Monday, October 31, 2022

Dollar scarcity worsens as banks ration withdrawals, BDCs stretched

 


 [FILES] A man exchanges Nigeria’s currency Naira for US dollars in Lagos, Nigeria<br />(Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)


By Geoff Iyatse, Assistant Business Editor

• We can’t give what we don’t have, banks tell customers 
• High cash holders mop up the black market, push naira to highway
• BDC dealers at Eko Hotel trade over N2b on Friday 
• Finance ministry boils over ‘cold war’ between CBN, minister
• Uba: Alternative fiscal, monetary coordinating structure required
• ‘CBN Act needs to specify the working relationship between the two offices 

Zimbabwean economic refugees straining SADC, says Ramaphosa

Zimbabwean economic refugees

Suspected undocumented Zimbabwean nationals are directed into a vehicle after attempting to illegally cross the border with South Africa. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said Zimbabwean economic refugees escaping poverty at home are straining southern African countries

By KITSEPILE NYATHI

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that the wave of Zimbabwean economic refugees escaping poverty at home is straining southern African countries and called for an end to western sanctions imposed on Harare.

Kenya’s opposition pushes back Ruto’s plan to promote GMOs

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Demonstrators protesting in 2015 against planned introduction of GMO foods in Kenya. The country's opposition has vowed to push back hard against GMO food imports, opening a new political battlefront with President William Ruto’s government. PHOTO | FILE | NM

By OTIENO OTIENO

Kenya’s opposition has vowed to push back hard against genetically modified (GMO) food imports into the country, opening a new political battlefront with

Tanzania’s population expanded 16 million in a decade

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Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan during the release of the 2022 Population and Housing Census in Dodoma on October 31, 2022. PHOTO | IKULU


Tanzania’s population expanded by 16 million in ten years to 61.7 million, President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced from Dodoma on Monday.

Countries seek joint approach to fight climate change in Horn of Africa

USAID Kenya and East Africa Deputy Mission Director Sheila Roquette

USAID Kenya and East Africa Deputy Mission Director Sheila Roquette speaks at Trade Mark Hotel in Nairobi during the HoRN learning event. She called for the adoption of a joint implementation approach to build resilience in the fights against climate change. PHOTO | RACHEL KIBUI | NMG


By Rachel Kibui

Development organisations predict that up to 5 billion people will face water shortages by 2050 globally as the climate change bug continues to bite and the effects intensify.

How Africa locked down civic rights to battle the Covid-19 pandemic

A police officer chases street vendors in Kampala, Uganda

A police officer chases street vendors in Kampala, Uganda on March 26, 2020 after people were directed to stay home to curb the spread of Covid-19. PHOTO | FILE | AFp

By AGGREY MUTAMBO

On March 27, 2020, Kenya’s police teargassed a crowd jostling for the ferry in Mombasa. They proceeded to round up people and beat them up for

YOUTH AND MENTAL HEALTH IN AFRICA: Bluemind Foundation publishes the 2022 Mental Health Index for Adolescents and Young Adults in French Speaking Africa

 

YOUTH AND MENTAL HEALTH IN AFRICA: Bluemind Foundation publishes the 2022 Mental Health Index for Adolescents and Young Adults in French Speaking Africa


Abidjan, Douala, Lomé, and Paris, 31 October 2022 -/African Media Agency (AMA)/- according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), every day, nearly 20 teenagers commit suicide on the African continent. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15-29 year olds1 , knowing that nearly 37 million teenagers (aged 10-19) live with a mental disorder in Africa2. An alarming situation when we know that by 2050, 40% of young people in the world will live in Africa3.

Eleven die in stampede at Fally Ipupa concert in DR Congo

 

 A stampede left nine spectators and two police officers dead during a packed concert by African music star Fally Ipupa at the biggest stadium in DR Congo's capital, the interior minister said Sunday, blaming the

India bridge collapse kills more than 141

 

At least 141 people died in western India when a colonial-era pedestrian bridge packed with revellers collapsed into the river below, police said Monday.

UN ups troop alert as DR Congo rebels take more ground

 

Units of the Armed Force of the Democratic Republic of Congo and police stand at Kiwanja airfield in Rutshuru, 70 kilometres from the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on April 3, 2022

Four peacekeepers were wounded by mortar fire and shooting at Kiwanja, the mission announced.

Thousands protest against Rwanda in eastern DR Congo city of Goma

 

M23 rebels withdraw through the hills from Karuba in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on November 30, 2012. Rwanda has denied backing the M23 rebel grou

Thousands of anti-Rwanda protesters marched through the

How US billionaire hotelier’s row with son gave birth to Nairobi Hilton Hotel

 

The Hilton Hotel in Nairobi. The hotel will close shop in the city in December after operating since 1969.

File | nation Media Group

Besides being actress Elizabeth Taylor’s first husband, Nick Hilton was credited for being on the board of Hilton International when

Vodacom Tanzania to rollout Mpesa in SADC region


Dar es Salaam. Subscribers with Vodacom’s M-Pesa will now be able to easily send and receive money to eight new countries with

East Africa’s economic recovery falters on debt, fiscal deficits

A filling station in Kenya displaying fuel prices. EA’s pace of economic recovery from the pandemic faces new threats from rising crude prices and the Russia-Ukraine war that has disrupted global supply chains . 

  The increasing risk of debt distress, widening fiscal and current deficits and limited economic diversification plans in the

ACT to undergo rebranding next year, says Zitto

 


Dar es Salaam. The opposition ACT-Wazalendo said yesterday it will..

Why coal exports to Europe could be short-lived

 


Summary


Dar es Salaam. Tanzania has seen a boost in coal exports, specifically to...

Investors sell Sh285m EABL shares as Diageo stake plan revs up price

nse

Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on the trading floor at the Exchange building in Nairobi on August 26, 2020. PHOTO | NMG

By CONSTANT MUNDA More by this Author

Investors have sold Sh285.8 million worth of East African Breweries Plc (EABL) shares in profit-taking trades since Diageo Plc made an offer to raise its stake in the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm at a price of Sh192 per share.

Jubilee and GA gain life premiums market share

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Jubilee Insurance Centre in Nairobi. PHOTO | NMG

By Edna Mwenda More by this Author

Jubilee Insurance Company and GA Life Assurance Company grew their market share in the life or long-term business significantly in the second quarter that ended June as measured by gross premiums.

Inflation hits 65-month high as subsidies end

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Beatrice Bahati arranging sweet potatoes at City Park Market on July 25, 2020. FILE PHOTO | NMG  

By CONSTANT MUNDA More by this Author

Kenya’s cost-of-living measure hit a 65-month high in President William Ruto’s first full month in office on the back of runaway food prices, fuel as well as home equipment and appliances, the statistics agency reported Monday.

Bank dollar rate jumps to Sh130 on high demand

DollarShilling

The volatility in the exchange rate market has slowed dollar trading among lenders or interbank deals, causing a scarcity of the US unit. FILE PHOTO | NMG

By CHARLES MWANIKI More by this Author

Retail dollar buyers are now paying up to Sh130 per unit in Kenyan banking halls, underlining the large margin between the official printed rate and the market rate for customers.