Africa Briefs

Zim white farmers to get 99-year leasesZimbabwe will issue 99-year leases to white farmers, according to a government circular, after new President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he would end discrimination along racial lines in agriculture.Fewer than 400 white farmers are still operating in the country, after former president Robert Mugabe's government evicted more than 4 000 under an often violent land reform programme.Those who remained were issued with five-year renewable leases by the state compared to 99-year leases for black farmers, leaving their land vulnerable to expropriation by the government.Earlier this month a government document showed that Zimbabwe is considering establishing a special tribunal to determine the value of compensation and how to pay it to white farmers who have lost their land since 2000. – Nampa/ReutersSA maize planting area down over 12%South African maize farmers are expected to plant 12% less of the staple crop this season in the face of a dry, hot spell along the western growing areas, the government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said.Farmers are believed to have planted 2.309 million hectares of maize compared to the 2.629 million hectares planted last season when favourable weather conditions boosted yields.White maize plantings are down almost 22% while those for yellow are up 4%, the CEC said. – Nampa/ReutersBotswana power expansion plan stallsA planned US$800 million expansion of a coal-fired power plant in Botswana by Japan's Marubeni Corp and South Korea's Posco Energy has been put on hold due to a disagreement over terms.Energy security minister Sadique Kebonang said the government failed to agree with Marubeni and Posco Energy on a number of issues, notably a proposed $800 million state-backed guarantee to protect the companies' investments.Marubeni and Posco Energy were due to start work in January last year on a project to add 300 megawatts to the current 600 megawatt Morupule B plant, which was built by the China National Electric Equipment Corp at a cost of US$970 million.“The Power Purchase Agreement has now expired since the project failed to take off within a year from the date of signing as stipulated in the agreement," Kebonang said. – Nampa/ReutersEgypt's Zohr gas field inauguratedEgyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday inaugurated the offshore Zohr gas field, aimed at making the Arab world's most populous country self sufficient in natural gas by the end of 2018.In December, the oil ministry said it was starting production from the field discovered in 2015 by Italian energy giant Eni with an initial 10 million cubic metres a day.The Egyptian government is trying to roll back the impact of the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak and led to years of political, security and economic turmoil. – Nampa/AFP

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