<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="527" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BTQI2SSX6ZIXZJ2J2MGDY565F4-820x527.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-418672" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BTQI2SSX6ZIXZJ2J2MGDY565F4-820x527.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BTQI2SSX6ZIXZJ2J2MGDY565F4-300x193.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BTQI2SSX6ZIXZJ2J2MGDY565F4-140x90.jpg 140w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BTQI2SSX6ZIXZJ2J2MGDY565F4-768x494.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BTQI2SSX6ZIXZJ2J2MGDY565F4.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Turkana tribe women carry jerrycans as they search of water at the Lorengo village of Turkana North in Turkana county Kenya, July 19 2022. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, July 22 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The U.S. development agency USAID&nbsp;on Friday said it would&nbsp;give Kenya $255 million in emergency assistance to tackle severe drought.



Some 4.1 million people in the East African nation&nbsp;are facing acute food shortages,&nbsp;the government says,while&nbsp;the number of cases of child malnutrition has surged by half in parts of the country to 942,000 in the last three months.



The funding commitmentcomes&nbsp;in addition to $65 million that USAID had already provided this year,&nbsp;USAID administrator Samantha Power said.



&#8220;We need other countries to step up and join us,&#8221; she said, warning that the food crisis could spill over into other areas like education since hungry children can&#8217;t go to school.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-imf-approves-235-6-million-disbursement-to-kenya-on-loan-review">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/imf-approves-235-6-million-disbursement-to-kenya-on-loan-review/">IMF approves $235.6 million disbursement to Kenya on loan review</a></h3>



The government&nbsp;has so far spent 12.6 billion shillings ($106.28 million) to help people affected by drought but&nbsp;it has&nbsp;a shortfall of&nbsp;more than&nbsp;15 billion shillings,&nbsp;said Margaret Kobia, the minister responsible for special programmes.



Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine, which has hit the global food supply chain, was increasing drought-related suffering in Kenya and the rest of the region, Power said.



More than 50 million people are expected to face acute food insecurity this year in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda, the World Food Programme said in a joint statement with other agencies on Friday.



The catastrophe has been caused by the failure of rainfall in most parts of the region, and compounded by the crisis in Ukraine, which has sent prices of wheat and maize higher.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Nick Macfie)

BTQI2SSX6ZIXZJ2J2MGDY565F4

USAID pledges Kenya $255 mln to fight drought, appeals to rich countries to help

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="360" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/istockphoto-1250489640-640x640-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-400524" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/istockphoto-1250489640-640x640-1.jpg 640w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/istockphoto-1250489640-640x640-1-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption>World Bank on glass building. Mirrored sky and city modern facade. Global capital, business, finance, economy, banking and money concept seamless and loopable 3D rendering animation.</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, July 22 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Africa&#8217;s main public health body, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), will receive $100 million from the World Bank to help African countries prepare for, detect and respond to disease outbreaks.



The Africa CDC has played a major role advising African countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and is also providing guidance on diseases like monkeypox.



The World Bank said in a statement that the financial support would help boost the Africa CDC&#8217;s technical capacity and include investments to increase the number of epidemiologists and outbreak responders.



&#8220;The project will help to cultivate regional capabilities critical to ensuring a resilient and prepared continent. It will do this by helping to build and maintain a robust public health workforce across countries&#8217; health systems,&#8221; the bank said.



The Africa CDC&#8217;s acting director Ahmed Ogwell Ouma said the money had come at a critical time as it was aiming to enhance its support to African countries.



(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Joe Bavier and Andrew Cawthorne)

istockphoto-1250489640-640×640

Africa’s top public health body gets $100 mln from World Bank

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/P2MY34BRVBLP3GIGPNESDVEDGY-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-418656" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/P2MY34BRVBLP3GIGPNESDVEDGY-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/P2MY34BRVBLP3GIGPNESDVEDGY-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/P2MY34BRVBLP3GIGPNESDVEDGY-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/P2MY34BRVBLP3GIGPNESDVEDGY-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/P2MY34BRVBLP3GIGPNESDVEDGY-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/P2MY34BRVBLP3GIGPNESDVEDGY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>FILE PHOTO: An eagle tops the U.S. Federal Reserve building&#8217;s facade in Washington, July 31, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, July 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;If the U.S. Federal Reserve killed off forward guidance&nbsp;in June, the European Central Bank may have just hammered the final nail in the coffin of a tool&nbsp;officials&nbsp;had long used to&nbsp;provide monetary policy signals&nbsp;to financial markets.



The ECB delivered a&nbsp;half-percentage-point&nbsp;rate hike on Thursday, double what it flagged in June when setting out its policy-tightening&nbsp;plans. It had appeared to change tack earlier this week, when sources told Reuters a bigger rate hike was now under consideration.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2Z20BK&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The switch to what the ECB itself described as &#8220;a meeting-by-meeting approach&#8221; is the latest warning to investors and traders who have watched policymakers from Australia to Switzerland to Sweden execute startling&nbsp;U-turns&nbsp;on policy signals they had sent only weeks earlier.



The clearest&nbsp;sign that&nbsp;the game was up for forward guidance came perhaps in June when&nbsp;the U.S. central bank raised its overnight benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points, barely a month after&nbsp;Fed Chair&nbsp;Jerome Powell ruled out such a big move.



&#8220;It&#8217;s dead in the water,&#8221; said Peter Kinsella, global head of FX strategy at asset manager UBP, who&nbsp;noted that he had&nbsp;taken &#8220;zero account&#8221; of forward guidance for months.



&#8220;It was a tool central banks used when inflation was very low, basically to say &#8216;we will keep rates low for a long time&#8217; to encourage consumers to keep spending.&#8221;



But inflation is back with a vengeance, having surged to an&nbsp;annualised rate&nbsp;of 8.6% in the euro zone&nbsp;in June on the back of&nbsp;explosive energy and food prices. The&nbsp;data&nbsp;rendered obsolete the ECB&#8217;s pledge to kick off rate hikes with a modest move.



That&nbsp;picture is mirrored across the developed world.



The Fed&#8217;s change of heart came less than a week after a big May inflation print showed inflation had not peaked.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2XX118&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



And between the Fed and ECB, came the Bank of Canada&#8217;s&nbsp;surprise full-percentage-point&nbsp;rate increase on July 13. After two&nbsp;prior 50-basis-point moves,&nbsp;the governor of the Canadian central bank&nbsp;had hinted at more &#8220;forceful&#8221; action but not prepared markets for the extent of the hike.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2YU5P0&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



ECB&nbsp;President&nbsp;Christine Lagarde said on Thursday&nbsp;her&nbsp;central bank had opted to disregard its previous signal for a bigger rate hike, given &#8220;several indicators that constituted a change from the June meeting,&#8221; especially the &#8220;materialisation of inflation risks.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-welcome-death">&#8216;WELCOME DEATH&#8217;</h2>



The biggest benefit of forward guidance was to enable policymakers to reassure banks they could continue passing lower long-term interest rates to mortgage and business&nbsp;clients,&nbsp;boosting economic growth.



It also offered&nbsp;the ECB and others&nbsp;a way to fight deflation, by encouraging more borrowing and spending.



Central banks will still continue guiding markets to an extent, perhaps to tighten financial conditions and tame inflation expectations.



Investors note too that money markets have this year mostly disregarded dovish guidance, instead pricing aggressive policy tightening.



In the current&nbsp;changed circumstances, forward guidance&nbsp;can backfire,&nbsp;said Gareth Hill, a portfolio manager&nbsp;at Royal London Asset Management,&nbsp;who admitted being puzzled that the ECB had &#8220;boxed&#8221; itself into a&nbsp;25-basis-point rate hike&nbsp;six weeks in advance.



&#8220;As data comes out in the course of that period between the start of guidance and the actual time to deliver those hikes &#8230; and speculation starts to come in, that can increase volatility in itself,&#8221; Hill added.



That was evident this week, with the euro roaring off 20-year lows&nbsp;against the U.S. dollar, and German long-dated bond yields&nbsp;up&nbsp;12 basis points on Tuesday after Reuters&nbsp;reported the ECB might hike rates by half a percentage point.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2Z01UW&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Similarly,&nbsp;a Wall Street Journal story on the eve of the Fed&#8217;s June 14-15 policy meeting that hinted at a possible 75-basis-point rate hike&nbsp;lit a fire under the dollar and&nbsp;helped push 10-year U.S. Treasury yields 21 basis points higher, the daily biggest jump since 2020.



This means formulating investment strategy is about to get harder for investors used to scanning monetary policy statements for those magic words: &#8220;extended period of time.&#8221;



&#8220;With forward guidance saying rates will stay low for a long period, you could sit there and accept this would be the case. It was never completely immutable, but in a low-rate world you could take central banks to some extent at their word,&#8221; said Dominic Bunning, HSBC&#8217;s head of European FX strategy.



&#8220;Now it becomes more important to get those calls on inflation and growth right.&#8221;



ABN AMRO analyst Nick Kounis is among those pleased with a more data-dependent approach.



&#8220;Here you are trying to understand the data and the forward guidance and whether it will change. That creates too much complexity for anyone trying to understand what a central bank is trying to do,&#8221; Kounis said.



The ECB statement&nbsp;on Thursday&nbsp;&#8220;signalled the welcome death of very specific forward guidance,&#8221; he added.



G10 policy rates move<a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/3yVYcyG">https://tmsnrt.rs/3yVYcyG</a>



Inflation surge creates a difficult environment for forward guidance<a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/3B4Kjkn">https://tmsnrt.rs/3B4Kjkn</a>



(Reporting by Sujata Rao and Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Paul Simao)

FILE PHOTO: An eagle tops the U.S. Federal Reserve building’s facade in Washington

R.I.P. forward guidance: Inflation forces central banks to ditch messaging tool

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GettyImages-1233279123-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-418652" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GettyImages-1233279123-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GettyImages-1233279123-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GettyImages-1233279123-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GettyImages-1233279123-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GettyImages-1233279123-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GettyImages-1233279123-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>UKRAINE &#8211; 2021/06/04: In this photo illustration, Universal Music Group (UMG) logo is seen on a smartphone and pc screen. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, July 22 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Global media and music brands are racing to claim a stake in Africa&#8217;s music market&nbsp;as&nbsp;internet and smartphone penetration&nbsp;popularize artists and genres far beyond Africa&#8217;s borders.



Companies are taking note of global interest, with&nbsp;Universal Music Group&nbsp;UMG.ASlaunching Virgin Music Africa Label &amp; Artist Servicesin June for&nbsp;independent African labels and artists.&nbsp;The service will digitise&nbsp;out-of-print music catalogues to tap into the growing market for the sounds and chart-toppers of the continent.



Music streaming platforms including Spotify&nbsp;SPOT.N, Apple Music and Boomplay are also&nbsp;entering&nbsp;the market with dedicated and expanded offerings and services.



The interest from global companies is coming as African artists headline festivals and concerts such as, Afro Nation in Portugal and Africolor in France and genres including Afrobeat, Rhumba and Amapiano are topping charts.



Franck-Alcide Kacou, managing director of Universal Music Africa and the&nbsp;new Virgin Music Africa Label, said it has over 15,000 music titles, 50 partner labels and around 100 artists from 25 countries.



The artists include&nbsp;Senegal&#8217;s&nbsp;M&#8217;balax maestro Youssou Ndour, Congo&#8217;s Lokua Kanza, Magic System from Ivory Coast and Cabo Snoop from Angola.



Kacou added that the service will digitize and distribute African music currently in vinyl, cassette or CD formats to reach today&#8217;s younger audience.



&#8220;It&#8217;s a real opportunity for countries that are also experiencing this digital transformation to integrate all this heritage into the cultural offer that is made on platforms,&#8221; Kacou told Reuters in Abidjan.



He said&nbsp;the&nbsp;service&nbsp;will&nbsp;support independent labels in digital distribution who are looking for a wider network.



&#8220;Finding a producer on the continent and distributing cultural works is a real challenge for many talents, most of whom do not receive fair remuneration for their musical works,&#8221; Kacou said.



(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Josie Kao)

In this photo illustration, Universal Music Group (UMG) logo

Global brands are taking note of Africa’s music and talent

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="546" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MK3BFNE52RN2TOVFILP5S3UNXQ-820x546.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-418648" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MK3BFNE52RN2TOVFILP5S3UNXQ-820x546.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MK3BFNE52RN2TOVFILP5S3UNXQ-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MK3BFNE52RN2TOVFILP5S3UNXQ-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MK3BFNE52RN2TOVFILP5S3UNXQ-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MK3BFNE52RN2TOVFILP5S3UNXQ-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MK3BFNE52RN2TOVFILP5S3UNXQ-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>FILE PHOTO: A girl walks on a gas pipeline running through Okrika community near Nigeria&#8217;s oil hub city of Port Harcourt December 4, 2012. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye</figcaption></figure>



BRUSSELS/LONDON/CAPE TOWN, July 22 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Europe&#8217;s thirst for oil and gas to replace sanctioned Russian supply is reviving interest in African energy projects that were shunned due to costs and climate change concerns, industry executives and African officials said.



Energy firms are considering projects worth a total of $100 billion on the continent, according to Reuters calculations based on public and private company estimates.



African countries that currently have little or no oil and gas output could see billions in energy investments in the coming years, including Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania.



Namibia alone could provide around half a million barrels per day in new oil production, following promising exploratory wells in recent months, according to unpublished estimates by two industry consultants.



Africa as a whole could replace as much as one-fifth of Russian gas exports to Europe by 2030, based on estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Paris-based watchdog said an additional 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of African gas a year could flow to Europe by then.



&#8220;As the world seeks to replace Russian oil and gas volumes &#8230; the industry is now focusing on the advantaged barrels Africa has to offer,&#8221; said Gil Holzman, CEO of Canadian oil explorer Eco Atlantic Oil &amp; Gas, which holds interests in oil licenses in nearly 30,000 square kilometers offshore Namibia.



&#8220;The majors have been building larger positions &#8230; competitively bidding for exploration, development and production acreage,&#8221; he told Reuters by e-mail, citing activity in the oil basins off Namibia and South Africa.



European sanctions on Russian oil supply and reduced gas flows have sent prices soaring and driven up inflation to 40-year records in some countries. Benchmark Brent crude in March reached near a 15-year high of $139 a barrel.



Investment in African energy has yet to recover from a plunge in oil and gas prices in 2014, the IEA said in a June report, highlighting Africa&#8217;s potential to ease the supply crunch. Global oil output is set to rise from the pandemic but is then forecast to ebb in the late 2020s, it said.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2Y34LJ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;We are in the middle of the first truly global energy crisis and we have to find solutions to replace the loss of Russian oil and gas,&#8221; IEA executive director Fatih Birol told Reuters in an interview in June.



The IEA shocked the oil industry last year by envisioning no investment in new fossil fuel projects in order to meet net zero emissions goals by mid-century.



Companies and countries eyeing oil and gas investments in Africa are aware they must move fast to profit from untapped reserves before the global transition to low carbon technology renders many fossil fuel projects unviable, the executives and officials said,&nbsp;as domestic fuel and power demand also rises.



Last month, Tanzania signed a liquified natural gas (LNG) framework agreement with Norwegian state energy giant Equinor&nbsp;EQNR.OL&nbsp;and Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell&nbsp;RDSa.L&nbsp;that accelerates development of a $30 billion export terminal.



Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of French oil giant TotalEnergies&nbsp;TOTF.PA, said on a visit to Mozambique&#8217;s capital Maputo in January that, if security improves, the company aimed to restart a $20 billion LNG project this year that was halted by militancy.



Pouyanne said in May that TotalEnergies needed to make up for declining output and sanctioned Russian supply and was speeding up activity in Namibia, a promising oil frontier.



&#8220;Now there is a lot of activity to try to force forward these projects,&#8221; said Gonçalo Falcão of global law firm Mayer Brown, which advises firms in the African energy space, citing East African gas projects worth tens of billions of dollars. &#8220;There is clearly a sense of opportunity to reinforce them.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BIRTH OF VENUS</h2>



For new African oil, nowhere looms larger than Namibia.



Not yet a producer, Namibia has had top companies sifting through geographical data and probing its waters for decades until Shell hit in February an &#8220;encouraging&#8221; supply of light oil &#8211; the kind coveted to produce scarce gasoline and diesel.



Nearly two months into the Ukraine crisis, with oil prices near record levels, Shell launched a &#8220;back-to-back&#8221; exploration well at the site &#8211; meaning one well immediately following another &#8211; for the first time in the company&#8217;s nearly 150-year history, according to two industry sources, who declined to be named as exploration continues.



Shell said the quick progress followed the &#8220;promising&#8221; results of the first well but cautioned in a statement to Reuters that, due to its climate commitments, it would only advance projects &#8220;with a credible path to early development &#8230; (that are) resilient and competitive in low- as well as high-price scenarios.&#8221;



TotalEnergies completed an exploration well in the nearby Venus prospect in March, which it called &#8220;significant&#8221;, with a more advanced appraisal well due in the third quarter.



On Namibia, TotalEnergies told Reuters it will &#8220;still have to determine if the volumes are commercially recoverable &#8230; (but) investments remain necessary to satisfy demand&#8221;.



A senior Shell official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, estimated it will take around $11 billion to develop the two companies&#8217; blocs.



The discoveries could lead to oil production of around half a million barrels per day, according to projections by data firm IHS Markit and estimates from natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie shared with Reuters. Both firms cautioned the forecasts were preliminary.



Maggy Shino, petroleum commissioner at the Ministry of Mines and Energy told Reuters time may be running out as the global transition to clean energy looms: &#8220;There is a possibility for Namibia to be the last African giant.&#8221;



&#8220;In the wake of the success in drilling off Namibia comes the Ukraine and Russian war &#8230; what we are seeing (is) that currently more companies are looking to invest in Namibia in the search for hydrocarbons,&#8221; she said, adding the country hopes to begin production from the Shell project by 2026.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2UI3SX&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-still-contenders">STILL CONTENDERS</h2>



The efforts are an echo of the initial decades of the post-colonial era when European governments and energy majors like Total, Shell and Eni&nbsp;ENI.MI&nbsp;worked in closer tandem to put Arab North Africa and a gaggle of Sub-Saharan states on the energy map.



Renewed European thirst for gas looks set to help push African output to a peak of nearly 500 billion cubic meters by the late 2030s, according to consultancy Rystad, up from 260 bcm in 2022.



Less sanguine, the IEA projects a peak of natural gas output in its &#8220;sustainable Africa scenario&#8221; under 300 bcm in 2024. It forecasts oil output will peak this decade at around 6 million bpd of oil in 2022 &#8211; down from over 10 million in 2010, indicating a longer life span for gas projects than oil.



More than half of Italian oil major ENI&#8217;s production comes from Africa and over half its investment in the last four years was there. Its drive to boost output there since the oil price rise sparked by the Ukraine war has dovetailed with initiatives by Rome.



Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi together with senior government delegations travelled to Algeria, Gabon and Angola in April and inked agreements to boost exports to Europe.



&#8220;Africa now has a huge opportunity. Following the recent crisis in Ukraine, the global context of the energy markets and supply were radically changed &#8212; not for a matter or years but for decades,&#8221; Eni&#8217;s Chief Exploration Officer Luca Bertelli told the Africa Energies Summit in London in May. &#8220;Momentum should be captured now&#8221;.



Top European gas importer Germany stepped up efforts to court Senegal with a state visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in May, offering help to tap vast gas resources, though no concrete project was agreed.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XE09B&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;The first thing Germany and Europe can do is buy our gas,&#8221; said Abd Esselam Ould Mohamed Salah, ministry of petroleum, mines and energy of Mauritania &#8211; which shares a vast gas field with neighboring Senegal that is due online next year.



&#8220;We welcome the increased interest we are seeing from European countries and companies in developing our resources, which is in our mutual interest,&#8221; he told Reuters, citing sales of offshore exploration blocs.



(Reporting By Noah Browning and Ron Bousso in London, Wendell Roelf in Cape Town, Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Helen Reid in Johannesburg and David Gaffen in New York; Editing by Daniel Flynn)

A girl walks on a gas pipeline running through Okrika community near Nigeria’s oil hub city of Port Harcourt

Ukraine war rekindles Europe’s demand for African oil and gas

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Lesetja_Kganyago_WEF-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-400177" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Lesetja_Kganyago_WEF-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Lesetja_Kganyago_WEF-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Lesetja_Kganyago_WEF-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Lesetja_Kganyago_WEF.jpg 830w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Lesetja Kganyago, governor of South Africa&#8217;s central bank (SARB), poses for a photograph following a Bloomberg Television interview on the opening day of the 28th World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019. The World Economic Forum on Africa meeting runs from 4-6 September. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, July 21 (Reuters) – South Africa’s central bank raised its main lending rate more than expected on Thursday, by 75 basis points to 5.50%.



This was the fifth meeting in a row that the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB’s) monetary policy committee has raised rates to try to keep a lid on inflation.



Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 50 basis point increase.



The SARB has now hiked rates by a cumulative 200 basis points since November last year in a bid to tame inflation.



But June inflation quickened to a 13-year high of 7.4% year on year from 6.5% in May, moving further from the bank’s 3%-6% target range. 



(Reporting by Alexander Winning, Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Bhargav Acharya and Promit Mukherjee Editing by James Macharia Chege)

Opening Day Of The 28th World Economic Forum on Africa

South Africa’s Central Bank raises rate more than forecast

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="506" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CS62UR5JZNID5DL7DS427TWJ2E-820x506.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-418621" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CS62UR5JZNID5DL7DS427TWJ2E-820x506.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CS62UR5JZNID5DL7DS427TWJ2E-300x185.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CS62UR5JZNID5DL7DS427TWJ2E-146x90.jpg 146w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CS62UR5JZNID5DL7DS427TWJ2E-768x474.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CS62UR5JZNID5DL7DS427TWJ2E.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Locals walk past electricity pylons during frequent power outages from South African utility Eskom, caused by its aging coal-fired plants, in Soweto, South Africa, July 3, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko//File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, July 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa, where daily blackouts are a fact of life, knows better than most that it cannot rely on coal power.



But just when its plans to shift to renewable energy to help drive Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy were gaining momentum, rising costs linked to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine threaten further delay.



After a six-year hiatus, the country in 2021 held a bidding round for companies to operate wind and solar projects, attracting aggressive offers from more than 100 renewables companies, eager to make up for the shortfalls of state power generator Eskom.



The winners include EDF&nbsp;EDF.PA, Scatec&nbsp;SCATC.OL, Engie&nbsp;ENGIE.PA, and Mainstream Renewable Power. They are among nine companies pledging to supply nearly 4,600 megawatts (MW) of power in the next two years that would go some way to solving Eskom&#8217;s problems.



Eskom said last week that maintenance and breakdowns had knocked nearly 45% of its total 46,000 MW capacity offline. It says it needs up to 6,000 MW of additional generating capacity.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2YF1MZ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Apart from the unreliability of Eskom&#8217;s ageing coal power plants, South Africa is also under pressure to end its reliance on highly-polluting coal as it is the world&#8217;s 12th biggest emitter of climate-warming gases.



At U.N. climate talks last year, Britain, France, Germany, the European Union and the United States pledged $8.5 billion to help South Africa make a swifter transition from coal.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2RT18P&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The problem for the companies that saw opportunity in South Africa&#8217;s energy needs is they agreed to supply power at tariffs so low they stand a minimal chance of making a profit under current conditions.



The average tariff in last year&#8217;s round was 0.429 rand per kilowatt hour (kWh) for a solar plant &#8211; just a tenth of the tariff level a decade ago. Wind was a quarter of its 2011 level at 0.495 rand per kWh.



Tariffs for last year&#8217;s &#8220;power-on-demand&#8221; round specifically to provide electricity to meet Eskom&#8217;s supply shortfalls were 34% lower than the previous round in 2015.



After four regular rounds, as well as power-on-demand tenders, the process went dormant in 2015 after the government of former President Jacob Zuma halted renewables procurement.



For an interactive graphic, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/3v2xG5l" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://tmsnrt.rs/3v2xG5l</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crazy-even-at-the-time">CRAZY EVEN AT THE TIME</h2>



&#8220;The prices quoted in bid window five were absolutely crazy even at the time of bidding,&#8221; Manie De Waal, joint CEO of Energy Partners Group, a solar plant construction firm, said of last year&#8217;s fifth regular bidding round.



Since then, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the world&#8217;s biggest exporter of gas and second largest crude oil supplier has driven energy costs and inflation to multi-year highs.



In addition, supply chain disruptions linked to the pandemic have also increased costs, such as shipping, and a weakening local rand currency&nbsp;ZAR&nbsp;has made imports of turbines and solar modules more expensive.



Across the globe, the war, which Moscow terms a &#8220;special military operation&#8221;, has heightened the appeal of renewable energy as a source of energy that is domestic and also tackles an increasingly urgent climate crisis.



Soaring costs, at the same time, have left many governments, however, struggling to encourage short-term investment in green energy and the problem is extreme in South Africa because of the very low tariffs that were agreed.



&#8220;The winning financial models didn&#8217;t likely have a lot of fat on them,&#8221; Kai Howie, chair of the working group for policy and markets at South Africa Wind Energy Association, said.



The South African Photo Voltaic Industry Association says capital expenditure and component inflation have risen by up to 40% for solar projects since companies locked in tariffs last August.



A banker working on several of the energy projects said it was a perfect storm. He asked not to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the press.



He and a renewables company executive said the shift in global economic conditions meant the bulk of those projects will struggle to reach financial close, a fund-raising process after which construction can begin.



&#8220;Either the government resolves the issues with a solution that suits all or reaching financial close will be a significant challenge,&#8221; the executive, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.



Companies selected last year must achieve financial close in the third quarter of this year.



Scatec reached financial close on July 19 for three projects under the on-demand round, but declined to comment on the status for its other projects.



Mainstream Renewable Power said its consortium was working with the government to meet the targeted timelines. Other companies did not comment.



Tshifhiwa Bernard Magoro, head of the Independent Power Producers (IPP) Office, the government body overseeing the projects, told Reuters he was engaging with companies.



&#8220;I have to emphasise we need the power,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We are doing all we can within the ambit of the law to help them reach financial closure.&#8221;



The company executive pointed to two options: an adjustment of tariffs &#8211; something he deemed unlikely &#8211; or flexibility on financial close deadlines in the hope that costs will fall.



&#8220;Otherwise, it&#8217;s untenable,&#8221; he said, adding that he expected global economic and supply chain issues to ease in the short-term.



Other industry experts are less optimistic.



Shashi Barla, director with Denmark-based renewable advisory firm Brinckmann, said top equipment manufacturers have hiked prices of wind turbines by roughly 20% and are still making losses.



&#8220;These high prices will prevail for at least 12 to 18 months,&#8221; he said.



Magoro of the government&#8217;s IPP Office said he was willing to work with companies, but there were no provisions for tariff revisions to offset the macro-economic factors they face.



&#8220;They understand the RFP (request for proposal). They have studied these documents. So they know the risk allocation,&#8221; he said.



($1 = 17.2601 rand)



Solar, wind and on-demand tariffs from start of South Africa&#8217;s renewable programme<a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/3aPd1er">https://tmsnrt.rs/3aPd1er</a>



Bid Window Five<a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/3PGGxBF">https://tmsnrt.rs/3PGGxBF</a>



Risk-mitigation round/ on-demand power<a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/3PL6RKP">https://tmsnrt.rs/3PL6RKP</a>



Solar, wind and on-demand tariffs from start of South Africa&#8217;s renewable programme<a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/3v2xG5l" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://tmsnrt.rs/3v2xG5l</a>



FACTBOX-Why is South Africa facing its worst power crisis in two years?<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2YG4Y9&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Additional reporting by Joe BavierEditing by Joe Bavier and Barbara Lewis)

CS62UR5JZNID5DL7DS427TWJ2E

Pandemic, war and ‘crazy’ prices threaten South African pivot from coal

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="524" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/F5HEVWSA65JFHLPH4VWHRBUB5I-820x524.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-418610" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/F5HEVWSA65JFHLPH4VWHRBUB5I-820x524.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/F5HEVWSA65JFHLPH4VWHRBUB5I-300x192.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/F5HEVWSA65JFHLPH4VWHRBUB5I-141x90.jpg 141w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/F5HEVWSA65JFHLPH4VWHRBUB5I-768x490.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/F5HEVWSA65JFHLPH4VWHRBUB5I.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A cow is seen near the AngloAmerican sign board outside the Mogalakwena platinum mine in Mokopane , north-western part of South Africa , Limpopo province May 18, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



July 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Anglo American&nbsp;AAL.L&nbsp;on Thursday forecast a higher annual output of rough diamonds, driven by demand for diamonds from non-conflict zones amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis, although the miner posted a 9% fall in its quarterly group production.



With Russian gold and diamonds off-limits due to sanctions against companies, including Alrosa&nbsp;ALRS.MM&nbsp;&#8211; the world&#8217;s largest producer of rough diamonds that competes with Anglo American&#8217;s unit De Beers, demand for rough diamonds has risen this year.



Russia is the world&#8217;s biggest producer of natural diamonds, according to the World Diamond Council.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2XP10H&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>.



&#8220;Combination of sanctions against Russia, decisions from a number of U.S.-based jewellery businesses to apply their own restrictions on purchases of Russian diamonds&#8230; has the potential to underpin continued robust demand for De Beers&#8217; rough diamonds,&#8221; the miner said.



Anglo American said it expects rough diamonds&#8217; full-year production to be at 32 million-34 million carats, up from a prior range of 30 million to 33 million carats.



The London-listed miner, however,&nbsp;reported a 9% fall in second-quarter output on lower grades in copper and lack of water availability in Chile, ramp-up of the Aquila longwall in steelmaking coal as well as planned maintenance at the Minas-Rio iron ore mine in Brazil.



Chile, the world&#8217;s no. 1 copper producer and the no. 2 producer of battery metal lithium, faces drought conditions that have lasted more than a decade and impacted mining output.



(Reporting by Shanima A in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

F5HEVWSA65JFHLPH4VWHRBUB5I

Anglo American sees higher annual diamond output amid robust demand

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="480" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BRMP32UB2NKF5DKS3AMURUOGFU-820x480.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412859" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BRMP32UB2NKF5DKS3AMURUOGFU-820x480.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BRMP32UB2NKF5DKS3AMURUOGFU-300x176.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BRMP32UB2NKF5DKS3AMURUOGFU-154x90.jpg 154w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BRMP32UB2NKF5DKS3AMURUOGFU-768x450.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BRMP32UB2NKF5DKS3AMURUOGFU.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>
A branch South African mobile communications provider Vodacom in Cape Town is shown in this picture taken November 10, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, July 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Vodacom&nbsp;Group&nbsp;VODJ.J&nbsp;will retain full ownership of a new subsidiary that will take over its South African tower business, the telecoms company said on Thursday, announcing a 5.2% rise in first-quarter revenue.



Formation of the telecommunications-tower company, which follows similar actions by Vodacom&#8217;s rivals, is not yet complete, chief executive officer Shameel Joosub said.



Vodacom Group, a South African firm, also operates in other African countries.



South African telecoms firms have either carved out tower businesses or sold them to&nbsp;specialist tower&nbsp;companies, a move also seen globally.&nbsp;By doing so, they have raised money for such purposes as funding fast-growing services, such as fintech.



Some have also retained equity in the tower companies.



Vodacom&#8217;s tower company will own more than 9,500 sites, including towers and rooftops, the company said in its latest annual report, published this year.



The separation of the South African tower portfolio would enhance asset returns and lower communication costs, Vodacom said, without explaining how. A managing director for the subsidiary would be named later.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-vodacom-to-buy-55-stake-in-vodafone-egypt-for-2-74-bln">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/vodacom-to-buy-55-stake-in-vodafone-egypt-for-2-74-bln/">Vodacom to buy 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt for $2.74 bln</a></h3>



Vodacom chief financial officer Raisibe Morathi said this year the operator would be open to many options once the tower company had been separated, but &#8220;we don&#8217;t have any need to monetize. We&#8217;re not looking to do this to raise capital.&#8221;



Vodacom, majority-owned by Britain&#8217;s Vodafone&nbsp;VOD.L, said group revenue for the quarter ended on June 30&nbsp;had risen to&nbsp;26.1 billion rand ($1.53 billion) from 24.8 billion rand in the same quarter last year,&nbsp;helped by growth in most of its markets and South Africa in particular.



Its service revenue growth of 5.2% was supported by a 10.4% increase from its international portfolio and 9.3% growth from its financial services business, Joosub said.



The growth rate in financial services was dampened by mobile-money levies in Tanzania, he added. If the growth rate were adjusted for this impact, it would have been an estimated 19.7%.



&#8220;Positively, subsequent to the quarter-end, the levies were reduced further. This marks a cumulative 60% reduction of the levies since implementation in July 2021,&#8221; Vodacom said.



Service revenue in South Africa grew 3% on the back of sustained investment in network technology.



($1 = 17.0740 rand)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Bradley Perrett)

BRMP32UB2NKF5DKS3AMURUOGFU

Vodacom to hold 100% of new South African tower subsidiary

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="543" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/SF4EAWJFM5MEJL6MPGZVITISBM-820x543.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-418602" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/SF4EAWJFM5MEJL6MPGZVITISBM-820x543.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/SF4EAWJFM5MEJL6MPGZVITISBM-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/SF4EAWJFM5MEJL6MPGZVITISBM-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/SF4EAWJFM5MEJL6MPGZVITISBM-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/SF4EAWJFM5MEJL6MPGZVITISBM-1536x1017.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/SF4EAWJFM5MEJL6MPGZVITISBM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Kenya&#8217;s Deputy President William Ruto of United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Kenya Kwanza political coalition speaks at an interview with Reuters ahead of the forthcoming presidential elections, at his Karen residence in Nairobi, Kenya, July 20, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, July 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya&#8217;s deputy president and presidential aspirant William Ruto said he will publish government contracts with China and deport Chinese nationals working illegally if he is elected on August 9, promises likely to resonate with citizens pummeled by mounting debt and the skyrocketing cost of living.



Kenya, whose 2022/23 budget of 3.3 trillion shillings ($27.86 billion) has a deficit of 6.2% of gross domestic product, owes China about $8 billion.



Ruto has promised to slash the government borrowing that has funded President Uhuru Kenyatta&#8217;s infrastructure building spree.



The contracts are not public and some Kenyan organisations have lodged court cases to try to force full disclosure of the deals.



Ethiopia has restructured its Chinese debt and Zambia is seeking to do &#8211; something Ruto said he would not do.



&#8220;Kenya has the capacity to handle its debt situation,&#8221; he told Reuters in an interview, explaining his intent not to re-organise debt if he wins.



Ruto, 55, paints the election as a clash between &#8220;hustlers and dynasties&#8221; &#8211; a jab at Raila Odinga and Kenyatta, son of the nation&#8217;s first vice president and president respectively.



Ruto says he once hawked chickens by the roadside.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/u-s-kenya-launch-non-tariff-trade-and-investment-partnership-talks/">U.S., Kenya launch non-tariff trade and investment partnership talks</a></h3>



Instead of planning mammoth expressways or new railways, Ruto&#8217;s campaign is touting a plan to dish out loans to &#8220;hustlers&#8221; or small businessmen and women, symbolised by his campaign symbol of a wheelbarrow.



Ruto spoke to Reuters in his office in a compound in one of Nairobi&#8217;s wealthiest suburbs, where several armed policemen stood guard.



The compound is neatly maintained, with well-manicured lawns. A helicopter and convoy of luxury vehicles were parked there. Outside, a few supporters waited with banners proclaiming RUTO FOR PRESIDENT hung around a battered handcart.



Ruto was wearing a yellow shirt with green trim, his party&#8217;s colours, and sat in a room bedecked with several flags, including the national flag.



He sipped on tea as he dismissed comments by his chief economic adviser, David Ndii, that Ruto&#8217;s party was &#8220;not the place to look for anti-corruption champions.&#8221;



&#8220;Someone quoted him out of context,&#8221; Ruto said.



He listed the ways he would tackle graft &#8211; more money to overcome shortages of judges and magistrates, independent budgets for investigating bodies, and making sure parliament has an active opposition.



&#8220;The challenge we have at the moment is the weaponization and the politicisation of corruption.&#8221;



All sides in the campaign have accused each other of corruption and they all deny the allegations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-political-expediency">POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY</h2>



Kenyatta has backed Odinga, a veteran opposition leader, for president in a bid to sideline Ruto, whom he describes as unfit for office.



The incumbent&#8217;s embrace of his old rival and his rejection of his deputy is not unusual for Kenyan politics, which is driven more by personality, ethnic alliances and backroom deals than ideology.



Ruto and Odinga were political allies during the disastrous 2007 elections. A dispute over the result left 1,200 Kenyans dead and Ruto and five others facing charges of at the Hague-based International Criminal Court. The case later collapsed.



He brushed off questions about whether he should have resigned if the government he served in was not serious about tackling corruption, saying he&#8217;d raised the issue repeatedly and had been able to deliver other benefits to Kenyans.



&#8220;I am not a quitter,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Instead of walking away from the people who elected me, I could still do many things.&#8221;



($1 = 118.4500 Kenyan shillings)



(Editing by Angus MacSwan, William Maclean)

Kenyan Deputy President Ruto speaks in Nairobi

Kenya presidential hopeful Ruto promises to publish contracts with China

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="485" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/WISP23EAKBLG5D3IIMVX4GTIGM.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-418581" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/WISP23EAKBLG5D3IIMVX4GTIGM.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/WISP23EAKBLG5D3IIMVX4GTIGM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/WISP23EAKBLG5D3IIMVX4GTIGM-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption>A nurse administers the malaria vaccine to an infant at the Lumumba Sub-County hospital in Kisumu, Kenya, July 1, 2022. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, July 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nine months after the world&#8217;s first malaria vaccine was recommended for use, international vaccine alliance Gavi invited countries to apply for financial support to roll out the jab, particularly targeting young children in Africa.



The World Health Organization endorsed GSK Plc&#8217;s&nbsp;GSK.L&nbsp;four-dose Mosquirix shot in October last year, saying it could save thousands of lives.



Now Gavi, which has $155.7 million available over 2022-2025 for the initial roll-out of the vaccine, has invited countries to apply for funding and support to distribute the shot.



It is a step forward for the vaccine, which has taken decades to develop. Malaria, on average, kills a child every minute.



However the roll-out is expected to start slowly, with supply falling far below the vast demand for several years, a recent Reuters investigation found.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2YP0WT&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Ghana, Kenya and Malawi &#8211; African nations that have been involved in pilot progammes using the vaccine &#8211; can apply first, by September, to broaden their use of the shot. Other countries can apply by the end of this year, Gavi said in a statement.



&#8220;The work towards a malaria vaccine has been long and hard,&#8221; said Seth Berkley, chief executive of Gavi. Alongside the existing interventions like bed nets, Berkley said he hoped that the new tool would now &#8220;allow us to save more lives in countries hit hardest by this killer disease.&#8221;



(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

FILE PHOTO: A nurse administers the malaria vaccine to an infant at the Lumumba hospital in Kisumu

Vaccine group invites African states to apply for malaria shot support

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="485" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CFUNBLQBTNMUXCL6VHQ4PDL2EM.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-418577" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CFUNBLQBTNMUXCL6VHQ4PDL2EM.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CFUNBLQBTNMUXCL6VHQ4PDL2EM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CFUNBLQBTNMUXCL6VHQ4PDL2EM-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption>U.S. President Joe Biden attends a news conference at Waldorf Astoria in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia July 15, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON, July 20(Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that&nbsp;the United States will bring together leaders from across the African continent for a major summit in December&nbsp;in Washington to discuss pressing challenges from food security to climate change.



&#8220;The summit will demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa, and will underscore the importance of U.S.-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities,&#8221; Biden said in a statement.



The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, scheduled for&nbsp;Dec. 13-15,&nbsp;was announced simultaneously in virtual remarks by Vice President Kamala Harris to the U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Marrakech hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa and the kingdom of Morocco and attended by a U.S. delegation.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2Z05OD&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



A senior administration official, discussing the U.S.-Africa summit plans on condition of anonymity, said about 50 African leaders are expected to join Biden for the Dec. 13-15 series of meetings.



It will come at the end of a year when Biden has engaged other regions of the world with trips to visit U.S. allies in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Biden has yet to visit Africa since becoming president, and the summit will be his most comprehensive look at the complexities of the continent.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-biden-to-lead-major-economies-in-push-for-more-urgent-action-on-climate">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/biden-to-lead-major-economies-in-push-for-more-urgent-action-on-climate/">Biden to lead major economies in push for more urgent action on climate</a></h3>



A backbeat of Biden&#8217;s diplomatic efforts thus far has been to promote Western democracies as a counterweight to China, but the official said the U.S.-Africa summit was not all about Beijing.



&#8220;We are not asking our African partners to choose,&#8221; the official told Reuters. &#8220;We believe the United States offers a better model, but we are not asking our African partners to choose.&#8221;



The U.S. Agency for International Development announced on Monday that it is providing nearly $1.3 billion in aid to the Horn of Africa nations of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia to help stave off mass starvation and deaths in the drought-stricken region.



Biden said the summit will work toward new economic engagement, promote democracy and human rights, advance peace and security, and address challenges such as food security and climate change as well as the pandemic.



The president believes that U.S. collaboration with leaders from African governments, civil society, the private sector and the African diaspora will help tackle some of the challenges, the official said.



(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Leslie Adler)

U.S. President Biden visits Saudi Arabia

Biden announces U.S.-Africa summit for mid-December

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-484332922-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-397368" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-484332922-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-484332922-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-484332922-768x513.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-484332922-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-484332922-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Customers browse food products on display inside a Shoprite Holdings Ltd. supermarket in Alexandra district of Johannesburg, South Africa, on Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. Shoprite, which operates in 14 African countries outside of its home market, said Feb. 24 that 14 store openings were planned on the continent beyond South Africa in its second half through June. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, July 20 (Reuters) – South Africa’s headline consumer inflation quickened more than forecast to 7.4% year on year in June, surging to a 13-year high, data from Statistics South Africa showed on Wednesday.



Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a rise to 7.2% in annual terms from 6.5% in May.



The pickup in inflation comes the day before the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is due to announce an interest rate decision.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-south-african-central-bank-comments-as-rep-rate-raised">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/south-african-central-bank-comments-as-rep-rate-raised/">South African Central Bank comments as rep rate raised</a></h3>



Analysts expect the SARB to announce a further 50 basis point rise in the repo rate, which would mark the fifth increase in a row.



On a month-on-month basis, consumer inflation was at 1.1% in June from 0.7% in the previous month, Stats SA figures showed.



Core inflation, which excludes prices of food, non-alcoholic beverages, fuel and energy, rose to 4.4% year on year in June, from 4.1% previously. On a month-on-month basis core inflation was at 0.6% from 0.2% in May. 



(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)

Inside A Shoprite Holdings Ltd. Supermarket

South Africa’s inflation surges to 13-year high in June

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/ege0gZ6a.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-418570" width="600" height="314" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/ege0gZ6a.jpg 600w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/ege0gZ6a-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/ege0gZ6a-160x84.jpg 160w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>RABAT, Morocco &#8211; JUNE 20: In this handout image provided by APO Group, (L-R) Solomon Quaynor, African Development Bank Vice President, Alain Ebobissé, Africa50 CEO and Ithamar Capital CEO Obaid Amrane signed a letter of intent during an event launching the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum on June 20, 2022 in Rabat, Morocco. The African Development Bank, Africa50, and Africa Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF), have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on developing green and climate resilient infrastructure projects across Africa. Access full release: https://bit.ly/3HLnNOB (Photo by APO Group via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



MARRAKECH, Morocco, July 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;African countries need to leverage more private funds to meet infrastructure financing needs estimated at between $68 billion and $108 billion annually, the chief executive of Africa50, an infrastructure investment offshoot of the African Development Bank, said on Tuesday in Marrakech.



Leveraging more private capital to finance infrastructure projects, as part of public-private partnerships, would help free public funds to projects shunned by the private sector, CEO Alain Ebobissé said on the eve of the launch of a U.S- Africa business summit.



Since its creation six years ago, Africa50 has spent $5 billion on 16 projects in the fields of energy, transport, information and communication technologies, healthcare and education.



Africa50 has also signed on the same day a deal with a grouping of some of the richest African wealth funds to increase their involvement in African infrastructure investments.



Since 2013, China has been the top foreign investor in Africa, unrolling billions of dollars on the continent’s infrastructure. The U.S. is stepping up efforts, but is still far from catching up.



The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) had planned $26 million last year to fund feasibility studies of African investment projects with a potential to generate $17 billion in financing, the agency&#8217;s director, Enoh Ebong, told Reuters.



&#8220;Sub-Saharan Africa is one of our largest portfolios at the agency,&#8221; she said, adding that she sees demand growing on U.S. companies from the continent.



While U.S. companies take care of feasibility studies funded by the USTDA, African partners &#8220;can get financing from any party whatsoever. We would like it that they do it with our fellow U.S. government agencies, but we do not put any condition on who finances that project,&#8221; Ebong said.



&#8220;For every $1 spent on feasibility studies we see a return of $117, which translates into jobs in the U.S.,” Ebong said.



&#8220;We are absolutely competitive, and we see it in the partners who are picking U.S. companies in head-to-head competition with Chinese companies,&#8221; she added, calling infrastructure &#8220;key to trade.&#8221;



(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi; Editing by Leslie Adler)

ege0gZ6a

Africa needs more private funds for infrastructure investments- Africa50 CEO

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/dry-dehydration-drought-rip-crack-earth-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-418561" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/dry-dehydration-drought-rip-crack-earth-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/dry-dehydration-drought-rip-crack-earth-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/dry-dehydration-drought-rip-crack-earth-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/dry-dehydration-drought-rip-crack-earth-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/dry-dehydration-drought-rip-crack-earth.jpg 910w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via pxfuel</figcaption></figure>



KAMPALA, July 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;More than 200 people have died from hunger this month in&nbsp;northeastern&nbsp;Uganda, where a prolonged drought and rampant insecurity have left more than half a million facing starvation, a local official and a charity worker said.



Inhabited by nomadic pastoralists, the semi-arid and remote Karamoja region on the border with Kenya has long lagged behind the rest of Uganda in terms of development.&nbsp;A surge of cattle raids by armed groups this year has worsened the situation.



&#8220;People like the elderly, lactating mothers and children, they are dying silently in their homes. They just succumb to hunger,&#8221; Jino Bornd Meri, the head of local government for Kaabong district, in Karamoja region, told Reuters.



In one county the district has recorded at least 184 deaths from hunger this month alone, he said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-imf-uganda-reach-agreement-on-three-year-1-bln-program">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/imf-uganda-reach-agreement-on-three-year-1-bln-program-2/">IMF, Uganda reach agreement on three-year, $1 bln program</a></h3>



Moses Okori, leader of the local charity Integrated Community Agriculture and Nutrition (ICAN), said he knew of at least 22 people who had died of hunger this month in Kotido, another district in the region.



The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) last month said at least 518,000 people, or 40% of the region&#8217;s population, were facing high levels of food insecurity.



Local legislator Faith Nakut estimated that at least 600 people had died of hunger in the region since early June.



A spokesman for the Prime Minister&#8217;s office, Julius Mucunguzi, said he had received reports of hunger-related deaths but was unable to give an exact toll.



The government dispatched trucks of food to the region last week, he said.



(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Nellie Peyton and Angus MacSwan)

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More than 200 people die as drought ravages northeast Uganda

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/6V5SGNMMP5KDBD3QSCB67VX3OQ-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-418557" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/6V5SGNMMP5KDBD3QSCB67VX3OQ-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/6V5SGNMMP5KDBD3QSCB67VX3OQ-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/6V5SGNMMP5KDBD3QSCB67VX3OQ-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/6V5SGNMMP5KDBD3QSCB67VX3OQ-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/6V5SGNMMP5KDBD3QSCB67VX3OQ.jpg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via Reuters</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, July 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s government will sign an agreement next week with Thelo DB consortium for a $3.2 billion project to develop and make operational its Western Railway Line, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.



Thelo DB is a South African railway entity incorporated between Thelo Ventures, an African industrial company, and Germany&#8217;s Deutsche Bahn Engineering &amp; Consulting (DB). The Thelo DB consortium also includes Ghanaian partner Transtech Consult.



Ghana&#8217;s Western Railway line runs a total of 339 kilometres (210 miles) from Takoradi Port to Kumasi, but only 66 km is operational, according to the website of Ghana&#8217;s Ministry of Railways Development, where it is listed as a priority project.



Two mines are on the route, including the Ghana Manganese Mine at Nsuta and a bauxite mine at Awaso, which used to use the railway until it collapsed, according to the ministry.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-imf-says-it-will-work-with-ghana-government-towards-programme">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/imf-says-it-will-work-with-ghana-government-towards-programme/">IMF says it will work with Ghana government towards programme</a></h3>



The line also goes through Ghana&#8217;s cocoa-growing regions and cocoa used to be transported in significant quantities by rail, but has not been since 2006.



Transportation of cement, mining equipment and petroleum will also benefit from construction of the rail line, the ministry added.



&#8220;The Western Railway Line Project will transform Ghana&#8217;s existing railway infrastructure base into a modern, robust and integrated railway system,&#8221; Thelo DB said in its statement.



The agreement will be signed on July 25 at a ceremony with President Nana Akufo-Addo, the company said. A presidential spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment.



(Reporting by Cooper Inveen and Christian Akorlie; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Bhargav Acharya and David Evans)

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Ghana to sign $3.2 bln railway project deal with Thelo DB consortium

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="545" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/FX8v0Z_WQAAL4vj-820x545.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-418553" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/FX8v0Z_WQAAL4vj-820x545.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/FX8v0Z_WQAAL4vj-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/FX8v0Z_WQAAL4vj-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/FX8v0Z_WQAAL4vj-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/FX8v0Z_WQAAL4vj.jpg 1170w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>UBA Group Expands To EMEA, Launches Banking Operations In Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – JULY 14: In this handout image provided by APO Group; L-R: Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking, United Bank for Africa(UBA), Mr. Ndubisi Chiugo; Chief Executive Officer, Dubai International Financial Centre(DIFC) Authority, Prince Arif Amiri; Group Chairman, United Bank for Africa(UBA), Mr. Tony O. Elumelu; Governor, Dubai International Financial Centre(DIFC), His Excellency Essa Kazim; Group Managing Director/CEO, United Bank for Africa(UBA) , Mr. Kennedy Uzoka; and Managing Director, UBA(DIFC), Mr. Vikrant Bhansali poseat the official launch of UBA (DIFC), in Dubai, United Arab Emirates(UAE) on Thursday 14th July, 2022 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates The UBA branch in the DIFC will service corporate &amp; financial Institutions and customers across the Middle East with a core focus on correspondent banking, relationship management and advisory services. Access the full release: https://bit.ly/3RJeC5M (Photo by APO Group via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, July 18 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s United Bank for Africa (UBA) said on Monday it has expanded into the Middle East, setting up operations in the United Arab Emirates.



The new branch located in the Dubai International Financial Centre will serve customers across the region and focus on correspondent banking, relationship management and advisory services, UBA said in a statement.



UBA Group Chairman Tony O. Elumelu said the new UAE branch would enable trade finance and investments between the Middle East and Africa.



“We have been looking forward to this day as it is the first time we will have presence in this part of the world. We know that our international expansion is incomplete if we are not present in the Gulf,” he said.



UBA already operates in 20 African countries, Britain, France and the United States. 



(Reporting by Joe Bavier; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Reuters

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Reuters

USAID pledges Kenya $255 mln to fight drought, appeals to rich countries to help

Africa’s top public health body gets $100 mln from World Bank

R.I.P. forward guidance: Inflation forces central banks to ditch messaging tool

Global brands are taking note of Africa’s music and talent

Ukraine war rekindles Europe’s demand for African oil and gas

South Africa’s Central Bank raises rate more than forecast

Pandemic, war and ‘crazy’ prices threaten South African pivot from coal

Anglo American sees higher annual diamond output amid robust demand

Vodacom to hold 100% of new South African tower subsidiary

Kenya presidential hopeful Ruto promises to publish contracts with China

Vaccine group invites African states to apply for malaria shot support

Biden announces U.S.-Africa summit for mid-December

South Africa’s inflation surges to 13-year high in June

Africa needs more private funds for infrastructure investments- Africa50 CEO

More than 200 people die as drought ravages northeast Uganda

Ghana to sign $3.2 bln railway project deal with Thelo DB consortium

Nigeria’s United Bank for Africa expands into Middle East

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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