<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4630" height="2929" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GP73G3YF7FNEDCJIJEBMT334WM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-602772"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kenya&#8217;s Opposition leader Raila Odinga addresses delegates after signing a memorandum of understanding between the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) with President William Ruto, to pursue proposed reforms under the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) talks, at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya March 7, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, March 28 (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya is sending former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to South Sudan as a special envoy to help defuse a growing rift between President Salva Kiir and his longtime rival First Vice President Riek Machar, which threatens to drag the country back to war.



Machar was put under house arrest in the capital Juba on Wednesday night, according to his party, effectively voiding a 2018 peace deal that ended a five-year civil war and brought the two men into a fragile power-sharing government.



Their administration has been slow to adopt key provisions of the peace pact, such as national elections and the unification of their two forces into one army.



Machar&#8217;s detention took the country &#8220;one step closer to the edge of collapse into civil war&#8221;, a spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday.



Machar&#8217;s party denies government accusations that it backs the White Army, an ethnic militia largely comprising Nuer youths, which clashed with the army in the northeastern town of Nasir this month, triggering the latest crisis.



In response to the fighting, Kiir&#8217;s forces rounded up several of Machar&#8217;s most senior allies, including the petroleum minister and the deputy head of the army.



Forces loyal to the two men have clashed in recent days outside Juba and elsewhere.



Kenyan President William Ruto, who chairs the East African Community (EAC) bloc, said he had spoken with Kiir about Machar&#8217;s detention, and was sending a special envoy to help de-escalate the situation and report back.



Odinga&#8217;s spokesperson, Dennis Onyango, confirmed that the former prime minister would travel to Juba on Friday.



Machar&#8217;s spokesperson, Puok Both Baluang, said Odinga&#8217;s appointment was a welcome gesture &#8220;as long as it is in line with de-escalation of the situation&#8221;.



&#8220;(Machar) is fine, but nothing changes. He&#8217;s still under house arrest,&#8221; Baluang told Reuters by telephone.



Ruto said he had also consulted Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who sent troops this month to South Sudan at the government&#8217;s request to help secure the capital, and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, which has hosted South Sudan peace talks in the past.



The African Union said it was sending a &#8220;Panel of the Wise&#8221;, a group of five &#8220;highly respected African personalities&#8221;, to help calm the situation.



Rival factions loyal to Kiir and Machar fought a civil war from 2013 to 2018 that killed hundreds of thousands.



(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Editing by Ammu Kannampilly, Clarence Fernandez and Alex Richardson)

GP73G3YF7FNEDCJIJEBMT334WM

Kenya sends former PM Odinga to defuse South Sudan crisis

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="544" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/LYNXMPEG6217H-820x544.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-479306" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/LYNXMPEG6217H-820x544.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/LYNXMPEG6217H-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/LYNXMPEG6217H-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/LYNXMPEG6217H-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/LYNXMPEG6217H-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/LYNXMPEG6217H-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Customers queue to draw money from an ATM outside a branch of South Africa&#8217;s Capitec Bank in Johannesburg,South Africa, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/Files</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 28 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s Capitec Bank said on Friday that Group CEO and founding member Gerrie Fourie will retire in July after 11-1/2 years at the helm, and named Graham Lee, the group executive of its retail bank division, as his successor.



Fourie has been on the executive management team for the past 25 years. He become the CEO in January 2014 and will retire at the annual general meeting to be held on July 18.



&#8220;Under his stewardship as CEO, the company transformed from a challenger bank serving 5 million clients in 2014 to South Africa&#8217;s leading digital bank and a diversified financial services company serving over 24 million personal and business clients&#8221;, the lender said in a statement.



Santie Botha, Chairman of Capitec&#8217;s Board added that Fourie has not only facilitated significant growth and innovation &#8220;but has also built a strong and diverse leadership team, poised to carry the group into the future.&#8221;



As the lender diversified over the last four years, Fourie expanded the executive structure to include divisional executive teams responsible for the personal bank, business bank, insurance company, and strategic initiatives.



Lee, 50, has been a member of the group executive committee since 2022. He joined Capitec in 2003 and has held numerous strategic positions in credit, technology and data, and personal bank operations.



Basani Maluleke will succeed Graham Lee as group executive for the personal bank division, Capitec said.



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla in Johannesburg, additional reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and David Evans)

Customers queue to draw money from an ATM outside a branch of South Africa’s Capitec Bank in Johannesburg,South Africa

South Africa’s Capitec Bank CEO Gerrie Fourie to retire in July

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="485" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Q26RQAICWNPFJFYJE2MKCI6H7Q-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-428138" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Q26RQAICWNPFJFYJE2MKCI6H7Q-1.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Q26RQAICWNPFJFYJE2MKCI6H7Q-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Q26RQAICWNPFJFYJE2MKCI6H7Q-1-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South Africa&#8217;s central bank governor, Lesetja Kganyago, arrives to deliver a keynote address on monetary policy, growth and jobs at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



South Africa’s central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago says the country’s inflation targeting regime is out of date and might be inhibiting faster growth and making the economy less competitive.



While the country’s 25-year-old inflation targeting framework had helped lower interest rates from above 20 percent in 2000 to 7.5% now and helped reduce macroeconomic volatility, Kganyago said a fresh look was needed in line with other developing economies.



`’In this respect, the South African target is now rather dated, reducing our competitiveness and opportunity to generate faster and more sustainable growth,’’ Kganyago told the bank’s biennial conference in Cape Town.



South Africa’s newly established democratic government was one of the earliest adopters of the inflation targeting regime in 2000 when it was set at between 3 and 6 percent. Under Kganyago’s tenure, the SARB has focused its monetary policy on keeping inflation at the mid-point of 4.5 percent, and argued it should be lowered to around 3 percent.



Growth in Africa’s biggest economy has been stuck around 1 percent for the past decade as the country struggled with power shortages and corruption during the rule of former President Jacob Zuma who was accused of allowing a wealthy Indian family to control state institutions in what was generally referred to as ‘state capture’. &nbsp;



President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration has since set a target of lifting economic growth to around 3 percent in the medium term after launching reforms under its Operation Vulindlela programme which helped end debilitating power shortages last year. Momentum was further maintained by the formation of the Government of National Unity after last year’s elections.



Kganyago said a session at the conference will tackle the question of what would be an optimal inflation target for South Africa in the context of what he called the country’s structural rigidities.



‘’Open discussions like these are important for how we think about the trajectory for global macroeconomic policy over the medium term, and what that means for the path of inflation targeting within the South African context,’’ he said.



Under South Africa’s constitution the inflation target is set by the Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana who last October said he was not yet convinced of the merits of adjusting it though teams from the central bank and the National Treasury have started discussions on the subject.

South Africa’s central bank governor to delivers keynote address

South Africa central bank says inflation targeting framework may be stifling growth

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="541" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-820x541.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-425628" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-820x541.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-1536x1013.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/E2LAHPZEEFN6VLWP7WHSXPENYQ-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: The logo of South Africa&#8217;s central reserve bank is seen during the delivery of a keynote address by South Africa&#8217;s central bank governor, Lesetja Kganyago, at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa recorded foreign direct investment inflows of 7.5 billion rand ($411.76 million) in the fourth quarter, compared to outflows of 3.2 billion in the third quarter, central bank data showed on Thursday.



The South African Reserve Bank said in its Quarterly Bulletin that the inflows were due to increased equity investment in domestic subsidiaries by non-resident parent companies.



Portfolio investments recorded smaller inflows of 33.4 billion rand in October-December, compared to inflows of 45.6 billion rand in the third quarter.



&#8220;Non-residents&#8217; net acquisition of debt securities, which included the proceeds from national government&#8217;s issuance of two international bonds amounting to $3.5 billion, outweighed their disposal of equity securities,&#8221; the central bank said.



($1 = 18.2144 rand)



(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning)

FILE PHOTO: South Africa’s central bank governor to delivers keynote address

South Africa shifts to FDI inflows in fourth quarter, central bank says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3243" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PMUHNUWJO5JCDIURCOV3C2CCAY.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-602355"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A used Mini Cooper electric car is seen for sale outside the showroom of a used car dealer in Manchester, Britain, October 19, 2023. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, March 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom will on Tuesday hear arguments to overturn a judgment that could cost Britain&#8217;s financial industry billions of pounds in fresh legal costs and potential customer compensation.



The Court of Appeal ruled in October that it was unlawful for lenders to pay commissions to motor dealers without a customer&#8217;s informed consent, triggering speculation about the nature and scale of possible remedies for affected borrowers.



Lloyds Banking Group, Close Brothers and Santander UK SANS have together already set aside more than 1.5 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) to cover potential compensation claims.



Some analysts say the fallout could be the costliest for banks since they paid almost 40 billion pounds in compensation to customers for mis-selling payment protection insurance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-will-the-supreme-court-consider">WHAT WILL THE SUPREME COURT CONSIDER?</h2>



Reviewing three earlier claims &#8211; two against South African lender FirstRand and one against Britain&#8217;s Close Brothers &#8211; the Supreme Court will decide the extent of car dealers&#8217; legal responsibility to provide appropriate information to consumers when also acting as credit brokers.



Assuming a duty of care is owed, the court is also expected to rule whether commissions paid by lenders to car dealers were &#8220;secret&#8221; or insufficiently disclosed, and whether lenders are liable as accessories for procuring the credit brokers&#8217; breach of duty.



If lenders are considered liable, and the relationship between lender and consumer is considered &#8220;unfair&#8221; under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the court will decide what kind of remedy errant lenders have to make.



The Supreme Court&#8217;s judgment is expected in the summer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-might-be-impacted">WHO MIGHT BE IMPACTED?</h2>



The Financial Conduct Authority banned the payment of discretionary motor finance commissions in 2021, eliminating incentives for brokers to hike the interest rate customers pay on their motor finance loans.



But some customers say they were treated unfairly before the ban came into effect, prompting the FCA to launch a probe in January 2024 into historic potential misconduct.



If the Supreme Court rules lenders and brokers should have been more transparent about commissions, the regulator has said it will consult on the structure of a compensation scheme within six weeks.



More than 2 million people a year rely on the motor finance market to buy a car, FCA data shows.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-much-could-banks-have-to-pay">HOW MUCH COULD BANKS HAVE TO PAY?</h2>



Only a handful of UK lenders have motor finance businesses large enough to be materially concerned about the ruling.



These include Lloyds, Close Brothers and Santander UK, which have already made provisions of 1.15 billion pounds, 295 million pounds and 165 million pounds respectively.



But analysts say other types of commissions paid by banks to credit brokers could face scrutiny if the court decides customers must consent to such payments.



Total &#8216;worst case&#8217; industry costs could reach 30 billion pounds, ratings agency Moody&#8217;s said in November.



RBC Capital has estimated a &#8216;base case&#8217; impact on banks and non-banks of almost 18 billion pounds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-might-influence-the-supreme-court-decision">WHAT MIGHT INFLUENCE THE SUPREME COURT DECISION?</h2>



The outcome of another legal dispute, Expert Tooling vs. Engie Power on March 21, could have a bearing on the motor finance ruling.



That case involved Engie supplying electricity to Expert Tooling via an energy broker. The Court of Appeal found that the commission paid to the broker should have been disclosed. However, it did not find Engie an accessory to the broker&#8217;s breach of duty due to the lack of evidence of dishonesty.



Some lawyers say lenders will likely escape significant financial liabilities unless claimants can prove commission payments were concealed or hidden dishonestly.



Others are not so sure, citing key differences between the cases, including that the claimant in Expert Tooling vs Engie was a business, not a consumer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-next-for-the-banking-industry">WHAT NEXT FOR THE BANKING INDUSTRY?</h2>



Several major British banks have signalled an interest in recent months in mergers and acquisitions, but worries about a damaging consumer finance scandal have cast a pall over dealmaking.



Clarity over the ruling and any compensation scheme could unlock cash set aside to cover legal expenses and revive M&amp;A activity, analysts and bankers say.



($1 = 0.7738 pounds)



(Reporting by Sinead Cruise. Editing by Mark Potter)

PMUHNUWJO5JCDIURCOV3C2CCAY

Is Britain on the cusp of another multibillion-pound consumer finance scandal?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="504" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/BMQRSYHVQ5KPZEVUFBZAFEVTYQ-1.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-601101"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Delegates walk past the Transnet logo at the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2024 conference in Cape Town, South Africa February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



March 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s United National Transport Union (UNTU) said on Thursday it rejected a final wage offer tabled by state-owned logistics group Transnet, which was signed by a smaller union.



Transnet on Thursday announced a three-year pay agreement with the South African Transport and Allied Workers&#8217; Union (SATAWU) to replace the current wage deal which expires on March 31. SATAWU confirmed the agreement in a separate statement.



Under the deal agreed with SATAWU, Transnet will implement 6% wage increases in the first two years of the new agreement and a 5.5% raise in the third year.



UNTU, which represents more than half the workforce at Transnet, declared a deadlock in the wage talks, saying it wants a 10% increase across the board and a single-year agreement, among other demands.



&#8220;UNTU is fully prepared to take to the streets and mobilise our 25,000-plus members to secure a liveable, just and fair agreement,&#8221; it said in a statement.



Transnet said it remained &#8220;positive that this offer will be accepted by all employees&#8221;.



&#8220;Transnet considers the offer to be reasonable and fair given the current financial and operational challenges,&#8221; the firm said.



(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

BMQRSYHVQ5KPZEVUFBZAFEVTYQ (1)

Transnet’s major union rejects wage deal agreed by rival

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="3605" height="2572" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/57G3VEKNUJPP3CRC4HB3EXGSLY.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-602039"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A satellite images shows the presidential palace, in Khartoum, Sudan, March 21, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



DUBAI, March 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The Sudanese army is encircling Khartoum airport, two military sources told Reuters on Wednesday, as it battles to oust its rival Rapid Support Forces from a last foothold in the capital, though the war looks far from over.



The army seized the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum after fighting on Friday, an important symbolic advance after two years of a conflict that is splitting the massive country into rival zones of control.



On Wednesday, the army said it had gained control of Tiba al-Hassanab camp south of the capital, which it described as the RSF&#8217;s last base in central Sudan and last stronghold in Khartoum State.



The military sources said the army was encircling the airport, which is located in the city centre, and surrounding areas. Witnesses said the RSF had focused its troops in southern Khartoum, apparently to secure their withdrawal from the city via bridges to the neighbouring city of Omdurman.



Recent army gains in central Sudan, retaking districts of the capital and other territory, come as the RSF has consolidated its control in the west, hardening battle lines and threatening to move the country towards a de facto partition.



The war, which erupted two years ago as the country was attempting a democratic transition, has caused what the U.N. calls the world&#8217;s largest humanitarian crisis, with famine in several areas as well as outbreaks of disease.



It has driven 12.5 million people from their homes, many of them seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eruption-of-warfare">ERUPTION OF WARFARE</h2>



The army and RSF had at one point been in a fragile partnership together, jointly staging a coup in 2021 that derailed the transition from the Islamist rule of Omar al-Bashir, a longtime autocrat who was ousted in 2019.



They had also fought on the same side for years in the western state of Darfur under Bashir&#8217;s government.



The RSF, under Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, developed from Darfur&#8217;s janjaweed militias and Bashir developed the group as a counterweight to the army, led by career officer Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.



After they seized power together in 2021, the two sides clashed over an internationally backed plan aimed at launching a new transition with civilian parties that would require them both to cede powers.



Major points of dispute included a timetable for the RSF to integrate into the regular armed forces, the chain of command between army and RSF leaders, and the question of civilian oversight.



When fighting broke out, Sudan&#8217;s army had better resources including air power. However, the RSF was more deeply embedded in neighbourhoods across Khartoum and was able to hold much of the capital in an initial, devastating burst of warfare.



The RSF also made rapid advances to gain control of its main stronghold of Darfur and over El Gezira state, south of Khartoum, a big farming area.



With the army now re-establishing its position in the capital, it is making a new push to cement its control in the centre of Sudan.



(Reporting by Khalid Abdulaziz and Tala Ramadan; Writing by Jana Choukeir and Angus McDowall; Editing by Toby Chopra, Frances Kerry and Alex Richardson)

57G3VEKNUJPP3CRC4HB3EXGSLY

Sudan army surrounds Khartoum airport, sources say, in battle for capital

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1080" height="782" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/KJPI5CCCKBMFFMGZUYUMW4RVBE.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-602002"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Duke of Sussex visits the Kasane Health Post, run by the Sentebale charity, in Kasane, Botswana, September 26, 2019. Dominic Lipinski/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, March 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Britain&#8217;s Prince Harry said he was &#8220;in shock&#8221; after quitting as a patron of Sentebale, a British charity he set up to help young people with HIV and Aids in Lesotho and Botswana, following a row between trustees and the chair of the board.



Harry, the younger son of King Charles, co-founded Sentebale in 2006 in honour of his mother Princess Diana nine years after she was killed in a Paris car crash. Sentebale means &#8216;forget-me-not&#8217; in the local language of Lesotho in southern Africa.



Co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, as well as the board of trustees, joined Harry in leaving Sentebale following a dispute with chair Sophie Chandauka, who has taken legal action to try to retain her position.



&#8220;It is devastating that the relationship between the charity&#8217;s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation,&#8221; Harry and Seeiso said in a joint statement published on Sky News on Wednesday.



Harry, who lives in California with his wife Meghan and two children, stopped working as a member of the royal family in 2020. He has been heavily involved in causes in Africa for many years and visited Nigeria last year.



The trustees had acted in the best interests of the charity in asking the chair to step down, the joint statement said.



&#8220;Although we may no longer be Patrons, we will always be its founders, and we will never forget what this charity is capable of achieving when it is in the right care,&#8221; it added.



Reuters has contacted Britain&#8217;s Charity Commission and Sentebale for comment.



(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Mayberry)

KJPI5CCCKBMFFMGZUYUMW4RVBE

UK’s Prince Harry ‘in shock’ after quitting his African Aids charity

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="573" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-820x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-601968" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-820x573.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-129x90.jpg 129w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-768x537.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-1536x1074.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Delegates walk past the MTN logo at the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2024 conference in Cape Town, South Africa February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 26 (Reuters) &#8211; MTN Group and Airtel Africa have struck a deal to share mobile phone network infrastructure in Uganda and Nigeria, they said on Wednesday, aiming to save on investments while still increasing service coverage.



Mobile operators in Africa are seeing sustained demand for digital and financial services, but building and maintaining networks are expensive, especially for fast 5G connections.



&#8220;There are opportunities within regulatory frameworks for sharing resources to drive higher (operational) efficiencies and improve returns,&#8221; MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said in a statement.



Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar said the agreement would avoid duplication of expensive infrastructure.



Sharing infrastructure allows operators to extend their network coverage more quickly, especially in rural or less densely-populated areas where it might not be economically viable to build separate networks.



Following the conclusion of agreements in Uganda and Nigeria, MTN and Airtel Africa will explore various opportunities in other markets, including Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda and Zambia, the companies said.



Among the deals under consideration are radio access network sharing, the largest portion of the cost in network deployment and operation; commercial and technical agreements for fibre infrastructure sharing; and, if necessary, the construction of fibre networks, they added.



&#8220;This engagement does not preclude the parties from collaborating with other operators in any respective market,&#8221; the companies said.



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Mark Potter)

Investing in African Mining Indaba 2024 conference in Cape Town

MTN Group and Airtel Africa agree to share networks in Uganda and Nigeria

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GA7DA74QSJKXFKRCPNMRKUIEWI-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-601938" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GA7DA74QSJKXFKRCPNMRKUIEWI-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GA7DA74QSJKXFKRCPNMRKUIEWI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GA7DA74QSJKXFKRCPNMRKUIEWI-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GA7DA74QSJKXFKRCPNMRKUIEWI-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GA7DA74QSJKXFKRCPNMRKUIEWI-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GA7DA74QSJKXFKRCPNMRKUIEWI.jpg 2027w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Roasted coffee beans are seen on display in Bogota, Colombia June 5, 2019. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/</figcaption></figure>



KAMPALA, March 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The volume of Uganda&#8217;s coffee exports rose 27.9% in February, compared to the same month a year ago, as high prices pushed traders to release larger quantities from their inventories, the agriculture ministry has said.



Uganda is Africa&#8217;s largest coffee exporter followed by Ethiopia, and primarily cultivates the robusta variety.



In February, the east African country shipped 555,756 60-kilogram bags of coffee, which was 27.9% more than the same month last year, the ministry of agriculture said in a report published late on Tuesday.



Uganda earned $167.7 million from coffee exports in February, more than double received during the same period last year, the ministry said.



&#8220;The prevailing high prices at the international scene prompted exporters to release their stocks,&#8221; the report said.



Uganda earned $1.7 billion from exports in the twelve months to February, compared to around $1 billion in the previous year, according to the ministry.



(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Hereward Holland and Eileen Soreng)

GA7DA74QSJKXFKRCPNMRKUIEWI

Uganda’s February coffee exports jump 28% y/y on high prices

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4012" height="2932" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4MJWUG2Y4BLLRMY5UP5QQD5V6Y.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-601607"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Women walk past a PEP Home store in Johannesburg, South Africa, November, 22, 2022. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 25 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s Pepkor said on Tuesday it will buy fashion businesses Legit, Swagga and Style and homewares brand Boardmans from privately owned retail group Retailability, as part of its expansion into the adult clothing market.



Pepkor, which also sells electronics and furniture, already owns the PEP and Ackermans clothing brands which have given it a dominant share of the children&#8217;s clothing and school uniform markets in South Africa.



The total purchase consideration payable on the closing of the proposed deal represents less than 2% of Pepkor&#8217;s market capitalisation subject to relevant net working capital adjustments, Pepkor said in a statement. It will be settled in cash



According to LSEG data, Pepkor&#8217;s market capitalisation was 97 billion rand ($5 billion) at Monday&#8217;s close, making the deal worth around 1.94 billion rand, or $107 million.



The businesses to be bought by Pepkor operate 462 stores across South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Eswatini. They will be incorporated into Pepkor&#8217;s Speciality business unit, which has 941 stores across the same countries.



&#8220;The proposed transaction will add significant additional scale to Pepkor Speciality and expand its product offering in the adult market, especially in womenswear through the Legit brand,&#8221; Pepkor said.



Pepkor has been growing its adultwear categories over the past year through the recent acquisition of Choice Clothing and the launch of its new Ayana womenswear brand.



Retailability, which sells affordable apparel and lifestyle products across a number of brands in Southern Africa, bought department store chain Edgars from struggling parent Edcon in 2020 after it entered into a form of bankruptcy protection.



The Edgars, Edgars Beauty, Red Square, Kelso and Keedo businesses will continue to be operated by Retailability, Pepkor said.



($1 = 18.2675 rand)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Joe Bavier)

4MJWUG2Y4BLLRMY5UP5QQD5V6Y

South Africa’s Pepkor to buy Retailability adult clothing businesses

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108120681-1742877286599-gettyimages-2206472137-vcg111556724938-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-601538" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108120681-1742877286599-gettyimages-2206472137-vcg111556724938-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108120681-1742877286599-gettyimages-2206472137-vcg111556724938-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108120681-1742877286599-gettyimages-2206472137-vcg111556724938-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108120681-1742877286599-gettyimages-2206472137-vcg111556724938-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108120681-1742877286599-gettyimages-2206472137-vcg111556724938-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108120681-1742877286599-gettyimages-2206472137-vcg111556724938-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Attendees pose for a group photo before the opening ceremony of the China Development Forum 2025 at the Diaoyutai Guesthouse on March 23, 2025, in Beijing. China News Service | China News Service | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



BEIJING — China courted the executives of major U.S. businesses at an annual conference this week in a sign of how Beijing seeks to offset trade pressures, rather than retaliate forcefully.



China has long sought to attract foreign investment as a way to bolster growth, while tapping business interests for potential influence on the White House, particularly under U.S. President Donald Trump. The U.S. has twice increased tariffs across all Chinese goods since January, but Beijing has only announced targeted duties and restrictions on a handful of American companies.



Conversation on the sidelines of the state-organized China Development Forum this week in Beijing reinforced a more conciliatory stance than official rhetoric this month about how China is prepared to fight “any type of war” with the United States.



Chinese conference attendees weren’t that focused on what can be done to respond to U.S. tariffs, Stephen Roach, senior fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center, told CNBC.



“The questions I’ve been getting more [are], why is Trump doing this? What is he trying to achieve? What does he think it takes to really make America great?” Roach said. He has attended the event since the early 2000s.



“My answer is this is an unprecedented period for America’s role in the world economy. We’re going back to a tariff regime that history tells us can be extremely destructive,” Roach said, adding he expects more policy uncertainty in the U.S. and around the world “for a long, long time.”



U.S. stocks have swung in recent weeks as investors try to assess the economic impact of Trump’s changing plans for tariffs on major U.S. trading partners. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week said tariffs could delay progress on lowering inflation in the U.S.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-message-of-reassurance"><a></a>A message of ‘reassurance’</h2>



At this week’s conference, China was trying to send a message of “reassurance” — on how it plans to boost consumption and how the country is headed in a “modestly positive direction” relative to what is happening in the U.S., said Scott Kennedy, senior advisor and trustee chair in Chinese business and economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank based in Washington, D.C.



If the U.S. imposes significantly large tariffs in early April, “then you go from managing costs and de-risking to possibly de-coupling,” Kennedy told CNBC. “And then that might mean the game is up. So I think the level of anxiety is pretty high. And that’s why China is trying to provide this message of reassurance.”



The Trump administration has threatened a swath of new tariffs on major trading partners starting early April. China has increased its trade with Southeast Asian countries and the European Union, but the U.S. remains Beijing’s largest trading partner on a single-country basis.



The China Development Forum ran Sunday and Monday. Apple CEO Tim Cook was among the executives who attended, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk was not.



“The increased optimism this year compared to last year at the CDF has been just so heart warming,” Ken Griffin, CEO of hedge fund Citadel, said during an official panel at the forum.



Trump “is committed to American companies having access to a global market,” Griffin said. “And the President is willing to use tariffs to seek to enforce this worldview.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-first-step-toward-xi-trump-meeting"><a></a>First step toward Xi-Trump meeting?</h2>



Also on Sunday, U.S. Republican Senator Steve Daines met Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing — the first time a U.S. politician has visited China since Trump began his latest term in January.



“This was the first step to an important next step, which will be a meeting between President Xi and President Trump,” Daines told the Wall Street Journal. “When that occurs and where it occurs is to be determined.”



The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



Li urged cooperation and said no one can gain from a trade war, according to state media.



FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam, Boeing Senior Vice President Brendan Nelson, Cargill CEO Brian Sikes, Medtronic CEO Geoffrey Martha, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, UL Solutions CEO Jennifer Scanlon and U.S. China Business Council President Sean Stein were also present at Daines’ meeting with Li, according to a foreign media pool report.



China, the world’s second-largest economy, remains a significant source of revenue for many multinational corporations, not to mention a major part of their supply chains.



Despite its efforts to bolster international business ties, the country has warned of countermeasures on U.S. tariffs and taken incremental steps.



Following U.S. sanctions on Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei during Trump’s first term as president, Beijing launched an unreliable entities list that restricts foreign business activity with China.



China added Calvin Klein parent PVH and a few other U.S. companies to the list after this year’s tariff increases. On Monday, China also said it would soon reveal new measures that would give it a legal basis for countering foreign pressure.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-economic-factors"><a></a>Economic factors</h2>



For U.S. companies in China, the state of the economic recovery has also been an important factor for local business plans.



Since late September, China has stepped up efforts to support the economy. Top policymakers earlier this month affirmed stimulus plans and a recent effort to encourage private-sector tech entrepreneurs in the wake of DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence breakthroughs.



“This year, you feel a lot of positive momentum beginning in China. So I feel like recovery is underway,” Wendell P. Weeks, CEO of Corning, told CNBC.



However, China’s economy has struggled with deflationary pressure and a real estate slump, weighing on regional growth prospects for international businesses.



Even Beijing’s push to support high-tech manufacturing has so far only added an average 1.1 percentage points to gross domestic product growth in each of the last three years — not enough to offset the 1.7 percentage point drag from real estate during that time, according to Goldman Sachs estimates.



“We will remain optimistic because the role of technology is important, I think more than ever,” Qualcomm’s Amon told CNBC. “I think technology is going to be part of economic growth.”

108120681-1742877286599-gettyimages-2206472137-vcg111556724938

China invites U.S. business leaders to Beijing as it tries to decipher Trump’s trade plans

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="3534" height="2160" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/ZIIXQ6OSDZNIDMT4XSSBJ756JM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-601515"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Members of the M23 rebel group stand guard as people attend a rally addressed by Corneille Nangaa, Congolese rebel leader and coordinator of the AFC-M23 movement, in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo February 27, 2025. REUTERS/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, March 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The political blocs of Southern and Eastern Africa have expanded the mediation team for negotiating an end to the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel offensive in eastern Congo, at a heads of state meeting on Monday that Rwanda described as fruitful.



Diplomatic efforts to resolve eastern Congo&#8217;s biggest conflict in decades appeared to have stalled last week when the M23 failed to attend peace talks with the Congolese government in Angola, and later captured the strategic town of Walikale.



The violence, rooted in the long fallout from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and competition for control of mineral riches, has led to rebel control of eastern Congo&#8217;s two largest cities, thousands of deaths and fears of a wider regional war.



The Southern and Eastern Africa blocs appointed five former heads of state, including Nigeria&#8217;s Olusegun Obasanjo, South Africa&#8217;s Kgalema Motlanthe and Ethiopia&#8217;s Sahle-Work Zewde to &#8220;facilitate&#8221; the peace process, they said in a statement early on Tuesday.



Congo&#8217;s presidency said on X the new panel would appoint a mediator to replace the president of Angola, who withdrew on Monday following years of faltering efforts to ease tensions between Rwanda and Congo.



Rwanda&#8217;s government, which is facing sanctions and had some aid suspended over its reported provision of arms and troops to M23, said on X the leaders attending Monday&#8217;s summit &#8220;committed to a political solution that addresses the security concerns of all parties.&#8221;



Congo accuses M23 of being a Rwandan proxy. Rwanda denies involvement, but also says its forces are acting in self defence against Congo&#8217;s army and militias hostile to Kigali.



The Angolan government expressed frustration last week about a surprise meeting arranged by Qatar&#8217;s emir between Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, the first face-to-face meeting between the two men since the conflict escalated towards the end of last year.



Tshisekedi and Kagame issued a joint statement along with Qatar that called for an &#8220;immediate and unconditional&#8221; ceasefire, but which failed to halt the violence.



M23 withdrew from what could have been its first direct negotiations with Kinshasa last week after the European Union imposed sanctions against rebel and Rwandan officials.



(Reporting by Congo Newsroom; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Kim Coghill)

ZIIXQ6OSDZNIDMT4XSSBJ756JM

African blocs expand mediation team for Congo conflict

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-524999" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A view shows part of Dangote oil refinery in Ibeju Lekki district, on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. jet fuel imports are set to hit a two-year high in March after Nigeria&#8217;s Dangote refinery pushed barrels to North America,&nbsp;which should lower prices of the aviation fuel in the peak summer travel season, trade analysts and storage brokers said.



The shipments by the 650,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) Dangote refinery, Africa&#8217;s largest, highlight its potential to reshape global fuel trading dynamics by creating a new swing supplier in the Atlantic Basin.



It has already shown signs of success in competing with European refiners on gasoline exports, and the jet fuel shipments to the United States could challenge domestic producers&#8217; economics in the largest fuel consuming nation.



Six vessels carrying about 1.7 million barrels of jet fuel from the Dangote refinery arrived at U.S. ports this month, data from ship-tracking service Kpler showed. Another vessel, Hafnia Andromeda, is set to arrive at the Everglades terminal on March 29 with a load of about 348,000 barrels of jet fuel, the data showed.



Total U.S. jet fuel imports so far in March stood at around 226,000 bpd, the most since February 2023, the data showed.



The Dangote refinery started production last January after years of construction delays, and ramped up to about 85% of capacity in early February, allowing it to sell more fuel to international markets.



Dangote is unlikely to be a regular jet fuel supplier to the U.S., but a maintenance-related shutdown of the Phillips 66 PSX.N Bayway refinery in New Jersey helped open a rare arbitrage opportunity for flows from Nigeria to the U.S., Sparta Commodities analyst James Noel-Beswick said.



The window is likely to close soon or shrink significantly due to elevated U.S. inventories of the aviation fuel, Noel-Beswick added.



Demand to lease storage tanks for jet fuel in Houston and New York Harbor in April is averaging around 700,000 barrels on storage broker TankTiger&#8217;s platform, five to six times the average monthly demand, TankTiger Chief Operating Officer Steven Barsamian said.



The surge in demand, partly due to the influx of supply from Nigeria, is likely to lower jet fuel prices in the U.S. ahead of peak summer travel season, Barsamian said.



Despite lower prices, air travel over the summer could be dampened by economic headwinds from a stock market selloff and waning consumer confidence, Sparta&#8217;s Noel-Beswick said.



U.S. jet fuel stocks ended February at 45.2 million barrels, the highest for the month since 1999, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed.



U.S. refiners&#8217; yield of jet fuel hit a record last year, reflecting stronger demand relative to other transportation fuels, the EIA said on Monday. The agency expects U.S. jet fuel consumption to touch a record in 2026.



(Reporting by Shariq Khan in New YorkEditing by Nick Zieminski)

FILE PHOTO: A view shows part of Dangote oil refinery in Ibeju Lekki district

US jet fuel imports surge as Nigeria’s Dangote refinery pushes barrels west

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TE3RFSDQENJTFFYC6SW6PIPCBE-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-529685" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TE3RFSDQENJTFFYC6SW6PIPCBE-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TE3RFSDQENJTFFYC6SW6PIPCBE-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TE3RFSDQENJTFFYC6SW6PIPCBE-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TE3RFSDQENJTFFYC6SW6PIPCBE-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TE3RFSDQENJTFFYC6SW6PIPCBE-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TE3RFSDQENJTFFYC6SW6PIPCBE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters building is seen ahead of the IMF/World Bank spring meetings in Washington, U.S., April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, March 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya has applied for a new lending programme from the International Monetary Fund in order to factor in unused money from the current programme, which both sides walked away from last week, Finance Minister John Mbadi said on Monday.



The East African nation and the IMF agreed last week to scupper the ninth and final review of the current programme, which was set to expire next month. Mbadi said the decision to do so was down to time limitations.



&#8220;Because there is a carryover, there is some money that we have not utilized in the ninth review, then we agreed that there&#8217;s a possibility of a funded programme,&#8221; he told Reuters.



Mbadi said there was roughly $800 million left on the table.



President William Ruto&#8217;s government has struggled to get its finances back on track after a borrowing spree led to a surge in debt-servicing costs.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri, editing by Libby George and Alex Richardson)

FILE PHOTO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters building is seen ahead of the IMF/World Bank spring meetings in Washington

Kenya has applied for new IMF lending programme, finance minister says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3333" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/ZDLMSIGEBBPQBOFRWSNUUJYYMY.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-601146"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">M23 rebels sit on a truck during the escort of captured FDLR members (not pictured) to Rwanda for repatriation, at the Goma-Gisenyi Grande Barrier border crossing, March 1, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



March 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Angola will step down from its position as a mediator between parties involved in an escalating Rwanda-backed rebel offensive in eastern Congo, the presidency said on Monday, with another African state set to lead efforts to get peace talks back on track.



The ethnic Tutsi-led M23 escalated their long-standing rebellion this year, seizing east Congo&#8217;s two biggest cities since January and encroaching into territory rich in minerals such as gold and tantalum.



As the current rotating African Union (AU) Chairperson, Angola&#8217;s President Joao Lourenco had been trying to mediate a lasting ceasefire and lower tensions between Congo and neighbouring Rwanda, which has been accused of backing M23. Rwanda denies this.



Congo and M23 were scheduled to hold direct talks for the first time in Angola&#8217;s capital Luanda last week after Congo&#8217;s President Felix Tshisekedi, who had long refused dialogue with the rebels, agreed to send a delegation.



M23 pulled out at the last minute, following European Union sanctions against M23 and Rwandan officials.



&#8220;Angola considers the need to free itself from the responsibility of the mediator of this conflict&#8221; to &#8220;devote itself more&#8221; to the AU&#8217;s overall priorities, the presidency said in a statement that mentioned the &#8220;aborted&#8221; meeting in Luanda.



Another head of state will be appointed to the task in coming days, the statement said.



There have been several attempts to resolve the conflict, rooted in the fallout from Rwanda&#8217;s 1994 genocide and competition for mineral riches, including several ceasefires that were violated, international condemnations, sanctions and regional summits.



The regional blocs of southern and eastern Africa will hold a second joint summit on Monday to address the crisis. Kenya&#8217;s President William Ruto and his Zimbabwean counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa will co-chair the virtual event.



M23 last week dismissed a joint call for an immediate ceasefire by Congo and Rwanda and reiterated demands for direct talks with Kinshasa, saying it was the only way to resolve the conflict.



The rebel group said over the weekend that it would withdraw forces from the seized town of Walikale in support of peace efforts.



In response, Congo&#8217;s army said it would observe the announced withdrawal and refrain from any offensives against enemy forces to encourage de-escalation.



A civil society source and a resident in Walikale said on Monday that M23 were still in the town.



(Reporting by Congo newsroom; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Hereward Holland and Toby Chopra)

ZDLMSIGEBBPQBOFRWSNUUJYYMY

Angola to end east Congo conflict mediation role, presidency says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864874-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-505638" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864874-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864874-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864874-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864874-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864874-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864874-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A South African one rand coin sits on South African rand banknotes in this arranged photograph in Pretoria, South Africa, on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019. The rand ended a tumultuous week on a positive note, gaining against the dollar for a second day and heading for its first weekly advance in four as technical indicators suggested recent declines are overdone. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s rand strengthened on Monday as investors awaited clarity on the next round of tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump.



At 0738 GMT, the rand traded at 18.17 per dollar, about 0.3% stronger than its previous close.



While the rand has gained about 4% against the dollar this year, trade in the local currency has often been volatile as both domestic and international factors weigh.



South Africa&#8217;s central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged last week despite cooling inflation amid risks stemming from Trump&#8217;s global trade war and the country&#8217;s deadlocked national budget.



The next round of tariffs is due on April 2, when the White House will announce reciprocal levies on many countries.



On the stock market, the Top-40 index was last up about 0.2%.



South Africa&#8217;s benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield up 3 basis points to 9.09%.



(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Toby Chopra)

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African blocs expand mediation team for Congo conflict

US jet fuel imports surge as Nigeria’s Dangote refinery pushes barrels west

Kenya has applied for new IMF lending programme, finance minister says

Angola to end east Congo conflict mediation role, presidency says

South African rand firms as markets await US tariff clarity

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African blocs expand mediation team for Congo conflict

US jet fuel imports surge as Nigeria’s Dangote refinery pushes barrels west

Kenya has applied for new IMF lending programme, finance minister says

Angola to end east Congo conflict mediation role, presidency says

South African rand firms as markets await US tariff clarity

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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