COVAX concerns, momentum at Eskom, Zambian mines

Reports this week pointing to the multilateral COVAX facility’s high risk of failure underline that the roll-out of vaccines for many African countries is likely to be slow, delaying the ensuing economic benefits. In South Africa, policymakers are coalescing around a plan to help reduce the debts of state electricity firm Eskom, but it will not single-handedly solve the company’s problems. It will continue to burden the government and the economy. Elsewhere, the push by Zambia to take a bigger role in the mining sector promises to reignite concerns among investors and the IMF.