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Key partners in the giant Simandou iron ore project – potentially Africa’s biggest new minerals and infrastructure scheme – are thought to be close to finalising the terms of their joint development, although governance issues appear to have caused a last-minute delay.

Major trading houses are among those approaching potentially hugely lucrative cobalt and other energy transition plays in Democratic Republic of Congo with an eye to ESG concerns, as international scrutiny of mining practises – and especially the huge involvement of artisanal miners – intensifies as the world looks for inputs into its new electric vehicles and batteries, write Marc Howard and AE staff.

Kenya’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Eacc) is investigating a number of executives at Kenya Power and Lighting Company (Kenya Power) for alleged corruption.

Colonel Mamady Doumbouya’s cabinet has been presented by his regime as bringing technocrats into key positions to improve the government’s performance, but critics say ministers are either too ‘apolitical’ to enact genuine change, or compromised by past business dealings. A strong signal comes with the presidency taking direct control of major state assets from other public sector bodies, write David Slater, Jon Marks and our Special Correspondent

Electricity generation across Nigeria reached 4GW in July, the Presidential Task Force on Power has announced. This is a step forward for Nigeria’s chronically underperforming industry, but shows that output remains way off peak demand of 14GW. Similarly, the transmission network’s capacity reached a new peak of 4.6GW as of 30 July, but this was not enough to fight off fierce criticism of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).TCN is run under management contract by Canada’s Manitoba Hydro International (MHI).

In her final report as public protector, Thuli Madonsela has documented evidence surrounding the relationship of national utility Eskom and its senior leadership with the influential Gupta family. The report – entitled State of Capture – outlines alleged improper conduct by President Jacob Zuma and other state officials in their dealings with the Guptas – Indian-born brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh (‘Tony’) – which may have led to the removal and appointment of ministers and officials at state-owned enterprises with the intention of awarding contracts to benefit Gupta businesses.

With chief executive Brian Molefe resigning under a cloud and in the wake of another credit downgrade by Standard and Poor’s (S&P), Eskom’s board has plumped for the continuity candidate by appointing head of generation Matshela Koko as interim boss. Always the most likely successor to Molefe, at least in the short term, Koko is an outspoken critic of renewable energy and a vocal supporter of nuclear power. He also played a role in the public protector report that resulted in Molefe’s resignation and was suspended along with three other executives in 2015.

He argued that Madonsela’s determination to release the report herself, rather than leave it to her office to complete after she had left, meant she had not put “intended disclosures to me first – as she was by law required to do. She has effectively deferred my constitutional right to be heard to a future date, and to a further body, which she has ordered others to assemble”. He added: “I am confident that, when the time comes, I will be able to show that I have done nothing wrong and that my name will be cleared.”

The South African Wind Energy Association (Sawea) has made an official complaint to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) about Eskom. The utility has been refusing to sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) with renewable energy independent power producers (IPPs) selected by the Department of Energy to develop projects, claiming that the projects do not represent value for money. Eskom head of generation Matshela Koko on 20 October told City Press that the Treasury should be funding the cost of renewable energy through the R200bn ($14.4bn) contingent liability it took on to guarantee the renewable energy IPP procurement programme (REIPPP), rather than the costs being passed on to consumers.

President Jacob Zuma’s 9 February State of the Nation address helped distract the media from the release of a report put together by law firm Dentons in 2015 at the request of Eskom’s board as the utility teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. The scope of the investigation was cut following the submission of initial drafts to Eskom. The release followed pressure by several South African media groups and the opposition Democratic Alliance using the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).

Perenco’s activities in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been the focus of fresh criticism. A report issued in early November by Investigate Europe, EIF and Disclose alleged that Perenco was  responsible for 167 pollution incidents and huge methane emissions.

The three core Mano River Union countries are confronted by major decisions that will shape their future direction, from potential progress on major resources plays led by Guinea’s huge Simandou iron ore mining and infrastructure development and Liberia’s struggles with major investor Arcelor Mittal to Sierra Leone’s political crisis. All three have searching questions of governance and equity for their populations, writes Jon Marks with correspondents in Freetown, Conakry and Monrovia.

State owned power utility Eskom has signed commercial lease agreements with four independent power producers (IPPs) for land use at two of its coal power stations in Mpumalanga, in a plan to grow renewable energy capacity by the private sector.

Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed is set to claim beefed-up powers under a new authoritarian constitution, via a referendum planned for 25 July. That may allow for progress on long-delayed renewable power projects, but his critics say the president has not prepared the population for some tough measures that are needed to prevent economic collapse, as state budgets are squeezed and unemployment and inflation increase.

Governments are assessing their positions over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) project, after the dam’s third filling was completed, despite an escalation of rhetoric from Egypt and Sudan as the downstream nations continue to complain at a threat to their dependency on Blue Nile waters for irrigation and basic water supply.