Star Metro - In whirlwind tour, Qatari royal commits $70bn to southern Africa

Group leader and royal family member Sheikh Mansour bin Jabor bin Jassim Al Thani has met the leaders of Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe to sign commitments of major financing for projects spanning energy, agriculture, tourism and mining.

In Maputo this week, he signed a $20 billion partnership agreement with President Daniel Chapo aimed at supporting government initiatives including in health and education, the Mozambique presidency announced.

Days earlier, across the border in Zimbabwe, his company committed to opening its purse to the tune of $19 billion, including $500 million for a hydro-electricity project, the government said.

It has also pledged $19 billion for Zambia, reportedly among the biggest bilateral pacts in the country's history, and $12 billion in Botswana, the countries announced.

Botswana President Duma Boko said the deal -- worth more than half the diamond-rich country's gross domestic product -- had been "quietly" thrashed out for months, vowing: "This is just the beginning."

It was particularly welcome as Boko had to declare a public health emergency on August 25 after hospitals ran out of essential medicines due to depleted government coffers.

- 'Geopolitical ballast' -

The whopping funding pledges come as largely poor countries in the resource-rich region grapple with sweeping cuts in US aid.

"Global uncertainty has intensified under President Donald Trump's second term, with rising US protectionism, tariffs, and reduced aid flows leaving African states searching for alternative partners," said economist Brendon Verster at the Oxford Economics Africa think-tank.

"Gulf capital thus not only serves as an investment push, but also a geopolitical ballast, offering Africa a hedge against Western retrenchment while giving Qatar and its Gulf neighbours greater influence," he said.

The UAE has also been calling, with Angola signing 44 agreements worth $6.5 billion during a visit by President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed on August 25.

Details of the deals such as timelines and what may be expected in return have not been made public, and the huge sums involved have raised some questions.

The pledges were some of the biggest ever in the region and should be regarded with some "suspicion", said Johannesburg-based political analyst Marisa Lourenco.

"The Middle East is emerging as the new big geopolitical player in Africa's mostly mining market but it could also be trying to secure gas supplies," she told AFP.

Media reports said the Qatari sheikh was expected to also visit other countries on the continent, with pledges that may top $100 billion in total.

A.Rogen--SMC