<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="460" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423637" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-1536x861.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Winds and rain continue to increase in strength as Cyclone Freddy makes landfall over Vilankulos, Mozambique, February 24, 2023, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. UNICEF Mozambique/2023/Guy Taylor/via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



BLANTYRE/MAPUTO, March 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Malawi and Mozambique were racing to rescue survivors from Tropical Cyclone Freddy on Wednesday as the death toll rose above 270 from one of the most powerful storms recorded in the southern hemisphere.



Freddy tore through southern Africa for the second time in a month over the weekend and was still causing heavy rain on Wednesday, hampering relief efforts.



Malawi&#8217;s disaster management department said in a statement that the death toll from the second hit stood at 225, up from 190 on Tuesday, with 707 people injured and 41 missing.



In neighbouring Mozambique at least 21 people had died as of Tuesday, according to the disaster agency.



The overall death toll since Freddy first made landfall in February is now estimated at more than 270 in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar.



Malawi&#8217;s army, police, the local Red Cross and other aid agencies were conducting search and rescue operations, with commercial hub Blantyre one of the areas hardest-hit.



Severe flooding and mudslides have swept away homes, broken bridges and destroyed roads. Heavy rain has continued to batter the Mozambican port of Quelimane and surrounding areas.



&#8220;Our priority now, as we take stock to what really occurred, is to search and rescue people in most devastated areas. We&#8217;ve rescued thousands but thousands more are still unreachable,&#8221; said disaster agency spokesperson Paulo Tomas by telephone from Quelimane.



Power supplies in Malawi have been severely disrupted by the storm after the national electricity generation company had to shut down major hydroelectric power stations.



FACTBOX-Why is Cyclone Freddy a record-breaking storm?<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N35M4R7&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Despair in Malawi as cyclone Freddy destroys homes and lives<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N35M368&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Frank Phiri in Blantyre and Manuel Mucari in Maputo; Additional reporting by Nellie Peyton in Johannesburg; Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning and Nick Macfie)

Cyclone Freddy makes landfall over Vilankulos

Malawi, Mozambique race to rescue survivors as cyclone toll rises above 270

<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/GettyImages-1247252714-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423704" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1247252714-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1247252714-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1247252714-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1247252714-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1247252714-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1247252714-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">MUNICH, GERMANY &#8211; FEBRUARY 18: United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the 2023 Munich Security Conference (MSC) on February 18, 2023 in Munich, Germany. The Munich Security Conference brings together defence leaders and stakeholders from around the world and is taking place February 17-19. Russia&#8217;s ongoing war in Ukraine is dominating the agenda. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



ADDIS ABABA, March 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Ethiopia&#8217;s foreign minister in Addis Ababa on Wednesday, as their two governments look to repair relations following friction over the two-year civil war in the Tigray region.



Blinken, who began his talks with Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen with a coffee ceremony, was also due to meet Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and leaders of the Tigrayan forces that battled the federal government in the war in the northern region.



He will then head to the West African nation of Niger on Thursday, which has been confronting a growing Islamist insurgency.



&#8220;There is a lot to be done. Probably the most important thing is to deepen the peace that has taken hold in the north,&#8221; Blinken told reporters.



&#8220;We have longstanding relations and it is time to revitalize them and move forward,&#8221; Demeke said.



Blinken&#8217;s trip is the latest in a series of visits to Africa by senior U.S. officials as the Biden administration looks to reinforce ties with a continent in which China has been building diplomatic and economic relations.



The United States was outspoken in its criticism of alleged atrocities by Ethiopian forces and allied fighters from Eritrea and the Amhara region during the Tigray war, in which tens of thousands of people were killed before a peace accord was reached last November.



The U.S. government imposed wide-ranging restrictions on economic and security assistance to Ethiopia and cut access to the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2TH0AK&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">duty-free trade program</a>&nbsp;that has been a boon for the country&#8217;s textile sector.



Ethiopia, Africa&#8217;s second most populous nation and a traditional U.S. ally in East Africa, accused Washington of meddling in its internal affairs and threatened to reassess the bilateral relationship.



It has denied the most serious allegations of human rights violations during in the war.



In a press briefing this week, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Molly Phee said getting U.S. relations with Ethiopia back to normal would require additional steps by the government to &#8220;break the cycle of ethnic political violence&#8221;.



Ethiopia is also looking to restructure its debt and secure an International Monetary Fund loan, which the state finance minister said last year was being delayed in part by the Tigray war.



While the peace deal has allowed humanitarian aid to flow into Tigray, needs remain immense after the conflict left hundreds of thousands facing starvation.



Allegation of abuses, especially sexual violence, have persisted after the deal was signed, according to rights groups and humanitarian workers in the region.



Eritrean troops remain in several border areas while militia from the neighbouring Amhara region occupy large areas of territory in contested parts of western and southern Tigray, humanitarian workers said.



Eritrea&#8217;s government spokesperson has not responded to requests for comment about the matter. A spokesperson for the Amhara regional government said it and the people of Amhara were &#8220;always ready to co-operate with peace deal process and activities&#8221;.



(Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Robert Birsel)

2023 Munich Security Conference

Blinken meets Ethiopian government leaders to repair ties

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="460" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423637" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-1536x861.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Winds and rain continue to increase in strength as Cyclone Freddy makes landfall over Vilankulos, Mozambique, February 24, 2023, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. UNICEF Mozambique/2023/Guy Taylor/via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



BLANTYRE, March 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Tropical Storm Freddy, one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the southern hemisphere, has killed 190 people in Malawi after ripping through southern Africa for the second time in a month, Malawi&#8217;s disaster management agency said on Tuesday.



The commercial hub of Blantyre was the hardest hit district and severe flooding and rains have broken roads and bridges, hampering relief operations.



Freddy has also left a trail of destruction&nbsp;in Mozambique&nbsp;after it made landfall for the second time over the weekend.



The death toll in Malawi has jumped to 190 from 99 reported on Monday, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs said.



As heavy rains continued to pummel the country, 584 people have been injured and 37 are still missing, it said in a statement.



Families in Blantyre were counting the cost of the storm as they waited to collect the dead bodies of relatives from the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital mortuary.



The flooding and rains have hit rescue operations and made it difficult&nbsp;to get&nbsp;relief to those affected, aid agencies said.



&#8220;It&#8217;s a challenging operation in the sense that there’s been incidents of mudslides and so people are getting stuck in those mud accumulations,&#8221; said Estere Tsoka, emergency specialist at U.N. children&#8217;s agency UNICEF in Malawi.



&#8220;People are trying to find a place to hang in there for some time.&#8221;



Freddy pummelled central Mozambique on Saturday, ripping roofs off buildings and bringing widespread flooding around the port of Quelimane, before moving inland towards Malawi with torrential rains that caused landslides.



The full extent of the damage and loss of life in Mozambique is not yet clear.



(Reporting by Frank Phiri in Blantyre; Additional reporting by Carien du Plessis in Johannesburg; Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Angus MacSwan)

Malawi’s storm Freddy death toll jumps to 190

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="460" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423637" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-1536x861.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Winds and rain continue to increase in strength as Cyclone Freddy makes landfall over Vilankulos, Mozambique, February 24, 2023, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. UNICEF Mozambique/2023/Guy Taylor/via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



BLANTYRE, Malawi/MAPUTO, March 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Mozambique and Malawi&nbsp;on Monday&nbsp;were counting the cost of Tropical Storm Freddy, which&nbsp;killed more than 60 people, injured scores and left a trail of destruction as it&nbsp;ripped through southern Africa for the second time in a month over the weekend.



Freddy is one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the southern hemisphere and could be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N35J0BO&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the longest-lasting tropical cyclone</a>, according to the World Meteorological Organization.



It pummelled central Mozambique on Saturday, ripping roofs off buildings and bringing widespread flooding around the port of Quelimane, before moving inland towards Malawi with torrential rains that caused landslides.



The full extent of the damage and loss of life in Mozambique in particular is not yet clear, as the power supply and phone signals were cut off in some parts of the affected area.



In Malawi&#8217;s main commercial hub of Blantyre, the central hospital had received at least 60 bodies by early afternoon, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) country director Marion Pechayre told Reuters by telephone, adding that some 200 injured were being treated in the hospital.



The injuries were from falling trees, landslides and flash floods, she said. &#8220;A lot of (houses) are mud houses with tin roofs, so the roofs fall on people&#8217;s heads.&#8221;



Casualties were still arriving from affected areas, said Chipiliro Khamula, spokesperson for the department of disaster management.



Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya told Reuters that&nbsp;rescue teams&nbsp;had been&nbsp;looking for people in Chilobwe and Ndirande, two of the worst-affected townships in&nbsp;the country&#8217;s second-largest city Blantyre, where it was still raining on Monday and many residents were without power.



&#8220;Some missing people are feared buried in rubble,&#8221; Kalaya said.



At least six people died in&nbsp;Mozambique&#8217;s&nbsp;Quelimane, which&nbsp;was struck hard by the&nbsp;storm, authorities&nbsp;told the&nbsp;public broadcaster on Monday.



Scores more people were injured, Health Minister Armindo Tiago said on Radio Mozambique.



&#8220;The situation is critical in Zambezia province. We can&#8217;t advance with an accurate picture of the scale of damage because there&#8217;s no communications with all the regions,&#8221; he said from a hospital in Quelimane.



The total number killed by storm Freddy in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar since it first made landfall last month is now nearing 100.



Guy Taylor, chief of advocacy, communications and partnerships for&nbsp;U.N.&nbsp;children&#8217;s agency UNICEF in Mozambique, told Reuters from Quelimane that humanitarian agencies&nbsp;there&nbsp;did not have the capacity to deal with a disaster of this size.



&#8220;We saw a lot of destroyed buildings and clinics. People&#8217;s homes had their roofs torn off by the wind. Even before the cyclone hit we saw localised flooding,&#8221; he said.



The wind had died down on Monday but there was still a lot of flooding that had destroyed crops and created a risk of waterborne diseases, he said.



Mozambique has seen more than a year&#8217;s worth of rainfall in the past four weeks.



Malawi has been battling&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N34P2QU&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history</a>, and U.N. agencies have warned the situation could&nbsp;now get&nbsp;worse.



Scientists say climate change is making tropical storms stronger, as oceans absorb heat from greenhouse gas emissions and when warm seawater evaporates heat energy is transferred to the atmosphere.



(Additional reporting by Carien du Plessis and Tim Cocks in Johannesburg; Writing by Alexander Winning and Nellie Peyton;Editing by Tim Cocks, Sharon Singleton and Nick Macfie)

Storm Freddy kills more than 60 on return to Mozambique, Malawi

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="460" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423637" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-1536x861.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Winds and rain continue to increase in strength as Cyclone Freddy makes landfall over Vilankulos, Mozambique, February 24, 2023, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. UNICEF Mozambique/2023/Guy Taylor/via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



MAPUTO, March 10 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Tropical storm Freddy is due to hit the coast of Southern Africa again late Friday or early Saturday, after killing at least 27 people in Mozambique and Madagascar since it first made landfall last month.



One of the strongest storms ever recorded in the southern hemisphere, Freddy may also have broken the record for the longest-lasting tropical cyclone, according to the World Meteorological Organization, which said the current record is held by a 31-day hurricane in 1994.



Freddy was first named on Feb. 6, 33 days ago.



More than 171,000 people were affected after the cyclone swept through southern Mozambique&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3540MU&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two weeks ago</a>, bringing heavy rains and floods that damaged crops and destroyed houses, according to United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA.



OCHA on Friday put Freddy&#8217;s latest death toll at 27, 10 in Mozambique and 17 in Madagascar.



As many as 565,000 people could be at risk in Mozambique this time around in Zambezia, Tete, Sofala and Nampula provinces, with Zambezia expected to be the hardest hit, according to the country&#8217;s national disaster management agency.



&#8220;It&#8217;s a slow-moving cyclone. This is bad news in terms of rainfall because it means it&#8217;s hovering quite close to the coast and it&#8217;s picking up more moisture, so the rainfall will be heavier,&#8221; Clare Nullis, spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organization, told reporters in Geneva.



The storm is likely to cause extreme rainfall over large parts of Mozambique as well as northeastern Zimbabwe, southeast Zambia and Malawi, she said.



Around the world, climate change is making hurricanes wetter, windier and more intense, scientists say. Oceans absorb much of the heat from greenhouse gas emissions, and when warm seawater evaporates its heat energy is transferred to the atmosphere,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N30N15L&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fuelling stronger storms.</a>



Freddy has set a record for the highest accumulated cyclone energy, a measure of the storm&#8217;s strength over time, of any southern hemisphere storm in history, according to the U.S. National Oceanic &amp; Atmospheric Administration.



The storm has generated about as much accumulated cyclone energy on its own as an average North Atlantic hurricane season, said Nullis.



The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is setting up an expert committee to determine whether it also broke the record for longest duration, which will take some time, she added.



&#8220;World record or not, Freddy will remain in any case an exceptional phenomenon for the history of the South-West Indian Ocean on many aspects: longevity, distance covered, remarkable maximum intensity, accumulated cyclone energy amount, (and) impact on inhabited lands,&#8221; said Sebastien Langlade, a cyclone forecaster at the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in La Reunion, in a statement from the WMO.



(Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Additional reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Geneva, Manuel Mucari in Maputo and Bhargav Acharya in Johannesburg; Editing by Alexander Winning, Angus MacSwan and Christina Fincher)

Record-breaking storm Freddy due to hit Mozambique again

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="532" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-820x532.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423408" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-820x532.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-300x195.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-139x90.jpg 139w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-768x499.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-1536x997.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kenyan small-scale traders protest against what they say is the invasion by a foreign retail shop called China Square in downtown Nairobi, Kenya February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi</figcaption></figure>





NAIROBI, Feb 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;More than a thousand Kenyan traders protested in the capital Nairobi on Tuesday against a new Chinese-owned retail shop they accuse of undercutting them with ultra-low prices.



Traders in Kenya and other rapidly growing economies in Africa have protested periodically against their Chinese competitors. China is Africa&#8217;s top trading partner and more than 1 million Chinese are estimated to reside on the continent.



Kenya&#8217;s relationship with China was in focus during last year&#8217;s presidential election, won by William Ruto. Ruto promised to publish government contracts with China agreed under his predecessor and to deport Chinese nationals working illegally.



The Kenyan traders have been angered by a newly opened China Square retail shop on the outskirts of Nairobi, whose prices for everyday goods like curtains imported from China are on average 50% cheaper than those brought in by local traders.



Clad in dust coats used in their retail outlets, the traders marched to the office of the deputy president and to parliament to submit a petition against the Chinese retailers.



&#8220;The Chinese cannot be importers, retailers, wholesalers and hawkers,&#8221; read one placard held aloft during the protest. Some chanted &#8220;Chinese must go!&#8221;



Trade Minister Moses Kuria has offered to take over China Square&#8217;s lease from its Chinese owner and hand it to local traders, but Korir Sing&#8217;oei, the principal secretary at Kenya&#8217;s ministry of foreign affairs, stressed on Twitter that all investors are welcome, irrespective of their nationality.



Wu Peng, the top Africa official at China&#8217;s ministry of foreign affairs welcomed Sing&#8217;oei&#8217;s assurance on Twitter.



China Square&#8217;s owner Lei Cheng told a local newspaper he was inspired to open the shop after finding the prices at a Nairobi supermarket to be exorbitant.



Ruto&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3234AQ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">followed through</a>&nbsp;in November on his campaign promise to publish documents related to $3 billion in loans for a controversial Chinese railway built under his predecessor.



Analysts said the move could strain relations with China, Kenya&#8217;s biggest bilateral creditor, since such deals are generally kept confidential. Chinese officials did not comment on Ruto&#8217;s action.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri and Monica Mwangi; Editing by Aaron Ross, William Maclean)

Kenyan small-scale traders protest against a foreign retail shop called China Square in downtown Nairobi

Kenyan traders protest against Chinese competitor’s cheap prices

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="460" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-820x460.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423246" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-820x460.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-1536x862.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A view of cyclone Freddy in Belle Mare, Mauritius, February 20, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Laura Edwards/via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



ANTANANARIVO, Feb 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Madagascar&#8217;s government on Tuesday suspended schools and transport in the path of tropical cyclone Freddy, which was likely to make landfall in the southeast of the country by evening.



The cyclone is expected to hit Mananjary district, about 270 km from the capital Antananarivo, with winds of nearly 155 km per hour, Madagascar&#8217;s meteorological services said.



Heavy rains and waves of over 26 feet are expected near the impact zone, the International Federation of Red Cross said on Twitter, issuing a red alert for the area.



All traffic in cyclone Freddy&#8217;s projected path was suspended overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, the country&#8217;s ministry of transport and meteorology said.



The ministry of education said it had suspended classes in at least 10 regions.



Cyclone Freddy is expected to make landfall nearly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N34G2AY&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a month after storm Cheneso</a>&nbsp;battered the island nation of 29 million, killing 33 people and forcing thousands from their homes.



Madagascar is hit by an average of 1.5 cyclones every year, the highest in Africa, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).



&#8220;It is expected to cause locally devastating winds and a very dangerous sea state near the impact zone in Madagascar,&#8221; UNOCHA said on Monday.



After crossing Madagascar, Freddy could emerge in the Mozambican Channel and strengthen again, before making landfall in Mozambique and potentially moving on to Zimbabwe, affecting more than 3.3 million in total, UNOCHA said, citing a World Food Programme assessment.



The cyclone passed 120 km northwest of Mauritius on Monday afternoon, forcing some 500 people into shelters, while damaged power lines left another 500 families without electricity, the national broadcaster reported.



Flights which had been grounded late on Sunday had resumed on Tuesday morning, according to Mauritius&#8217; airports operator.



(Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary; Additional reporting by Villen Anganan in Port Louis; Writing by Hereward Holland and George Obulutsa; Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Shounak Dasgupta

Cyclone Freddy in Mauritius

Madagascar suspends schools as cyclone Freddy approaches

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1239257303-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423239" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1239257303-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1239257303-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1239257303-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1239257303-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1239257303-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1239257303-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">BRAZIL &#8211; 2022/03/16: In this photo illustration the Meta Platforms logo seen in the background of a silhouette woman holding a mobile phone. (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Feb 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Facebook parent company Meta&nbsp;META.O&nbsp;has filed an appeal in Kenya challenging a ruling that said the company could be sued in the East African country even though it has no official presence there.



A Kenyan labour court earlier this month&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N34M1ZK&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ruled</a>&nbsp;that Meta could be sued in the country after a former content moderator filed a lawsuit alleging poor working conditions.



In the appeal, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, the U.S. company disputed the court&#8217;s finding that Kenyan courts had jurisdiction over Meta.



Meta outsourced its content moderation work via Sama, a U.S.-headquartered company with operations in Kenya. Sama said last month it would no longer provide content moderation services for Meta.



The lawsuit was filed by former content moderator Daniel Motaung on behalf of a group of former Sama employees.



It seeks financial compensation, an order that outsourced moderators have the same healthcare and pay scale as Meta employees, that unionisation rights be protected and an independent human rights audit of the office.



(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Ayenat Mersie; Editing by Mark Potter)

In this photo illustration the Meta Platforms logo seen in

Meta appeals Kenyan court’s decision it can be sued in Kenya

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="615" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1239412494-820x615.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423221" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1239412494-820x615.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1239412494-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1239412494-120x90.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1239412494-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1239412494.jpg 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">MAURITIUS ISLAND, MAURITIUS &#8211; MARCH 22: A view from a seaside with turquoise water and white sand on the exotic island of Indian Ocean in Mauritius on March 22, 2022. (Photo by Kenan Irtak/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



PORT LOUIS, Feb 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Mauritius on Monday grounded flights and shut its stock exchange as Tropical Cyclone Freddy approached, posing a &#8220;direct threat&#8221; to the Indian Ocean island.



A Class III cyclone warning was in force in Mauritius, allowing about six hours of daylight before the occurrence of wind gusts of 120 kilometres per hour.



Mauritius, along with other Indian Ocean countries like Madagascar and African coastal nations like Mozambique, is regularly affected by severe storms and cyclones capable of destroying homes, infrastructure and crops.



Its weather service said in a bulletin issued at 1010 local time (0610 GMT) that at its closest distance, Freddy may pass at about 120 km (75 miles) to the north-northwest of the island late in the afternoon, saying it represented a direct threat.



&#8220;As Freddy approaches Mauritius, (a) storm surge is likely to cause coastal inundation in risk areas. It is, therefore, strictly advised not to go at sea,&#8221; the bulletin said.



(Reporting by Villen Anganan; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Alexander Winning and Bernadette Baum)

Africa’s undiscovered travel destination: Mauritius Island

Mauritius halts flights, shuts stock exchange as cyclone Freddy approaches

<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, Feb 17 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya may opt to issue a Eurobond with a different tenor to manage next year&#8217;s maturity of a $2 billion, 10-year bond, the director of its debt management office told Reuters on Friday.



Markets are keenly watching how the East African nation will manage the large maturity after the government&#8217;s debt-servicing costs shot up in recent years and its currency&nbsp;KES=&nbsp;weakened significantly against the dollar in the past three years.



&#8220;There is a likelihood that we may issue an instrument that is not of the same tenor,&#8221; Haron Sirima said, adding it would be structured in two or three tranches, depending on the advice received from bankers.



Such a move could give Kenya more flexibility to attract different investors and smooth out future maturities.



The bond&nbsp;US491798AE43=TE&nbsp;is trading with a yield of 11%, having come off a peak of 22% in July last year. It was trading with a yield of 6-7% when it was issued nine years ago.



The Kenyan shilling has depreciated 29% to 125.50 per dollar since the bond was issued, prompting concerns among market participants and government officials.



&#8220;We may not want to see such huge maturities in the future. It poses a risk. $2 billion is significant,&#8221; Sirima said.



The government is about to conclude a deal to raise $600 million from a syndicate of banks, details of which were not disclosed, he said, part of the planned $900 million commercial borrowing for this financial year to the end of June.



A third of the amount has already been raised.



Kenya&#8217;s debt-to-GDP ratio could fall significantly if the country sticks to the fiscal consolidation path set out by the government, Sirima said.



Public debt stood at 60% of GDP at the end of last year, the ministry of finance said, citing a debt sustainability analysis prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.



&#8220;Public debt sustainability indicators are projected to begin improving in 2026 after settlement of major maturities,&#8221; the ministry said in a debt management strategy published this week.



Total debt could fall below the ideal threshold of 55% of GDP by then, the Treasury said in the document. Although Kenya is classified by the IMF and the World Bank as at a high risk of debt distress, its debt load is sustainable, the ministry said.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Mark Potter)

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – Day Fourteen

Kenya may issue different tenor Eurobond to manage upcoming maturity

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="533" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/download-60.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423083" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/download-60.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/download-60-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/download-60-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/download-60-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Zambia&#8217;s Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane attends the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, U.S., October 15, 2022. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan</figcaption></figure>



Feb 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Zambia&#8217;s finance minister rejected a call from China for the World Bank and other multilateral lenders to join a restructuring of the country&#8217;s debt and warned that delays were holding up the economy, the Financial Times reported on Monday.



In an interview with the newspaper, Situmbeko Musokotwane said that &#8220;time is of the essence&#8221; to finish a restructuring of about $13 billion of external debt this year and signalled that China&#8217;s demand was a distraction from talks for reducing the loans.



&#8220;Discussions at higher levels like those just make our situation worse, because what we are looking for is urgent solutions, not discussions that may drag out the matter,&#8221;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b136a36b-5822-4647-8efe-67fc18b00ea3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the report</a>&nbsp;quoted Musokotwane as saying.



The People&#8217;s Bank of China and the Ministry of Finance both did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.



Zambia became the first African country to default in the COVID-19 era in 2020, but the restructuring of its external debts of almost $15 billion with creditors including China and Eurobond holders has been greatly delayed.



Government data showed Zambia owed Chinese creditors nearly $6 billion of the total of $17 billion external debt at the end of 2021.



U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other Group of Seven have grown increasingly frustrated about what they see as foot-dragging by China in moving forward on debt rescheduling for countries seeking help. China, for its part, argues that multilateral institutions should also be required to accept reductions in the debt they are owed.



(Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill &amp; Simon Cameron-Moore)

download-60

Zambia rejects China’s call for World Bank to join its debt restructuring – FT

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-849116266-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422984" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-849116266-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-849116266-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-849116266-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-849116266-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-849116266-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-849116266-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">View of the 36th session of the Human Rights Council of United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on 15 September 2017. Annual discussion on the integration of a gender perspective throughout the work of the Human Rights Council and that of its mechanisms. (Photo by Siavosh Hosseini/NurPhoto via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



KAMPALA, Feb 8 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Uganda has said it will not renew the mandate of the United Nations&#8217; human rights office in the East African country, citing the development of its own sufficient capacity to monitor rights compliance.



In a letter by Uganda&#8217;s Foreign Affairs Ministry sent to Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Feb. 3 and seen by Reuters on Wednesday, the ministry noted progress Uganda had made in developing a domestic capacity to monitor rights as the main reason for its decision.



&#8220;The ministry wishes to convey the government&#8217;s decision not to renew the mandate of the OHCHR Country office in Uganda beyond the current term,&#8221; said the letter, which the ministry confirmed to Reuters as authentic.



OHCHR Uganda country office spokesperson Bernard Amwine told Reuters he had no comment.



President Yoweri Museveni&#8217;s government has over the years been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2UI1PC&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">criticised</a>&nbsp;by the opposition, human rights activists and Western countries for various rights violations including torture, illegal detentions and extrajudicial killings of opponents and critics.



Officials have denied almost all of the accusations and said all security forces implicated in rights abuses have been duly punished.



Museveni, 78, who came to power after a five-year guerrilla war, has ruled Uganda since 1986 and the opposition and critics have accused him of grooming his son, a general in the country&#8217;s military, to take over from him. Museveni has repeatedly denied doing so.



The OHCHR Uganda office was established in 2006 and was initially allowed to focus only on human rights issues in conflict-plagued areas in Uganda&#8217;s north and northeast, according to the Uganda government. It was later allowed to cover the rest of the country.



In the letter, the ministry said the government had since gained enough commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights and that there was &#8220;peace throughout the country, coupled with strong national human rights institutions and a vibrant civil society.&#8221;



Uganda&#8217;s next election is in 2026 and Museveni is widely expected to seek another term, although he has not indicated if he will stand.



(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by George Obulutsa and Jamie Freed)

GettyImages-849116266-1

Uganda says it will not renew mandate of U.N. human rights office

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-924883576-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422955" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-924883576-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-924883576-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-924883576-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-924883576-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-924883576-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-924883576-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Uganda shillings. Uganda. (Photo by: Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



KAMPALA, Feb 6 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Uganda&#8217;s central bank held its key lending rate&nbsp;UGCBIR=ECI&nbsp;at 10.0% on Monday, saying it expected inflation would slow to hit its target by the end of the year despite a pick-up in January that it thought would be short-lived.



The decision, announced by deputy governor Michael Atingi-Ego at a news conference, was the second time in a row the bank has kept its policy rate unchanged.



Last year it raised rates by 350 basis points to fight inflation.



Inflation was 10.4% year-on-year in January&nbsp;UGCPIY=ECI&nbsp;from 10.2% a month earlier, but Atingi-Ego said core inflation was expected to decline to the 5% target by the end of 2023.



Risks to the inflation outlook include the potential impact of international financial conditions on the Ugandan shilling&nbsp;UGX=&nbsp;exchange rate, and higher food and energy prices, he added.



&#8220;The current CBR (Central Bank Rate) would contain domestic demand pressures, while accommodating and supporting economic recovery,&#8221; Atingi-Ego said.



(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Alexander Winning and Andrew Heavens)

GettyImages-924883576-1

Uganda holds rate, sees inflation hitting target by year-end

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="477" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/4PTCTAGMZJJ7LLDMMXNBAWEJB4.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422934" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/4PTCTAGMZJJ7LLDMMXNBAWEJB4.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/4PTCTAGMZJJ7LLDMMXNBAWEJB4-300x197.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/4PTCTAGMZJJ7LLDMMXNBAWEJB4-137x90.jpg 137w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Members of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), part of the troops to the East Africa Community Regional Force (EACRF) prepare to depart on their deployment as part of a regional military operation targeting rebels, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya</figcaption></figure>



BUJUMBURA, Feb 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;East African regional leaders on Saturday renewed their call for an immediate ceasefire by all sides in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that pits the country&#8217;s military against a rebel group it has accused Rwanda of supporting.



At a summit in Burundi&#8217;s capital Bujumbura, the leaders of the regional East African Community (EAC) bloc called for an &#8220;immediate ceasefire by all parties,&#8221; according to a communique issued at the end of the meeting.



The M23 rebel group has seized large areas of eastern Congo&#8217;s North Kivu province in a rapid onslaught since Oct. 20 that has threatened the provincial capital, Goma.



The conflict has inflamed regional tensions with Congo accusing neighbour Rwanda of backing and sponsoring the Tutsi-led rebellion. United Nations experts and Western powers have also accused Rwanda of backing the M23, although Rwanda has denied any involvement.



Saturday&#8217;s meeting was the latest diplomatic effort to try to end the insurgency, which has displaced at least 520,000 people since March 2022 in North Kivu, a territory long plagued by conflict.



Earlier this week, Pope Francis&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N34H0IG&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">visited Congo</a>&nbsp;and called for an end to violence.



Regional leaders had brokered an agreement in November under which the rebels were meant to cease fire and withdraw from recently seized positions by Jan. 15, but that did not happen.



A U.N.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N33Q4AT&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">internal report</a>&nbsp;said the rebels were flouting the ceasefire and withdrawal terms.



Saturday&#8217;s summit was attended by heads of state from Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi and senior officials from the region.



They also demanded the withdrawal of all foreign and armed groups from Congo and asked regional military chiefs to meet within one week and set a timeframe for the withdrawal.



&#8220;The summit reiterated its call to all parties to de-escalate tensions,&#8221; the communique read.



At the summit Congo&#8217;s President Felix Tshisekedi warned the commander of an East African regional military force deployed in eastern Congo, Jeff Nyagah, a Kenyan, against showing bias toward the rebels.



&#8220;Do not favor the M23. It would be a shame for the population to turn on you,&#8221;&nbsp;Tshisekedi is seen telling Nyagah in a video tweeted by his spokeswoman,&nbsp;Tina Salama.



&#8220;You came to help us and not to have problems. Pay attention to that. Communicate with the population,&#8221; Tshisekedi said.



Kenyan President William Ruto&nbsp;was visible standing nearby&nbsp;as Tshisekedi warned the commander. The EAC agreed on a regional force in April last year to be deployed in eastern Congo to help end decades of bloodshed in the area.



On Jan. 27, M23 rebels took control of the town of Kitshanga in Masisi territory and control of a new road, further isolating the provincial capital Goma.



(Additional reporting by Sonia Rolley; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Mark Potter and Toby Chopra)

Members of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) depart from Jomo Kenyatta airport in Nairobi

East African regional leaders demand ceasefire in eastern Congo

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1246347995-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422804" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1246347995-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1246347995-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1246347995-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1246347995-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1246347995-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1246347995-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Patrick Njoroge, governor of Kenya&#8217;s central bank, during a panel session during a panel session on day three of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. The annual Davos gathering of political leaders, top executives and celebrities runs from January 16 to 20. Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Jan 31 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya&#8217;s foreign exchange market will be stable this year, mainly due to an improvement in the current account deficit, the governor of the central bank said on Tuesday.



The deficit narrowed to 4.9% of gross domestic product at the end of last year, Patrick Njoroge told a news conference, better than the bank&#8217;s projection of 5.9%.



He said that the current account deficit is expected at 5.4% this year, well around the &#8220;sweet spot of about 5%&#8221;.



The improvement in the deficit was driven by higher export earnings from tea and manufactured goods, Njoroge said, as well as an increase in the amount of cash remittances sent home by Kenyans living abroad.



The Kenyan shilling&nbsp;KES=&nbsp;weakened 9% against the dollar last year, he said. The currency has so far this year lost 0.8% against the dollar, Njoroge said.



The central bank&#8217;s foreign exchange reserves remained adequate despite slipping below the statutory requirement of four months worth of import cover last week, the governor said, citing expected hard currency inflows.



&#8220;We don&#8217;t have any concerns there. We expect that the cover will increase and the reserves we are holding are adequate,&#8221; he said.



Hard currency reserves slid to $7 billion last week, worth 3.92 months of import cover, the central bank said, from $7.38 billion the previous week, or 4.13 months worth of imports.



The central bank did not say why the reserves fell, but market participants attributed the drop to the repayment of foreign loans.



&#8220;Given the shocks we have had&#8230; we accept lower reserve cover,&#8221; Njoroge said, citing a jump in yields of dollar-denominated bonds last year, which prevented Kenya from issuing a new euro bond.



Kenya is expecting to receive fresh financing from the World Bank and a $300 million tranche from an existing lending programme with the International Monetary Fund by the end of June this year, which will bolster reserves, Njoroge said.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

Day Three of The World Economic Forum (WEF) 2023

Kenya’s central banker sees stable FX market on benign external deficit

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="485" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/CORIUWLHAJI4LNBBJBT32ZAVTI.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422769" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/CORIUWLHAJI4LNBBJBT32ZAVTI.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/CORIUWLHAJI4LNBBJBT32ZAVTI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/CORIUWLHAJI4LNBBJBT32ZAVTI-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kenya Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge displays Kenyan shilling bank notes during a news conference at the Central Bank in Nairobi, Kenya, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Jan 30 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya&#8217;s central bank held its benchmark lending rate steady at 8.75% on Monday, its monetary policy committee said, saying its last hike in November was still working its way through the economy.



Six out of nine market participants&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3490G0&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polled</a>&nbsp;by Reuters had predicted the bank would hold the rate&nbsp;KECBIR=ECI&nbsp;steady, while three expected it would be raised.



The move bucks the trend among major African central banks who have maintained a tightening stance into this year. Policymakers in Nigeria and South Africa hiked rates last week, while their Ghanaian counterparts hiked earlier on Monday.



Apart from letting past hikes take effect, there had been others measures which could help to lower inflationary pressure, Kenyan policymakers said.



&#8220;This action will be complemented by the recently announced government measures to allow limited duty-free imports on specific food items, which are expected to moderate prices,&#8221; they said.



Inflation inched down to 9.1% in December, the second straight month of decrease, but still above the government&#8217;s preferred band of 2.5-7.5%.



Policymakers raised the policy rate for the first time since 2015 during their meeting in May last year, when they increased it by 50 basis points, citing growing inflation.



They followed that with a 75 basis points hike in September and another one of 50 basis points in November.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri and George Obulutsa; Editing by James Macharia Chege and Christina Fincher)

Kenya Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge displays the newly designed Kenyan shilling bank notes during a news conference at the Central Bank in Nairobi

Kenya central bank holds its benchmark lending rate at 8.75%

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="560" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1455568140-820x560.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422548" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1455568140-820x560.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1455568140-300x205.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1455568140-132x90.jpg 132w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1455568140-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1455568140-1536x1050.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1455568140-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; JANUARY 10: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen participates in a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Canada Chrystia Freeland at the Department of the Treasury on January 10, 2023 in Washington, DC. Secretary Yellen agreed to stay on as Treasury Secretary following a request from President Biden. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



LUSAKA, Jan 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday during a visit to Zambia that it was critically important to restructure&nbsp;the country&#8217;s&nbsp;debt, and she&nbsp;believes&nbsp;progress could be made after her frank talks with key creditor China last week.



Yellen added that Zambia&#8217;s debt overhang was a drag on its whole economy and that China had been a barrier to resolving the southern African country&#8217;s debt problem.



However, she said she was encouraged that progress could shortly become possible following her meeting with Chinese officials in Zurich last week.



&#8220;I specifically raised the issue with Zambia (with Chinese officials) and asked for their cooperation in trying to reach a speedy resolution. And our talks were constructive,&#8221; Yellen said.



She told Zambian Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane that the timely finalization of Zambia&#8217;s debt treatment was a top priority for the Treasury.



&#8220;We will continue to press for all official bilateral and private-sector creditors to meaningfully participate in debt relief for Zambia, especially China,&#8221; she said.



Yellen said she was keen to continue talks with Musokotwane and other Zambian officials about the country&#8217;s &#8220;impressive progress&#8221; on economic reforms, and how regional economic integration and deepening trade ties could support the country&#8217;s growth.



However, Musokotwane said at the start of a bilateral meeting with Yellen that the debt restructuring process has been moving slowly and its outcome was not certain.



Calling for the help of global leaders to move the restructuring process forward, he said it was needed to create conditions conducive to investments and to reduce pressure on Zambians to migrate.



Yellen was also slated to meet with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, who took charge in August 2021.



Yellen told reporters it was important for Zambia to address corruption and human rights, and to create a business environment that would promote investment and trade.



She lauded Hichilema for making the fight against corruption an important part of his agenda.



&#8220;It&#8217;s something that needs continued focus,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I would say the work isn&#8217;t done, but there clearly has been an important focus on it.&#8221;



Yellen&#8217;s meeting with Musokotwane took place at Zambia&#8217;s finance ministry, where large signs with slogans such as &#8220;This is a corruption-free zone&#8221; and &#8220;Say NO to corruption. Integrity is a virtue&#8221; were on prominent display in the hallways.



Yellen is on a three-country visit to Africa. In Senegal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3450T8&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">she said</a>&nbsp;Russia&#8217;s war in Ukraine was hitting Africans particularly hard by exacerbating food insecurity and putting an unnecessary drag on the continent&#8217;s economy.



(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian, Bhargav Acharya and Alexander Winning; Editing by Estelle Shirbon, Christina Fincher and Mark Porter)

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East Africa

Malawi, Mozambique race to rescue survivors as cyclone toll rises above 270

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Storm Freddy kills more than 60 on return to Mozambique, Malawi

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Uganda says it will not renew mandate of U.N. human rights office

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Kenya central bank holds its benchmark lending rate at 8.75%

Yellen says critically important to restructure Zambia debt

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