New survey shows Kenya private sector activity declined in July following public protests
Kenyan youth-led marches continued after Ruto withdrew the tax legislation, with protesters calling for the president to resign and an end to what they called widespread government corruption and inefficiencies.
Big Three lie? Questions raised about credit rating of Africa as experts doubt methodology
At the UN Development Programme, the agency instrumental in the push to get credit ratings for sub-Saharan nations, senior economist Raymond Gilpin disagreed, saying it was “unconscionable” that the Big Three didn’t have a larger presence on the continent. At the same time, he said he saw no bias in the way the Big Three apply their methodologies, and he echoed other officials and academics when he told said that the rating agencies’ work can be hampered by local realities.
Nigeria’s President Tinubu calls for end to hardship protests, says he won’t stand ‘idly’ as looting persists
The protests, which began on Thursday, have been accompanied by reports of looting and vandalism, as well as accusations that security forces have used excessive force. Amnesty International has reported the deaths of nine protesters in clashes with police, while another four were killed by a bomb. The Nigerian police denied the Amnesty report.
As African leaders fret about biased credit rating, here’s how continent’s craving for modernity fuelled debt bomb
Essential to the plan were the “Big Three” US-based credit rating agencies – S&P Global Ratings, Moody’s Ratings and Fitch Ratings, which together account for more than 90 per cent of global ratings. The rating agencies collected fees for their services and began applying their complex analyses to the region.
Barcelona getting rid of Airbnbs in move likely to be copied by other tourist destinations to fight crime, raise cheap housing
Residents of the city, which has a population of about 1.6 million, have campaigned against “overtourism” for several years, but the anti-tourism sentiment has grown more heated: During a protest in Barcelona’s Las Ramblas district this month, some participants shouted “Go home!” and squirted water pistols at people seated at outdoor tables.
Kenya and Uganda currencies steady after marginally ceding ground to US dollar, Ghana’s to weaken
Kenyan and Ugandan shilling are expected to be stable against the dollar in the next week to Thursday, while Ghana’s cedi and Zambia’s kwacha are seen weakening and Nigeria’s naira could strengthen, traders said. Kenya Kenya’s shilling is expected to hold steady, with dollar sales from the central bank helping...
Kenyan youth-inspired uprising spreads in Africa as Nigeria’s police chief warns against Gen Z-style protests
In what could be President Bola Tinubu’s biggest challenge, Nigerians have taken inspiration from young Kenyans whose protests forced a government U-turn on tax hikes. They are using X and Instagram platforms to call for peaceful protests from August 1.
Unemployment storm: Bangladesh court scraps most job quotas that sparked deadly protests
Experts attribute the unrest to stagnant job growth in the private sector and high youth unemployment, making public sector jobs with regular wage hikes very attractive among the group who make up nearly a fifth of the population.
Treasury: New economic repair plan submitted by Kenya to IMF set for review in August
The IMF did not immediately comment. The East African nation has a $3.6 billion IMF programme and the Fund had reached a staff level agreement on the seventh review of Kenya’s programme in early June.
Court case exposes how Nairobi city government turned Africa’s once cleanest city into Holy Grail with Chinese ‘tenderpreneurs’ atop garbage heap
Nairobi City government is fending off accusations that it varied a tender initially awarded to state power agency, the Kenya Electricity Generating (KenGen) Company in favour of a mysterious Chinese company under contestable circumstances. Consequently, KenGen is challeging the award of the tender to Chinese company in court. The controversy...
