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The UK parliament’s International Development Committee has attacked the government’s decision to merge the Department for International Development with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The decision, taken while a review of post-Brexit arrangements was in its early stages, was “flawed on a number of grounds”, the MPs said in a report on 16 July. This put into question the future quality of UK aid, which totalled £15.2bn ($19.4bn) in 2019.

Criticism in the local press and among officials and trade unions of State Assets (Portefeuille) Minister Jeannine Mabunda Lioko Mudiayi shows the arch reformer in President Joseph Kabila Kabange’s government coming under a range of pressures as parastatals struggle to meet her stringent demands for reform,

Following three months when little business has been transacted at Sonatrach and foreign investors have turned away, there are indications that the Algerian authorities want to mitigate the collateral damage inflicted by the anti-corruption investigation and political in-fighting, write Jon Marks, John Hamilton and correspondents in Algiers

The return of Brian Molefe as Eskom chief executive was met with cheers at Megawatt Park but consternation by his many critics. Molefe resigned in November after damaging findings by public protector Thuli Madonsela in her report on state capture about his relationship with the controversial Gupta family. Since then, Molefe has been elected as an MP, amid rumours of a failed attempt by President Jacob Zuma to appoint him as finance minister.

A formal apology over a US State Department spokesman’s comments fails to quell anger at National Oil Corporation as its chairman threatens to favour China and Russia.

Eskom declared a power supply emergency during peak demand hours on 20 and 21 February, allowing the utility to compel key energy intensive customers to reduce power consumption by 10%. Although Eskom published a provisional load shedding schedule, managed blackouts were avoided following a 1,000MW reduction in demand by customers, including at least 200MW of voluntary savings by commercial and residential customers. The other 800MW was mostly reductions from industrial consumers, particularly members of the Energy Intensive User Group. Eskom declared a similar emergency in November last year.

Another year and thoughts turn to the potentials – be they 39GW, 44GW or 50GW – of the Congo River’s Inga hydroelectric resource, or of oil plays in the Albertine Graben, where Tullow Oil’s Ugandan field on the other side of the lacustrine border will come on stream this year

Disputed territories of Sool and eastern Sanag included in Somaliland elections with the hope of achieving a more peaceful resolution to the border dispute

Davis Chirchir, a computer scientist and staunch ally of deputy president William Ruto, has been confirmed as minister for energy and petroleum, replacing Meru County senator Kiraitu Murungi. Chirchir has no experience in the energy sector. He co-ordinated the unbundling of state-owned Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation in 1999, from which Telekom Kenya was formed, and managed the establishment of mobile service provider Safaricom.

The much-anticipated partial float of the naira, introduced from 20 June, reflected a concession by President Muhammadu Buhari, who had resisted devaluation as he did during his first stint as president in the 1980s. Buhari was forced by deteriorating economic conditions and declining confidence to listen to markets. African Energy hears that concerns over the naira and other issues have led to the World Bank Group, a key guarantor of the liberalised generation and distribution system, making quiet threats to stop guarantees.

Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) says energy minister Matthew Nkhuwa acted beyond his authority by declaring its transmission network common carrier to allow government-controlled Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) to continue receiving power supply despite a year of failing to pay its bills. CEC is seeking to overturn the statutory instrument (SI) issued by Nkhuwa on 29 May declaring CEC’s network common carrier.

The National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) has announced three block awards in the deep-water Namibe Basin from its 2019 bid round. ANPG said Sonangol was awarded 35% in Block 27, with the other 65% remaining open for negotiation by other interested companies. Eni was awarded operatorship of Block 28 with a 60% interest, alongside Sonangol with 20%, leaving 20% open for negotiations. Block 29 was awarded to Total as operator with 46%, alongside Equinor (24.5%), Sonangol (20%) and BP (9.5%).

The Federal Government of Nigeria’s new 100-page National Gas Policy (NGP) sets targets for policy reforms and improvements, starting in the upstream with policies to develop gas resources. The NGP aims to encourage exploration and development of new gas supply sources from inland and offshore basins, and to develop portfolio management methodologies to prioritise low-cost gas development. New reserves would then feed a restructured gas supply industry, whose future shape is outlined in the NGP.

Brussels is looking for project proposals to be funded from a new renewables-focused European Union facility to stimulate electrification projects and help fight climate change, writes François Misser.

The standoff between Sudan’s diffuse opposition movement and the military junta that replaced President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir in mid-April has deepened as both sides – each in their own way deeply divided – dig in. This could pose major problems for Africa and a creaking international order.While US national security adviser John Bolton was quick to condemn violence against peaceful demonstrators, Washington, former colonial power Britain, and other European states are not expected to play a defining role.