Naira devaluation, uncertainty in CIV, industrialisation

Nigeria appears to have devalued the official naira exchange rate this week but the move has, if anything, further dented hopes for a shift towards a market-driven and unified exchange rate regime. Elsewhere, the death of the prime minister of Cote d’Ivoire raises political uncertainty and the risk of violence in the run-up to October’s presidential election. Finally, the African Union has said that it will aim to speed up the continent’s industrial development, but this will require deep-seated reforms and even then these are likely to take many years to bear fruit.