<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1365" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1166297288-scaled.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-397450" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1166297288-scaled.jpeg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1166297288-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1166297288-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1166297288-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1166297288-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">HARARE, ZIMBABWE &#8211; SEPTEMBER 06. Zimbabwe&#8217;s president Emmerson Mnangagwa holds a press conference at State House:on September 6, 2019 in Harare, Zimbabwe. The current President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Managagwa, cut short his visit to the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa on hearing of the death of former President Robert Mugabe. (Photo by Tafadzwa Ufumeli/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



HARARE,July 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The United States wants to see key reforms before rejoining debt resolution talks between Zimbabwe and multilateral lenders from which Washington withdrew following the African country&#8217;s disputed 2023 election.



The new U.S ambassador to Zimbabwe, Pamela Tremont, on Thursday hinted that there are prospects for Washington to rejoin the debt talks.



&#8220;We are looking forward to new democracy and governance indicators that will give us the sense of where the government is, that is its democracy and governance pathway so that we return to the table and continue these talks,&#8221; Tremont told Reuters.



Tremont said the U.S pulled out of the debt talks led by the African Development Bank (AfDB) president Akinwumi Adesina in January because last year&#8217;s election that gave President Emmerson Mnangagwa a second term was not free and fair.



&#8220;We were an active participant in those talks but we had to put a pause on that after the elections that we did not find free and fair,&#8221; she said.



Zimbabwe is owing over $17 billion in debt and arrears to several multilateral funders, including the World Bank, AFDB and 17 Paris Club members.



It has been locked out of international financial markets for more than two decades but sees the debt resolution talks as a step towards clearing the arrears.



Before resuming debt resolution talks last year, Zimbabwe had committed to key governance and electoral reforms that included running a clean election.



The August elections were widely criticized by observers like SADC and EU observer missions which said the process fell short of international standards.



Zimbabwe&#8217;s main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, who came second to Mnangagwa, described the election as a gigantic fraud.



Deputy Finance Minister Kuda Mnangagwa said the U.S was still welcome to rejoin the debt talks.



&#8220;We remain committed to the talks and re-engagement to foster strong economic ties with those who are willing to work with us,&#8221; Mnangagwa told Reuters.



The U.S remains a key party to the debt talks as it wields influence in the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.



&#8220;We think the AfDB process is really useful to discuss the reforms that the International Financial Institutions need for Zimbabwe to access the concessionery loans it wants,&#8221; Tremont said.



(Reporting by Nyasha Chingono; Editing by Nelson Banya and Angus MacSwan)

President Mnangagwa Holds Press Conference After The Death Of Robert Mugabe

US wants reforms before it returns to key Zimbabwe debt talks: Ambassador

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="929" height="523" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108008818-1721376380367-gettyimages-2162122113-europapress_6090171_spain_national_team_plane_arriving_durin.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-509305" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108008818-1721376380367-gettyimages-2162122113-europapress_6090171_spain_national_team_plane_arriving_durin.jpeg 929w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108008818-1721376380367-gettyimages-2162122113-europapress_6090171_spain_national_team_plane_arriving_durin-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108008818-1721376380367-gettyimages-2162122113-europapress_6090171_spain_national_team_plane_arriving_durin-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108008818-1721376380367-gettyimages-2162122113-europapress_6090171_spain_national_team_plane_arriving_durin-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108008818-1721376380367-gettyimages-2162122113-europapress_6090171_spain_national_team_plane_arriving_durin-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Spain National Team plane arriving at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport on July 15, 2024, in Madrid, Spain. Europa Press Sports | Europa Press | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



July 19 (Reuters) &#8211; A global tech outage that appeared to be related to issues at global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and Microsoft was affecting operations in various sectors on Friday including airports, airlines, media and banks.



Below is a list of disruptions that have been reported:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-airlines-airports">AIRLINES, AIRPORTS</h2>



&#8211; Berlin airport has halted all flights until 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) due to a technical fault, the operator said.



&#8211; Spanish airport operator Aena reported a computer systems &#8220;incident&#8221; at all Spanish airports which may cause flight delays.



&#8211; Amsterdam&#8217;s airport Schiphol, one of the major air transport hubs in Europe, said it was affected by a global cyber outage, and advised travellers to contact their airlines.



&#8211; Top Dutch airline KLM said it could not handle flights on Friday and that it suspended most of its operations. Air France, KLM&#8217;s parent company, said that its operations were disrupted.



&#8211; Turkish Airlines is experiencing problems with ticketing, check-in, and booking due to a global technical issue in its information systems, it said in a post on X.



&#8211; Major U.S. carriers including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines issued ground stops on Friday morning citing communication issues.



&#8211; A SAS spokesperson said the Scandinavian airline was expecting delays.



&#8211; Australia&#8217;s national airline Qantas and Sydney airport said planes were delayed but still flying.



&#8211; Passengers at Britain&#8217;s Edinburgh Airport were unable to use automated boarding pass scanners on Friday, and monitors at security displayed a message saying &#8220;server offline&#8221;, a Reuters witness reported.



&#8211; Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific&nbsp;0293.HK&nbsp;said in a note to customers that self-service check in facilities at Hong Kong International Airport were unavailable due to &#8220;unexpected technical issues&#8221;. It advised customers to arrive early or check in online before coming to the airport.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-financials">FINANCIALS</h2>



&#8211; Australia&#8217;s largest bank, Commonwealth Bank, said some customers had been unable to transfer money due to the service outage.



&#8211; Several major oil and gas trading desks in London and Singapore were struggling to execute trades due to a cyber outage on Friday, six industry sources told Reuters.



&#8211; Macquarie Capital was unable to provide liquidity for unexpired warrants on HKEX due to technical problems.



&#8211; South Africa&#8217;s Capitec said card payments, ATM and app services were fully restored following significant nationwide disruptions linked to CrowdStrike.



&#8211; LSEG Group&#8217;s Workspace news and data platform suffered an outage on Friday that affected user access worldwide, causing disruption across financial markets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-media">MEDIA</h2>



&#8211; Sky News, one of Britain&#8217;s major television news channels, was off air on Friday.



&#8211; Australia&#8217;s state broadcaster ABC said it was experiencing a &#8220;major network outage&#8221;, without giving a reason.



&#8211; Regular programming at Sky News Australia was disrupted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-emergency-services-healthcare">EMERGENCY SERVICES, HEALTHCARE</h2>



&#8211; A health booking system used by doctors in England is offline, medical officials said on X on Friday.



&#8211; Several hospitals in the Netherlands had to scale down their operations because of the power outage, Dutch press agency ANP reported.



&#8211; Victorian state police in Australia said some internal systems had been hit by the outage but emergency services were operating normally.



&#8211; Copenhagen&#8217;s fire department said on X it was experiencing problems receiving automatically transmitted fire alarms following the outage, and urged people to call 112 in case of a fire.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-other">OTHER</h2>



&#8211; A spokesperson for New Zealand&#8217;s parliament said its computer systems had also been affected.



(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Compiled by Anna Pruchnicka, Andrey Sychev; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

108008818-1721376380367-gettyimages-2162122113-europapress_6090171_spain_national_team_plane_arriving_durin

Global tech outage delays flights and disrupts services around the world

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="615" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZHFRG3BTB5JXRNXZVXU4QXPJNI-1-820x615.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-509253" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZHFRG3BTB5JXRNXZVXU4QXPJNI-1-820x615.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZHFRG3BTB5JXRNXZVXU4QXPJNI-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZHFRG3BTB5JXRNXZVXU4QXPJNI-1-120x90.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZHFRG3BTB5JXRNXZVXU4QXPJNI-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZHFRG3BTB5JXRNXZVXU4QXPJNI-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZHFRG3BTB5JXRNXZVXU4QXPJNI-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A member of the Nigeria Labour Congress dances in front of the domestic airport which has been shut down as Nigeria&#8217;s main labour unions called for an indefinite strike from Monday after failing to agree to a new minimum wage with the government, in Lagos, Nigeria. June 3, 2024.REUTERS/Seun Sanni/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, July 18 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s main labour unions agreed on a new minimum wage of 70,000 naira ($44) a month on Thursday after talks with the government, ending months of deadlock and the threat of strikes.



Africa&#8217;s most populous nation is grappling with the worst cost of living crisis in a generation, stoking fears of Kenyan-style protests that have rocked that country for nearly a month.



Nigeria&#8217;s two biggest union federations, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), have argued that soaring prices and a weakening currency caused by reforms instituted by President Bola Tinubu were hitting workers hard.



Soaring inflation has eroded incomes and hurt millions of Nigerians who are struggling to meet their basic needs.



The new wage announced by Minister of Information Mohammed Idris and union leaders, is more than double the 30,000 naira a month that was agreed in 2019.



&#8220;We are taking this new 70,000 naira minimum wage with mixed feelings because of the situation of the economy. We have to move ahead despite the situation otherwise the negotiation can linger,&#8221; NLC President Joe Ajaero told reporters.



He said the next minimum wage would be reviewed in three years instead of the customary five years.



The unions suspended a strike in early June to give negotiations a chance but warned that failure to reach an agreement could prompt members to call for new action.



Idris said Tinubu would send the proposal, which includes a provision to review the wage every three years, to parliament immediately for passage into law. Tinubu has said he will not roll back unpopular reforms, including electricity and gasoline price hikes.



On Wednesday, Tinubu asked lawmakers to approve $4 billion in additional spending to plug shortfalls in this year&#8217;s budget, with around half of it going to fund &#8220;further recurrent expenditure requirements.&#8221;



The government plans to invest in infrastructure and renewable energy, such as compressed natural gas (CNG) plants and busses to help lower transportation costs, Idris said.



($1 = 1,580.0000 naira)



(Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Alison Williams, Susan Fenton, Philippa Fletcher)

ZHFRG3BTB5JXRNXZVXU4QXPJNI-1

Nigeria’s unions, government agree new wage deal, averting strike

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1365" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZCAXQIRLKZPJRMO2IJOAORLRXA-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-509235" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZCAXQIRLKZPJRMO2IJOAORLRXA-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZCAXQIRLKZPJRMO2IJOAORLRXA-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZCAXQIRLKZPJRMO2IJOAORLRXA-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZCAXQIRLKZPJRMO2IJOAORLRXA-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZCAXQIRLKZPJRMO2IJOAORLRXA-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ZCAXQIRLKZPJRMO2IJOAORLRXA-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South Africa&#8217;s President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks during his opening of parliament address in Cape Town, South Africa, July 18, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) &#8211; President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged on Thursday to revive South Africa&#8217;s flagging economy and extend prosperity to the many left out of it, by resuscitating factories and farms, building roads and seizing the opportunities presented by green energy.



In his first policy speech to a new parliament since the African National Congress (ANC) lost its ruling majority in May &#8211; forcing it to team up with its rivals &#8211; Ramaphosa also pledged to get on top of the nation&#8217;s debt burden.



&#8220;We have a clear intention to turn our country into a construction site, as roads, bridges, houses, schools, hospitals and clinics are built &#8230; and as new power lines are installed,&#8221; the president said at the official opening of a new five-year term of parliament.



He acknowledged that in the past 15 years, Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy had &#8220;barely grown,&#8221; and &#8220;unemployment, poverty and inequality (remain) &#8230; extremely high.&#8221;



After an optimistic decade following the end of apartheid and the election of Nelson Mandela, South Africa has been mired in political troubles, including a lumbering response to its deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic, grand corruption and a systemic failure to deliver services or even keep the lights on.



Voters punished the ANC for these shortcomings in the May 29 election, leaving it with just 40% of the vote and forcing it into a unity government, mostly with the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), for the first time in three decades.



South Africa suffers some of the world&#8217;s biggest divides between rich and poor. Ramaphosa, formerly one of the country&#8217;s wealthiest Black businessmen, used the word &#8220;inclusive&#8221; 18 times in his speech to signal his intention to tackle economic injustice.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-enormous-opportunity">&#8216;ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITY&#8217;</h2>



Outlining his administration&#8217;s plans for the next five years, Ramaphosa said the government would &#8220;pursue macroeconomic policy that supports growth and development,&#8221; while also stabilising the national debt.



&#8220;We are firmly committed to steadily reducing the cost of servicing our debt so that we can redirect funds towards other critical social and economic needs,&#8221; he said.



Other policies included overhauling the country&#8217;s ailing freight rail network, training young people in digital skills and investing in the green technologies being adopted the world over to mitigate climate change.



&#8220;We will seize the enormous opportunity in renewable energy for inclusive growth,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We &#8230; have a huge pipeline of renewable energy projects representing over 22,500 megawatts.&#8221;



The new cabinet, whichheld its first meeting last weekend, was determined to work together in the interests of all South Africans, Ramaphosa said, echoing remarks on Wednesday by the DA leader, John Steenhuisen.



In those remarks, Steenhuisen said the coalition government&#8217;s plans had broad buy-in from its different political parties and that it was working better than expected.



Ramaphosa said the coalition partners had taken the path of a &#8220;cooperation nation&#8221;.



(Reporting by Nellie Peyton and Wendell Roelf; Writing by Tannur Anders, Bhargav Acharya and Alexander Winning; Editing by Tim Cocks and Marguerita Choy)

Parliament address by South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town

South Africa leader pledges to revive economy, include the poor

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1351" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-425628" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-820x541.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-1536x1013.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: The logo of South Africa&#8217;s central reserve bank is seen during the delivery of a keynote address by South Africa&#8217;s central bank governor, Lesetja Kganyago, at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, July 18 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged at 8.25% in a decision announced on Thursday.



Eighteen of 20 economists polled by Reuters predicted there would be no change in the repo rate.



The decision by the central bank&#8217;s Monetary Policy Committee was split, with four members preferring an unchanged stance and two preferring a 25-basis-point rate cut.



Monetary policy has remained tight in Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy as the South African Reserve Bank tries to steer inflation back towards the midpoint of its 3%-6% target range.



Consumer inflation stood at 5.2% year on year in May, the latest month for which data is available, the same as in April.



&#8220;Domestically, inflation expectations do not yet reflect the 4.5% midpoint objective over the medium term,&#8221; central bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said in a statement accompanying the decision.



Economists polled by Reuters before Thursday&#8217;s announcement predicted a 25-basis-point cut in September followed by another in November.



(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya, Tannur Anders and Kopano Gumbi; Editing by Alexander Winning)

FILE PHOTO: South Africa’s central bank governor to delivers keynote address

South Africa central bank keeps main interest rate unchanged at 8.25%

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1366" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-969639340-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-498461" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-969639340-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-969639340-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-969639340-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-969639340-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-969639340-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-969639340-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A Transnet logo stands on a rail mounted gantry crane, manufactured by Terex Corp., at the Port of Durban, operated by Transnet SOC Holdings Ltd.&#8217;s Ports Authority, in Durban, South Africa, on Friday, May 25, 2018. Transnet last year reduced its seven-year capital-investment plan by 17 percent to 229.2 billion rand in response to lower-than-anticipated freight demand. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



July 18 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $1 billion loan for South Africa&#8217;s Transnet to aid the troubled logistics firm&#8217;s recovery plan, the bank and the company said on Thursday.



State-owned Transnet has struggled to provide adequate freight rail and port services in South Africa due to equipment shortages and maintenance backlogs after years of under-investment.



This has impacted commodity exports and other sectors such as manufacturing and retail, weakening Africa&#8217;s most advanced economy.



Transnet and the AfDB said in a joint statement that the 25-year loan was fully guaranteed by the government of South Africa.



&#8220;It will facilitate the first phase of the company&#8217;s ZAR 152.8 billion rand ($8.1 billion) five-year capital investment plan to improve its existing capacity ahead of expansion for the priority segments throughout the transport value chain,&#8221; the statement said.



Transnet, which has debts of 130 billion rand, recorded a loss of 1.6 billion rand in the six months to Sept. 30 on the back of declining rail, port and pipeline volumes as well as higher costs.



It has seen freight volumes decline to 150 million metric tons in financial year 2022/23 from 226 million tons in 2017/18.



Transnet&#8217;s recovery plan, announced in October 2023, seeks to restore freight volumes and return the company to profitability over a period of 18 months.



The turnaround plan includes splitting the freight rail subsidiary into two &#8211; an infrastructure management company and an operating unit. It also targets reduced port backlogs and plans another attempt to open up parts of its rail network to private operators after a false start two years ago.



(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Alexander Winning and David Evans)

Operations At The Transnet SOC Ltd. Port Of Durban

S.Africa’s Transnet gets $1 bln African Development Bank loan

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="536" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/KCD5AG3PPBMM3P4T4YY7RIKCA4-820x536.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-508945" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/KCD5AG3PPBMM3P4T4YY7RIKCA4-820x536.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/KCD5AG3PPBMM3P4T4YY7RIKCA4-300x196.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/KCD5AG3PPBMM3P4T4YY7RIKCA4-138x90.jpg 138w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/KCD5AG3PPBMM3P4T4YY7RIKCA4-768x502.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/KCD5AG3PPBMM3P4T4YY7RIKCA4-1536x1004.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/KCD5AG3PPBMM3P4T4YY7RIKCA4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Rwanda&#8217;s incumbent President and presidential candidate for the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) Paul Kagame prepares to cast his ballot during the Presidential election at the SOS Kinyinya polling centre in Kigali, Rwanda July 15, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



KIGALI, July 18 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Rwanda&#8217;s President Paul Kagame has been re-elected with 99.18% of the vote, the National Electoral Commission said on Thursday, extending his near quarter-century in office.



The two men standing against him &#8211; Frank Habineza from the Democratic Green Party and independent Philippe Mpayimana &#8211; both conceded defeat in Monday&#8217;s election, which rights groups say was marred by a crack-down on journalists, the opposition and civil society groups. A government spokesperson repeatedly rejected such criticism during the election period.



Oda Gasinzigwa, chairperson of the National Electoral Commission, told a news conference that voter turnout was 98.20% of the nine million registered voters.



The final election results are due to be announced no later than July 27, she said.



Kagame, who got more than 93% of the vote in the last three elections, has won praise from Western and regional leaders for helping to end the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and rebuilding the country into an attractive destination for investment and aid.



His reputation has been damaged, however, by accusations of abuses at home and supporting rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo &#8211; allegations he has repeatedly denied.



The electoral commission barred eight other candidates, including Kagame&#8217;s most vocal critics, from running, citing a range of reasons including missing and incomplete registration documents.



(Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Peter Graff and Mark Potter)

Rwanda President Paul Kagame votes during the presidential election in Kigali

Rwanda’s President Kagame re-elected in a landslide

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1366" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-408693" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-120x80.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A sign stands at the entrance to the offices of Anglo American Plc in the Marshalltown district of Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2012. Anglo American Plc Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Carroll , the first woman, external hire and non-South African to hold the job, will quit after Anglo lost $14 billion in value in the more than five years she was in charge. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON July 18 (Reuters) &#8211; Anglo American said its copper output was almost flat in the first half, while it curbed this year&#8217;s output forecast for coking coal, which is likely to weigh on earnings just months after it rebuffed a takeover bid from rival BHP Group.



Copper production rose 2% to 393,800 metric tons in the six months through June and is on track to meet full-year guidance, Anglo said in a statement.



Copper demand is expected to rise sharply in coming years for use in applications ranging from solar panels and electric cars to data centres for artificial intelligence.



Anglo&#8217;s share price was up 1.4% by 0709 GMT.



Anglo cut its output guidance for steelmaking coal to between 14 million tons to 15.5 million tons from 15 to 17 million tons previously, as it battles an underground fire at its Grosvenor coal mine in Australia that started on June 29.



Anglo has put its five operating coal mines, development projects and joint ventures in Australia up for sale, as part of a wider plan to divest less profitable assets and focus on expanding copper output after BHP&#8217;s failed attempt to take over the company. But analysts say the timing and value of a planned sale of coal assets are now uncertain.



&#8220;The mine has been stabilised and we are re-establishing comprehensive underground gas monitoring, prior to being able to assess the steps towards a safe re-entry into the mine,&#8221; Anglo said in a statement on Thursday.



Assessment of the damage and re-opening is likely to take several months, the company said.



Iron ore production was also flat at around 31 million tons in the first half, while platinum group metals (PGM) output fell 5% and rough diamond production dropped 19%.



&#8220;An expected recovery in PGM and diamond prices could help sentiment while a renewed approach from BHP cannot be ruled out,&#8221; analyst Marina Calero at RBC Capital Markets said.



&#8220;However, we view the outlook for Anglo as more balanced in the near term as the sale of the steelmaking coal assets gets more complicated at a time when we expect iron ore prices to roll in H2 24,&#8221; she added.



(Reporting by Clara Denina and Felix Njini; editing by Jason Neely and Sharon Singleton)

Anglo American Plc’s South African Headquarters As CEO Cynthia Carroll Quits

Anglo cuts coal output forecast after fire at Australian mine

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="900" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/106463174-1585290052493gettyimages-871925648.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-508834" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/106463174-1585290052493gettyimages-871925648.jpeg 1600w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/106463174-1585290052493gettyimages-871925648-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/106463174-1585290052493gettyimages-871925648-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/106463174-1585290052493gettyimages-871925648-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/106463174-1585290052493gettyimages-871925648-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/106463174-1585290052493gettyimages-871925648-1536x864.jpeg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Chinese President Xi Jinping and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing, China, in 2017. Artyom Ivanov | TASS | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



BEIJING — If Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidential election, his plans for 60% tariffs on Chinese goods could be a “major downside growth risk” to China, according to Goldman Sachs.



Chances of Trump becoming the next president ticked higher after he survived an assassination attempt on Saturday and selected former critic JD Vance as his running mate two days later.



“Right now exports are a major bright spot in the Chinese economy, and I think the policymakers might want to be prepared,” Hui Shan, chief China economist at Goldman Sachs told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday.



“We are seeing tariff narratives, not only in the U.S., but across other major trading partners of China’s,” she said. “So this is not going to be a sustainable driver of growth for China.”&nbsp;



The U.S. is China’s largest trading partner on a single-country basis, while the European Union has fallen behind Southeast Asia as China’s largest regional trading partner. Trump had raised duties on Chinese goods when president in 2018 and has threatened to increase them to 60% if reelected this fall.\



The contribution of goods exports to real GDP growth in China for the second quarter of this year was the highest since the first quarter of 2022, when Covid restrictions limited domestic economic activity, according to Citi.



Meanwhile,&nbsp;Beijing’s push to develop high-end manufacturing has not yet been able to fully offset a real estate slump and lackluster consumption.



U.S. officials such as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have said that China’s policies to boost its industrial capability and technological self-reliance have led to U.S. job losses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-china-the-biggest-threat"><a></a>China the ‘biggest threat’?</h2>



In his first interview since he was selected as Trump’s running mate, Vance told Fox News that instead of the war in Ukraine, China was the “real issue” for the U.S. and posed the “biggest threat.”



The Biden campaign has criticized Trump’s pick, saying the choice was deliberately made “because Vance will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people.”



Supporters of Trump, who was president at that time, had stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results on January 6, 2021.



Asked about Vance’s comment, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian said Tuesday at a daily press briefing, “We are always opposed to making China an issue in U.S. elections.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-calls-for-stimulus"><a></a>Calls for stimulus</h2>



China’s economy grew by 4.7% in the second quarter compared to a year ago, missing economists’ expectations and bringing growth for the first half of the year to 5%. It prompted some calls for more stimulus if the world’s second-largest economy is to reach 5% growth for the full year.



The downside risk from potentially higher U.S. tariffs under Trump would primarily come from the greater uncertainty and tighter financial conditions, as well as pressure on the Chinese yuan, Goldman’s Shan said. She pointed out that tariffs in 2018 did not significantly dent China’s exports to the U.S.



More recent data, however, showed a slowdown in that trade. China’s exports to the U.S. rose by a modest 1.5% in the first half of the year.



“Policymakers need to think about domestic demand and focusing on something that is more persistent and sustainable for the growth outlook,” Shan told CNBC on Tuesday.



If 60% tariffs are imposed, “that’s pretty high and we think the implication for the macro economy is pretty significant,” she added.



So far, China has held back on stimulus measures. The country’s top leaders are meeting in Beijing this week for a highly anticipated Third Plenum, which is expected to determine long-term economic policy goals.



Citi analysts said Monday that weak retail sales and disappointing second-quarter growth won’t be enough to convince Beijing to increase support for the economy.



“Policymakers may tolerate short-term weakness amid the structural shift of the property sector,” the analysts said. “More concerns on trade and external relationships could also lead China to save the policy space for future.”



Citi forecasts 5.0% growth in real GDP growth for China this year.



China’s U.S. dollar-denominated exports grew by 3.6% in the first six months of the year after better-than-expected global demand for Chinese goods in recent months.



“Manufacturing and infrastructure investment may stay robust and exports should stay in decent [year-on-year] growth in [the third quarter], with possible front-loading of shipment orders in [the second half of the year] due to fears of higher tariffs,” Tao Wang, head of Asia economics and chief China economist at UBS Investment Bank said in a note Tuesday.



She said Chinese authorities would likely be reluctant to roll out major stimulus in the next few months in order to save resources in the case of greater economic weakness and increased tariffs.



UBS forecasts 4.9% growth for China’s economy this year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Trump the dealmaker</h2>



Not all analysts believe a possible Trump presidency will prove detrimental to China, though.



Ben Harburg of Corevalues Alpha told CNBC on July 4 that he believes China is more likely to have “positive” trade outcomes under a Trump presidency, given the ex-president’s “transactional nature.” “He’s a dealmaker, and like any negotiator, he likes to kind of set the bar low, and kind of set his price low, and then work up from there,” the portfolio manager said on “Street Signs Asia.”



Speaking on foreign policy, Harburg pointed out that another Biden term would also mean continued tariffs, as well as “encroachment on Chinese domestic issues” — which would not significantly improve China’s economy, nor U.S.-China relations.



He said a Trump-China partnership would signify “a more binary potential for a positive outcome for China.”



CNBC’s Sonia Heng contributed reporting from Singapore.

106463174-1585290052493gettyimages-871925648

What would a second Trump presidency mean for China? Goldman Sachs weighs in

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="574" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/WYRXXEW7ZRJT5P77WID3M5MBLM-820x574.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423487" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/WYRXXEW7ZRJT5P77WID3M5MBLM-820x574.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/WYRXXEW7ZRJT5P77WID3M5MBLM-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/WYRXXEW7ZRJT5P77WID3M5MBLM-129x90.jpg 129w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/WYRXXEW7ZRJT5P77WID3M5MBLM-768x537.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/WYRXXEW7ZRJT5P77WID3M5MBLM-1536x1074.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/WYRXXEW7ZRJT5P77WID3M5MBLM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nigeria&#8217;s newly declared winner of 2023 presidential election, Bola Tinubu speaks at the National Collation Centre in Abuja, Nigeria, March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Esa Alexander</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, July 17 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate for an extra 6.2 trillion naira ($4 billion) in funding to plug shortfalls in this year&#8217;s national budget, according to a letter read to lawmakers on Wednesday.



Tinubu also sought to impose a one-off windfall tax on banks&#8217; foreign exchange gains, as his government aims to raise revenues to fund &#8220;capital infrastructure development, education, and healthcare as well as welfare initiatives.&#8221;



Senators immediately started debating a bill to approve the new funding request, which comes at a time when the government is under pressure from unions to agree a new minimum wage amid the country&#8217;s worst cost of living crisis in a generation.



($1 = 1,555.0000 naira)



This is a developing story&#8230;



(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

The Independent National Electoral Commission declares Bola Tinubu winner of Nigeria’s 2023 presidential elections in Abuja

Nigeria’s president asks lawmakers for extra $4 billion funding

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1292" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-scaled.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416545" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-scaled.jpeg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-300x189.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-820x517.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-143x90.jpeg 143w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-768x484.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-1536x969.jpeg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A participant stands near a logo of World Bank at the International Monetary Fund &#8211; World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, October 12, 2018.
Johannes Christo | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, July 17 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The World Bank is looking to issue its first drought bond in the next 12-18-months and broaden its offering of catastrophe bonds supporting countries suffering devastation from storms and earthquakes, a senior executive at the lender said.



The drought bond would be a new instrument in the multilateral lender&#8217;s suite of so-called cat bonds &#8211; fixed income instruments that pay out to countries in the event of a natural disaster.



&#8220;We would love to do something in the drought space, that is something we are working on,&#8221; said George Richardson, director of the capital markets and investment department at the World Bank Treasury told Reuters, adding this would be most likely focussed on Africa.



The World Bank has arranged and issued cat bonds though its lending arm, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), to help emerging economies mitigate the fallout from storms and earthquakes for well over a decade. It has made $568 million of insurance payouts on these instruments.



The vast majority of the World Bank&#8217;s existing cat bonds cover countries in the Pacific and Caribbean regions, with Mexico dominating issuance.



The lender was now in talks with more countries to broaden the geographic scope, Richardson said.



Southern Africa is reeling from its worst drought in years, owing to a combination of naturally occurring El Nino &#8211; a warming of waters in the eastern Pacific leading to hotter weather across the world &#8211; and higher average temperatures produced by greenhouse gas emissions. This led to a number of record-breaking weather extremes last year.



Richardson said modelling droughts, wildfires and floods was a little more difficult than earthquakes or storms for a parametric cat bond, an instrument where triggers depend on physical parametres of an event.



&#8220;The fundamental challenge is that you need data, and you need to have some history of that so that it can be modelled by various agencies,&#8221; Richardson said.



The World Bank has also recently offered vulnerable, low income countries the option of introducing clauses into their borrowing from the Washington-based lender that would allow governments to defer repayments for up to two years if they were hit by a severe natural disaster.



So far, seven countries have signed up to the so-called Climate Resilient Debt Clauses (CRDC) &#8211; Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Montenegro.



&#8220;Some of these are evaluating whether they should activate this clause after hurricane Beryl but so far, no decision has been made from what we know,&#8221; said Richardson.



Beryl left a trail of devastation across several Caribbean islands earlier this month, destroying as many as 90% of homes in parts of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.



(Reporting by Karin Strohecker and Marc Jones; Editing by Mark Potter)

106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report

World Bank eyes first ‘drought’ bond in next 12-18 months

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1365" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/107405347-1713901590053-gettyimages-1467862508-r15207-fr-01-ge-01-scaled.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-508539" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/107405347-1713901590053-gettyimages-1467862508-r15207-fr-01-ge-01-scaled.jpeg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/107405347-1713901590053-gettyimages-1467862508-r15207-fr-01-ge-01-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/107405347-1713901590053-gettyimages-1467862508-r15207-fr-01-ge-01-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/107405347-1713901590053-gettyimages-1467862508-r15207-fr-01-ge-01-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/107405347-1713901590053-gettyimages-1467862508-r15207-fr-01-ge-01-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/107405347-1713901590053-gettyimages-1467862508-r15207-fr-01-ge-01-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Golden Horn and Bosphorus at sunset, Istanbul, Turkey Matteo Colombo | Digitalvision | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Turkey came out miles ahead of the rest of the world in an annual global wealth ranking — in a result that may come as surprising, given the country’s high levels of inflation.



“Türkiye stands out with a staggering growth of over 157% in wealth per adult between 2022 and 2023, leaving all other nations far behind,” Swiss bank UBS wrote in its Global Wealth Report 2024, using the local spelling for the country’s name.



The next-highest countries in terms of average wealth growth per adult were Russia and Qatar with nearly 20% and South Africa with just over 16%. In the U.S., average wealth per adult grew by nearly 2.5%.



Inflation in Turkey sits at nearly 72%, an eye-watering figure for the country’s 85 million people, many of whom have seen a dramatic drop in their purchasing power over the last several years. In the last five years, the Turkish lira has lost nearly 83% of its value against the dollar, and the currency trades at 33 lira to the greenback as of 09:07 a.m. London time on Wednesday.



But for Turks who own assets like homes, wealth has grown, as inflation pushes up the costs of those holdings.



The UBS report defines net worth or “wealth” as “the value of financial assets plus real assets (principally housing) owned by households, minus their debts.” In a call with journalists, some of the report’s authors broke down the relationship between inflation and wealth rises in Turkey.



“In certain ways, the high pace of inflation also helps explain why wealth has risen much much more in local currency terms, at least [more] than in other countries because it’s worth keeping in mind that wealth is measured in nominal terms,” Samuel Adams economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, told CNBC.



“If inflation is very high, what tends to happen is that if you have a real asset like housing, the house prices tend to rise in line with inflation, if not even faster,” he said. “So those people with have homeownership, or who have equities, which also tend to perform fairly well in those environments, they tend to see their wealth accumulate a bit faster.



“Of course, it doesn’t mean that everybody benefits to the same extent,” Adams added. “If you’re not in those assets, if your wage rises don’t keep pace with inflation, then, of course, it will be fairly negatively affected.”



The report also noted the “currency effect”, which is what changes wealth growth the most — local currency growth figures for wealth are often significantly different from those in dollar terms.



“Türkiye’s already exceptional growth of over 63% in USD &#8230; more than doubles to nearly 158% in Turkish lira,” it said. Other examples in the report included Japan, which in dollar terms has seen less than 2% average growth in wealth per adult in U.S. dollar terms between 2022-23, but in local currency that growth was 9%.



Evaluating countries’ average wealth growth between the years of 2008 and 2023, “the most dramatic evolution has taken place in Türkiye,” UBS wrote, “where average wealth per adult in this period has shot up by 1708% in local currency.”



UBS Global Wealth Management’s Chief Economist Paul Donovan pointed out that being asset-rich does not necessarily mean being cash-rich — in Turkey, this could actually be the opposite.



“In terms of living standards rather than wealth, it’s also important to remember that if you own a house, the value of your house has gone up, but your real wage may be negative at the same time. So you can be &#8230; asset rich and cash poor,” Donovan said last week.



“That’s certainly a possibility, where a lot of the stresses that have arisen in the Turkish economy over the last few years have come about because of negative real income,” he added, “not necessarily what’s happening on the asset side.”

107405347-1713901590053-gettyimages-1467862508-r15207-fr-01-ge-01

Wealth growth in Turkey, South Africa shows surprising expansion

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="1067" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/responsive_big_webp_g4HszNIBPcEQqWKXN36WnGfcOeIXBid9O1akAXmkSmE.webp" alt="" class="wp-image-418642" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/responsive_big_webp_g4HszNIBPcEQqWKXN36WnGfcOeIXBid9O1akAXmkSmE.webp 1600w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/responsive_big_webp_g4HszNIBPcEQqWKXN36WnGfcOeIXBid9O1akAXmkSmE-300x200.webp 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/responsive_big_webp_g4HszNIBPcEQqWKXN36WnGfcOeIXBid9O1akAXmkSmE-820x547.webp 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/responsive_big_webp_g4HszNIBPcEQqWKXN36WnGfcOeIXBid9O1akAXmkSmE-135x90.webp 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/responsive_big_webp_g4HszNIBPcEQqWKXN36WnGfcOeIXBid9O1akAXmkSmE-768x512.webp 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/responsive_big_webp_g4HszNIBPcEQqWKXN36WnGfcOeIXBid9O1akAXmkSmE-1536x1024.webp 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Africa’s abundant renewable energy sources could make it a global hub for producing low-carbon hydrogen
Image: Unsplash/Anastasia Palagutina</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, July 17 (Thomson Reuters Foundation)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;When Shireen Gouws heard about a new hotline advertised in the community centre where she works in the small town of Laingsburg in South Africa, she was quick to spread the word.



Finally, she thought, people could have their say about renewable projects in their area and make sure they were reaping the benefits of the transition to green energy.



The toll-free hotline, available in 11 official South African languages, was launched on July 9 after a year-long pilot in Laingsburg and the town of Sutherland, where people could call in with complaints, queries and suggestions related to the wind farms operating in the area.



&#8220;Usually companies come and go and there is no engagement with the community, maybe a meeting once in a while. (Now) the community can express themselves if they are happy or unhappy about something,&#8221; Gouws, who works as a clerk at the community centre, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview.



The ENGAGE! hotline was launched by South African sustainable consulting company Cultiver following a year-long pilot with Enel Green Power, a renewable power unit of Italy&#8217;s largest utility firm, Enel Group.



Enel Green runs the Karusa and Soetwater wind farms in Laingsburg and Sutherland. Cultiver has worked with Enel on community projects in the area since construction on the wind farms began in 2019, and the hotline offers a new way of engaging with the public.



Enel did not immediately reply to a request for comment.



Cultiver now offers the hotline platform to renewable energy, infrastructure and mining projects across southern Africa.



Cultiver&#8217;s aim is to ensure residents of remote towns where solar and wind farms are being installed are included in the dialogue about how these green projects can also benefit locals, said Fezeka Stuurman, the head of Cultiver.



ENGAGE! allows community members to put their grievances directly to project owners and local government, if relevant, to ensure their concerns are dealt with urgently and minimise the risk of social unrest, Stuurman added.



&#8220;We decided that we needed something for communities to reach us directly and in a way that would be dignified, private and insightful,&#8221; Stuurman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.



As a result of the pilot project, Cultiver helped facilitate the drilling of boreholes for drought-stricken areas, the creation of a value-chain workshop for businesses interested in working with Enel, and the organisation of a registration event for small businesses to take part in procurement, Stuurman said.



Richard Halsey, a policy advisor on the South African team at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), praised the hotline&#8217;s free access and inclusivity for community members.



But the fact that it is funded by project owners could mean some renewable energy and mining companies or infrastructure developers may choose not to use the hotline as it is an additional, optional expense, he said.



Its effectiveness could also be limited as community members are only invited to engage once the project has started, rather than giving them an initial say in what kind of project they would like to see in their area, Halsey added.



&#8220;Effective communication across communities isn&#8217;t just a &#8216;nice to have&#8217; bonus for developers,&#8221; said Halsey.



&#8220;Real involvement and interaction can empower decision-making on both sides &#8230; smoothing the way towards clean energy deployment and helping avoid frustrating delays and opposition,&#8221; he said in emailed comments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fighting-distrust">FIGHTING DISTRUST</h2>



South Africa is among the world&#8217;s top 15 greenhouse gas emitters &#8211; and the leading emitter in Africa. About 80% of its carbon emissions, and some 90,000 jobs, are linked to coal.



South Africa has secured $676 million in grants from rich nations to shift from coal to clean energy sources such as wind and solar power.



The country&#8217;s sweeping coastline, vast semi-desert and near all-year-round sun are seen by many renewable energy investors as offering impressive potential for solar and wind projects.



South Africa already has in place a 13-year-old programme that procures clean energy from independent power producers (IPPs) to feed into the national grid, while aiming to empower local communities by giving them some of the profits back.



IPP policy states that the power producers should prioritise socioeconomic development within a 50-km (31-mile) radius of the project site.



More than 6,000 megawatts of generation capacity, primarily from wind and solar, have already been granted to bidders under the IPP scheme, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration (ITA).



But research has shown that the money from these projects does not always trickle down to the surrounding communities, building a culture of mistrust when new projects move in.



The hotline is meant to combat this trend. It is advertised through pamphlets and community ambassadors from Cultiver, who talk directly to residents.



Gouws said community members told her that they used the hotline to understand how the wind farm would support the community, and to complain if the funding processes were not clear.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inform-and-be-informed">&#8216;INFORM AND BE INFORMED&#8217;</h2>



In the past year the platform, which is also available via WhatsApp, received more than 150 calls from residents of Sutherland and Laingsburg, which together are home to some 12,000 people.



Around 50% of the calls were about funding and financial support for community projects under the IPP policy, 20% were grievance-related, 20% focused on training and support for small businesses, and the rest were general inquiries, Cultiver said.



The response time for grievances is about 10-20 working days, depending on the complexity, Stuurman said.



&#8220;Communities called us directly saying &#8230; we need a counsellor, we need a school psychologist, we need a safe house,&#8221; Stuurman said.



A number of calls were about a contractor who was allegedly underpaying workers and failing to supply necessary protective equipment, she said. Following guidance received via the ENGAGE! platform, the workers submitted a collective petition and a new contractor was appointed.



Gouws said students, whose bursaries were being funded through Enel&#8217;s community profit-sharing schemes, used the hotline to follow up on payment delays, resolving the issue almost immediately.



The platform was a good start to allow &#8220;quieter voices to share concerns &#8230; to inform and be informed,&#8221; said Allistar Gibbons, the manager of community services in the Karoo Hoogland Municipality in the Northern Cape, where Sutherland is.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-opportunity-to-learn">&#8216;OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN&#8217;</h2>



Community support also has a financial benefit, said Stuurman, who has witnessed protests and stoppages halt various projects she has worked on in the past decade.



&#8220;When you&#8217;re investing billions of rands into an asset, the immediate risk is around having that asset jeopardised in some shape or form,&#8221; she said.



South Africa&#8217;s economy was built on extractive mining industries, including coal, gold and diamonds, that made use of Black, migrant labour to enrich the white minority during colonial and apartheid years.



The renewable industry offers an opportunity to learn from past practices, said Holle Wlokas, co-founder of the Initiative for Social Performance in Renewable Energy (INSPIRE) non-profit.



Wlokas said ENGAGE! represented an &#8220;exciting opportunity&#8221; to keep investing in community relationships, both via the hotline and in person.



&#8220;We do see in the renewable sector, at times, community narratives comparing renewables with the mining industry,&#8221; said Wlokas in a phone interview.



&#8220;Quite a common saying is that the wind and solar projects steal the diamonds from the sky as the mining sector stole the diamonds out of the earth,&#8221; she said.



&#8220;And that experience of extraction and exploitation is an important one to listen very carefully to.&#8221;



(Reporting by Kim Harrisberg in Johannesburg. Editing by Clar Ni Chonghaile. The Thomson Reuters Foundation is the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters.)

responsive_big_webp_g4HszNIBPcEQqWKXN36WnGfcOeIXBid9O1akAXmkSmE

South African hotline gives locals a say on green energy projects

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6A7M3AO7TJLVNGKEVN2F6TDGYE-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-493882" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6A7M3AO7TJLVNGKEVN2F6TDGYE-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6A7M3AO7TJLVNGKEVN2F6TDGYE-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6A7M3AO7TJLVNGKEVN2F6TDGYE-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6A7M3AO7TJLVNGKEVN2F6TDGYE-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6A7M3AO7TJLVNGKEVN2F6TDGYE-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6A7M3AO7TJLVNGKEVN2F6TDGYE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., as IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde meets with Argentine Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON, July 16 (Reuters) &#8211; The global economy is set for modest growth over the next two years amid cooling activity in the U.S., a bottoming-out in Europe and stronger consumption and exports for China, but risks to the path abound, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.



The IMF warned in an update to its World Economic Outlook(WEO) that momentum in the fight against inflation is slowing, which could further delay an easing of interest rates and keep up strong dollar pressure on developing economies.



The IMF kept its 2024 global real gross domestic product growth forecast unchanged from April at 3.2% and raised its 2025 forecast by 0.1 percentage point to 3.3%. The forecasts fail to shift growth from the lackluster levels that IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva has warned would lead to &#8220;the tepid twenties.&#8221;



But the revised outlook reflected some shifting sands among major economies, with the 2024 U.S. growth forecast reduced by 0.1 percentage point to 2.6%, reflecting slower-than-expected first-quarter consumption. The Fund&#8217;s 2025 U.S growth forecast was unchanged at 1.9%, a slowdown driven by a cooling labor market and moderating spending in response to tight monetary policy.



&#8220;Growth in major advanced economies is becoming more aligned as output gaps are closing,&#8221; IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said in a blog post accompanying the report, adding that the U.S. was showing increasing signs of cooling, while Europe was poised to pick up.



The IMF significantly hiked its China growth forecast to 5.0% &#8211; matching the Chinese government&#8217;s target for the year &#8211; from 4.6% in April due to a first-quarter rebound in private consumption and strong exports. The IMF also boosted its 2025 China growth forecast to 4.5% from 4.1% in April.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-china-risks">CHINA RISKS</h2>



But China&#8217;s momentum may be sputtering, as Beijing on Monday reported second-quarter GDP growth of just 4.7%, significantly below forecasts amid weak consumer spending amid a protracted property downturn.



Gourinchas told Reuters in an interview that the new data poses a downside risk to the IMF forecast, as it signals weakness in consumer confidence and continuing problems in the property sector. To boost domestic consumption, China needs to fully resolve its property crisis, as real estate is the main asset for most Chinese households.



&#8220;When you&#8217;re looking at China, the weaker the domestic demand, the more growth is going to rely potentially on the external sector,&#8221; he said, inviting more trade tensions.



On a more positive note, the IMF slightly upgraded its 2024 eurozone growth forecast by 0.1 percentage point to 0.9%, leaving the bloc&#8217;s 2025 forecast unchanged at 1.5%.



The eurozone has &#8220;bottomed out&#8221; and saw stronger first-half services growth, while rising real wages will help power consumption next year and easing monetary policy will aid investment, the IMF said.



It cut Japan&#8217;s 2024 growth forecast to 0.7% from 0.9% in April due in part to supply disruptions from a major auto plant shutdown and weak private investment in the first quarter.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inflation-risks-remain">INFLATION RISKS REMAIN</h2>



The IMF warned of near-term upside risks to inflation as services prices remain elevated amid wage growth in the labor-intensive sector and said renewed trade and geopolitical tensions could stoke price pressures by increasing the cost of imported goods along the supply chain.



&#8220;The risk of elevated inflation has raised the prospects of higher-for-even-longer interest rates, which in turn increases external, fiscal and financial risks,&#8221; the IMF said in the report.



Gourinchas said that despite a fall in U.S. consumer prices last month, the Federal Reserve



can afford to wait



a bit longer to begin cutting rates to avoid any inflationary surprises.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protectionism-risks">PROTECTIONISM RISKS</h2>



The IMF also warned of potential swings in economic policy as a result of many elections this year that could have negative spillovers to the rest of the world.



&#8220;These potential shifts entail fiscal profligacy risks that will worsen debt dynamics, adversely affecting long-term yields and ratcheting up protectionism,&#8221; the Fund said.



The Fund did not name U.S. Republican Party candidate Donald Trump, who has proposed to impose a 10% tariff on all U.S. imports, nor Democratic President Joe Biden, who has sharply hiked tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels and semiconductors.



But it said that higher tariffs and a scaling up of domestic industrial policy could create &#8220;damaging cross-border spillovers, as well as trigger retaliation, resulting in a costly race to the bottom.&#8221;



Instead, the IMF recommended that policymakers persevere with restoring price stability &#8211; easing monetary policy only gradually &#8211; replenish fiscal buffers drained during the pandemic and pursue policies that promote trade and increase productivity. 



(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Dan Burns)

IMF logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington

IMF sees steady global growth, warns of slowing disinflation momentum

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="528" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/7OMLJWHVFZILBPXIQFVWFUYC2M-820x528.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-508174" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/7OMLJWHVFZILBPXIQFVWFUYC2M-820x528.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/7OMLJWHVFZILBPXIQFVWFUYC2M-300x193.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/7OMLJWHVFZILBPXIQFVWFUYC2M-140x90.jpg 140w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/7OMLJWHVFZILBPXIQFVWFUYC2M-768x494.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/7OMLJWHVFZILBPXIQFVWFUYC2M-1536x988.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/7OMLJWHVFZILBPXIQFVWFUYC2M-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A protestor reacts during an anti-government demonstration following nationwide deadly riots over tax hikes and a controversial now-withdrawn finance bill in Kitengela, Kenya, July 16, 2024. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, July 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Police in Kenya fired tear gas on Tuesday to disperse hundreds of protesters aiming to keep pressure on President William Ruto after he made a series of concessions to demonstrators&#8217; demands.



Leading activists behind weeks of protests, initially sparked by proposed tax hikes, called for a &#8220;total shutdown&#8221; of the country on Tuesday.



The protests have created the biggest crisis of Ruto&#8217;s two years in power and have continued &#8211; albeit with a smaller turnout &#8211; even after the president withdrew $2.7 billion in tax hikes and fired nearly his entire cabinet.



Many demonstrators are demanding that Ruto step down, blaming him for misgovernance, corruption and the deaths of dozens of protesters during earlier anti-government rallies.



On Tuesday, police fired tear gas in Kitengela, a town on the southern outskirts of the capital Nairobi, where around 200 protesters burned tyres and chanted &#8220;Ruto must go&#8221; and &#8220;Stop killing us&#8221;, Reuters reporters said.



Riot police in Nairobi&#8217;s city centre also fired tear gas as a few dozen protesters chanted for Ruto to step down. Demonstrators in the coastal city of Mombasa marched waving palm fronds, footage from Kenyan media showed.



Ruto&#8217;s office had announced &#8220;multi-sectoral&#8221; talks for this week to address grievances raised by the protesters, but there was no sign they had begun. Most of the leading activists behind the protests have rejected the invitation, instead calling for immediate action on issues like corruption.



Ruto&#8217;s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



With Kenya spending over 30% of its revenues just paying the interest bills on its debt, Ruto has been caught between the demands of lenders to cut deficits and a hard-pressed population reeling from rising living costs.



The protests began peacefully but later turned violent. Some demonstrators briefly stormed parliament on June 25, and the police opened fire. More than 40 people have been killed in the protests, rights groups say.



Ruto on Monday accused the Ford Foundation, an American philanthropic organisation, of sponsoring those who had caused &#8220;violence and mayhem&#8221; in Kenya, without providing evidence.



The Ford Foundation rejected the allegation, saying it did not fund or sponsor the protests and has a strictly non-partisan policy for its grant-making.



(Additional reporting by Hereward Holland and Humphrey Malalo; Editing by Aaron Ross and Ros Russell)

Anti-government protests against the imposition of tax hikes by the government, in Kajiado

Kenya police fire tear gas as anti-government protesters burn tyres

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="499" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IDTPN2YDDJOW3KGSUBE2QDHZYU-820x499.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-508090" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IDTPN2YDDJOW3KGSUBE2QDHZYU-820x499.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IDTPN2YDDJOW3KGSUBE2QDHZYU-300x183.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IDTPN2YDDJOW3KGSUBE2QDHZYU-148x90.jpg 148w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IDTPN2YDDJOW3KGSUBE2QDHZYU-768x468.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IDTPN2YDDJOW3KGSUBE2QDHZYU-1536x936.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IDTPN2YDDJOW3KGSUBE2QDHZYU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Rwanda&#8217;s incumbent President and presidential candidate for the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) Paul Kagame casts his ballot during the Presidential election at the SOS Kinyinya polling centre in Kigali, Rwanda July 15, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana</figcaption></figure>



KIGALI, (Reuters) &#8211; Rwandans lined up on Monday to elect their next president, with early results putting incumbent Paul Kagame in the lead in a vote widely expected to give him a fourth term and extend his near quarter century in charge of the East African country.



The two men standing against him &#8211; Frank Habineza from the Democratic Green Party and independent Philippe Mpayimana &#8211; said they were hoping to make some progress, but analysts and rights groups said Kagame&#8217;s overwhelming victory was all but certain.



Kagame, who got more than 93% of the vote at the last three elections, won praise from Western and regional leaders at the time for helping end the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The U.S. State Department and others have also lauded the development of the economy.



Rwandans are also voting on Monday for members of the lower house of parliament and provisional results are expected by July 20. Polling stations were open until 3 p.m. (1300 GMT).



The overall voter turnout was 98% of the 9 million registered voters, Oda Gasinzigwa, chair of the National Electoral Commission, said in a statement on the national broadcaster later on Monday evening.



Of 78.94% of the votes counted at about 2017 GMT, Kagame was ahead with 99.15% of the votes, data from the commission showed.



Campaign groups, including Human Rights Watch, have accused authorities of cracking down on journalists, the opposition and civil society groups before the vote. Kagame has dismissed such accusations and described himself as the stability candidate.



His reelection could signal a measure of political stability for his corner of a fractured region, but also continued global scrutiny, given the accusations of abuses and of supporting rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo &#8211; a charge he has also denied.



Earlier on Monday, at the Rwandexco polling centre in the capital Kigali, Barimukije Pheneas said he would vote for the 66-year-old incumbent.



&#8220;We voted smoothly without any crowding, and we are happy,&#8221; Pheneas said. &#8220;I voted for Paul Kagame because he has achieved a lot for us; he united us.&#8221;



Motorcycle taxi driver Karangwa Vedaste said the voting process was calm and peaceful, but declined to say who he had chosen.



&#8220;I voted for a leader I trust. The one I voted for is a secret in my heart. We will share it when he wins,&#8221; Vedaste said.



The electoral commission barred eight other candidates, including Kagame&#8217;s most vocal critics, from running, citing a range of reasons including missing and incomplete registration documents.



Democratic Green Party candidate Habineza, whose deputy was found dead and almost beheaded in the run-up to the 2010 vote, said there had been signs of progress.



&#8220;We toured the entire country, and wherever we went, people welcomed us warmly. They gave us gifts and assured us they would vote for us,&#8221; Habineza said after voting.



&#8220;We have to maintain this momentum and not regress,&#8221; he added.



&#8220;We are confident, each of us is confident, it&#8217;s half and half,&#8221; independent presidential candidate Mpayimana told journalists after casting his vote.



The U.S. State Department says on its website Rwanda has made &#8220;progress in developing national and local government institutions, economic development, maintaining security (and) promoting reconciliation&#8221;.



It also says it backs Rwanda efforts to &#8220;increase democratic participation (and) enhance respect for civil and political rights&#8221;.



(Writing by Elias Biryabarema and George Obulutsa; Editing by Ros Russell, Michael Perry, Andrew Heavens and Sandra Maler)

Rwandans vote ‘smoothly’ in election; Kagame in early lead

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1365" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/5ZGRRFFQPNPITEWABJ6LCA2HG4-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-507832" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/5ZGRRFFQPNPITEWABJ6LCA2HG4-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/5ZGRRFFQPNPITEWABJ6LCA2HG4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/5ZGRRFFQPNPITEWABJ6LCA2HG4-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/5ZGRRFFQPNPITEWABJ6LCA2HG4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/5ZGRRFFQPNPITEWABJ6LCA2HG4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/5ZGRRFFQPNPITEWABJ6LCA2HG4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A woman stands at the check out counter after shopping at Cherries Hypermarket in Abuja, Nigeria March 15, 2022. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, July 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s rate of inflation rose to a new 28-year high of 34.19% in annual terms in June, official data showed on Monday, but some analysts said it may have peaked as devaluation effects should start to fade from this month.



June&#8217;s data marked the 19th straight month that inflation had risen in Africa&#8217;s most populous nation, up from 33.95% in May.



It came roughly a week before the central bank is due to announce another interest rate decision, which will be closely watched after three hikes already this year.



Price pressures have been spurred by policies implemented by President Bola Tinubu, chiefly slashing petrol and electricity subsidies and devaluing the naira currency twice within a year.



The reforms have hurt the poor and left millions grappling with the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.



Labour unions met with Tinubu last week to push for a new minimum wage after suspending an indefinite strike last month.



Data published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed food and non-alcoholic beverages continued to be the biggest contributor to inflation in June.



Food inflation rose to 40.87% from 40.66% the previous month.



Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Olayemi Cardoso has said the bank will do whatever is necessary to tame inflation.



David Omojomolo, Africa economist at Capital Economics, said he believed inflation would soon start falling, probably from July, and drop below 30% by the end of the year.



&#8220;This, we think, will set the stage for the CBN to start thinking about interest rate cuts in the near future,&#8221; he wrote in a research note.



At its last monetary policy meeting in May, the central bank raised its key lending rate by 150 basis points to 26.25%. Its next rate decision is due on July 23.



(Additional reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos and Mohd Edrees in Bangalore;Editing by Alexander Winning and Bernadette Baum)

featured

US wants reforms before it returns to key Zimbabwe debt talks: Ambassador

Global tech outage delays flights and disrupts services around the world

Nigeria’s unions, government agree new wage deal, averting strike

South Africa leader pledges to revive economy, include the poor

South Africa central bank keeps main interest rate unchanged at 8.25%

S.Africa’s Transnet gets $1 bln African Development Bank loan

Rwanda’s President Kagame re-elected in a landslide

Anglo cuts coal output forecast after fire at Australian mine

What would a second Trump presidency mean for China? Goldman Sachs weighs in

Nigeria’s president asks lawmakers for extra $4 billion funding

World Bank eyes first ‘drought’ bond in next 12-18 months

Wealth growth in Turkey, South Africa shows surprising expansion

South African hotline gives locals a say on green energy projects

IMF sees steady global growth, warns of slowing disinflation momentum

Kenya police fire tear gas as anti-government protesters burn tyres

Rwandans vote ‘smoothly’ in election; Kagame in early lead

Nigeria’s inflation hit new 28-year high in June, may have peaked

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featured

US wants reforms before it returns to key Zimbabwe debt talks: Ambassador

Global tech outage delays flights and disrupts services around the world

Nigeria’s unions, government agree new wage deal, averting strike

South Africa leader pledges to revive economy, include the poor

South Africa central bank keeps main interest rate unchanged at 8.25%

S.Africa’s Transnet gets $1 bln African Development Bank loan

Rwanda’s President Kagame re-elected in a landslide

Anglo cuts coal output forecast after fire at Australian mine

What would a second Trump presidency mean for China? Goldman Sachs weighs in

Nigeria’s president asks lawmakers for extra $4 billion funding

World Bank eyes first ‘drought’ bond in next 12-18 months

Wealth growth in Turkey, South Africa shows surprising expansion

South African hotline gives locals a say on green energy projects

IMF sees steady global growth, warns of slowing disinflation momentum

Kenya police fire tear gas as anti-government protesters burn tyres

Rwandans vote ‘smoothly’ in election; Kagame in early lead

Nigeria’s inflation hit new 28-year high in June, may have peaked

News Tips

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