<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="592" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1234493050-1-820x592.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423201" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1234493050-1-820x592.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1234493050-1-300x217.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1234493050-1-125x90.jpg 125w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1234493050-1-768x554.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1234493050-1-1536x1109.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1234493050-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">General view of the flag of Kenya at Shiokaze Park on the fourteenth day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan. Picture date: Friday August 6, 2021. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Dec 20 (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya&#8217;s economy is likely to expand by 4.5%-5.2% in 2024 from an estimated 5% this year, the World Bank said on Wednesday.



The East African nation has been growing at one of the fastest annual paces on the continent in recent years but a heavy debt load and a weakening currency have emerged as risks.



&#8220;Debt related vulnerabilities persist, and rising debt costs constrain government&#8217;s ability to address development challenges,&#8221; the bank said in a statement on its latest Kenya economic update report.



Policymakers will need to balance between the short-term macroeconomic challenges and longer-term growth considerations, said Naomi Mathenge, a senior economist at the World Bank. (Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – Day Fourteen

Kenya’s economy to grow 4.5%-5.2% next year, World Bank says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="463" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NENDO62V3ZLP5MPGSLW3PPS3G4.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-437940" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NENDO62V3ZLP5MPGSLW3PPS3G4.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NENDO62V3ZLP5MPGSLW3PPS3G4-300x191.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NENDO62V3ZLP5MPGSLW3PPS3G4-142x90.jpg 142w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A general picture shows the skyline of Tanzania&#8217;s port city of Dar es Salaam, File. REUTERS/Andrew Emmanuel</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Dec 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Tanzania&#8217;s economy is expected to grow by about 5.5% in 2024, up from about 5% in 2023,&nbsp;but it faces risks from external geopolitical factors, its&nbsp;finance minister and central bank governor said in a letter to the International Monetary Fund.



In June, Finance Minister Mwigulu Nchemba said the East African nation&#8217;s economy was forecast to grow 5.2% this year.



&#8220;Intensification of geopolitical conflicts, increased commodity price volatility, abrupt global slowdown or recession, and natural disasters related to climate change could weigh negatively on the near-term outlook of the Tanzanian economy,&#8221; Nchemba and Central Bank Governor Emmanuel Tutuba said in the letter, made public late on Monday.



Nchemba and Tutuba said in the Nov. 27 letter that the central bank had sold $353.9 million on the foreign exchange market between July and October and had reduced the frequency and amounts of interventions.



&#8220;Going forward, forex interventions will be limited to addressing disorderly market conditions while the exchange rate will be allowed to be flexible to cushion the economy against external shocks,&#8221; Nchemba and Tutuba said.



Tanzania&#8217;s economy largely relies on tourism, mining, agriculture and manufacturing.



(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Gerry Doyle)

NENDO62V3ZLP5MPGSLW3PPS3G4

Tanzania GDP to grow about 5.5% in 2024 – finmin, cenbank gov

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="542" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/3HWZWVIRAVPBBEMBWDXTXH6RCE-1-820x542.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-437936" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/3HWZWVIRAVPBBEMBWDXTXH6RCE-1-820x542.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/3HWZWVIRAVPBBEMBWDXTXH6RCE-1-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/3HWZWVIRAVPBBEMBWDXTXH6RCE-1-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/3HWZWVIRAVPBBEMBWDXTXH6RCE-1-768x508.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/3HWZWVIRAVPBBEMBWDXTXH6RCE-1-1536x1016.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/3HWZWVIRAVPBBEMBWDXTXH6RCE-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A worker prepares a garment at the the Utexrwa garment factory in Kigali, Rwanda April 17, 2018. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Dec 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Rwanda&#8217;s economy is expected to grow 6.6% in 2024, up from this year&#8217;s figure of 6.2%, the finance minister and central bank governor told the International Monetary Fund in a letter.



In February, Finance Minister Uzziel Ndagijimana had forecast economic growth of about 7.5% for the East African country in 2024 and 2025. The economy grew 8.2% in 2022.



&#8220;We foresee a temporary softening of economic growth, driven by needed tighter fiscal and monetary policies,&#8221; Ndagijimana and Central Bank Governor John Rwangombwa said in the Nov. 29 letter, made public late on Monday.



&#8220;On the demand side, private consumption and investment are expected to be the main growth drivers in the medium term as



fiscal consolidation ensues.&#8221;



In November, Rwanda&#8217;s central bank held its key lending rate at 7.5% RWREPO=ECI, saying it saw inflation falling towards its target range of 2% to 8% by year-end.



External factors could cloud the outlook for growth, however, Ndagijimana and Rwangombwa said.



&#8220;A further deepening of geopolitical fragmentation, another spike in global energy, food, and fertiliser prices, or a steeper decline in trading partners growth would weigh on the outlook,&#8221; they said.



(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Clarence Fernandez)

A worker prepares a garment at the the Utexrwa garment factory in Kigali

Rwanda says GDP growth expected to rise in 2024, still below 2022 figure

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421437" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, September 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Dec 18 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya and the European Union moved closer to sealing an Economic Partnership Agreement that will grant the East African nation&#8217;s exports duty-free status and unlimited access to the bloc, officials said on Monday.



Both sides had initialled a draft deal in June after seven months of negotiations. The EU is one of Kenya&#8217;s biggest export markets.



The deal was approved by the European Union Council last week. It will now be presented to the parliaments of both sides for ratification before it comes into force.



&#8220;Today&#8217;s agreement heralds a new dawn where Kenyan goods gain immediate duty- and quota-free access to the European market,&#8221; Rebecca Miano, Kenya&#8217;s trade minister, said before signing the agreement at a ceremony in Nairobi.



&#8220;Over time, European goods will also gain preferential access to the Kenyan market.&#8221;



Kenya is a major exporter of tea, coffee, flowers, fruits and vegetables to the EU, which accounts for 21% of its overall exports. It buys machinery, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals from the EU.



Bilateral trade between the two stood at a total of 3.3 billion euros in 2022, EU and Kenya government data showed, making it the East African nation&#8217;s second largest trade partner.



Kenya signed an initial trade deal with the EU in 2016, alongside its partners in the then six member nation East African Community trade bloc, but it was not signed by most of the EAC countries and therefore did not fully come into effect.



The EAC has since expanded to eight member nations, who will all be welcome to join the new deal, Kenya&#8217;s President William Ruto said.



&#8220;This agreement that we are signing today leaves the door open, and I say, wide open, for our EAC partners to join,&#8221; President William Ruto said at the ceremony.



While the other EAC members are classified as least developed countries, meaning their exports could continue to get access without the deal, Kenya is middle income and therefore had to seek a stand-alone arrangement.



&#8220;We encourage the other Eastern African countries to join,&#8221; EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.



(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Duncan Miriri and Michael Perry)

TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM

Kenya, EU advance economic partnership agreement to boost trade

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="518" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XGW2VAJGGVKTZOIMO2U27VMREE-820x518.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-435757" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XGW2VAJGGVKTZOIMO2U27VMREE-820x518.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XGW2VAJGGVKTZOIMO2U27VMREE-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XGW2VAJGGVKTZOIMO2U27VMREE-142x90.jpg 142w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XGW2VAJGGVKTZOIMO2U27VMREE-768x485.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XGW2VAJGGVKTZOIMO2U27VMREE-1536x971.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XGW2VAJGGVKTZOIMO2U27VMREE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Kenya&#8217;s Finance Minister Njuguna Ndung&#8217;u presents the Government Budget for the 2023/24 fiscal year inside the Parliament building in Nairobi, Kenya June 15, 2023. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Dec 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya is searching for ways to bring its budget deficit for this financial year close to its original target after a slump in its currency forced its upward revision, a finance ministry official said on Wednesday.



The East African nation&#8217;s government revised its spending plans for the 2023/24 financial year to June 2024 in late October, after currency weakening increased foreign debt repayments by 1% of gross domestic product.



In the revised budget, the fiscal deficit was increased to 5.5% of GDP from the initial 4.4%, eliciting concerns about the government&#8217;s ability to stabilise public debt.



&#8220;We are still looking around to see how we can bring this 5.5 to 4.7% as a minimum,&#8221; Musa Kathanje, the director macro and fiscal affairs at the ministry, told an event convened to prepare the budget for the 2024/25 financial year.



Kenya&#8217;s central bank raised its benchmark lending rate by 200 basis points to its highest level in more than a decade last week, to try to stabilise the exchange rate.



The tighter monetary stance will work, Finance Minister Njuguna Ndung&#8217;u told the same budget preparation forum, helping to stabilise the macroeconomic fundamentals.



Officials also want to bring down the inflation rate, which has been stuck at close to 7% for the last three months, to around 5%.



The government expects the economy to grow by 5.5% this year and by a similar rate next year, finance ministry officials said.



The economy grew 4.8% in 2022.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by George Obulutsa and Tomasz Janowski)

FILE PHOTO: Kenya’s Finance Minister Njuguna Ndung’u presents the Government Budget for the 2023/24 fiscal year in Nairobi

Kenya eyes return to lower deficit this year, Treasury official says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-420118" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The new economic measures laid out by the U.K. government “will likely increase inequality”, according to a spokesperson from the International Monetary Fund.
Yuri Gripas | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



BLANTYRE, Dec 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The World Bank has approved $137 million of budget support for Malawi, with an immediate disbursement of $80 million, the bank said in a statement.



The funding will help the southern African country enhance fiscal sustainability, stimulate private sector-led growth, and increase resilience to shocks, the World Bank said.



After the initial $80 million, the remaining $57 million can be triggered in the event of a crisis, it added.



The support comes as Malawi battles chronic foreign-currency shortages that have led to a lack of fuel, medicines and fertilisers.



Malawi devalued its kwacha currency by 30% against the dollar last month.



&#8220;The Bank is now able to respond with a substantial budget support operation that supports an ongoing program of reforms,&#8221; said Nathan Belete, World Bank country director for Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.



The International Monetary Fund, which approved a loan of about $178 million to Malawi in November, has said the country needs almost $1 billion in debt relief by 2027.



(Reporting by Frank Phiri; Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning and Alison Williams)

107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico

World Bank approves $137 million budget support for Malawi

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CF2RV5HLG5PE5DNAIYXHUWLNVE-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-435417" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CF2RV5HLG5PE5DNAIYXHUWLNVE-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CF2RV5HLG5PE5DNAIYXHUWLNVE-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CF2RV5HLG5PE5DNAIYXHUWLNVE-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CF2RV5HLG5PE5DNAIYXHUWLNVE-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CF2RV5HLG5PE5DNAIYXHUWLNVE-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CF2RV5HLG5PE5DNAIYXHUWLNVE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Kenya&#8217;s President William Ruto looks on during his swearing-in ceremony at Moi International Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya September 13, 2022. REUTERS/Baz Ratner</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Dec 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Visitors to Kenya from across the world will no longer require a visa from January, President William Ruto said on Tuesday.



Ruto said his government had developed a digital platform to ensure all visitors would receive an electronic travel authorisation in advance, instead of needing to apply for a visa.



&#8220;It shall no longer be necessary for any person from any corner of the globe to carry the burden of applying for a visa to come to Kenya,&#8221; he said in a speech in the capital Nairobi at an event to mark 60 years of independence from Britain.



Ruto has long advocated for visa-free travel within the African continent.



At a conference in the Republic of Congo in October he said people from African countries would not require a visa to visit Kenya by the end of 2023.



The tourism industry plays a vital role in Kenya&#8217;s economy, offering beach holidays along its Indian Ocean coastline and wildlife safaris inland.



&#8220;Kenya has a simple message to humanity: Welcome Home!&#8221; he said.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning, Kirsten Donovan)

Kenya’s President William Ruto’s swearing-in ceremony in Nairobi

Kenya to scrap visas for all visitors, president says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/E4TFRXPLMNPNHGKN5TWHR7M4L4-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-435311" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/E4TFRXPLMNPNHGKN5TWHR7M4L4-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/E4TFRXPLMNPNHGKN5TWHR7M4L4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/E4TFRXPLMNPNHGKN5TWHR7M4L4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/E4TFRXPLMNPNHGKN5TWHR7M4L4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/E4TFRXPLMNPNHGKN5TWHR7M4L4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/E4TFRXPLMNPNHGKN5TWHR7M4L4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room, in London, Britain December 7, 2023. James Manning/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces the biggest parliamentary test of his premiership on Tuesday when lawmakers vote on his divisive plan to send asylum seekers to live in Rwanda.



The UK Supreme Court ruled last month that Rwanda was an unsafe place to send those arriving in small boats on England&#8217;s southern coast, and that the policy would breach British and international law.



In response, Sunak has agreed a new treaty with the east African country and brought forward emergency legislation to override domestic and international human rights law.



The move has deeply divided his party, alienating both moderates, who are worried about Britain breaching its human rights obligations, and right-wing politicians, who contend it does not go far enough.



&#8220;We believe the best solution here is we should pause the legislation today, we should come back with a new bill,&#8221; one Conservative lawmaker, Simon Clarke, told BBC Radio.



Lawmakers on the right of the party, who have not said whether they will abstain or vote against the government, believe the bill will still allow asylum seekers to appeal against deportation.



The government&#8217;s legal advice said access to courts formed part of Britain&#8217;s tradition of liberty and justice, available even in wartime.



Governments around the world are grappling with rising migration levels, and some are following the British plan to see if it will work. French lawmakers rejected their immigration bill last night, in a blow to President Emmanuel Macron.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-vote">CRUCIAL VOTE</h2>



The British parliament will hold the first vote on the law on Tuesday evening. It would only take about 30 Conservative members of parliament to vote with opposition parties to defeat the bill.



Even if it passes, Sunak is likely to face attempts to toughen it up with amendments at later stages, as well as opposition in the House of Lords, the unelected upper chamber.



Defeat would be a huge embarrassment for Sunak &#8211; no government has lost a vote at this early stage in the parliamentary process since 1986 &#8211; and it would severely weaken his authority over his party.



The battle has echoes of parliamentary showdowns over Brexit from 2017-19, when former Prime Minister Theresa May suffered repeated defeats following rebellions by large numbers of Conservative politicians, eventually leading to her exit.



Sunak, who replaced Liz Truss as prime minister last year after she was forced out, has made stopping boat-arrivals one of his biggest priorities. About 29,000 asylum seekers have arrived this year, down around one-third compared with last year.



But they remain a highly visible symbol of the government&#8217;s failure to control Britain&#8217;s borders &#8211; a key promise of campaigners for Brexit.



The government has already paid 240 million pounds ($301 million) to Rwanda even though it only has the capacity to settle hundreds of refugees a year from Britain and no one has yet been sent to the country.



In a day of political drama in Westminster on Monday, lawmakers from different factions of the governing Conservative Party held meetings throughout the day to decide how to vote.



In a boost late on Monday, a centrist group of lawmakers in the One Nation faction recommended that its members back the bill but warned that they would not accept any amendments that toughened the legislation at a later stage.



Sunak hosted some lawmakers on the party&#8217;s right wing for breakfast on Tuesday in a last ditch attempt to convince them to back the bill.



($1 = 0.7971 pounds)



(Additional writing by Kate Holton, Editing by Rosalba O&#8217;Brien and Christina Fincher)

FILE PHOTO: Rishi Sunak attends a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room

Rishi Sunak faces tense UK parliamentary showdown over Rwanda asylum plan

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="575" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/A52ZVG2EGRIMLHKQMSGX33WHYI-1-820x575.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-435002" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/A52ZVG2EGRIMLHKQMSGX33WHYI-1-820x575.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/A52ZVG2EGRIMLHKQMSGX33WHYI-1-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/A52ZVG2EGRIMLHKQMSGX33WHYI-1-128x90.jpg 128w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/A52ZVG2EGRIMLHKQMSGX33WHYI-1-768x539.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/A52ZVG2EGRIMLHKQMSGX33WHYI-1-1536x1078.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/A52ZVG2EGRIMLHKQMSGX33WHYI-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A view shows the Nyayo house building at the corner of Uhuru Highway and Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi, Kenya February 4, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Dec 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya will consider small-scale, scheduled power outages, technically known as load-shedding, to contain demand surges that have been blamed for frequent national blackouts this year, its energy minister said on Monday.



The East African nation suffered a country-wide blackout on Sunday evening, which lasted several hours, angering many people because it is the latest in at least four that have hit this year so far.



Davis Chirchir, the energy minister, blamed an overload on a transmission line in western Kenya for the latest outage, and pledged some short-term actions to remedy the situation.



&#8220;We will be scheduling some minimal load-shedding,&#8221; he told a news conference, referring to particular lines such as the one that caused Sunday&#8217;s blackout.



The line, which is designed to carry 80 megawatts of electricity, was carrying 149 megawatts when it tripped and caused the entire grid to go out, Chirchir said.



&#8220;The gist of it is lack of investment in the network for a long time,&#8221; the minister said, citing increased connections of households to electricity and the establishment of new industries that require power, which were not matched by grid upgrades.



The government will build a new transmission line in the west of the country, Chirchir said, to increase the grid&#8217;s capacity and prevent the system from being tripped up by system overloads.



The new line will be financed by cash from South Korea and the African Development Bank, the minister said, without giving a figure.



The government is also investing in electricity generation to boost reserves, he said.



Sunday&#8217;s blackout frustrated many Kenyans, who expressed their anger in online platforms including Facebook.



The blackout also plunged two terminals at the main airport in Nairobi into darkness after the stand-by generators failed to kick in automatically.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri, Editing by Louise Heavens)

A view shows the Nyayo house building at the corner of Uhuru Highway and Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi

Kenya eyes localised load-shedding to contain national blackouts

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="538" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GIP2AWDTGVOW3LFUFHTPXIMOFQ-820x538.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-434968" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GIP2AWDTGVOW3LFUFHTPXIMOFQ-820x538.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GIP2AWDTGVOW3LFUFHTPXIMOFQ-300x197.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GIP2AWDTGVOW3LFUFHTPXIMOFQ-137x90.jpg 137w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GIP2AWDTGVOW3LFUFHTPXIMOFQ-768x504.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GIP2AWDTGVOW3LFUFHTPXIMOFQ-1536x1007.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GIP2AWDTGVOW3LFUFHTPXIMOFQ-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A reflection from the windows show Kenya Airways planes parked at terminal within the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport near Nairobi, Kenya March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Dec 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya Airways&nbsp;KQNA.NR&nbsp;has told its customers to be prepared for potential disruptions to its flights schedule during the busy&nbsp;Christmas&nbsp;holiday season due to shortages of spare parts.



The carrier, one of the biggest in Africa, said the lack of parts, which is affecting the global supply chain, would disrupt flights for about two weeks.



&#8220;These challenges are leading to extended ground time of our aircraft for maintenance,&#8221; it said in a statement seen by Reuters on Monday. &#8220;This may also lead to grounding of one or more of our aircraft.&#8221;



The airline first flagged the problems it is grappling with due to spare parts shortages in January this year. At the time, it attributed the shortages to the Ukraine war, which crippled the Russian supply chain for global aviation.



Supply of titanium from Russia, a key raw material for the aviation industry crucial to the maintenance of planes, had been interrupted by the conflict, the company said at the time.



Kenya Airways, whose strategy hinges on connecting African travellers to the world and vice-versa through its Nairobi hub, operates a fleet of Boeing and Embraer planes.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri, and Louise Heavens)

Reflection shows Kenya Airways planes parked at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport near Nairobi

Kenya Airways warns of disruptions in holiday season due to spare parts shortages

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424560" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Y2QBXNDLWZPH5GNMQK3PGYN2TA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Drone footage shows birds in the foreground as clouds of black smoke billow over Bahri, also known as Khartoum North, Sudan, in this May 1, 2023 video obtained by REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



CAIRO, Dec 10 (Reuters) &#8211; An African regional body involved in efforts to mediate over the war in Sudan says it has secured a commitment from warring parties to implement a ceasefire and to hold a political dialogue aimed at resolving the conflict.



There was no immediate comment from Sudan&#8217;s army or the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been locked since mid-April in a conflict that has devastated the capital Khartoum and triggered waves of ethnic killings in Darfur despite several diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting.



Eyewitnesses reported blasts at the major Al-Jaili oil refinery on the outskirts of Khartoum on Sunday, while both sides said there had been casualties when a Red Cross convoy came under fire in the capital.



At talks on Saturday in Djibouti, the current chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Sudan&#8217;s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, agreed to a one-on-one meeting with RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, an IGAD statement said.



In a phone call, Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, also agreed to the ceasefire proposal and a meeting with Burhan, the statement said.



Both Hemedti and Burhan had &#8220;accepted the principle of meeting within 15 days in order to pave the way for a series of confidence-building measures between the two parties that lead to the launch of a political process,&#8221; said Alexis Mohammed, adviser to Djibouti&#8217;s president.



Earlier, in an address the Djibouti meeting, Burhan accused the RSF of &#8220;barbaric attacks&#8221; but said the army had not closed the door on finding a peaceful solution.



Hemedti, whose whereabouts are unknown, addressed the IGAD meeting remotely, blaming the outbreak of the war on loyalists of former president Omar al-Bashir who are powerful within the army. He called for reform of the army and the formation of a civilian government.



The war between the army and the RSF erupted over an internationally backed plan to merge the paramilitary force into the army and launch a transition towards elections.



The army and the RSF had shared power after Bashir was toppled during a popular uprising in 2019. Before they came to blows, they jointly staged a coup in 2021 that upended efforts to steer Sudan towards democracy.



On Friday, the United States said it had formally determined that both sides in the conflict had committed war crimes.



In response, the RSF issued a statement on Sunday denying that it had carried out ethnic cleansing in Darfur or was responsible for sexual violence. The army has also denied committing war crimes.



Indirect talks between the army and the RSF brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States that have stumbled several times faltered again last week as both sides pressed on with their military campaigns. (Reporting by Giulia Paravicini in Nairobi and Khalid Abdelaziz in Dubai; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Nick Macfie and Ros Russell)

107233476-16829606582023-05-01t165718z_528330424_rc2sp0apd7t1_rtrmadp_0_sudan-politics-drone

African mediators claim progress in efforts to end Sudan’s war

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="572" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/BCA5C56QAJM4DAU356MWENYCQU-1-820x572.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-433696" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/BCA5C56QAJM4DAU356MWENYCQU-1-820x572.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/BCA5C56QAJM4DAU356MWENYCQU-1-300x209.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/BCA5C56QAJM4DAU356MWENYCQU-1-129x90.jpg 129w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/BCA5C56QAJM4DAU356MWENYCQU-1-768x536.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/BCA5C56QAJM4DAU356MWENYCQU-1-1536x1071.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/BCA5C56QAJM4DAU356MWENYCQU-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The logo of Meta Platforms&#8217; business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman//File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Dec 7 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A Kenyan judge on Thursday found Facebook&#8217;s parent company Meta&nbsp;META.O&nbsp;was not in contempt of court for failing to pay dozens of content moderators that a contractor laid off.



Labour judge Mathews Nduma Nderi said Meta did not &#8220;deliberately and contemptuously&#8221; breach a court order requiring it to pay the wages of hundreds of Facebook content moderators.



&#8220;They did various things which they thought were lawful in trying to deal with their situation but we did not find that what they did amounted to contempt,&#8221; Nderi said.



Earlier this year, 184 moderators sued Meta and two contractors after they said they lost their jobs with one of the firms, Sama, for organising a union.



The plaintiffs alleged they were then blacklisted from applying for the same roles at the second firm, Majorel, after Facebook changed contractors. Out-of-court settlement talks collapsed in October.



A Meta spokesman declined to comment. Sama and Majorel did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.



Meta has previously responded to allegations of a poor working environment in Kenya by saying it requires partners to provide industry-leading conditions.



Sama has said it has always followed Kenyan law and provided mental health services to its employees. Majorel has said it does not comment on pending or active litigation.



Nderi accepted a request by the plaintiffs&#8217; lawyer Merci Mutemi to be given 45 days to amend the contempt of court petition, and said that unless the matter was resolved out of court, the case would be given priority for the court to determine its merits.



British tech rights group Foxglove, which is supporting the plaintiffs, said it was eager to bring the case to trial.



&#8220;We remain confident of our case overall, as we have prevailed on every substantive point so far,&#8221; Foxglove director Martha Dark said in a statement to Reuters. &#8220;The most important ruling remains the one we won in June: Meta can no longer hide behind outsourcers to excuse the exploitation and abuse of its content moderators.&#8221;



(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo and Hereward Holland; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Aaron Ross and Barbara Lewis)

BCA5C56QAJM4DAU356MWENYCQU-1

Kenya judge finds Meta is not in contempt of court

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/HAJQ7ZUCQNOWVDEROQNZ6IAAUA-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-433674" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/HAJQ7ZUCQNOWVDEROQNZ6IAAUA-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/HAJQ7ZUCQNOWVDEROQNZ6IAAUA-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/HAJQ7ZUCQNOWVDEROQNZ6IAAUA-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/HAJQ7ZUCQNOWVDEROQNZ6IAAUA-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/HAJQ7ZUCQNOWVDEROQNZ6IAAUA-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/HAJQ7ZUCQNOWVDEROQNZ6IAAUA-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: via Reuters</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Dec 7 (Reuters) &#8211; Britain&#8217;s former interior minister Suella Braverman said on Thursday the government&#8217;s proposed Rwanda legislation, part of a scheme to try to send thousands of asylum seekers to the East African country, will not work.



Rishi Sunak is facing a revolt from the right-wing of his Conservative Party over efforts to deport migrants to Rwanda, with immigration minister Robert Jenrick quitting on Wednesday after the prime minister set out new draft legislation.



The new bill will instruct judges to ignore some sections of the Human Rights Act (HRA) and provisions of domestic or international law that might deem that Rwanda was not a safe country to send asylum seekers to, though appeals by people based on specific circumstances would still be permitted.



Braverman, Jenrick and their allies says that does not go far enough, with some wanting Britain to leave the European Convention on Human Rights altogether.



&#8220;I&#8217;m very concerned that the bill on the table will allow a merry-go-round of legal claims and litigation,&#8221; Braverman told BBC Radio.



&#8220;The reality is, and the solid truth is, that it won&#8217;t work and it will not stop the boats.&#8221;



The government says the Rwanda scheme would deter migrants from paying people smugglers to ferry them from Europe across the Channel to Britain.



It has been forced to come up with a two pronged strategy to relaunch the Rwanda policy after the Supreme Court ruled it would violate international human rights laws enshrined in domestic legislation.



The government signed a new treaty with Rwanda earlier this week.



(Reporting by Muvija M, writing by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton and Kylie MacLellan)

HAJQ7ZUCQNOWVDEROQNZ6IAAUA-1

UK’s new Rwanda bill ‘will not stop the boats’ – former minister Braverman

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/RJD43BCCGRIX7PC3NVPMNUUOWA-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-433635" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/RJD43BCCGRIX7PC3NVPMNUUOWA-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/RJD43BCCGRIX7PC3NVPMNUUOWA-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/RJD43BCCGRIX7PC3NVPMNUUOWA-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/RJD43BCCGRIX7PC3NVPMNUUOWA-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/RJD43BCCGRIX7PC3NVPMNUUOWA-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/RJD43BCCGRIX7PC3NVPMNUUOWA-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Wavel Ramkalawan President of Seychelles addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/ File Photo </figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Dec 7 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan declared a state of emergency on Thursday after a blast at an explosives depot and heavy rains damaged an industrial zone and surrounding areas.



&#8220;Everyone is being asked to stay at home. All schools will be closed. Only workers in the essential services and persons travelling will be allowed free movement,&#8221; Ramkalwan&#8217;s office said in a statement.



The explosion had caused &#8220;massive damage&#8221; to the Providence Industrial zone and surrounding areas on the main island of Mahe, the statement said, while flooding due to rains had resulted in &#8220;major destruction&#8221;.



The statement gave no further details.



The Seychelles is made up of 115 islands and is the least populous country in Africa with about 100,000 people.



(Reporting by Aaron Ross; Editing by Tom Hogue)

RJD43BCCGRIX7PC3NVPMNUUOWA-1

Seychelles declares state of emergency after explosion, flooding

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="530" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-820x530.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-433145" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-820x530.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-300x194.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-139x90.jpg 139w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-768x497.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-1536x994.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A general view shows the Central Bank of Kenya headquarters building along Haile Selassie Avenue in Nairobi, Kenya November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Njeri Mwangi/</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Dec 6 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya is likely get a fresh $1 billion loan from China in this financial year and it could use the cash to partly settle a Eurobond that is maturing next June, if it comes in time, the governor of the central bank said on Wednesday.



The loan was first announced by Kenyan authorities in October, marking a shift in the government of President William Ruto&#8217;s stance on Chinese lending, after criticising the loans during last year&#8217;s election campaign.



&#8220;The National Treasury is engaged with the Chinese government,&#8221; Kamau Thugge, the central banker, told a press conference.



&#8220;The timing is yet to be ascertained. Were we to get it before June 2024, it could be used to address the maturity of the Eurobond.&#8221;



Sovereign bond investors have been watching closely to see how the East African nation will handle the maturing $2 billion hard currency bond.



It struck a staff agreement with the International Monetary Fund last month, which increased the amount it can access under its current borrowing programme with the Washington-based fund.



It plans to use the external financing, including expected disbursements from the World Bank and the regional Trade and Development Bank, to pay the bondholders.



Policymakers are prepared to take &#8220;stronger action&#8221; to ensure the foreign exchange rate has stabilised, Thugge said, a day after the Monetary Policy Committee unexpectedly raised the benchmark lending rate by 2 percentage points.



&#8220;A shilling that continues to depreciate almost in a straight line does not indicate macroeconomic stability,&#8221; he said, referring to the currency.



The magnitude of this week&#8217;s hike means that policymakers could be reluctant to increase borrowing rates further, said a trader with a Nairobi commercial bank.



&#8220;They did it in one bitter pill,&#8221; said the trader, adding that the hike is likely to further fuel economic pain.



The governor defended Tuesday&#8217;s decision, saying the central bank&#8217;s stress tests showed higher interest rates would not have a &#8220;significant impact&#8221; on the financial sector, an assurance that was dismissed by some market participants.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A

Kenya central banker sees $1 bln China loan soon, vows firm FX action

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-433367" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI-1536x804.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Construction work is seen opposite a statue of Samora Machel, the first President of Mozambique, and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, a Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Maputo, Mozambique, September 1, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



MAPUTO, Dec 6 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Mozambique sees economic growth picking up to 5.5% next year but its budget deficit widening to 10.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) driven by debt service, public sector wage reforms and election spending, its finance minister said on Wednesday.



Those forecasts compare with 2023 targets of 5.0% growth and a budget deficit of 8.7% of GDP.



Finance minister Max Tonela gave the latest projections in a 2024 budget speech, saying next year&#8217;s deficit would be financed by external grants amounting to 5.4% of GDP, foreign loans of 1.9% of GDP and domestic borrowing of 3.0% of GDP.



2024 growth would be driven by extractive industries, agriculture and finance, among other sectors, he said.



The southern African country&#8217;s economy has suffered a series of shocks in the past decade, including a &#8220;hidden debt&#8221; crisis, devastating cyclones and an Islamic State-linked insurgency concentrated in its gas-rich Cabo Delgado province.



Given those blows, &#8220;our country continues to follow a remarkable path of growth recovery, with a promising scenario in the medium term&#8221;, Tonela said.



(Reporting by Manuel Mucari; Additional reporting by Wendell Roelf in Cape Town; Editing by Alexander Winning and Alex Richardson)

PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI

Mozambique sees higher economic growth, wider deficit in 2024

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="530" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-820x530.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-433145" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-820x530.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-300x194.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-139x90.jpg 139w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-768x497.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-1536x994.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A general view shows the Central Bank of Kenya headquarters building along Haile Selassie Avenue in Nairobi, Kenya November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Njeri Mwangi/</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Dec 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya&#8217;s central bank unveiled a big interest rate hike on Tuesday aimed at stabilising the shilling currency&nbsp;KES=, whose depreciation has spurred price pressures, curbed foreign investment and affected debt-servicing.



The Central Bank of Kenya raised its policy rate&nbsp;KECBIR=ECI&nbsp;by 2 percentage points to 12.5%, its first hike since June when it raised it by 1 percentage point.



&#8220;There is need to adjust the monetary policy stance to address the pressures on the exchange rate and mitigate second round effects,&#8221; the central bank&#8217;s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said in a statement.



&#8220;This will ensure that inflationary expectations remain anchored, while setting inflation on a firm downward path towards the 5.0 percent mid-point of the target range.&#8221;



Inflation&nbsp;KECPI=ECI&nbsp;dipped to 6.8% year-on-year in November from 6.9% in October, with the central bank saying on Tuesday that exchange rate depreciation had contributed about 3.0 percentage points to the November reading.



The shilling&nbsp;KES=&nbsp;is down more than 19% against the dollar this year, having struck repeated all-time lows along the way.



&#8220;The MPC &#8230; stands ready to further tighten monetary policy as necessary to ensure price and exchange rate stability are achieved,&#8221; the central bank said, adding its MPC would meet again in February 2024.



Razia Khan, chief Africa and Middle East economist at Standard Chartered Bank, said there had been pressure from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to tighten policy meaningfully.



&#8220;Market interest rates were already well in excess of the policy rate, so it&#8217;s questionable whether this has a near-term impact,&#8221; she said.



Kenya is being watched closely to see how it handles the settlement of a $2 billion Eurobond that is maturing in June next year.



Central bank governor Kamau Thugge told reporters that authorities were expecting $300 million from regional bank Trade and Development Bank in the first two weeks of December&nbsp;and&nbsp;that would be used to buy back part of the Eurobond.



Thugge said Kenya expected a further $1.25-$1.5 billion in budget support from the World Bank early next year.



(Reporting by George Obulutsa and Duncan Miriri; Editing by Alexander Winning and Christina Fincher)

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Kenya Airways warns of disruptions in holiday season due to spare parts shortages

African mediators claim progress in efforts to end Sudan’s war

Kenya judge finds Meta is not in contempt of court

UK’s new Rwanda bill ‘will not stop the boats’ – former minister Braverman

Seychelles declares state of emergency after explosion, flooding

Kenya central banker sees $1 bln China loan soon, vows firm FX action

Mozambique sees higher economic growth, wider deficit in 2024

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East Africa

Kenya’s economy to grow 4.5%-5.2% next year, World Bank says

Tanzania GDP to grow about 5.5% in 2024 – finmin, cenbank gov

Rwanda says GDP growth expected to rise in 2024, still below 2022 figure

Kenya, EU advance economic partnership agreement to boost trade

Kenya eyes return to lower deficit this year, Treasury official says

World Bank approves $137 million budget support for Malawi

Kenya to scrap visas for all visitors, president says

Rishi Sunak faces tense UK parliamentary showdown over Rwanda asylum plan

Kenya eyes localised load-shedding to contain national blackouts

Kenya Airways warns of disruptions in holiday season due to spare parts shortages

African mediators claim progress in efforts to end Sudan’s war

Kenya judge finds Meta is not in contempt of court

UK’s new Rwanda bill ‘will not stop the boats’ – former minister Braverman

Seychelles declares state of emergency after explosion, flooding

Kenya central banker sees $1 bln China loan soon, vows firm FX action

Mozambique sees higher economic growth, wider deficit in 2024

Kenya central bank tries to stabilise shilling with big rate hike

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