<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="584" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NW2AS3N47ZIR7LBODI45CSJWAM-820x584.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-505311" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NW2AS3N47ZIR7LBODI45CSJWAM-820x584.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NW2AS3N47ZIR7LBODI45CSJWAM-300x214.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NW2AS3N47ZIR7LBODI45CSJWAM-126x90.jpg 126w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NW2AS3N47ZIR7LBODI45CSJWAM-768x547.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NW2AS3N47ZIR7LBODI45CSJWAM-1536x1094.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NW2AS3N47ZIR7LBODI45CSJWAM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">ECOWAS President Omar Alieu Touray addresses the Heads of State and delegates during the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) summit in Abuja, Nigeria July 7, 2024. REUTERS/Marvellous Durowaiye</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, July 8 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said it was disappointed with a lack of progress in reconciling with breakaway, junta-led Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger and will make &#8220;more vigorous&#8221; reconciliation efforts.



ECOWAS commission president Oumar Touray said at the start of a summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Sunday the region risks disintegeration and worsening insecurity after the three Alliance of Sahel States (AES)signed a confederation treaty.



That treaty underscored the juntas&#8217; determination to exit the near 50-year ECOWAS after also severing military and diplomatic ties with Western powers while seeking greater ties with Russia.



&#8220;The Authority expresses disappointment with the lack of progress in engagements with the authorities of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger and instructs the President of the Commission to facilitate a more vigorous approach,&#8221; ECOWAS said in a communique released on Monday.



But ECOWAS would &#8220;develop a forward-looking contingency plan&#8221; regarding all eventualities in relations with the AES.



Juntas in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali seized power in a series of military coups between 2020-2023.



It is not clear how closely the AES will harmonise political, economic and defence policies as it struggles to contain a decade-old battle with Islamist insurgents and grow economies that are among the world&#8217;s poorest.



Their departure could weaken ECOWAS and Touray said the freedom of movement and a common market of 400 million people offered by the bloc were under threat.



ECOWAS re-elected Nigerian President Bola Tinubu chairman for another year and tasked Senegalese and Togolese leaders to negotiate with the juntas to try bring them back into the bloc.



The ECOWAS leaders approved a decision to mobilise a 5,000 strong regional standby counter-terrorism force. The force would start as a 1,650-man brigade to be increased over time.



Member countries are expected to fund the force and will also approach the African Union for financial support.



(Editing by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Angus MacSwan)

Leaders from West African bloc ECOWAS meet at summit in Abuja

West Africa’s ECOWAS decries lack of progress with junta states

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="546" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108002009-17201812992024-07-05t115950z_1558437106_rc2zo8ashg9w_rtrmadp_0_britain-election-820x546.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-505243" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108002009-17201812992024-07-05t115950z_1558437106_rc2zo8ashg9w_rtrmadp_0_britain-election-820x546.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108002009-17201812992024-07-05t115950z_1558437106_rc2zo8ashg9w_rtrmadp_0_britain-election-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108002009-17201812992024-07-05t115950z_1558437106_rc2zo8ashg9w_rtrmadp_0_britain-election-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108002009-17201812992024-07-05t115950z_1558437106_rc2zo8ashg9w_rtrmadp_0_britain-election-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108002009-17201812992024-07-05t115950z_1558437106_rc2zo8ashg9w_rtrmadp_0_britain-election-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108002009-17201812992024-07-05t115950z_1558437106_rc2zo8ashg9w_rtrmadp_0_britain-election-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers his speech outside Downing Street 10, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024.  Claudia Greco | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday he would scrap a controversial plan to fly thousands of asylum seekers from Britain to Rwanda in his first major policy announcement since winning a landslide election victory.



The previous Conservative government first announced the plan in 2022 to send migrants who arrived in Britain without permission to the East African nation, saying it would put an end to asylum seekers arriving on small boats.



But no one was sent to Rwanda under the plan because of years of legal challenges.



At his first press conference since becoming prime minister, Starmer said that the Rwanda policy would be scrapped because only about 1% of asylum seekers would have been removed and it would have failed to act as a deterrent.



“The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started. It’s never been a deterrent,” Starmer said. “I’m not prepared to continue with gimmicks that don’t act as a deterrent.”



Starmer won one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern British history on Friday, making him the most powerful British leader since former Prime Minister Tony Blair, but he faces a number of challenges, including improving struggling public services and reviving a weak economy.



At the press conference in Downing Street, Starmer answered about a dozen questions and was repeatedly asked about how and when he would start delivering on his promises to fix the nation’s problems, but he gave few specifics about what he planned.



Asked if he was willing to take tough decisions and raise taxes if necessary, Starmer said his government would identify problems and act in areas such as tackling an overstretched prisons system and reducing the long waiting times to use the state-run health service.



“We’re going to have to take the tough decisions and take them early, and we will. We will do that with a raw honesty,” he said. “But that is not a sort of prelude to saying there’s some tax decision that we didn’t speak about before.”



Starmer said he would set up and chair different “mission delivery boards” to focus on so-called missions or priority areas such as the health service and economic growth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-election-issue"><a></a>Election issue</h2>



The question of how to stop the asylum seekers crossing from France was a major theme of the six-week election campaign.



While supporters say it would smash the model of people traffickers, critics have argued the Rwanda policy was immoral and would never work.



Last November, the UK Supreme Court declared the policy unlawful, saying Rwanda could not be considered a safe third country, prompting ministers to sign a new treaty with the East African country and to pass new legislation to override this.



The legality of that move was being challenged by charities and unions in the courts.



The British government has already given the Rwandan government hundreds of millions of pounds to set up accommodation and hire extra officials to process the asylum seekers, money it cannot recover.



Starmer has said his government would create a Border Security Command that would bring together staff from the police, the domestic intelligence agency and prosecutors to work with international agencies to stop people smuggling.



Sonya Sceats, CEO of Freedom from Torture, one of the many organizations and charities which have campaigned to stop the Rwanda plan, welcomed Starmer’s announcement on Saturday.



“We applaud Keir Starmer for moving immediately to close the door on this shameful scheme that played politics with the lives of people fleeting torture and persecution,” she said.

108002009-17201812992024-07-05t115950z_1558437106_rc2zo8ashg9w_rtrmadp_0_britain-election

New UK leader Starmer declares Rwanda deportation plan ‘dead and buried’

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/VSUW65W5UVNKFHEP6AGCDDWLWI-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-504288" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/VSUW65W5UVNKFHEP6AGCDDWLWI-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/VSUW65W5UVNKFHEP6AGCDDWLWI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/VSUW65W5UVNKFHEP6AGCDDWLWI-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/VSUW65W5UVNKFHEP6AGCDDWLWI-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/VSUW65W5UVNKFHEP6AGCDDWLWI-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/VSUW65W5UVNKFHEP6AGCDDWLWI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Kenya&#8217;s President William Ruto attends a joint press conference with Iran&#8217;s President Ebrahim Raisi at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya, July 12, 2023. Iran&#8217;s Presidency/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, July 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenyan President William Ruto on Friday pledged spending cuts totalling 177 billion shillings ($1.39 billion) in the fiscal year that started in July, after weeks of nationwide protests that forced him to scrap planned tax hikes.



The government will also increase borrowing by about 169 billion shillings to cover the 346 billion shilling hole created by the decision to withdraw the finance bill that was the original spark for the protests.



The demonstrations, which started peacefully before turning violent, have become the biggest threat to Ruto&#8217;s two-year-old presidency. Campaign groups have documented hundreds of arrests and at least 39 deaths linked to the government&#8217;s heavy-handed response, raising fears of rights backsliding.



Ruto said in a televised address to the nation that Kenya&#8217;s budget deficit was now projected at 4.6% of gross domestic product in the 2024/25 financial year, up from an earlier estimate of 3.3%.



Among ways his government will cut spending, Ruto said 47 state corporations would be dissolved, the number of advisors in government would be reduced by 50% immediately, and all non-essential travel by public office bearers would be suspended.



&#8220;Budget lines providing for the operations of the Office of the First Lady, the spouse of the Deputy President, and the Prime Cabinet Secretary, will be removed,&#8221; Ruto said, adding that public servants at retirement age of 60, shall be required to immediately retire.



He said there would be a forensic audit of the country&#8217;s debt and that he would also announce government changes soon.



($1 = 127.7500 Kenyan shillings)



(Reporting by George Obulutsa and Bhargav Acharya; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Bate Felix)

Iran’s President Raisi visits Kenya

Kenya’s Ruto pledges spending cuts after nationwide protests

<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/GettyImages-2160673037-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-504199" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2160673037-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2160673037-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2160673037-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2160673037-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2160673037-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2160673037-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">LONDON, ENGLAND &#8211; JULY 05: Labour Leader Keir Starmer celebrates winning the 2024 General Election with a speech at Tate Modern on July 05, 2024 in London, England. Labour is on course to win a landslide victory in the 2024 General Election. Starmer addresses the nation promising Country first, Party second. (Photo by Ricky Vigil/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — The U.K.’s opposition Labour Party won a huge parliamentary majority in the country’s general election, unseating the incumbent Conservatives after 14 years.



Early on Friday morning, Labour passed the threshold needed to govern alone as outgoing PM Rishi Sunak conceded defeat. Keir Starmer, leader of the center-left Labour, will become the country’s next prime minister and declared victory in the early hours.



“We did it,” he said, addressing his Labour colleagues. “You campaigned for it, you fought for it — and now it has arrived &#8230; change begins now.”



Some projections show Labour will gain its second-largest majority after former Prime Minister&nbsp;Tony Blair’s 179-seat majority in 1997.



Millions of people across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on Thursday voted for their local representatives in the 650-member House of Commons, the U.K.’s lower house of parliament. Ballots are still being counted, with constituencies announcing their winning candidate as soon as votes are tallied.



Here are the seats that have been declared so far:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="794" height="746" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/UK-Elections-Graph.png" alt="" class="wp-image-504197" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/UK-Elections-Graph.png 794w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/UK-Elections-Graph-300x282.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/UK-Elections-Graph-96x90.png 96w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/UK-Elections-Graph-768x722.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 794px) 100vw, 794px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-labour-s-win-means-for-uk-markets">What Labour’s win means for UK markets</h2>



The arrival of a new Labour government hasn’t moved markets all that much yet but analysts expect U.K. assets to become more attractive from here on out.



In a note Friday, analysts at Jefferies said, despite concerns raised by a strong showing for the right-wing Reform UK Party, the Labour Party’s U.K. election win would help make the U.K. appear “relatively stable.”



This, in combination with regulatory reform, “could raise the attractiveness of UK assets,” Jefferies’ analysts wrote in a research note.



Beata Manthey, European equity strategist at Citi, noted that history shows U.K. markets tend to trade flat on average six months after Labour wins, but “meaningfully higher one year later.”



“On a relative basis, the UK market has tended to underperform 1-2 months after Labour wins, while tallying decent relative performance 12m post-election,” Manthey said.



“The domestically oriented FTSE 250 has typically outperformed the FTSE 100 following Labour victories. Sterling and Gilts will be key to watch,” she added.



“FTSE 250 over FTSE 100 is our preferred post-election trade.”



&#8211; Ryan Browne

Labour Leader Keir Starmer Celebrates Winning The 2024 General Election

Labour Party wins UK election in a landslide

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2159782737-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-504193" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2159782737-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2159782737-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2159782737-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2159782737-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2159782737-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2159782737-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">NAIROBI, KENYA &#8211; JULY 02: Demonstrators, gathering in the city center, make a fire as they march towards the parliament building to protest the &#8216;Finance Bill 2024&#8217;, which envisages tax regulation in Nairobi, Kenya on July 02, 2024. Kenyan forces intervened against the protesters. (Photo by Gerald Anderson/Anadolu via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, July 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenyan activist Bill Eugene Omollo was walking home after dark in his Nairobi neighbourhood on June 20 when he spotted trouble &#8211; two men eyeing him next to a parked white pick-up without number plates.



The 28-year-old had been involved in the youth-led protests that have upended Kenya since last month and had been released by police only hours earlier following his arrest at one of the demonstrations.



He shouted for help.



&#8220;But people were also running. So they took me,&#8221; he told Reuters.



Dozens of Kenyans have been targeted in similar abductions in the past two weeks, said human rights groups, who blame the extrajudicial arrests on Kenya&#8217;s intelligence services.



Organised online and leaderless, the protests &#8211; initially a call to repeal tax hikes &#8211; have developed into a movement that has cut across Kenya&#8217;s traditional ethnic divisions, becoming the biggest threat of William Ruto&#8217;s two-year-old presidency.



Though Ruto withdrew the tax increases in a victory for the movement, the heavy-handed reaction to the protests &#8211; campaign groups have documented hundreds of arrests and at least 39 deaths &#8211; has raised fears of rights backsliding.



&#8220;The president and I gave a categorical promise to the people of Kenya that the issue was abductions and extrajudicial killings will never happen again,&#8221; Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said in a televised address. &#8220;Sadly, this is back.&#8221;



A police spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the abductions. Nor did Noordin Haji, the director of Kenya&#8217;s intelligence services.



In an interview on Sunday, Ruto denied police involvement in disappearances but broadly defended the actions of the security forces.



However, Irungu Houghton, executive director of Amnesty International Kenya, told Reuters there were clear cases of abuse.



&#8220;People who are considered to be protesters or organisers or even just simply voices of dissent are being plucked from their homes or even as they go to church with their families and locked up,&#8221; he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blindfolded-and-interrogated">BLINDFOLDED AND INTERROGATED</h2>



Amnesty, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and the Law Society of Kenya all put the number of abductions at more than 30, though they said most were later released.



Faith Odhiambo, the president of Law Society of Kenya, said the interrogations abduction victims have undergone during their ordeals have focused on how the protest movement is financed, how it is organised, and the identity of its leaders.



&#8220;It&#8217;s a very clear indication that the government is behind this,&#8221; she said.



After his aggressors bundled him into their vehicle, Omollo said he was blindfolded and driven to an unknown location where he was brought to a room and ordered to strip to his underwear.



He was forced to sit on the concrete floor, which his captors flooded with freezing water. Then the interrogation and threats to his family began.



&#8220;They asked me &#8216;Who sent you? Who is funding you?&#8217;. I told them no one is funding us,&#8221; said Omollo, who does not know who abducted him and has not reported the incident to the police.



&#8220;I thought I would be a dead man.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-missing">THE MISSING</h2>



Houghton said Amnesty had confirmed some instances of torture during the illegal detentions.



Odhiambo of the Law Society of Kenya said that if the goal of the abductions was to intimidate the victims, then it appeared to be succeeding.



&#8220;They don&#8217;t want to be seen on social media or any forums,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Fear has been instilled.&#8221;



After 24 hours, Omollo&#8217;s abductors loaded him back into their vehicle and left him near a police station.



He is among the lucky ones. The rights groups say a handful of abduction victims remain unaccounted for.



Nairobi resident Mutia Paul is still looking for his 17-year-old brother, Tony, who was last seen heading for a protest on June 25.



Paul has searched at police stations and hospitals. He has scoured the morgues for his body. He now believes Tony is being detained.



&#8220;My heart is full of sorrow, I have done all I can,&#8221; he said.



Activists have vowed to keep up pressure on Ruto and lawmakers. But Omollo told Reuters he has had enough of protesting.



Worried that he was being followed and could be abducted again, he has left Nairobi.



&#8220;I miss my home, I miss my brothers, I miss my sisters and I miss my community,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I feel like a refugee in my own country.&#8221;



(Additional reporting by Aaron Ross and Vivian Wandera; Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Joe Bavier and Angus MacSwan)

Demonstration against tax regulation in Kenya

Kenya rights groups decry abductions as government cracks down on protests

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1365" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-459116" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



BRUSSELS/LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria&#8217;s debt to gasoline suppliers has surpassed $6 billion &#8211; doubling since early April &#8211; as state oil firm NNPC struggles to cover the gap between fixed pump prices and international fuel costs, six industry sources said.



Nigerian President Bola Tinubu announced an end to expensive fuel subsidies last year, allowing pump prices to triple. But state oil company NNPC capped pump prices shortly afterward as citizens chafed under rising cost of living.



The cap, coupled with a naira currency crash, allowed the subsidy to creep back. Tinubu&#8217;s government expects the subsidy to cost at least $3.7 billion this year.



Analysts, NGOs and even government officials have slammed the subsidy for years as wasteful and corrupt. But Nigerians, who get few government services, have long seen cheap fuel as their right, especially in the current cost-of-living crisis.



Last week, deadly riots forced Kenya&#8217;s debt-burdened government to cancel planned tax rises, casting a shadow over efforts elsewhere to inflict any further pain on citizens stung by rising inflation.



Senegal&#8217;s energy subsidy bill remains high, at 3.3% of GDP, while Egypt and Angola are also trying to axe subsidies to shore up state finances.



NNPC began struggling early this year when late gasoline payments surpassed $3 billion.



The company has still not paid for some January imports, traders said, and the late payments amount to $4 billion-$5 billion. Under contract terms, NNPC is meant to pay within 90 days of delivery.



NNPC declined to comment.



&#8220;The only reason traders are putting up with it is the $250,000 a month (per cargo) for late payment compensation,&#8221; one industry source said.



At least two suppliers already stopped participating in recent tenders after hitting self-imposed debt exposure limits to Nigeria, the sources said, meaning they will not send more gasoline until they receive payments.



Traders thrive in risky environments, but they place limits on how much credit they allocate per trade in order to avoid too much exposure on one borrower. These limits vary by company based on their size and where they operate.



As a result, Nigeria&#8217;s tenders to buy gasoline in June and July were smaller, traders said. NNPC will import via tender about 850,000 tonnes in July, two of the sources said, down from the typical 1 million tonnes in previous months.



Fresh fuel queues have already started to form in Lagos this week.



Nigeria, Africa&#8217;s largest oil exporter, imports virtually all its fuel due to years of neglect at its state-owned oil refineries. The newly opened 650,000 barrel per day Dangote refinery has not yet produced marketable gasoline, and is selling other fuels abroad.



The country has few savings to fall back upon as corruption and wasteful spending have eaten up decades of oil revenues. Cash-strapped NNPC has also mortgaged much of its spot oil cargoes, limiting what it can sell for cash.



In late 2023, NNPC secured its biggest-ever oil-backed loan worth $3.3 billion from Afreximbank and a consortium of traders, including Gunvor, to shore up the country&#8217;s foreign exchange.



(Reporting by Julia Payne and Libby George; Additional reporting by Isaac Anyaogu in Lagos; Editing by Jan Harvey)

FILE PHOTO: The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County

As Nigeria’s gasoline debt hits $6 billion, some traders back out, say sources

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/42CTWLL6LJPYDHMYIWIJ6ISWHI-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-503918" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/42CTWLL6LJPYDHMYIWIJ6ISWHI-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/42CTWLL6LJPYDHMYIWIJ6ISWHI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/42CTWLL6LJPYDHMYIWIJ6ISWHI-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/42CTWLL6LJPYDHMYIWIJ6ISWHI-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/42CTWLL6LJPYDHMYIWIJ6ISWHI-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/42CTWLL6LJPYDHMYIWIJ6ISWHI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">President William Kipchirchir Ruto of Kenya speaks during a plenary session of the Summit on peace in Ukraine, in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland, June 16, 2024. URS FLUEELER/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, July 4 (Reuters) &#8211; Kenyan President William Ruto spoke by phone with International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva in the days after he withdrew $2.7 billion in proposed tax hikes in response to deadly protests, two diplomatic sources told Reuters.



The finance bill containing the tax increases was central to policy reforms agreed by Kenya with the IMF as part of a lending programme worth $3.6 billion.



Analysts say its withdrawal a week ago is likely to result in Kenya missing key programme targets.



The IMF has been a major target of the ire of young Kenyan protesters, who have accused it of being the driving force behind the proposed tax hikes.



The two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide details about Ruto and Georgieva&#8217;s phone call.



However, they said there was agreement among major donors that the IMF needed to show flexibility on programme targets as Kenya looked to fill the gap caused by the bill&#8217;s withdrawal.



The IMF reached a staff level agreement with Kenya in early June on a policy package needed to complete the lending programme&#8217;s seventh review, expected to unlock a disbursement of several hundred million dollars, but the deal has not yet received approval from the fund&#8217;s Executive Board.



An IMF spokesperson said: &#8220;We remain deeply concerned by the recent tragic events in Kenya and maintain close ongoing and constructive dialogue with the Kenyan authorities,&#8221; when asked about the call.



Ruto&#8217;s spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.



Since shelving the bill, Ruto has pledged to include austerity measures in a supplemental budget, but has also suggested that the government will need to significantly increase borrowing in the 2024/25 fiscal year.



An IMF spokesperson said last week that its main goal has been helping Kenya overcome its economic challenges and improving its people&#8217;s well-being.



At least 39 people have been killed in the protests, according to a government-funded human rights organisation. Anti-government demonstrations have continued since Ruto pulled the bill, although with lower turnout.



(Additional reporting by Karin Strohecker; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Summit on peace in Ukraine, in Switzerland

Kenya president spoke to IMF chief after pulling tax hikes, sources say

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="573" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RIXFSHFQNBMNVKPT4MGONQLT7M-820x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-503885" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RIXFSHFQNBMNVKPT4MGONQLT7M-820x573.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RIXFSHFQNBMNVKPT4MGONQLT7M-300x209.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RIXFSHFQNBMNVKPT4MGONQLT7M-129x90.jpg 129w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RIXFSHFQNBMNVKPT4MGONQLT7M-768x536.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RIXFSHFQNBMNVKPT4MGONQLT7M-1536x1072.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RIXFSHFQNBMNVKPT4MGONQLT7M-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaks in parliament during a session to approve the country&#8217;s 2024/25 budget, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, July 4, 2024. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri</figcaption></figure>



ADDIS ABABA, July 4 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ethiopia will receive $10.5 billion in support over the coming years if long-running negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank are successful, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Thursday.



In December, East Africa&#8217;s most populous country, struggling with high inflation and chronic foreign currency shortages, became the third on the continent in as many years to default on its debt.



Sources familiar with the matter previously told Reuters that Ethiopia was seeking to borrow around $3.5 billion under a reform programme with the IMF, while a Western diplomat said it was also trying to secure $3.5 billion in budget support from the World Bank and find another $3.5 billion in savings through debt restructuring.



Analysts say Ethiopia may need to agree to devalue its birr currency&nbsp;ETB=, which trades about 50% weaker than the official exchange rate on the black market, to secure IMF support.



&#8220;We have been having a wide range of talks, negotiations and discussions with the IMF and World Bank. Because we were a bit tough with them and they were also tough with us, the (talks) took five years,&#8221; Abiy told lawmakers.



&#8220;Now with the support of some friendly countries, it seems like many of our ideas have been accepted. If this succeeds and we are able to agree on the reforms, Ethiopia will get $10.5 billion in the coming years,&#8221; he said.



Abiy added that there were some reforms the government was unwilling to undertake right away, without elaborating.



&#8220;There are some areas we think should be reformed now, and there are things we think should stay as it is. If all these suggestions get accepted and we agree, there is an opportunity ahead of us. This reform agenda will play a huge impact in alleviating the debt burden,&#8221; the prime minister said.



(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; writing by Hereward Holland; editing by Alexander Winning and Mark Heinrich)

Ethiopia’s Parliament approves 2024/25 fiscal year budget

Ethiopia to get $10.5 bln if IMF, World Bank talks succeed, PM says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="929" height="523" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108001664-1720074872647-gettyimages-2159858100-UK_STARMER.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-503819" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108001664-1720074872647-gettyimages-2159858100-UK_STARMER.jpeg 929w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108001664-1720074872647-gettyimages-2159858100-UK_STARMER-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108001664-1720074872647-gettyimages-2159858100-UK_STARMER-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108001664-1720074872647-gettyimages-2159858100-UK_STARMER-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/108001664-1720074872647-gettyimages-2159858100-UK_STARMER-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, campaigns ahead of the general election, in Redditch, UK, on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — The U.K. heads to the ballot box on Thursday, as the incumbent Conservative Party seeks to defy months of polls that suggest it will suffer a historic defeat at the hands of the center-left Labour Party.



Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the vote six weeks ago, taking politicians and the public alike by surprise. Most had expected the election to take place later in the year, giving more time for the recent decline in inflation and anticipated reduction in interest rates to hit voters’ wallets.



A number of smaller parties are vying to win seats in the 650-member House of Commons, the U.K.’s lower house of parliament, including the Liberal Democrats, Greens, Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, the Democratic Unionist Party and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Votes will be cast across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.



Within the U.K. political system, a party increasing its share of the popular vote does not necessarily translate to winning more parliamentary seats — and it is all but guaranteed that either the Conservatives or Labour, led by Keir Starmer, will receive the reins of power. That could either be through winning an absolute majority or by forming a coalition government.



Convention says the leader of the party with the most seats in the Commons becomes prime minister



Political surveys have for nearly two years pointed to a resounding Labour victory, even though the party will require a historic gain of nearly 13% in the national vote to win even a narrow parliamentary majority, according to Hannah Bunting, lecturer in quantitative British politics at the University of Exeter. That would be a bigger swing than the one achieved by Labour’s Tony Blair over John Major in 1997.



A strong Labour lead was reinforced in a major aggregate poll released by YouGov earlier this week.



However, politicos and Labour itself caution that no outcome is guaranteed and that the polling can be inaccurate. More than 100 seats are considered very close to call, including those currently held by high-profile Conservatives, including Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt and Sunak himself.



The Thursday ballot is the first U.K. general election since 2019, when then-Conservative leader Boris Johnson clinched the party’s biggest majority win since 1987 over Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour. That was on a platform promising to complete the “Brexit” process of leaving the European Union, which had become mired in a political gridlock.



Johnson’s administration was then marked by several public scandals, including the “Partygate” case in which senior politicians broke lockdown rules during the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to his reluctant resignation in July 2022.



He was succeeded by Liz Truss, who lasted just 44 days in office before resigning over the so-called mini-budget crisis, which rocked financial markets.



Sunak, a former finance minister for the Conservative Party, has since overseen a period of relative political stability; but one in which the country has been grappling with a severe cost of living crisis and sluggish economic growth.



The legacy of 14 years of Conservative rule — with the party winning power through a coalition arrangement under David Cameron in 2010 — has been a key theme on the campaign trail.



Sunak and Starmer have sought to convince the public that their party can address critical issues spanning housing, the National Health Service and defense.



Sunak claimed during a debate in early June that Labour’s policies would lead to a £2,000 ($2,553.73) tax rise for “every working family” over the course of the next parliament. Starmer said the figure was “made-up,” while the party has laid out tax increases targeting only specific groups.



The public has from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time to cast a vote for their local parliamentary candidate, shortly after which a closely-watched exit poll will be released.



Ballots will be counted overnight, with a result expected out on Friday morning.

108001664-1720074872647-gettyimages-2159858100-UK_STARMER

Landmark UK election kicks off as center-left Labour seeks return to power after 14 years

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="542" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2155191891-820x542.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-503797" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2155191891-820x542.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2155191891-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2155191891-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2155191891-768x508.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2155191891-1536x1016.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2155191891-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Traffic drives down Sokoine Drive at dusk away from modern high rise buildings in the Ilala central business district in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. (Photo by: Andy Soloman/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



DAR ES SALAAM, July 4 (Reuters) &#8211; Tanzania&#8217;s central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 6%, it said on Thursday, adding that inflation expectations were well below target, the economy was growing strongly and exchange rate pressures were expected to ease.



The Bank of Tanzania introduced a benchmark interest rate in January as part of a new monetary policy framework, first setting it at 5.5% before raising it to 6.0% in April.



The bank targets inflation of 5%, but consumer inflation has stayed comfortably below that, coming in at 3.1% year-on-year in May.



In its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) statement, the central bank said inflation was expected to range from 3%-4% in the second half of 2024.



&#8220;The MPC expects Tanzania&#8217;s economy to continue growing strongly, food supply to be adequate, and exchange rate pressures to moderate owing to increased foreign exchange inflows from tourism, gold, as well as cash crops and food,&#8221; the statement read.



Economic growth for the first and second quarters of the year was estimated around 5.0% and 5.4%, respectively, it said.



The current account deficit in the country of around 65 million people is estimated to have narrowed slightly to $959 million in the quarter ending in June, compared with $978 million in the corresponding quarter in 2023.



The improvement was driven by higher export earnings from gold and crops as well as tourism, the bank said.



Foreign exchange reserves remained adequate, above $5 billion at the end of June, sufficient to cover more than 4 months of projected imports, it said.



In the financial year that ended in June, the central bank bought 418 kg of gold to bolster its reserves and in the current financial year it intends to buy 6 metric tons of gold, deputy governor Yamungu Kayandabila told reporters.



(Reporting by Nuzulack Dausen; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Alexander Winning and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

Kivokoni Road and tall buildings Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Tanzania central bank holds key rate, sees strong economic growth

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="558" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/6PQOLLEGFNICTCFEZK6NQXA3EI-820x558.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-503524" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/6PQOLLEGFNICTCFEZK6NQXA3EI-820x558.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/6PQOLLEGFNICTCFEZK6NQXA3EI-300x204.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/6PQOLLEGFNICTCFEZK6NQXA3EI-132x90.jpg 132w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/6PQOLLEGFNICTCFEZK6NQXA3EI-768x523.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/6PQOLLEGFNICTCFEZK6NQXA3EI-1536x1046.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/6PQOLLEGFNICTCFEZK6NQXA3EI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Farmers harvest maize crop facilitated by the Safaricom DigiFarm App that helps agribusinesses and small holding farmers to share information and transact easily, in Sigor village of Bomet County, Kenya, May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Jackson Njehia/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, July 3 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya&#8217;s economy grew 5.0% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, down slightly from the 5.5% growth in the same quarter last year, its statistics office said on Wednesday.



Growth was driven by sectors including agriculture, forestry and fishing, real estate, financial and insurance, information and communication, and accommodation and food services, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said.



&#8220;Similar to the first quarter of 2023, agricultural production was vibrant in the corresponding quarter of 2024, owing to favourable weather conditions that supported crop and animal production during the quarter,&#8221; KNBS said in a statement.



Growth was also marginally higher in the fourth quarter of 2023, at 5.1% year-on-year.



(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Editing by Alexander Winning)

Farmers harvest maize crop facilitated by the Safaricom DigiFarm App that helps agribusinesses and small holding farmers to share information and transact easily, in Sigor village of Bomet County

Kenyan economic growth down slightly at 5.0% in first quarter

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="525" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/O4DDOWTHABMRZCQ5YHOW2COCV4-820x525.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-503489" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/O4DDOWTHABMRZCQ5YHOW2COCV4-820x525.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/O4DDOWTHABMRZCQ5YHOW2COCV4-300x192.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/O4DDOWTHABMRZCQ5YHOW2COCV4-141x90.jpg 141w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/O4DDOWTHABMRZCQ5YHOW2COCV4-768x492.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/O4DDOWTHABMRZCQ5YHOW2COCV4-1536x984.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/O4DDOWTHABMRZCQ5YHOW2COCV4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A protester carries a casket during a demonstration over police killings of people protesting against the imposition of tax hikes by the government, in Nairobi, Kenya, July 2, 2024. REUTERS/John Muchucha/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, July 3 (Reuters) &#8211; Activists behind Kenya&#8217;s anti-government protests are rethinking their strategy after demonstrations on Tuesday were marred by violence and looting that they fear could undermine the movement and its efforts to push President William Ruto to resign.



The activists say the violence was the work of &#8220;goons&#8221; hired by politicians to either discredit legitimate demonstrators or advance their own agendas. Some called on social media for the next planned demonstration on Thursday not to go ahead.



&#8220;It seems the state has realised that the only way to counter this movement is by using goons to incite violence, break into people&#8217;s property, loot, and tarnish our cause,&#8221; Ojango Omondi, an activist in the capital Nairobi, told Reuters.



&#8220;It&#8217;s time to go back to the drawing board and strategise on how best to overcome this violence and keep our protests focused on their true objectives.&#8221;



Kenya&#8217;s government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement on Tuesday, Interior Minister Kithure Kindike blamed violence on &#8220;hordes of marauding criminal gangs&#8221; and said there was an attempt to &#8220;politicise crime&#8221;.



The initial protests last month against proposed tax hikes were overwhelmingly peaceful, although the police fired tear gas and water cannon at demonstrators.



The mobilisation of Kenyans from across ethnic lines around common economic demands marked a break with previous protest movements that have typically been organised by political figures with ethnic grievances often at the fore.



The protests became violent as some demonstrators briefly stormed parliament last week and the police opened fire, killing dozens.



The next day, Ruto withdrew the tax increases. But protesters vowed to carry on, issuing a range of demands, from anti-corruption measures to Ruto&#8217;s resignation.



Almost from the outset, protests on Tuesday were marked by violence. Stone-throwing young men clashed with police in Nairobi and other towns. Looters stormed businesses, leading shopowners to arm themselves with sticks and clubs.



Foi Wambui, a young actress who had come to protest in downtown Nairobi, said she was heading home because of the chaos.



&#8220;What has happened is that peaceful protesters are deterred from coming to town, and we are deterred from actually coming and practising our civic duties,&#8221; she told Reuters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-discrediting-the-movement">DISCREDITING THE MOVEMENT</h2>



In official statements, Ruto and the government have generally distinguished between peaceful protesters and those they brand as criminals that have hijacked the demonstrations.



But their allies have seized on the violence to try to discredit the movement, popularly known as Gen Z protests for their youthful following.



Dennis Itumbi, a political consultant close to Ruto, posted a video on X of a group of young men robbing another man in the streets. It was not clear where or when the video was taken.



&#8220;Congratulations Gen-Z for your Peaceful and democratic protests along the streets,&#8221; Itumbi wrote. &#8220;The police should not interfere with your moves.



Gerald Bitok, the communications director at the presidency, said young people were beginning to turn against the protests.



&#8220;The Gen Zs and the young people of this country have made it crystal clear that going forward, they will not be part of the demonstrations that are now synonymous with terror,&#8221; he said on X.



On a public forum on X on Tuesday evening that was attended by over 400,000 people, one supporter of the protest movement said it bore some responsibility for the chaos by continuing to call for demonstrations after Ruto withdrew the tax hikes.



&#8220;You are equally culpable if you are still beating the drums of war,&#8221; he said.



Other speakers said what they referred to as paid goons were to blame, but several agreed that demonstrators should take a step back and call off Thursday&#8217;s protest.



&#8220;We will have more casualties and we will not achieve what we want,&#8221; said one. &#8220;Let&#8217;s go back. Let&#8217;s strategise.&#8221;



(Reporting by Aaron Ross; Additional reporting by George Obulutsa and Mukelwa Hlatshwayo; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Barbara Lewis)

FILE PHOTO: Anti-government protests against the imposition of tax hikes by the government in Nairobi

Kenyan activists rethink strategy after protests turn violent

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="530" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RATMU646AFL3ZKYVS5LWKQ3QUM-820x530.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-503421" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RATMU646AFL3ZKYVS5LWKQ3QUM-820x530.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RATMU646AFL3ZKYVS5LWKQ3QUM-300x194.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RATMU646AFL3ZKYVS5LWKQ3QUM-139x90.jpg 139w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RATMU646AFL3ZKYVS5LWKQ3QUM-768x496.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RATMU646AFL3ZKYVS5LWKQ3QUM-1536x993.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/RATMU646AFL3ZKYVS5LWKQ3QUM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A view shows the Nairobi cityscape on the Nairobi Expressway undertaken by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis, along Waiyaki Way within the Central Business district of Nairobi, Kenya May 7, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, July 3 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya&#8217;s private sector activity fell in June, hit by the impact of widespread protests against a now-shelved finance law, a business survey showed on Wednesday.



The Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers&#8217; Index (PMI) fell to 47.2 in June from 51.8 in May. Readings below 50.0 signal contraction.



&#8220;Tough economic conditions brought on by the cost-of-living crisis, as well as protests surrounding the country&#8217;s finance bill hurt sales volumes,&#8221; Stanbic Bank Kenya said in comments accompanying the survey.



&#8220;The downturn was partially softened by a rise in new orders across manufacturing, which was the only monitored sector to register growth in June.&#8221;



Last week President William Ruto withdrew a contested finance law that would have raised taxes after clashes between protesters and police killed at least 24 people.



However, Kenyan activists have urged people to take to the streets again, calling on the government to take tougher action to curb wasteful spending and corruption.



&#8220;In June, momentum in private sector activity declined, reflecting several concerns, top of the list being the proposed increase in taxes via the Finance Bill 2024, and the widespread protests in response,&#8221; Christopher Legilisho, an economist at Stanbic Bank, said.



(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Christina Fincher)

A view shows the Nairobi cityscape on the Nairobi Expressway undertaken by the China Road and Bridge Corporation along Waiyaki Way within Westlands district of Nairobi

Kenya’s private sector activity contracts in June, PMI shows

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="474" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/I626AAIJRJP7DJDRYXCYV56KLA-820x474.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-503418" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/I626AAIJRJP7DJDRYXCYV56KLA-820x474.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/I626AAIJRJP7DJDRYXCYV56KLA-300x173.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/I626AAIJRJP7DJDRYXCYV56KLA-156x90.jpg 156w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/I626AAIJRJP7DJDRYXCYV56KLA-768x444.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/I626AAIJRJP7DJDRYXCYV56KLA-1536x887.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/I626AAIJRJP7DJDRYXCYV56KLA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: The Hillbrow Tower, an iconic tower used to identify the Johannesburg skyline, is seen as the sun rises, in Johannesburg, South Africa, June 20, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, July 3 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African private sector activity fell in June as output and new orders slipped on uncertainty over the outcome of an election held in May, a survey showed on Wednesday.



The S&amp;P Global South Africa Purchasing Managers&#8217; Index fell to 49.2 in June from 50.4 in May. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.



South Africans voted in a national election on May 29, which saw the African National Congress lose its parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of apartheid 30 years ago, creating some uncertainty in financial markets.



The ANC opted to rule in a government of national unity with 10 other political parties and markets spent much of June awaiting the composition of President Cyril Ramaphosa&#8217;s cabinet.



&#8220;The PMI&#8217;s print of 49.2, linked to sharper falls in output and new orders, was largely due to a temporary pause in customer spending as businesses awaited the outcome of the general election,&#8221; said David Owen, senior economist at S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence.



Business conditions deteriorated on the quickest fall in output in three months and a drop in new order volumes for the fourteenth month in a row.



&#8220;We may see a slight recovery in sales in July as firms return to normal activity,&#8221; Owen said.



(Reporting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Christina Fincher)

The Hillbrow Tower, an iconic tower used to identify the Johannesburg skyline, is seen as the sun rises, in Johannesburg

South Africa business activity falls in June, PMI shows

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419915" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The World Bank Group headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its world growth forecast by the most since the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, and projected even faster inflation, after Russia invaded Ukraine and China renewed virus lockdowns. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LUSAKA, July 2 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The World Bank has approved a $208 million grant for Zambia to help address the social and economic impact of drought that has hit the southern African nation, its finance ministry said on Tuesday.



Southern Africa is enduring its worst drought in years, owing to a combination of naturally occurring El Nino &#8211; when an abnormal warming of waters in the eastern pacific radiates heat into the air leading to hotter weather across the world &#8211; and higher average temperatures produced by greenhouse gas emissions.



Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe have all declared a state of disaster because of the drought, which has hit food production and livelihoods of millions of people.



The World Bank grant is intended to help Zambia effectively respond to the impact of drought through the provision of additional temporary cash payments to affected households.



&#8220;Specifically, it will support at least over 1.6 million households across 84 drought-impacted districts with emergency cash assistance over a 12-month period,&#8221; Zambia&#8217;s finance ministry said in a statement.



The World Bank financing would also strengthen existing social protection programmes, the ministry said.



The International Monetary Fund&#8217;s board last month approved a request from the Zambian government to increase its financial support to Zambia to $1.7 billion from $1.3 billion to help the nation respond to the drought.



(Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by Susan Fenton)

IMF And World Bank Headquarters During Virtual Spring Meetings

World Bank approves $208 million for Zambia’s drought response

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="544" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/C57JR5R4DBJ2ZIC65E7RHL4ONE-820x544.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-503124" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/C57JR5R4DBJ2ZIC65E7RHL4ONE-820x544.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/C57JR5R4DBJ2ZIC65E7RHL4ONE-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/C57JR5R4DBJ2ZIC65E7RHL4ONE-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/C57JR5R4DBJ2ZIC65E7RHL4ONE-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/C57JR5R4DBJ2ZIC65E7RHL4ONE-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/C57JR5R4DBJ2ZIC65E7RHL4ONE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People attend a demonstration over police killings of people protesting against the imposition of tax hikes by the government in Nairobi, Kenya, July 2, 2024. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI/MOMBASA, July 2 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Riot police fired tear gas grenades and charged at stone-throwing protesters in downtown Nairobi&nbsp;and across Kenya on Tuesday in the most widespread unrest since at least two dozen protesters died in clashes a week ago.



The nationwide demonstrations signalled that President William Ruto had failed to appease a spontaneous youth protest movement, despite having abandoned plans for tax rises that triggered the unrest last week.



Tuesday&#8217;s demonstrations began in ebullient mood but turned more violent as the day wore on. In Nairobi&#8217;s downtown business district, police wearing helmets and carrying shields and wooden clubs charged at the protesters, and tear gas bombs exploded in the crowds.



A kiosk was set ablaze in the centre of a street. Medics tended to a youth who lay on the pavement with a bloody hand. Police bundled other youths into the bed of a pickup truck.



Outside the capital, hundreds of protesters marched through&nbsp;Mombasa, Kenya&#8217;s second largest city,&nbsp;on the Indian Ocean coast. They carried palm fronds, blew on plastic horns and beat on drums, chanting &#8220;Ruto must go!&#8221;



Later, Kenya&#8217;s NTV television reported two people shot in Mombasa, showing pictures of cars ablaze.



Ruto, facing the worst crisis of his nearly two-year-old presidency, has been caught between the demands of lenders such as the International Monetary Fund to cut deficits, and a hard-pressed population reeling from the soaring cost of living.



Members of the protest movement, which has no official leaders and largely organises via social media, have rejected Ruto&#8217;s appeals for dialogue &#8211; even after he abandoned his proposed tax rises.



&#8220;People are dying in the streets and the only thing he can talk about is money. We are not money. We are people. We are human beings,&#8221; protester Milan Waudo told Reuters in Mombasa. &#8220;He needs to care about his people, because if he can&#8217;t care about his people then we don&#8217;t need him in that chair.&#8221;



Other protests took place in Kisumu, Nakuru, Kajiado, Migori, Mlolongo and Rongo, according to images broadcast on Kenyan television. In the southwestern town of Migori, protesters set tyres on fire.



The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHCR) says 39 Kenyans&nbsp;have been killed in demonstrations and clashes with police since June 18.&nbsp;Most of the deaths took place on June 25 when&nbsp;officers opened fire near parliament where some protesters&nbsp;tried to storm the building to prevent lawmakers from voting on the tax hikes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-beautiful-day">&#8216;BEAUTIFUL DAY&#8217;</h2>



&#8220;We are determined to push for the president&#8217;s resignation,&#8221; said Ojango Omondi, an activist in Nairobi. &#8220;We hope for a peaceful protest and minimal casualties, if any.&#8221;



The authorities appealed for calm.



&#8220;It&#8217;s a beautiful day to choose patriotism. A beautiful day to choose peace, order and the sanctity of our nationhood,&#8221; State House communications director Gerald Bitok wrote on X on Tuesday, adding in Swahili: &#8220;Violence is not patriotism.&#8221;



Some activists who had called for the demonstrations deplored the unrest. &#8220;Goons have infiltrated,&#8221; Hanifa Adan, an activist and reporter for the Eastleigh Voice newspaper, wrote on X, followed by broken heart emojis.



Opposition leader Raila Odinga, runner-up in the last four presidential elections, backed the protesters though they have called on politicians to keep out of it.



&#8220;The youth have given our country its last best chance,&#8221; Odinga&#8217;s ODM party said in a statement. &#8220;We either seize it and swim with it by implementing all their demands, or we ignore it and sink the country altogether.&#8221;



The protests, which started as an online outpouring of anger over nearly $2.7 billion of tax&nbsp;increases in a proposed finance bill, have grown into a nationwide movement against corruption and&nbsp;misgovernance.



Ruto has directed the treasury to come up with ways to cut spending to fill a budget gap left by the withdrawal of the tax plans, and also said more borrowing would be required.



Veteran anti-corruption activist John Githongo told Reuters that while Ruto had addressed the nation and media, &#8220;there isn&#8217;t an indication that he wants to take action&#8221; on protesters&#8217; demands, including firing corrupt officials.



&#8220;There hasn&#8217;t been any indication by the government that they are going to take the calls to deal with corruption seriously,&#8221; he said.



The protests&nbsp;had been&nbsp;mostly peaceful until&nbsp;June 25, when some&nbsp;demonstrators&nbsp;briefly stormed parliament and set part of it ablaze,&nbsp;prompting&nbsp;police&nbsp;to&nbsp;open fire.



Ruto has defended the actions of the police and blamed the violence on &#8220;criminals&#8221; who&nbsp;had&nbsp;hijacked the demonstrations.



(Reporting by Aaron Ross, Monicah Njeri, Jeff Kahinju, Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo in Nairobi and Dicksy O&#8217;Biero in Mombasa; writing by Hereward Holland and Peter Graff; editing by Andrew Heavens, Bernadette Baum, Gareth Jones and Mark Heinrich)

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

Tear gas, stones and flames as Kenya protesters say ‘Ruto must go!’

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="494" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/J5ZTGSBRZ5N6RNIBC3KXDSSQAE-820x494.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-503084" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/J5ZTGSBRZ5N6RNIBC3KXDSSQAE-820x494.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/J5ZTGSBRZ5N6RNIBC3KXDSSQAE-300x181.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/J5ZTGSBRZ5N6RNIBC3KXDSSQAE-149x90.jpg 149w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/J5ZTGSBRZ5N6RNIBC3KXDSSQAE-768x463.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/J5ZTGSBRZ5N6RNIBC3KXDSSQAE-1536x926.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/J5ZTGSBRZ5N6RNIBC3KXDSSQAE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A logo is seen on the roof of the ArcelorMittal steelworks headquarters in Ostrava, Czech Republic, April 1, 2016. REUTERS/David W Cerny/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



July 2 (Reuters) &#8211; ArcelorMittal&#8217;s South African division has decided against shutting its steel plant in the KwaZulu-Natal province and is working on a plan to make it viable, it said on Tuesday, more than six months after announcing its closure.



The company&#8217;s Johannesburg-listed shares fell 12.1% by 1004 GMT after a trading update said that losses would widen because of tough market conditions and disruption at its Vanderbijlpark furnaces, where it produces flat steel products.



It expects to report a headline half-year loss per share between 0.96 rand and 1.04 rand, compared with a headline loss of 0.40 rand per share in the same period last year.



The decision to shelve closure of the long steel operations, which produce fencing material, rods and bars used in sectors such as construction, mining and manufacturing, will save 3,500 direct jobs and thousands more indirectly, ArcelorMittal South Africa CEO Kobus Verster said on a media call.



In January the South African unit of the world&#8217;s second-largest steelmaker by output MT.LU delayed the closure of the business by up to six months as it engaged with government and labour to resolve issues hitting profitability and to avert job losses.



The board and management have decided that the business will continue to operate to allow full exploration of the short, medium and longer-term initiatives aimed at securing its sustainability, ArcelorMittal South Africa said.



Announcing the planned closure last November, the steelmaker had blamed weak demand and infrastructure problems in Africa&#8217;s most advanced economy. It also bemoaned policies that gave scrap metal an advantage over iron ore in steel production.



ArcelorMittal South Africa on Monday noted some improvements in electricity generation as well as port and rail efficiencies.



The non-renewal of a steel scrap export ban after it expired in December 2023 had also started to bring &#8220;greater fairness and equity into the input cost structures&#8221; between integrated steelmakers such as ArcelorMittal and scrap-based producers, the company said.



The company has also obtained a 1 billion rand ($54.29 million) working capital facility to support continued operations.



($1 = 18.4182 rand)



(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Anil D&#8217;Silva and David Goodman)

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West Africa’s ECOWAS decries lack of progress with junta states

New UK leader Starmer declares Rwanda deportation plan ‘dead and buried’

Kenya’s Ruto pledges spending cuts after nationwide protests

Labour Party wins UK election in a landslide

Kenya rights groups decry abductions as government cracks down on protests

As Nigeria’s gasoline debt hits $6 billion, some traders back out, say sources

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Landmark UK election kicks off as center-left Labour seeks return to power after 14 years

Tanzania central bank holds key rate, sees strong economic growth

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Kenyan activists rethink strategy after protests turn violent

Kenya’s private sector activity contracts in June, PMI shows

South Africa business activity falls in June, PMI shows

World Bank approves $208 million for Zambia’s drought response

Tear gas, stones and flames as Kenya protesters say ‘Ruto must go!’

ArcelorMittal shelves plan to close South African steel plant

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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