为法定货币

津巴布韦12月21日表示,中国计划取消津巴布韦4000万美元的债务,旨在扩大人民币在津巴布韦多货币经济中的应用。津巴布韦从2016年开始启用人民币成为法定货币。

津巴布韦金融部长说:“他们(中国)说,他们取消了我们今年到期的债务,我们在最后计算债务的过程中。”

部长还宣布,津巴布韦将正式让人民币作为法定货币,的目的是增加与北京的贸易。

铜价的下跌给赞比亚的铜矿业造成压力

2015年12月24日 更新于16:17

2015这一整年商品价格持续吃紧,因此非洲经济状况也不甚乐观。赞比亚一直严重依赖铜的出口,自2009年以来,铜价已经跌至最低。这导致一些像Glencore和Vedanta一样的大生产商开始裁员减产。

RMB will become the legal currency of Zimbabwe in 2016

News from Zimbabwe on 21 December 2015, that China plans to cancel the 40 million dollars debt of Zimbabwe in order to expend the use of RMB in the multi-currency system of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe will start to use the RMB as its legal currency in 2016.

The Minister of Finance of Zimbabwe said: “They(China) have cancelled our debts due for this year, we’re now calculating this year’s debts.”

The Minister also announced that Zimbabwe would make the RMB its legal currency in 2016 in order to increase the trade with Beijing.

Low copper prices place strain on Zambia’s mines

24 December 2015 Last updated at 16:17 GMT

Commodity prices have struggled for the whole of 2015 and many African economies have been struggling as a result. Zambia is heavily reliant on copper exports and prices are at their lowest since 2009. This has led to some of the big producers like Glencore and Vedanta making cuts to both production and jobs.