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- Kenya, Tanzania braces for torrential floods as Cyclone Hidaya approaches
- EAC monetary affairs committee to discuss single currency progress in Juba talks
- Transport and food prices drive down Kenya’s inflation to 5% in April
- Payment for ransomware attacks increase by 500 per cent in one year
- History beckons as push for Kenya’s President Ruto to address US Congress gathers pace
- IMF’s Sub-Saharan Africa economic forecast shows 1.2 percent GDP growth
- The US Congress proposes extending Agoa to 2041, covering all African countries
- Millions at risk of famine as fuel tax row halts UN aid operations in South Sudan
Africa
- Kenya and Tanzania, already reeling from nature’s fury, now confront the looming threat of Cyclone Hidaya.
- Cyclone Hidaya’s trajectory places the eastern coast of Tanzania squarely in its crosshairs as neighbouring Kenya braces for floods.
- The relentless deluge gripping East Africa finds its origins in the El Nino weather pattern.
Millions of people in Tanzania and Kenya are on edge as Cyclone Hidaya, a formidable tempest, barrels toward the region, exacerbating the havoc wrought by ongoing heavy downpours and catastrophic floods that have claimed hundreds of lives across East Africa.
Kenya and Tanzania, already reeling from nature’s fury, now confront the looming threat of a cyclone poised to unleash further devastation, with forecasts predicting a grim landfall later on Friday, May 3rd.
At the moment, Cyclone Hidaya’s trajectory places the eastern coast of Tanzania squarely in its crosshairs, with fears mounting over its potential impact on neighbouring Kenya. As …
- US Congress members ask Speaker Mike Johnson to invite President Ruto to address the assembly.
- President Ruto will be visiting the US on May 23 to mark 60 years of US-Kenya diplomatic ties.
- If invited, President Ruto would become the first Kenyan Head of State to address a joint session of US Congress.
In a historic plan highlighting the deepening ties between the United States and Kenya, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul (Republican – Texas) and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (Democrat – New York) have jointly sent a letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (Republican – Los Angeles, asking him to extend a formal invitation to President William Ruto of Kenya to address a joint session of Congress during his upcoming visit to the US, slated later in May.
“This year, we are celebrating the historic 60-year anniversary of the U.S.-Kenya diplomatic relationship. Such an invitation …
- The IMF has identified South Sudan, Burundi, and the DRC as East African Community member states poised for significant economic growth in the 2024–2025 period.
- GDP growth in Burundi is projected to increase from 4.3 to 5.4 percent and in the DRC from 4.7 to 5.7%.
- Kenya leads regionally with a projected GDP of $104 billion, ranking 7th overall among the continent’s largest economies.
The economic outlook for East African Community member states South Sudan, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is poised for significant economic growth in the 2024–2025 period. This prognosis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) comes despite these nations grappling with conflicts, marking them as among the most fragile in the region.
In its latest regional economic outlook report for Sub-Saharan Africa, the IMF forecasts a noteworthy 1.2 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for South Sudan, from 5.6 to 6.8 percent, despite …
Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has issued the first set of licenses to five coffee brokers in line with the Capital Markets (Coffee Exchange) Regulations, 2020.
In a statement, the Authority says the licenses will allow the brokers to carry out the role of coffee brokerage services at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) with effect from 1 July 2021.
Meru County Coffee Marketing Agency Limited has been granted a full coffee broker licence, while others, which include Kipkelion Brokerage Company Limited, and Murang’a County Coffee Dealers Company have been granted conditional licences.
According to the Authority, they are expected to come into full compliance with the requirements of the Coffee Exchange Regulations within the next three months.
“The Authority is mandated to regulate the spot commodity markets in Kenya and in particular, the coffee commodity market according to Section 11(3) of the Capital Markets Act,” CMA said in a statement.…
Nairobi-based real estate developer Fusion Capital Limited has raised over US$8 million towards the completion of Greenwood City Mall, in Meru County in Kenya.
The company, which doubles up as a private equity firm, had previously structured the financing of the mall as a Development Real Estate Investment Trust (D-Reit) which achieved a 38 percent subscription against the set threshold of 50 percent subscription, but the Shareholders of Meru Greenwood Park dropped the DREIT in favor of private funding for the development.
According to the firm, the construction of the mall has now fully been funded privately by investors from the United Kingdom and Finland to a tune of USD. 8 Million of new cash as well as local land partners.
Fusion Group’s Chief Executive, Daniel Kamau said, “We have a first-mover advantage in Meru and hence the decision to proceed with the circa 12,000 sqm shopping mall which we …
The shareholders of Equity Group Holdings Plc have passed resolutions that will reinforce the governance structures of the Group, continue to diversify the Board composition, and also assure investors of dividend pay-out every year as long as the Company posts profits.
In a statement, the Group says shareholders voted for the Amendment of Articles 1 and 79 of the Articles of Association of the Company thereby reinforcing its governance structure and signaling the growing significance of Equity Group Foundation as the social impact investment arm and custodian of the purpose of the Group.
Speaking after the AGM, the Group Board Chairman Equity Group Holdings Plc (EGH Plc), Professor Isaac Macharia said the move will further strengthen the structures to ensure the Board is reinforced through diversified representation for effective oversight.
“In so doing, the shareholders have passed a resolution enabling shareholders with more than 12.5 percent shareholding to participate directly …
Fairtrade International has committed to double the average income of farmers and workers in Africa.
Speaking during the ongoing 7th Africa Fairtrade Conference, Fairtrade International Board Chair Lynette Thorstensen said despite the hard times brought about by Covid-19, there is hope for the future of African farmers.
“This has been a very tough year globally, however, let us look at the future with optimism,” she said.
According to Thorstensen, Fairtrade International set aside a Covid relief fund in which more than 10.5 million Euros was raised by external governments, retailers, crowdfunding as well as internal sources by pledges from members for relief and resilience support for producer organisations.
“A total of 337 producer organisations from 17 countries have benefited from the fund. We believe that in the current climate, we need to move faster and ensure no one gets left behind.”
Speaking at the same event, Mary Kinyua, the Fairtrade …
A consortium of organizations led by Equity Group has signed a strategic partnership to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Kenya by 2030.
The partners include Equity Group Foundation together with the United Nations system in Kenya, and its SDG Partnership Platform.
In a statement, Equity Group said the strengthened partnership will promote and catalyze investments in the SDGs beyond short-term cycles, enabling the UN system in Kenya to reach more people on the ground through Equity’s strong brand in the community, its infrastructure network, development expertise and local knowledge.
Additionally, the partnership will promote social and financial inclusion improving economic outcomes for human development and contributing to the socio-economic transformation of Kenya.
The coming together of the two institutions is expected to support Kenya’s transition as an emerging Middle-Income country through harnessing innovative partnerships, investments, and financing to accelerate the SDGs for poverty alleviation, and …
A new report has found that toxic chemicals in plastic waste exports from wealthy countries are contaminating food in developing and transition countries around the world, including Africa.
The study by the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) found that most of the plastic waste exported from wealthy countries to countries with developing economies or economies in transition is landfilled, burned, or dumped into waterways.
According to the report, all plastics virtually contain hazardous chemical additives.
The report states that these disposal methods result in highly toxic emissions that remain in the environment for decades and build up in the food chain.
Dubbed ‘Plastic Waste Poisoning Food and Threatening Communities in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America’, the study demonstrates how these plastic waste handling methods end up poisoning local populations.
For this study, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in fourteen countries which in many cases receive plastic waste from …
