<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423556" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Illustration photo shows a two-rand coin above a South African flag April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 3 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s rand firmed early on Monday, ahead of a purchasing managers&#8217; index (PMI) survey for the domestic manufacturing sector.



At 0725 GMT, the rand traded at 18.66 against the U.S. dollar, about 0.3% stronger than its previous close.



The Absa PMI for February is set to be released at 0900 GMT and will shed light on manufacturing conditions in Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy.



The dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies as investors processed U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariff policies, the delay in finding peace in Ukraine and the prospect of a weaker U.S. economy.



Analysts said the rand will continue to take its direction from the broader movements of the dollar for the time being.



On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 index last traded up about 0.9%.



South Africa&#8217;s benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker in early deals, with the yield up 3 basis points to 9.175%.



(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Tannur Anders and Ros Russell)

Illustration photo of South African rand

South African rand firms ahead of manufacturing PMI

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1005" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/R7KOKS6OPVNFRBSZJWNK7V3DZ4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-592848"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An aerial view of South Africa&#8217;s Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, in Cape Town, South Africa, December 5, 2022. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File photo </figcaption></figure>



March 2 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African power utility Eskom said on Sunday that a unit at its Koeberg nuclear power plant was shut down after experiencing an unplanned, non-technical trip while operating at full capacity.



Eskom said that Koeberg Unit 2 inadvertently tripped during work on Unit 1, which is currently offline. The second unit was switched off in accordance with protocol, Eskom said, adding that start-up process for the tripped unit was in the works.



Unit 2 is expected to be reconnected to the national grid within 48 hours, state power utility Eskom said.



Koeberg power station, north of Cape Town, is currently the only commercial nuclear power plant in Africa and its two units contribute around 1,860 megawatts or 5% of national power supply.



(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Ros Russell)

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South Africa’s Koeberg nuclear plant unit shuts down after unplanned trip

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3294" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/QWVIY5PQRZIIJAKXBWQYUD5BKM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-591809"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bank of England Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden speaks during the central bank&#8217;s Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



STELLENBOSCH, South Africa, Feb 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Wage pressures in Britain have raised the risk of inflation holding above the Bank of England&#8217;s target, the bank&#8217;s Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said on Friday, though he added that&nbsp;interest rate cuts did not necessarily need to be slow.



Ramsden&nbsp;said&nbsp;he had been surprised by official data&nbsp;which showed that&nbsp;private-sector wage growth&nbsp;had&nbsp;picked up to an annual rate of 6.2% in the fourth quarter rather than weakening.



&#8220;That was a concerning development for me,&#8221; he said in a question-and-answer session after&nbsp;giving a&nbsp;speech at Stellenbosch University near Cape Town, where he&nbsp;attended&nbsp;a Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers.



Moreover, Ramsden said a BoE survey of employers showed their pay growth expectations for 2025 were near the top of an earlier forecast range of 2-4%, whereas Ramsden had thought it would be below 3%.



&#8220;I no longer think that risks to hitting the 2% inflation target sustainably in the medium term are to the downside,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Instead, I think they are two-sided, reflecting the potential for more inflationary as well as disinflationary scenarios.&#8221;



Ramsden voted with the majority of the BoE&#8217;s Monetary Policy Committee to cut the bank&#8217;s main interest rate to 4.5% from 4.75% on February 6. Two&nbsp;MPC members voted for a bigger, half-point cut.



At the previous meeting in December, Ramsden had been part of a more dovish minority who voted for a quarter-point cut when the majority of the MPC wanted to keep rates on hold.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-safe-descent">&#8216;SAFE DESCENT&#8217;</h2>



Ramsden said he still believed rates were on a downward path and that &#8220;the core disinflationary process remains intact&#8221;.



&#8220;A gradual and careful approach is always needed on the way down a mountain to ensure a safe descent and a successful outcome. But that doesn&#8217;t always mean the descent has to be slow,&#8221; he added.



The seven MPC members who backed the quarter-point rate cut this month split between those who signalled a &#8220;careful&#8221; approach to cutting rates further &#8211; the main language used in the BoE&#8217;s February policy statement &#8211; and another group who preferred the word &#8220;cautious&#8221;, implying slower rate cuts.



&#8220;There may be circumstances when a slower than expected descent is justified but there will also be times when conditions require that the pace has to quicken,&#8221; Ramsden said.



The BoE expects inflation to&nbsp;accelerate&nbsp;from 3.0% in January to around 3.7% in the third quarter, before returning to its 2% target in late 2027. Some economists think it is on course to hit 4%.



Ramsden said his tolerance for above-target inflation was &#8220;very, very low&#8221; and highlighted the risk that Britain&#8217;s weak&nbsp;growth reflected a problem with the&nbsp;economy&#8217;s&nbsp;capacity to meet even subdued levels of demand. This capacity might be &#8220;even weaker&#8221; than the BoE had assessed.



&#8220;In those circumstances, the speed limit of the economy would be even lower, the labour market may remain tighter for longer, and wages could remain elevated,&nbsp;leading to greater persistence in domestic inflationary pressures,&#8221; he said.



(Reporting by Andy Bruce, writing by David Milliken; editing by William James and Gareth Jones)

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Wage pressures boost risk of above-target inflation, BoE’s Ramsden says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3035" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CXYS7WC5YRPUPNY2HNXRUOQOYQ.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-582750"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An aerial view shows the skyline of downtown in Nairobi, Kenya October 8, 2024. Picture taken on October 8, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Feb 28 (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya&#8217;s annual consumer inflation rose for the fourth month in a row to 3.5% in February from 3.3% in January, the statistics office said on Friday.



Core inflation remained at 2.0% in February, unchanged from January, while non-core inflation rose to 8.2% in February from 7.1% the previous month, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.



Kenya&#8217;s central bank cut its main interest rate for the fourth meeting in a row to 10.75% on February 5, saying it wanted to do more to support lending and boost economic growth.



The central bank said inflation was expected to remain below the midpoint of the 2.5%-7.5% target range in the near term.



(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Editing by Jan Harvey and Kevin Liffey)

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Kenya annual inflation rises for fourth month in a row

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4000" height="2667" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/4RI6JH2DCRIBTOTEG67K23A2OM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-591756"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An American flag and USAID flag fly outside the USAID building in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 1, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON/JOHANNESBURG/GENEVA, (Reuters) &#8211; U.S.-funded projects worldwide, including those providing lifesaving care for millions of people in countries such as Sudan and South Africa, received termination notices on Thursday sending shockwaves across the global aid community.



The latest cancellations come as U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration nears completion of a review to ensure that grants are aligned with his &#8220;America First&#8221; agenda after ordering a 90-day pause on all foreign aid in January to assess whether projects were consistent with his policy aims.



U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had dismissed concerns that Washington was ending foreign aid, saying waivers had been provided to life-saving services.



Only weeks later, the Trump administration decided to terminate more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development programmes, according to a February 25 court document. Those included many that were initially covered by waivers such as work addressing HIV as well as wider health programmes. It is unclear whether the projects can be reinstated.



Major United Nations health programmes were among those to get termination notices, including UNAIDS, the Stop TB Partnership and Scaling Up Nutrition as well as projects helping millions of forcibly displaced people.



&#8220;We are hit, but we will continue to be there,&#8221; Lucica Ditiu, Stop TB&#8217;s executive director, said.



Ditiu said that the group has different sources of funding it would use for procuring TB tests and treatments, but that it would have to terminate contracts with 140 partners around the world, many of which provide services including helping TB patients get diagnosed and stay on treatment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-egregious-breaches">&#8216;EGREGIOUS BREACHES&#8217;</h2>



Charlotte Slente, secretary general of the Danish Refugee Council, said she was appalled after receiving more than 20 termination notices for projects across a range of countries including Sudan, Yemen and Colombia.



&#8220;Not only are these terminations egregious breaches of contracts, but they endanger the lives of millions of the world&#8217;s most vulnerable people,&#8221; Slente said, adding that the decision would hit forcibly displaced people in conflict zones.



&#8220;While it is understood that incoming governments want to review their overseas development assistance, the decisions from the U.S. government over the last month are abrupt and unilateral, and the rationale for these are unfathomable,&#8221; Slente added.



A global non-profit with projects on malaria and newborn health, among other areas, said the majority of its contracts had been cancelled. Smaller organisations were also hit, such as Khana in Cambodia, a TB and HIV organisation, and many organisations working on HIV and AIDS in South Africa.



UNAIDS on its website called the termination of its relationship with USAID a &#8220;serious development&#8221; that would affect lifesaving services, and said it had asked the U.S. government for more information.



Reuters was not immediately able to determine how many organisations worldwide were affected. Trump&#8217;s administration also eliminated nearly 30% of State Department foreign assistance grants, worth $4.4 billion.



The State Department did not respond to a question on why life-saving aid programs were terminated.



&#8220;Secretary Rubio and (USAID) Deputy Administrator (Peter) Marocco have determined your award is not aligned with Agency priorities and made a determination that continuing this program is not in the national interest,&#8221; said the notice received by organisations, which was seen by Reuters.



For some groups, USAID represents the majority of their funding, and they will struggle to survive, while for others it is only one of many donors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-devastating-blow">&#8216;DEVASTATING BLOW&#8217;</h2>



International AIDS Society President Beatriz Grinsztejn, referring to cuts worldwide, said: &#8220;The U.S. funding cuts are dismantling the system. HIV treatment is crumbling. TB services are collapsing.&#8221;



In South Africa, which has the world&#8217;s largest number of people living with HIV at around 8 million, health experts said the cuts could roll back years of progress on the epidemic.



&#8220;We will see lives lost. We are going to see this epidemic walk back as a result of this,&#8221; said Linda-Gail Bekker, chief operating officer of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, which works with many organisations that were affected.



Bekker said she expected a funding cut for programmes targeting specific groups such as LGBT+ people and sex workers, but in fact the cuts are far-reaching and include HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programmes for women and children.



The United States provides about 17% of South Africa&#8217;s HIV/AIDS budget, and health experts said this funding was crucial for providing testing and getting new patients on treatment.



&#8220;The programmes who received their termination letters this morning were among the most efficient, effective health delivery programmes in the country,&#8221; said Francois Venter, executive director of the Ezintsha Research Centre in Johannesburg, which is not funded by USAID, calling it a &#8220;devastating blow&#8221; for South Africa&#8217;s HIV response.



Nonprofit Humanity &amp; Inclusion had more than 30 contracts with the U.S. government to provide services to hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities in multiple countries. Over the past 36 hours, the organisation received notice that about half of those contracts had been cancelled, said its U.S. executive director Hannah Guedenet.



&#8220;If you want to cut funding,&#8221; Guedenet said &#8220;&#8230; there&#8217;s a way to responsibly do that. And that is not what&#8217;s being done. This is complete disregard for human life.&#8221;



US Supreme Court allows Trump&#8217;s freeze of foreign aid funding temporarily.



(Reporting by Nellie Peyton in Johannesburg, Jennifer Rigby in London, Emma Farge in Geneva and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Will Dunham)

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Services to millions of people collapse as USAID cuts contracts worldwide

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3334" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/https___cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com_reuters_M2VBBFZHORKF5D3SKT6QNJABKI.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-591410"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (not pictured) attend a media briefing and signing ceremony at Tuynhuys to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries in Cape Town, South Africa, May 16, 2023. REUTERS/Esa Alexander</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Feb 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he wanted to &#8220;do a deal&#8221; with U.S. President Donald Trump to resolve a dispute over his country&#8217;s land policy and genocide case against Israel at the World Court.



Trump cut U.S. financial assistance to South Africa in an executive order this month, citing disapproval of its approach to land reform and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case against Washington&#8217;s close ally.



Ramaphosa told a conference organised by U.S. bank Goldman Sachs in Johannesburg that he wanted the &#8220;dust to settle&#8221; after the executive order but that the longer-term goal was to go to Washington to mend relations.



&#8220;We don&#8217;t want to go and explain ourselves. We want to go and do a meaningful deal with the United States on a whole range of issues,&#8221; Ramaphosa said. &#8220;I&#8217;m very positively inclined to promoting a good relationship with President Trump.&#8221;



Ramaphosa did not say what the deal could involve, only that it could touch on trade, diplomatic and political matters.



South Africa is not hugely dependent on U.S. aid, but some fear its preferential trade status under the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) could be under threat with Trump in the White House.



The country tries to project itself as non-aligned in geopolitical conflicts, not tying its interests too closely to those of rival powers the United States, China and Russia.



But Trump has cited the ICJ case as an example of South Africa taking positions against Washington and its allies.



(Additional reporting by Sfundo Parakozov and Bhargav Acharya; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

https___cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com_reuters_M2VBBFZHORKF5D3SKT6QNJABKI

South African leader wants to do a deal with Trump to resolve dispute

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3435" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/KHRWUMTKIBJ67ODN3A5LCDNGMI.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-591376"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ethiopia&#8217;s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaks during the opening of the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union at the African Union Commission (AUC) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 15, 2025. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



MOGADISHU, Feb 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ethiopia&#8217;s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in Somalia&#8217;s capital Mogadishu on Thursday to hold discussions with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somalia&#8217;s presidency said, following a thaw in icy relations.



The relationship soured in January 2024 when Ethiopia announced plans to lease a stretch of coastline in Somalia&#8217;s breakaway Somaliland region.



Ethiopia planned to build a naval base and commercial port in exchange for possible recognition of Somaliland&#8217;s independence.



Somalia accused Ethiopia of undermining its territorial integrity, threatened to eject its peacekeepers, and strengthened ties with Ethiopia&#8217;s arch foes Egypt and Eritrea.



Mogadishu airport was hit by at least one mortar shell shortly before Abiy&#8217;s plane landed on Thursday, despite all roads around the high security complex being closed, four local residents and media said.



The two countries agreed to resolve the dispute at talks mediated by Ankara in December, pledging to find commercial arrangements to allow landlocked Ethiopia &#8220;reliable, secure and sustainable access to and from the sea.&#8221;



They also agreed to begin technical negotiations by the end of February.



&#8220;This visit marks a significant step toward strengthening the diplomatic ties between Somalia and Ethiopia, as the two leaders are scheduled to engage in discussions on key bilateral and regional matters of mutual interest,&#8221; Somalia&#8217;s presidency posted on X.



The two men smiled as they shook hands on the airport tarmac, surrounded by people waving flags of the two neighbouring countries, according to photographs shared by the presidency.



Abiy&#8217;s trip comes a month after Mohamud visited Addis Ababa.



Somalia has been in the grip of a long-running insurgency by Islamist al-Shabaab militants who have been fighting to overthrow the fragile central government.



(Reporting by Feisal Omar; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Ammu Kannampilly and Christina Fincher)

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Ethiopia’s Abiy visits Somalia for talks with President Mohamud

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="540" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/TIXMZFP7UVKXJH4F5XABAAHGSM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-591347"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An aerial view of Shaft 11 at Impala Platinum Mine, in Rustenburg, South Africa, November 28, 2023. REUTERS/Shafiek Tassiem/File photo</figcaption></figure>



Feb 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Impala Platinum (Implats)&nbsp;IMPJ.J&nbsp;could wind down its palladium mine in Canada earlier than planned if there is no immediate recovery in metal prices, CEO Nico Muller said after a 43% slump in first-half profit.



Palladium has registered the sharpest price decline of all platinum group metals (PGM), plunging from its March 2022 peak of about $3,440 an ounce to current levels around $921.



Muller said that Implats could close the Canada mine before the end of its remaining two years, but no final decision has been taken yet.



&#8220;I would not be surprised if, in the course of the next few months we come to a position that an accelerated and responsible wind down of that operation seems to be economically the most effective way to deal with (Impala) Canada,&#8221; Muller said on a media call.



First half profit slid to 1.85 billion rand ($100.15), hit by lower metal prices, prompting the miner to scrap dividend payments.



Muller also said that Implats is assessing some of South African mines that are struggling to make a profit.



($1 = 18.4725 rand)



(Reporting by Nelson Banya and Felix Njini; Editing by Jamie Freed, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and David Goodman)

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Impala considers early closure of Canadian palladium mine after price rout

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3334" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/434MNVWY65PJ5OEA3LY6KZZLTM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-591306"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A man walks at the Cape Town International Convention Centre during day two of the four day G20 Finance Ministers meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, February 25, 2025. REUTERS/Nic Bothma</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) &#8211; Japan told its G20 counterparts that free, open and rules-based trade was important to sustain global economic growth, a senior finance ministry official told reporters on the sidelines of a gathering of the group&#8217;s finance leaders on Wednesday.



Japan also called on G20 members to take &#8220;highly predictable&#8221; economic policies and bear in mind the spillovers its policies could have on other countries, the official said, warning of the negative impact policy uncertainty could have on private-sector activity.



The official made the remarks after attending the first day of the G20 finance leaders&#8217; gathering in Cape Town.



A number of finance ministers skipped the G20 gathering, and other top officials curtailed trips to a meeting marred by disputes over the main issues of climate, debt and inequality.



The absence of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent complicated policymakers&#8217; task of seeking clues on how Washington&#8217;s threats of higher tariffs could affect the global economy and financial markets.



(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Writing by Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning and Alex Richardson)

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Japan tells G20 free, open trade crucial for global growth

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1080" height="720" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ARNJJH4SMJLM3BEO2HJWOMQPTY.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-590908"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Delegates arrive at the Cape Town International Convention Centre during the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in Cape Town, South Africa February 25, 2025. REUTERS/Nic Bothma</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, Feb 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa sought to salvage international talks on tackling global poverty on Wednesday as finance chiefs from several leading economies skipped a gathering of Group of 20 nations in Cape Town held against a backdrop of foreign aid cuts.



The two-day meeting comes after the Trump administration announced plans to gut its USAID arm and Britain slashed its aid budget by 40% to divert funds towards defence spending.



Disputes over trade, the Ukraine war and how to tackle climate change have long made it hard for the G20 grouping to make serious progress on global challenges, but the latest no-shows risk further undermining its credibility.



U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not attend. Neither did finance ministers from China, Japan, India and Canada and the European Union&#8217;s top economic official. Others cut short their presence.



&#8220;It is now more important than ever that the members of the G20 work together,&#8221; South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in opening remarks appealing for multilateral cooperation.



&#8220;It is vital to ensuring that the rights and interests of the vulnerable are not trampled beneath the ambitions of the powerful.&#8221;



The high-profile absences further reduce the chances of agreement on a meaningful communique at the end of the meeting.



There also seemed little hope of major progress on issues that Ramaphosa as host wanted to target: scant climate finance from rich nations and reform of a financial system seen as penalising poor countries, as well as widening inequalities.



&#8220;The absence of key officials at the G20 finance meetings further underscores the diminishing commitment to global poverty reduction at a time when it&#8217;s needed most,&#8221; said Dirk Willem te Velde, Director of the International Economic Development Group at ODI Global, calling the aid cuts &#8220;devastating news&#8221;.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wasted-opportunity">WASTED OPPORTUNITY</h2>



The grouping of the world&#8217;s 20 major economies was formed after the Asian financial crisis in 1999 to improve cooperation in addressing crises that spill across international borders.



G20 countries account for 85% of global gross domestic product and 75% of international trade.



South Africa&#8217;s finance minister Enoch Godongwana said the host appreciated the &#8220;scheduling challenges&#8221; facing some delegations but added: &#8220;The G20 is a year-long process with numerous engagement opportunities.&#8221;



Salvatore Nocerino, aid policy lead of Oxfam, said the non-attendances were particularly unfortunate given that the G20 was being hosted by an African country.



&#8220;It is an opportunity to really address this distrust between the (global) North and South. So I think wasting that is also not smart,&#8221; he said.



U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s demands that Europe step up to protect any peace deal in Ukraine and take more responsibility for its own security has forced capitals there to work out how they can ramp up defence spending from stretched budgets.



&#8220;It&#8217;s clear we are facing a more dangerous world, and I will not hide from this reality,&#8221; British finance minister Rachel Reeves said, adding that investment, free trade and reforms remained the best ways of achieving sustainable growth.



South Africa had hoped to make the G20 a platform for putting pressure on rich countries to do more to tackle climate change, and to give more towards poorer countries&#8217; transitions to green energy and adaptation to worsening weather.



Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa told Reuters that Trump&#8217;s climate change scepticism would &#8220;reconfigure the conversation&#8221; on green energy.



&#8220;Where it leads is anyone&#8217;s guess,&#8221; he said, adding that some countries might reconsider the scale and pace of their transition from fossil fuels to green energy as a result.



Some analysts said the retreat of the G20&#8217;s biggest economy from the discussions raised questions about its relevance. Others saw an opportunity for moving ahead without the United States.



&#8220;There could very well be synergies between large portions of what&#8217;s left by excluding the U.S. on particular issues,&#8221; said Daniel Silke, director of the Political Futures Consultancy.



&#8220;It&#8217;s an opportunity for South Africa to take its leadership role.&#8221;



(Additional reporting by Wendell Roelf, Duncan Miriri, Tim Cocks and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Writing by Tim Cocks, Mark John and Joe Bavier; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Timothy Heritage, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Catherine Evans)

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No-shows, aid cuts mar G20 meet on global poverty

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4289" height="2998" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/BTPP7WMM2NKQNMPBCCJVN5CQ7A.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-591008"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Members of the M23 rebel group ride on a pickup truck as they leave their position for patrols amid conflict between them and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Feb 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;International sanctions against Rwanda will reduce the incentive for Kinshasa to engage in peace talks with M23 rebels who have made lightning advances in eastern Congo this year, a proscribed Rwandan minister has said.



&#8220;As they push for sanctions against Rwanda, (Congo&#8217;s president), seeing that Rwanda is being targeted, will refuse to participate in any negotiations,&#8221; James Kabarebe, a Rwandan state minister for foreign affairs, said in a speech on Tuesday.



Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized eastern Congo&#8217;s two largest cities over the past month in a conflict that has displaced around half a million people since January.



Last Thursday, the United States Treasury imposed sanctions on Kabarebe for his alleged role as a government liaison to the M23. He didn&#8217;t specifically refer to the sanctions against himself in his comments.



Britain said on Tuesday it would pause some bilateral aid to Rwanda and impose other diplomatic sanctions on Kigali until there was significant progress in ending hostilities and a withdrawal of all Rwandan troops from Congolese territory, estimated by the United Nations to number several thousand.



The European Union said on Monday it would review its agreement with Rwanda for strategic minerals over Kigali&#8217;s links with the rebels.



Rwanda denies providing arms and troops to M23, and says its forces are acting in self defence against the Congolese army and militias hostile to Kigali.



In his speech, Kabarebe also accused Congo&#8217;s President Felix Tshisekedi, who has refused to negotiate with M23, of offering the international community minerals in exchange for sanctions.



Congo&#8217;s presidential spokesperson Tina Salama did not immediately respond to Reuters&#8217; request for comment, but previously said that Tshisekedi has invited U.S. companies to purchase strategic raw materials directly from Kinshasa, rather than materials &#8220;smuggled&#8221; through Rwanda.



African leaders on Monday appointed the former Presidents of Kenya and Nigeria and the ex-Prime Minister of Ethiopia to mediate the ongoing peace process.



A close ally of President Paul Kagame for decades, Kabarebe has played a central part in a string of Rwanda-backed insurgencies in Congo since the mid 1990s.



The region is already reeling from a humanitarian crisis, and the latest conflict has fanned fears of a regional war like those that killed millions between 1996 and 2003, most from hunger and disease.



Eastern and Southern African countries are looking into the possibility of deploying African Union (AU) troops to secure areas controlled by M23, alongside a beefed up U.N. peacekeeping mission.



(Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Ammu Kannampilly and Sharon Singleton)

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Rwanda sanctions will undermine push for Congo peace talks, proscribed minister says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="558" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/XLEI3X4AGVKMNJXN2WUEMRICXI-820x558.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-590973" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/XLEI3X4AGVKMNJXN2WUEMRICXI-820x558.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/XLEI3X4AGVKMNJXN2WUEMRICXI-300x204.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/XLEI3X4AGVKMNJXN2WUEMRICXI-132x90.jpg 132w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/XLEI3X4AGVKMNJXN2WUEMRICXI-768x522.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/XLEI3X4AGVKMNJXN2WUEMRICXI-1536x1045.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/XLEI3X4AGVKMNJXN2WUEMRICXI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A worker packs soft drinks at an outlet of retailer Checkers in Johannesburg, South Africa, November 21, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Feb 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African inflation edged up in January in the first release since the statistics agency updated its consumer price basket, but the headline rate remains near the bottom of the central bank&#8217;s target range.



Inflation rose to 3.2% year on year in January from 3.0% in December, lower than the 3.3% forecast by economists and still well within the South African Reserve Bank&#8217;s range of 3% to 6%.



Annual core inflation, which strips out volatile items, such as food and energy, came in at 3.5% in January, in line with analysts&#8217; expectations.



South Africa&#8217;s central bank has cut interest rates at its last three monetary policy meetings, but its last move in January followed a split decision as it stressed the uncertain global backdrop.



Some analysts think the central bank will soon pause its rate-cutting cycle, though Capital Economics economist Jason Tuvey said in a research note on Wednesday that he thought there was still room for more policy easing.



&#8220;January&#8217;s CPI data will lend support to the idea that price pressures in South Africa have been brought back under control,&#8221; Tuvey wrote.



Nicky Weimar, an economist at Nedbank, said she suspected the central bank would keep its repo rate unchanged on March 20 &#8220;until the inflationary impact of the change in US economic policies becomes clearer&#8221;.



A breakdown by Statistics South Africa showed housing and utilities, food and non-alcoholic drinks, and restaurants and accommodation were among the main contributors to January&#8217;s annual inflation rate.



The statistics agency made changes to goods and services in its consumer inflation basket and updated the weights to reflect changes in spending habits. Items now in the basket include rose wine, air fryers and streaming services.



(Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning and Tomasz Janowski)

FILE PHOTO: A worker packs soft drinks at an outlet of retailer

South Africa inflation edges up in first release since basket update

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="427" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ZGP5BDQKUZLKTKT6I23C653ZKA-1.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-590677"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A farmer holds cocoa beans while he is drying them at a village in Sinfra, Ivory Coast April 29, 2023. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABIDJAN, Feb 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ivory Coast&#8217;s customs have seized around 2,000 metric tons of falsely declared cocoa beans worth around $19 million at its main port in Abidjan, two customs sources and one judicial source said on Tuesday.



Cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, is usually smuggled over Ivory Coast&#8217;s western border to Guinea and Liberia where traffickers pay above the local farmgate price for the commodity.



However, last week Ivorian customs discovered that a cocoa exporter had made a false declaration to pay less tax on the shipment at the port.



They seized 110 containers that according to the document were supposed to contain rubber, a customs officer familiar with the case told Reuters.



&#8220;To my knowledge, this is the first time we&#8217;ve made such a seizure. 2,000 tons, or around 15 million pounds, is a huge amount,&#8221; another officer said.



The tax on this shipment should have been 19.5%, including the 14.5% tax on cocoa exports and the 5% registration tax. In that case, the Ivorian state would have collected 2.9 million pounds in taxes.



Meanwhile, the tax on rubber exports is only 1.5%.



A source close to the judicial authorities said this fraud was possible due to the high level of corruption in the administration and the complicity of various departments.



&#8220;We seized this case &#8230; and we are still investigating. We can&#8217;t say anything at the moment,&#8221; said a prosecutor close to the case.



($1 = 0.7918 pounds)



(Reporting by Ange Aboa; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by David Evans)

ZGP5BDQKUZLKTKT6I23C653ZKA (1)

Ivory Coast customs seize 2,000 tons of falsely declared cocoa beans, sources say

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="447" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/DPARTCVLZBNRTKXZ7HOYLUHI2E.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-590673"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Chief Executive Officer at De Beers Group, Al Cook and Botswana&#8217;s Minister of Mineral and Energy, Bogolo Kenewendo, meet for talks on a diamond deal at the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa February 3, 2025. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



GABORONE, Feb 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Botswana&#8217;s government on Tuesday signed a long-delayed 10-year diamonds sales agreement with Anglo American&nbsp;AAL.L&nbsp;unit De Beers adding a possible extension period of five more years to the provisional pact.



Under the final deal, the share of Botswana&#8217;s state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) in the production of Debswana &#8211; its 50-50 joint venture with De Beers &#8211; will reach 40% at the end of the agreement, revised from a provisional 50%.



ODC&#8217;s allocation could, however, rise to 50% during the proposed five-year extension period, according to a joint statement by Botswana&#8217;s government and De Beers.



During the first five years, ODC will sell 30% of Debswana&#8217;s output, up from 25% previously.



The provisional agreement reached with Botswana&#8217;s previous government had ODC&#8217;s allocation reaching 50% at the end of the 10-year pact.



Negotiations over the deal started in 2018 and an agreement announced in 2023 was never formally signed.



Botswana&#8217;s President Duma Boko, who swept to power last October, made signing the deal with De Beers a priority.



The deal is critical for the southern African country since its economy is largely dependent on the export of diamonds.



&#8220;We have us a good deal and we trust that it will carry us into the future. To the people of Botswana, this agreement is about you, about the jobs it will create,&#8221; Boko said at a signing ceremony in the capital Gaborone.



Under the agreement, Debswana&#8217;s mining licences, which were due to expire in 2029, will be extended until 2054.



Botswana&#8217;s government says the economy contracted last year because of a prolonged downturn in the global diamond market.



Declining demand and a supply glut, the rising popularity of lab-grown diamonds and a shift by younger consumers away from the precious stone, have all weighed on rough diamond prices.



However, the government hopes the economy will rebound this year because of an improvement in the global diamond market and a better performance of other sectors.



(Additional reporting by Nelson Banya and Bhargav Acharya; Writing by Sfundo Parakozov and Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning and Tomasz Janowski)

DPARTCVLZBNRTKXZ7HOYLUHI2E

Botswana, De Beers sign long-delayed diamonds deal

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="480" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/U2RS4FLSUJI3FK3RB6IWAMD7XI.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-590670"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People shop at a fresh food market in Oyingbo, Lagos, Nigeria December 17, 2021. Picture taken December 17, 2021. REUTERS/Nneka Chile/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, Feb 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s economy grew&nbsp;3.84% in the fourth quarter&nbsp;NGGDPQ=ECI&nbsp;of&nbsp;2024, quicker than in the three previous quarters of&nbsp;the year, statistics agency data showed on&nbsp;Tuesday.



Gross domestic product growth was higher than the 3.46% reported in the third quarter, 3.19% in the second and 2.98% in the first quarter.



But the growth rate is still short of the 6% target set by President Bola Tinubu when he took office in mid-2023 in Africa&#8217;s most populous nation.



(Reporting by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Alexander Winning)

U2RS4FLSUJI3FK3RB6IWAMD7XI

Nigeria’s Q4 GDP growth quickens to 3.84% y/y

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="427" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/OQQ6BEBXMBIAPNOO66XNIHPJK4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-590632"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Young residents carry water home after filling up a bottle at a community filling station in the informal settlement of Kanana after individuals died from cholera in Hammanskraal, South Africa, May 24, 2023. REUTERS/Ihsaan Haffejee TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, Feb 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The debt crisis facing the world&#8217;s poorest economies is reaching new highs and debt servicing is eating up a growing share of revenues at the expense of spending on development, the United Nations Development Programme warned on Tuesday.



A new multilateral debt relief deal that includes all creditors &#8220;warrants serious attention&#8221;, UNDP said in a policy paper.



Interest payments on debt exceeded 10% of government revenue in 56 developing nations &#8211; almost twice the number of countries compared to a decade ago, according to the UNDP report published as G20 finance ministers and central bank governors kick off their meeting in South Africa.



Of those, 17 countries spent more than 20% of revenue on interest payments &#8211; surpassing a threshold strongly linked to default risk, UNDP said. Rising debt service burdens had surpassed levels not seen in more than two decades, it said.



&#8220;The debt-development trade-offs threaten a lost decade of development progress for many of the world&#8217;s poorest nations,&#8221; said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.



The external debt of the 31 poorest countries at high risk of debt distress was just over $200 billion, equivalent to less than a third of the 2021 allocation of IMF special drawing rights, an international reserve currency, which chiefly went to rich nations.



As part of the 2021 allocation, wealthy countries agreed to rechannel some of their unused SDRs back to the IMF so the Fund could lend them at below-market rates to low-income countries.



A new relief deal &#8211; if roughly modelled on the average 60% debt stock reduction achieved through the Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative launched nearly three decades ago &#8211; could save those 31 poorest countries nearly $80 billion, UNDP calculated. This would rise to $100 billion if the repayment period was extended by another seven years.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri and Karin Strohecker; Editing by Ros Russell)

OQQ6BEBXMBIAPNOO66XNIHPJK4

Debt crisis hits new highs in developing nations, relief deal needed, says UN

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="427" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2GXUSHW4L5NUDLFNDCTMKVPUEY.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-590628"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lesetja Kganyago, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank speaks during an interview on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers meeting at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town, South Africa, February 25, 2025. REUTERS/Nic Bothma</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, Feb 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Global trade tensions and a potential value-added tax hike in South Africa could derail two years of slowing inflation, the country&#8217;s central bank governor said on Tuesday.



Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance officials in Cape Town, Lesetja Kganyago said uncertain trade conditions and retaliatory tariffs could impact South Africa by tightening global financing conditions and affecting its exports.



South Africa&#8217;s G20 presidency has been overshadowed by the prospect of a global trade war since U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s return to the White House last month.



Japan&#8217;s finance minister has pulled out of this week&#8217;s G20 finance meeting to focus on trying to pass next year&#8217;s budget, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is staying away amid a spat between Trump&#8217;s administration and South Africa.



&#8220;One thing looming large is elevated uncertainty by some of the trade measures taken by major economies,&#8221; Kganyago told Reuters in an interview.



&#8220;A combination of those could feed into the domestic price formation process and create a challenge for us where you have both a slowing global economy and a rising inflation profile at the same time,&#8221; he added.



Annual consumer inflation rose for the second month in a row in December, reaching 3.0% in ZACPIY=ECI, but it remains at the bottom end of the South African Reserve Bank&#8217;s target band of 3%-6%.



The bank began cutting interest rates in September last year and has implemented three 25-basis-point cuts&nbsp;ZAREPO=ECI&nbsp;to date. But some analysts believe it may pause its cutting cycle soon due to a deterioration in the global economic backdrop and emerging domestic risks.



Last week South Africa&#8217;s national budget was postponed for the first time in its post-apartheid history after a last-minute disagreement in the ruling coalition over a proposal to raise VAT by 2 percentage points to 17%.



Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is expected to present a new budget on March 12 without the VAT increase.



Kganyago called the proposal to raise VAT a &#8220;self-inflicted shock,&#8221; adding that if it were implemented the central bank would respond to the second-round effects on inflation.



(Reporting by Kopano Gumbi; Additional reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Alexander Winning and Christina Fincher)

Reuters

South African rand firms ahead of manufacturing PMI

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Kenya annual inflation rises for fourth month in a row

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Ethiopia’s Abiy visits Somalia for talks with President Mohamud

Impala considers early closure of Canadian palladium mine after price rout

Japan tells G20 free, open trade crucial for global growth

No-shows, aid cuts mar G20 meet on global poverty

Rwanda sanctions will undermine push for Congo peace talks, proscribed minister says

South Africa inflation edges up in first release since basket update

Ivory Coast customs seize 2,000 tons of falsely declared cocoa beans, sources say

Botswana, De Beers sign long-delayed diamonds deal

Nigeria’s Q4 GDP growth quickens to 3.84% y/y

Debt crisis hits new highs in developing nations, relief deal needed, says UN

South African central bank governor says trade and tax policies pose inflation risks

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Reuters

South African rand firms ahead of manufacturing PMI

South Africa’s Koeberg nuclear plant unit shuts down after unplanned trip

Wage pressures boost risk of above-target inflation, BoE’s Ramsden says

Kenya annual inflation rises for fourth month in a row

Services to millions of people collapse as USAID cuts contracts worldwide

South African leader wants to do a deal with Trump to resolve dispute

Ethiopia’s Abiy visits Somalia for talks with President Mohamud

Impala considers early closure of Canadian palladium mine after price rout

Japan tells G20 free, open trade crucial for global growth

No-shows, aid cuts mar G20 meet on global poverty

Rwanda sanctions will undermine push for Congo peace talks, proscribed minister says

South Africa inflation edges up in first release since basket update

Ivory Coast customs seize 2,000 tons of falsely declared cocoa beans, sources say

Botswana, De Beers sign long-delayed diamonds deal

Nigeria’s Q4 GDP growth quickens to 3.84% y/y

Debt crisis hits new highs in developing nations, relief deal needed, says UN

South African central bank governor says trade and tax policies pose inflation risks

News Tips

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