I just learned of Chad repaying its $100 million debt to Angola with … cattle, and I simply loved the idea! When you are plagued with a slave currency such as the FCFA, why not go back to the old ways of exchange and trading? Chad owed Angola money, Angola needed cattle, Chad provided the cattle to clear its debt, and now both countries are squared: everyone is happy! Isn’t it the way the world works anyway: you need something, I supply it, and you pay me back by supplying me with the goods you have. Enjoy this article from the BBC!

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Chad is repaying Angola a debt of $100m (£82m) with cattle, Angola’s state-run newspaper has reported.

The unusual agreement is seen as creating a win-win situation for both nations – Chad is short of cash while Angola needs cattle.

More than 1,000 cows arrived by ship in Angola’s capital, Luanda, as the first payment, Jornal de Angola reported.

In total, Angola would receive 75,000 cattle over 10 years, meaning it has accepted payment of $1,333 per animal.

Chad would send a further 3,500 head of cattle later this month, the report added.

Chad had proposed repaying the 2017 debt with cattle, and Angola had agreed because it would help the southern African state rebuild its cattle population in drought-affected areas, the state-run daily paper said.

Angola is often hit by drought, causing animals to die of hunger and thirst and leaving many villagers destitute.

… Chad is described by the the World Health Organisation of Animal Health (OIE) as a “livestock farming country par excellence”, with about 94 million head of cattle. 

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