<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3345" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/QBEYZAZEXFJCNHYDTQA5BDKG2M.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-562813"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The logo of consulting firm McKinsey and Company is seen at the high profile startups and high tech leaders gathering, Viva Tech,in Paris, France May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) &#8211; McKinsey and Company Africa Ltd, a subsidiary of McKinsey &amp; Company, will pay more than $122 million to resolve a U.S. investigation into a bribery scheme in South Africa, the Justice Department said on Thursday.



Privately owned McKinsey Africa was charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for agreeing to pay bribes to officials at state-owned energy company Eskom and port and freight rail operator Transnet in exchange for non-public information about consulting contracts.



McKinsey Africa entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department.



&#8220;McKinsey Africa bribed South African officials in order to obtain lucrative consulting business that generated tens of millions of dollars in profits,&#8221; said Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.



Vikas Sagar, a senior former partner at McKinsey, previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the act. He could not immediately be reached for comment.



In a statement, McKinsey said Sagar had concealed his conduct from the company, and that it fired him soon after it learned about the issues.



McKinsey and McKinsey Africa earned around $85 million in profits through the bribery scheme, the Justice Department said. Eskom had hired McKinsey to help it execute a &#8220;turnaround plan.&#8221;



Inefficiencies at Eskom and Transnet have constrained growth in Africa&#8217;s most industrialized economy for more than a decade.



The Justice Department said McKinsey Africa had received credit for cooperating with its investigation and conducting anti-corruption training for employees. The $122,850,000 McKinsey has agreed to fork up includes a penalty it will pay in South Africa.



McKinsey is also in talks with the Justice Department to pay more than $600 million to resolve a separate investigation into the consulting firm&#8217;s work helping opioid manufacturers boost sales that allegedly contributed to a deadly addiction epidemic, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.



(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Ismail Shakil; additional reporting by Nate Raymond; Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Jonathan Oatis)

QBEYZAZEXFJCNHYDTQA5BDKG2M

McKinsey Africa to pay $122 million in South Africa bribery scheme, US Justice Department says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="517" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-820x517.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416545" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-820x517.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-300x189.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-143x90.jpeg 143w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-768x484.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-1536x969.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A participant stands near a logo of World Bank at the International Monetary Fund &#8211; World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, October 12, 2018.
Johannes Christo | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



Dec 6 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Donor countries have pledged a record $100 billion three-year replenishment of the World Bank&#8217;s fund for the poorest nations, providing a vital lifeline for their struggles against crushing debts, climate disasters, inflation and conflict.



The World Bank made the announcement early on Friday in Seoul at a pledging conference for the International Development Association, which provides grants and very low-interest loans to 78 low-income countries.



The total exceeds the previous $93 billion IDA replenishment announced in December 2021. Countries will contribute about $24 billion directly to IDA, only marginally increased from the $23.5 billion pledged in 2021, but the fund will issue bonds and employ other financial leverage to stretch that to the targeted $100 billion in grants and loans through mid-2028.



The two-day pledging conference fell short of the $120 billion goal that African heads of state had called for, partly because the U.S. dollar&#8217;s strength .DXY &#8211; pushed up by Donald Trump&#8217;s U.S. presidential election victory &#8211; diminished the dollar value of significant increases in foreign currency contributions by several countries.



At a G20 leaders&#8217; summit in Brazil last month, Norway increased its pledge by 50% from 2021 to 5.024 billion krone. That&#8217;s $455 million at current exchange rates, but at the start of 2024, it would have been worth $496 million.



South Korea boosted its pledge by 45% to 846 billion won, ($597 million), Britain by 40% to 1.8 billion pounds, and Spain by 37% to 400 million euros. Spain&#8217;s pledge was worth $423 million on Friday, $10 million less than the day it was announced in October.



U.S. President Joe Biden pledged a $4 billion U.S. contribution, up from $3.5 billion in the previous round.



The World Bank did not immediately reveal the amounts of other pledges, but said that 17 donor countries had committed to raising their contributions by more than 25%, with 10 offering increases of 40% or more.



World Bank President Ajay Banga said in a statement that IDA will be able to stretch the new pledges further because of work done to optimize the development lender&#8217;s balance sheet over the past two years, increasing its lending capacity by some $150 billion over 10 years.



The bank&#8217;s ability to leverage contributions will transform &#8220;modest contributions into life-changing investments,&#8221; Banga said in an open letter to shareholders and client countries.



About 35 countries have graduated from IDA to become donors, including China, South Korea, Chile, Jordan, and Turkey.



Banga said the resources will allow the bank to put job creation at the center of its work, even as it addresses climate change and other global crises.



&#8220;In this context, IDA is not just a financial instrument; it is a catalyst for job creation,&#8221; Banga said. &#8220;It provides countries with the resources to build infrastructure, improve education and health systems and foster private sector growth.&#8221;



($1 = 0.9455 euros)



(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Saad Sayeed)

106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report

World Bank wins $100 bln replenishment of fund for poorest countries

Bob Geldof on what makes a good leader

How Shopping Malls Are Being Transformed Into Apartments In The U.S.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3333" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/UF4K7PHXAZNURIYHXZYZ7KQQXA.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-562468"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Diamonds are seen during an exhibition in Gaborone, Botswana, November 23, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



GABORONE, Dec 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Botswana&#8217;s central bank left its main lending rate unchanged on Thursday, saying the economy was expected to operate below capacity and not generate demand-driven inflationary pressures because of a slump in the global diamond market.



The Bank of Botswana held its Monetary Policy Rate at 1.90% for the second policy meeting in a row. The rate is based on a seven-day instrument.



&#8220;The economy will contract this year primarily due to the downturn in the global diamond market and moderately recover next year,&#8221; central bank Governor Cornelius Dekop told a news conference.



The southern African country&#8217;s economy is largely dependent on the export of diamonds, and declining earnings from the precious stone have limited government spending.



The central bank also lowered its primary reserve requirement to 0% from 2.5% due to significantly reduced liquidity in the banking system.



Dekop said inflation was expected to average 2.9% in 2024 and 3.3% in 2025, compared with forecasts of 2.8% and 3.1% given at the bank&#8217;s previous monetary policy meeting in November.



The Bank of Botswana prefers inflation between 3% and 6% over the medium term. Annual inflation stood at 1.6% in October.



(Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Writing by Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning, Kirsten Donovan)

UF4K7PHXAZNURIYHXZYZ7KQQXA

Botswana holds main interest rate as diamond slump saps economy

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1080" height="755" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ZIJ3HNNBURIB3GCTMDH2DSOPEQ.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-562383"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People queue in front of the South African Airways (SAA) counters at Cape Town International Airport, amid SAA pilots planning to strike following a deadlock in pay rise negotiations, in Cape Town, South Africa, December 5, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Dec 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African Airways said it had cancelled flights to Perth and Sao Paulo on Thursday after receiving confirmation from the SAA Pilots Association that they planned to strike following a deadlock in pay talks.



The company decided to cancel the Perth and Sao Paulo routes last night after being told the strike planned for Thursday would go ahead, Khaya Buthelezi, the airline&#8217;s senior manager of corporate relations, told Reuters.



&#8220;That&#8217;s the decision we took last night since we could not find partner airlines that we can transfer our customers to, it became clear that those two routes must be cancelled,&#8221; he said.



Early on Thursday, there were no disruptions to domestic flights and routes across Africa as the airline had made contingency plans, he said.



Some pilots were seen picketing outside the SAA office at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, Buthelezi said.



The SAA Pilots Association (SAAPA) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



SAAPA&#8217;s initial demand proposed in May was for a 30% increase in pilot salaries, which was subsequently reduced to 15.7%, including associated benefits, SAA said in a statement earlier this week.



The company&#8217;s interim Chief Executive Officer John Lamola said in that statement that the demand for a 15.7% pay rise would trigger the company&#8217;s decline into bankruptcy.



The airline has offered an 8.46% pay increase backdated to April.



The national carrier was on the verge of being liquidated before it entered a form of bankruptcy protection in 2019.



(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov, Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Jane Merriman)

ZIJ3HNNBURIB3GCTMDH2DSOPEQ

South African Airways cancels some flights as pilots go on strike

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/107354835-1704471188107-gettyimages-1902360932-CZECH_CRYPTO-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-562379" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/107354835-1704471188107-gettyimages-1902360932-CZECH_CRYPTO-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/107354835-1704471188107-gettyimages-1902360932-CZECH_CRYPTO-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/107354835-1704471188107-gettyimages-1902360932-CZECH_CRYPTO-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/107354835-1704471188107-gettyimages-1902360932-CZECH_CRYPTO-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/107354835-1704471188107-gettyimages-1902360932-CZECH_CRYPTO-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/107354835-1704471188107-gettyimages-1902360932-CZECH_CRYPTO.jpeg 1858w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A neon sign indicates that Bitcoin is accepted inside the venue of the Paralelni Polis project, an organization combining art, social sciences and modern technology, in Prague, Czech Republic, on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Milan Jaros | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The price of bitcoin soared past the long-awaited $100,000 benchmark for the first time ever late Wednesday evening.



The flagship cryptocurrency was last higher by more than 4% at $103,544.00, according to Coin Metrics. Earlier, it rose as high as $103,844.05. Bitcoin is now up more than 140% in 2024 and 48% since the election.



The move came hours after President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to nominate Paul Atkins as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, fulfilling perhaps his most important campaign promise to the crypto industry: to replace Gary Gensler, who has become something of a villain in crypto for the agency’s regulation-by-enforcement approach to the industry under his leadership.



It’s a day of celebration for longtime bitcoin investors, who have held on for dear life, or “HODL’d” through several of the cryptocurrency’s boom and bust cycles, during which government and financial institutions remained dismissive — and even hostile — toward the asset class.



That’s largely because of the cryptocurrency’s anti-establishment roots. The original idea for Bitcoin was proposed at the height of the 2008 financial crisis: a “peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution,” its founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, wrote in the Bitcoin Whitepaper.



In recent years, however, the industry has demonstrated the value of bitcoin to much of the institutional investing world. BlackRock, Fidelity, Invesco and others launched the first spot bitcoin ETFs at the beginning of this year — bitcoin’s “IPO” moment — and the growing demand for them by institutions has helped drive the price higher. In November, Rick Wurster, the incoming CEO of Charles Schwab, said the firm is preparing to enter spot crypto trading, pending regulatory changes expected in the next Trump administration.



On Wednesday, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said bitcoin is “just like gold only it’s virtual, it’s digital,” speaking at the DealBook conference. He further clarified that “people are not using it as a form of payment, or as a store of value” and that “it’s not a competitor for the dollar, it’s really a competitor for gold.”



“We’re witnessing a paradigm shift. After four years of political purgatory, bitcoin and the entire digital asset ecosystem are on the brink of entering the financial mainstream,” Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, told CNBC.



Bitcoin had been widely expected to reach the landmark $100,000 level since the U.S. presidential election. However, excited investors sent bitcoin closer to this mark much sooner than initially anticipated; it rose as high as $99,849.99 on Nov. 22. There is much hope that President-elect Trump will deliver on several pro-crypto initiatives in the year ahead – including the establishment of a national strategic bitcoin reserve or stockpile, no taxes on crypto transactions and opening up the crypto public equity markets with more IPOs.



“Over the long term, I’m bullish,” Novogratz added. “It won’t be a straight line up, and investors should always consider taking gains off the table. But, with a pro-crypto administration about to take charge in the U.S., it’ll be hard for the rest of the world not to take notice.”

107354835-1704471188107-gettyimages-1902360932-CZECH_CRYPTO

Bitcoin tops $100,000 as monster 2024 rally reaches new heights

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="549" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-820x549.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-425202" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-820x549.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-134x90.jpg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-1536x1028.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South African Rand coins are seen in this photo illustration . REUTERS/Mike Hutchings</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Dec 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s rand strengthened on Thursday, ahead of the release of local current account data for the third quarter.



At 0714 GMT, the rand traded at 18.11 against the dollar, about 0.4% stronger than its previous close.



The dollar index was last down 0.2% against a basket of currencies.



The South African Reserve Bank will publish the country&#8217;s third quarter current account data at 0900 GMT. Analysts polled by Reuters predict a deficit of 85.5 billion rand ($4.72 billion).



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



South Africa&#8217;s benchmark 2030 government bond was marginally weaker, with the yield up 1.5 basis points to 8.95%.



($1 = 18.1167 rand)



(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Susan Fenton)

South African Rand coins are seen in this photo illustration

South African rand firms ahead of Q3 current account data

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1080" height="721" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/I7IV7WCMLBKQBBJ2HO44Y2YBEI.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-562344"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A woman uses a donkey cart to transport a barrel of water in drought affected areas in Higlo Kebele, Adadle woreda, Somali region of Ethiopia, in this undated handout photograph. Michael Tewelde/World Food Programme/Handout via REUTERS/ File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, (Reuters) &#8211; Multilateral lender Climate Investment Funds will back a $500 million plan to help drought-prone Ethiopia restore degraded land, protect its forests and bolster food security, it said on Wednesday.



CIF&#8217;s board said it had agreed a $37 million investment from its Nature, People, and Climate programme that it expects to mobilise $492 million in co-financing from other investors, including the World Bank and African Development Bank.



Most Ethiopians live in rural areas and rely on agriculture yet more than half of the country is experiencing some level of land degradation and around 11 million hectares are in danger of turning into desert, CIF said.



The funding is expected to help restore more than 320,000 hectares of wild Arabica coffee forests, farmlands, and rangelands in the Amhara, Oromia, South Ethiopia, and Somali regions and create an online registry of the country&#8217;s forests.



&#8220;This programme is really trying to get at how climate change and land degradation are undermining the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers and pastoralists in Ethiopia,&#8221; said Paul Hartman, the lead for CIF&#8217;s nature programmes.



As well as helping reduce poverty and increase economic sustainability, the plan, created by the government, aims to increase agricultural productivity and improve food security.



As countries gather in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh for global talks on the issue of land degradation, Hartman said it was important for countries to weave the issue through their plans to combat climate change and biodiversity loss.



While around half the money targeted by Ethiopia had already been allocated by co-investors to projects, the rest would likely come from private and philanthropic investors in the months ahead, Hartman added.



Projects to receive funding will include those focused on afforestation and reforestation, regeneration of soil health and water conservation, and sustainable farming.



(Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Christina Fincher)

I7IV7WCMLBKQBBJ2HO44Y2YBEI

Climate Investment Funds board backs $500 mln Ethiopia nature plan

How Jaguar Plans To Save Itself

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/QB6JRHKB7ZP6ZHQH64RWM3XN7A-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-562084" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/QB6JRHKB7ZP6ZHQH64RWM3XN7A-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/QB6JRHKB7ZP6ZHQH64RWM3XN7A-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/QB6JRHKB7ZP6ZHQH64RWM3XN7A-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/QB6JRHKB7ZP6ZHQH64RWM3XN7A-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/QB6JRHKB7ZP6ZHQH64RWM3XN7A-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/QB6JRHKB7ZP6ZHQH64RWM3XN7A-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">U.S. President Joe Biden stands with Angolan Minister of Transport Ricardo Daniel Sandao Queiros Viegas de Abreu, during a visit to the Lobito Port Terminal to receive a briefing on the Lobito Atlantic Railway, in Lobito, Angola, December 4, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz</figcaption></figure>



LOBITO, Angola, Dec 4 (Reuters) &#8211; U.S. President Joe Biden met African leaders in the Angolan port of Lobito on Wednesday to advance a plan to extend a railway that could channel critical minerals from Congo and Zambia to the West via Lobito, and counter Chinese clout in the region.



As things stand, China is the main foreign player in Democratic Republic of Congo&#8217;s mining sector, which exports minerals considered critical for batteries and other industrial components key to transitioning away from fossil fuels.



The United States has provided a $550 million loan to support the&nbsp;Lobito&nbsp;venture, which involves refurbishing an existing railway through Angola and extending it into Congo&#8217;s mining heartland as part of the first phase.



No date has been given for its completion yet, while a second phase that would link Lobito to Zambia via a new railway line is still at the preparation stage, with an aim to break ground in 2026according to Washington.



The presidents of Angola, Congo and Zambia and the vice president of Tanzania joined Biden for a summit in Lobito on the last day of his first and only trip to Africa as president.



Biden and Congo&#8217;s Felix Tshisekedi affirmed their commitment to promoting investment and peace to allow the central African nation to make the most of its vast mineral wealth, according to a note from the White House issued after the two met.



Biden and Zambian counterpart Hakainde Hichilema also met to discuss the Zambian component of the Lobito project and other issues.



&#8220;This corridor is of vital importance to opening up our countries, to opening up our regions, the continent, and truly the global economy,&#8221; Hichilema said. &#8220;This project is a huge opportunity for investment, for trade.&#8221;



&#8220;The presidents underscored their conviction,&#8221; a White House statement said, &#8220;that countries should not be held back from investing in their development by the need to service unsustainably high debt, and together committed to continue advocating for reform.&#8221;



In June, Zambia&#8217;s international bondholders voted through their part of a $13.4 billion debt restructuring deal, making Zambia the first to complete a full-blown rework under the G20-led &#8220;Common Framework&#8221; architecture.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-china-factor">THE CHINA FACTOR</h2>



The Lobito Atlantic Railway concession, awarded in 2022 to a consortium of Western companies, has been presented as a win against China, as Washington is increasingly concerned about the Chinese grip on critical minerals, including Congo&#8217;s vast reserves of copper and cobalt.



The second phase of the project&nbsp;envisions extending the Lobito corridor&nbsp;railway&nbsp;through&nbsp;Zambia and connecting it to&nbsp;Tanzania&#8217;s Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam.



The U.S. has funded feasibility studies&nbsp;for the second phase, but&nbsp;critics say it&nbsp;could&nbsp;offer&nbsp;China&nbsp;a rival route&nbsp;eastwards, undermining the entire project from Washington&#8217;s perspective.



After Donald Trump is sworn in as U.S. president in January, Washington is expected to take a harsher line with China and some officials have questioned whether U.S. support for the eastern route will continue.



Trump will likely back at least parts of the Lobito project and remain a close partner to Angola when he returns to the White House, according to two officials who served under the previous 2017-21 Trump administration.



The details relating to the funding and construction of the second phase of the project are still in question.



The Lobito project is backed by global commodities trader Trafigura, Portuguese construction group Mota-Engil and railway operator Vecturis. There is no date yet for its completion.



A senior U.S. official said on Tuesday that the Lobito project could be completed by the end of the decade, without providing further details.



The U.S. Development Finance Corporation has provided the $550 million loan to refurbish the 1,300-km (800-mile) rail network from Lobito to Congo.



U.S. officials announced&nbsp;fresh&nbsp;financing&nbsp;for the first phase of the venture&nbsp;this week through the Development Finance Corporation worth $600 million for projects including solar, minerals and telecommunications.



Biden pledged lasting U.S. engagement with Africa on the continent&#8217;s own terms as he met with his Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco in Luanda on Tuesday. Biden&#8217;s trip delivered on a promise to visit Africa, but came only weeks before his presidency ends.



Despite his repeated pledges to be &#8220;all in on Africa&#8221;, U.S. influence in Africa has declined during his term in office. Washington has lost a military base in the Sahel region and made little progress breaking China&#8217;s commercial dominationin minerals seen as critical to national security.



Angola has long nurtured close ties with China and Russia but has recently moved closer to the West. Itaims to expand its collaboration with the United States on security and military initiatives, Lourenco said during Biden&#8217;s visit on Tuesday.



(Reporting by Jessica Donati and Trevor Hunnicutt; editing by Timothy Heritage, Estelle Shirbon and Mark Heinrich)

U.S. President Joe Biden vistis the Lobito Port Terminal

Biden meets African leaders in Angola to advance Lobito railway project

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BrandVoice-Picture-820x429.png" alt="" class="wp-image-562004" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BrandVoice-Picture-820x429.png 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BrandVoice-Picture-300x157.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BrandVoice-Picture-160x84.png 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BrandVoice-Picture-768x402.png 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BrandVoice-Picture.png 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



The Cambridge dictionary of an entrepreneur is, “someone who starts their own business, especially when this involves seeing a new opportunity,” underpinning the concepts of material gain from identifying an external need. Yet, for many, entrepreneurship holds a different meaning. In South Africa, a country with high unemployment and poverty rates, entrepreneurship often comes from desperation – the need to have enough to escape the present situation of no income, and a scarcity of opportunities that will alleviate the circumstances.


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<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="500" height="500" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CoffeeMM-LOGO.png" alt="" class="wp-image-562003" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CoffeeMM-LOGO.png 500w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CoffeeMM-LOGO-300x300.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CoffeeMM-LOGO-90x90.png 90w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></figure></div>


Now a business valued at over two million rands, CoffeeMM was started by young entrepreneur Mhlengi Ngcobo from the nexus of his love for coffee and the dire need to improve his livelihood, eventually also morphing into the personal calling that he felt towards improving the livelihoods of others. Starting in 2017 as a small-batch and artisanal coffee roastery based in Stellenbosch, CoffeeMM opened its first coffee shop in 2021 with assistance from Ranyaka Community Transformation at the CoCreate Hub. In 2023, the CoffeeMM Academy opened, allowing for a holistic undertaking of the coffee industry and exponentially increasing the social impact that CoffeeMM could have. March 2024 saw the opening of Maties Coffee Hub, a coffee shop established in the heart of Stellenbosch University’s campus in collaboration with Stellenbosch University to offer students good quality and ethically sourced coffee.



Beyond this growth in operations, Ngcobo has received many accolades, inclusive of being listed in Forbes 30 under 30, recently being the African Young Business Leader of the Year finalist at the AABLA Awards 2024, and receiving multiple features in big publishing houses in South Africa. Despite CoffeeMM only selling one bag of coffee beans in its first year of operating in 2017, the success in the subsequent years is a testament to the power of entrepreneurship to mobilize and empower individuals to change their lives. Beyond that, entrepreneurship is also providing Ngcobo with the agency to challenge and redefine the status quo, and he is proud of the positive impact that CoffeeMM has.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-entrepreneur-mhlengi-ngcobo">Meet Entrepreneur Mhlengi Ngcobo</h2>



In the face of adversity, Ngcobo sees opportunity – the basis of his entrepreneurship journey and the motto that he wishes to spread, especially amongst the youth of South Africa where unemployment rates are highest amongst persons between the ages of 18 and 35. Over the last two years, Ngcobo, through the CoffeeMM Academy, has presented Entrepreneurship Courses at nine low-income high schools in and around Stellenbosch and Cape Town to over 300 learners, directly addressing the economic crisis and decreased morale that youth unemployment causes. The curriculum takes learners through the steps of starting their businesses firstly by identifying problems they see around them and then empowering them with the skills and knowledge to change their situations, despite the lack of opportunities or support that they might face. Learners are then challenged to work in groups to come up with solutions to the identified problems and turn the solutions into a profitable business.



A fundamental teaching of the Entrepreneurship Course is to urge students to take the pain points in their lives and to use them as ideas for their business – mimicking Ngcobo’s entrepreneurship history. During his high school career, Ngcobo was diagnosed with young hypertension and prescribed to limit his caffeine intake. In pursuit of understanding this diagnosis, Ngcobo sought to understand the science of caffeine, developing a keen interest in coffee in the process and empowering him with the knowledge of how to keep hypertension at bay while still enjoying his daily brew. Furthermore, when completing a project management module at Stellenbosch University, he decided to focus on developing a coffee roastery, building on his passion for coffee without knowing that the knowledge gained would soon become advantageous.



At 22, during his final year of completing a Bachelor&#8217;s Degree in Civil Engineering from Stellenbosch University, Ngcobo received a letter of academic exclusion stating that he could not continue his studies. After moving from Johannesburg to Stellenbosch for university, Ngcobo found himself in a desperate situation financially and with limited opportunities, impelling him to respond quickly to secure his livelihood. Thus, CoffeeMM was born out of necessity and entrepreneurship became the lifeline that allowed Ngcobo to transform a dire situation into an opportunity, building on his existing interest and knowledge of coffee. He set off on a pursuit of distributing excellent quality roasted coffee with bigger dreams of how coffee can be a mobilizer of good for others in positions similar to what he found himself in.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coffee-fuels-our-dreams">Coffee Fuels Our Dreams</h2>



While CoffeeMM is dedicated to supplying excellent coffee and services, in the bigger context, coffee is considered the vehicle that Ngcobo can use to mobilize the change that he wants to impart to the world. The focus points for Ngcobo include a long-term goal for the coffee industry on the African continent, whereas the second is reflected in the social work done through the CoffeeMM Academy.



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>The Coffee Industry on the African Continent</li>
</ul>



While coffee is depicted as a luxurious commodity, each cup also portrays the meeting point of various complex aspects of the coffee industry. In fact, among many elements of the coffee industry inequality is present, especially in coffee bean farming. On average, a coffee farmer earns only seven to ten percent of the retail price of coffee as the coffee beans are sold to middlemen, leaving the farmer impoverished. As with many other commodities, value is added through processing raw products – which would be the sorting and roasting of coffee beans – yet, due to the rural nature of where the biggest coffee farms are located, the infrastructure to process coffee beans is not present, thereby perpetuating the disparity in incomes of coffee traders.



These are systemic challenges that stem from various factors, inclusive of language and technological barriers, and, as complex problems do, they require complex solutions. While CoffeeMM sources ethical coffee, the long-term goal is to build route-to-market infrastructure for small-scale coffee farmers on the African continent to access the market directly, thereby increasing their income by removing the middleman and giving them bargaining power to negotiate the prices of their product. This is a radical and expansive undertaking for CoffeeMM that will unfold over a long time but is reflected in each decision that it makes as each deal or new venture takes the business closer to realizing it.



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>The Social Impact of the CoffeeMM Academy</li>
</ul>



<ol class="wp-block-list"></ol>



CoffeeMM is dedicated to developing the local coffee culture and making it more inclusive and diverse. This year, the CoffeeMM Academy hosted its second Barista Battle, a competition designed for baristas to come together and network amongst themselves and the broader coffee community, compete for prizes, get exposure through the CoffeeMM social media channels, and – most importantly – get the recognition that they deserve for the vital role that they play in the success of coffee shops. Being a barista can be challenging, from the technical skills that go into preparing coffee to maintaining the coffee station and the customer service aspect – and they often go unnoticed or unappreciated.



CoffeeMM also creates a positive social impact through the courses offered by the CoffeeMM Academy, inclusive of barista training, coffee roasting, and hospitality training. These courses focus on vocational and skills training to equip graduates with the confidence and competence to excel in the coffee industry, and graduates have gone on to find employment all over the world. The courses are offered at competitive prices and payment plans can be arranged, plus, multiple courses are sponsored for competition prizes or those in need. This year, CoffeeMM sponsored four barista training courses, valued at R2&nbsp;650 each, and two coffee roasting courses, valued at R5&nbsp;000 each, of which one went to a CoffeeMM employee to develop their skills.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conclusion">Conclusion</h2>



A cup of coffee from CoffeeMM is the tangible product of entrepreneur Ngcobo’s craft mastered through diligent work and his dream of creating a life different from the one that he was handed, and that so many face. Ngcobo is a purveyor of entrepreneurship, especially in the South African context with inflated poverty and unemployment rates, realizing the power that it holds to not only create personal opportunities from hardship but to also produce positive change on a bigger scale. When you support CoffeeMM, you support intentional decision-making that not only minimizes harm but aims to actively improve the world in which it operates. You support a business that is passionate, yet critical, about the coffee industry and dedicated to the betterment of South Africa.

BrandVoice Picture

Using Coffee as a Catalyst for Positive Change in Africa

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3485" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/SMGPRUOGTVKQFGJ7HDZKUUAZQQ.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-558475"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Shoppers stand at a Pick n Pay store at the Dobson Point Shopping Centre, in Soweto, South Africa, March 19, 2024. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



Dec 4 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s consumer confidence slipped one point in the fourth quarter, although retail sales during the festive season are still expected to be their best levels last seen in 2019, a survey showed on Wednesday.



The consumer confidence index (CCI), sponsored by First National Bank (FNB) and compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER), edged down to minus 6 points in the reported period from minus 5 a quarter ago.



A marked depreciation in the rand exchange rate along with higher petrol prices and trade uncertainties following the re-election of Donald Trump as U.S. president affected consumer confidence in the quarter.



Still, a rise in consumer spending due to lower inflation and interest rate cuts points to a festive season as strong as pre-pandemic levels.



&#8220;A string of favorable developments has seen consumer confidence riding much higher since the second quarter of 2024, including the formation of a government of national unity, the termination of load-shedding, a substantial deceleration in inflation, two interest rate cuts and the implementation of the two-pot retirement system,&#8221; said FNB Chief Economist Mamello Matikinca-Ngwenya.



(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

SMGPRUOGTVKQFGJ7HDZKUUAZQQ

S.African consumer confidence drops, but signals strong festive season

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JOHANNESBURG, Dec 4 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The following scheduled economic event, company announcement, equity and currency market moves may affect South African markets on Wednesday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-economic-events">ECONOMIC EVENTS</h2>



S&amp;P Global Whole Economy PMI for November



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-companies">COMPANIES</h2>



South Africa&#8217;s Tiger Brands annual profit rises on high food prices



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-south-african-markets">SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS</h2>



The South African rand was steady on Tuesday as investors viewed an unexpected contraction in the economy in the third quarter as a temporary blip.



On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 index closed 0.1% higher.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-markets">GLOBAL MARKETS</h2>



Asian equities stumbled on Wednesday as traders contended with the political storm in South Korea, where martial law was imposed and subsequently lifted hours later, while a no-confidence vote in France put the euro in the spotlight.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wall-street">WALL STREET</h2>



The S&amp;P 500 and Nasdaq eked out record closing highs on Tuesday, with tech-related shares extending recent gains as investors awaited further jobs data.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gold">GOLD</h2>



Gold prices edged up on Wednesday helped by safe-haven demand, while markets awaited U.S. jobs data and comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for cues on the U.S. interest rate cut trajectory. 



&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;



Some of the main stories out in the South African press:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-business-day">BUSINESS DAY</h2>



&#8211; Ramaphosa moves Simelane to housing department in mini reshuffle



&#8211; ICTSI says inefficiencies at Durban port are costing SA R1bn a day



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fin-24">FIN 24</h2>



&#8211; SA&#8217;s economy shrank &#8211; or did it? Doubts over farm data quality



&#8211; Exxaro drives Maputo export route optimisation as Transnet&#8217;s Richard Bay coal line struggles along

istockphoto-1076949610-612×612-1

South African Markets – Factors to watch on Dec 4

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="612" height="357" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-400669" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1.jpg 612w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1-300x175.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">World map with charts and graphs as symbols of global finance</figcaption></figure>



Dec 4 (Reuters) &#8211; The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Wednesday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-events">EVENTS:</h2>



&#8211; Expecting release of the Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers&#8217; Index survey for November.



&#8211; Ghana statistics office to release November inflation



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-markets">GLOBAL MARKETS</h2>



Asian equities stumbled on Wednesday while currencies were volatile as traders scrambled to contend with the political storm in South Korea, where martial law was imposed and subsequently lifted hours later. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-world-oil-prices">WORLD OIL PRICES</h2>



Oil prices firmed on Wednesday as market participants weighed up geopolitical tensions and the prospect of OPEC+ extending supply cuts against weaker demand.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-south-africa-markets">SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS</h2>



The South African rand was steady on Tuesday as investors viewed an unexpected contraction in the economy in the third quarter as a temporary blip.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kenya-markets">KENYA MARKETS</h2>



The Kenyan shilling was steady against the dollar on Tuesday, data from the London Stock Exchange Group showed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nigeria-bonds">NIGERIA BONDS</h2>



Nigeria&#8217;s dollar bonds rallied on Tuesday, Tradeweb data showed, a day after the country completed its first international bond sale in nearly three years. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-namibia-politics">NAMIBIA POLITICS</h2>



Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of Namibia&#8217;s ruling SWAPO party has been elected president and will be the country&#8217;s first female leader, results released by the country&#8217;s electoral commission showed on Tuesday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rwanda-loans">RWANDA LOANS</h2>



The China-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will grant a concessional loan of around $200 million for an international airport Rwanda has been building since 2017, Rwandan finance officials said on Tuesday.



((Compiled by Nairobi Newsroom))

World map with charts and graphs as symbols of global finance

African Markets – Factors to watch on Dec 4

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-1775386539-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-561978" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-1775386539-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-1775386539-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-1775386539-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-1775386539-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-1775386539-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-1775386539-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">ACCRA, GHANA &#8211; NOVEMBER 04: A man takes a photo of a banner with the picture of Mahamudu Bawumia ahead of the declaration of the winner of the presidential primaries on November 4, 2023 in Accra, Ghana. Mahamudu Bawumia, the vice president of Ghana, beat three rivals to secure the ruling party’s candidacy (Photo by Ernest Ankomah/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, Dec 4 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Public frustration over Ghana&#8217;s economic travails, including high prices and a dearth of jobs, has dominated the run-up to Saturday&#8217;s general election, which will likely test the nation&#8217;s longstanding democratic credentials.



Support for outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo and his ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) party has sunk in his second term amid the West African nation&#8217;s worst economic crisis in a generation, along with cost-of-living protests and turmoil in its vital cocoa and gold industries.



Indeed, the clamour for change has tipped the presidential and legislative race firmly in favour of opposition leader John Dramani Mahama and his National Democratic Congress party, polls show, though voter patience with the political process is running low.



&#8220;The country is ruined. I will vote but I don&#8217;t think it will change anything,&#8221; said 18-year-old high school graduate Emmanuel Kwaku Jr, who will be casting his ballot for the first time.



An October survey by pan-African research group Afrobarometer found 82% of Ghanaians felt the country was headed in the wrong direction and less than half expected change for the better in the next year.



&#8220;We have the trappings of democracy: we do the elections every four years, yet the dividends &#8230; are low,&#8221; said Abena Tekyiwaa Manuh, senior fellow of the Accra-based Centre for Democratic Governance (CDD). &#8220;That&#8217;s dangerous.&#8221;



Ghana&#8217;s commitment to two-term limits for presidents and largely peaceful transfers of powers have increasingly made it an outlier in a region swept by coups and constitutional shenanigans in recent years.



But whoever wins the election will be under pressure to deliver on campaign promises to improve the livelihoods of citizens, or the largely youthful population could begin to wonder if democracy is overrated, said Manuh and two western diplomats.



&#8220;We see a lot of anger among the youth, a sense of hopelessness but also a sense of change. If that doesn’t happen at the elections, what will happen?&#8221; asked one of the diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity.



&#8220;There is growing concern Ghana’s peace and democracy is fragile.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-tricky-phase">A &#8216;TRICKY PHASE&#8217;</h2>



Twelve candidates are vying for the presidency, with Mahama and the ruling party&#8217;s Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia seen as the main contenders.



Both have vowed to turn the page on economic instability since 2020 that saw inflation soar above 50%, the International Monetary Fund wade in with a $3 billion bailout, and a mass restructuring of Ghana&#8217;s debts.



Polls open for the 18.7 million registered voters at 0700 GMT and close at 1700, with legislative results due by early on Monday and presidential results by Tuesday, although trends often allow the outcome to be called early.



The vote results period &#8220;is going to be a tricky phase&#8221; as tensions may rise due to low trust in institutions, including the electoral commission, said Jonas Claes, elections lead for the EU delegation in Ghana.



Mahama and his party have repeatedly questioned the commission&#8217;s ability to deliver credible elections, alleging voter roll irregularities and other issues.



Bawumia and the ruling NPP say the allegations show Mahama is preparing to reject the results if they do not go his way.



&#8220;I don&#8217;t think widespread violence is to be expected, but it&#8217;s difficult to be 100% sure,&#8221; Claes said.



(Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Ghana’s Ruling Political Party Holds Presidential Primaries

Discontent runs high as Ghana readies to vote on Saturday

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="569" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/LIDX3QHRFJO2VGB2V5J6GAXBSI-820x569.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-561959" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/LIDX3QHRFJO2VGB2V5J6GAXBSI-820x569.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/LIDX3QHRFJO2VGB2V5J6GAXBSI-300x208.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/LIDX3QHRFJO2VGB2V5J6GAXBSI-130x90.jpg 130w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/LIDX3QHRFJO2VGB2V5J6GAXBSI-768x533.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/LIDX3QHRFJO2VGB2V5J6GAXBSI-1536x1066.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/LIDX3QHRFJO2VGB2V5J6GAXBSI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)&#8217;s head office in Harare, Zimbabwe, July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



HARARE, Dec 4 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Zimbabwe&#8217;s central bank said on Wednesday that its Monetary Policy Committee&nbsp;(MPC)&nbsp;had met and decided to leave its policy rate unchanged at 35%.



The bank said in a statement that the MPC wanted to maintain tight policy to anchor inflation expectations.



In September, the central bank allowed the country&#8217;s recently-launched currency Zimbabwe Gold to fall over 40% and hiked its policy rate to 35%.



The devaluation caused a sharp spike in inflation in October, when prices rose by 37.2% month-on-month in local currency terms. November&#8217;s month-on-month inflation rate slowed to 11.7%.



Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said in a budget speech last week that economic growth would accelerate next year as the southern African country recovers from a severe drought.



(Reporting by Nyasha Chingono; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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African Markets – Factors to watch on Dec 4

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McKinsey Africa to pay $122 million in South Africa bribery scheme, US Justice Department says

World Bank wins $100 bln replenishment of fund for poorest countries

Bob Geldof on what makes a good leader

How Shopping Malls Are Being Transformed Into Apartments In The U.S.

Botswana holds main interest rate as diamond slump saps economy

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South African rand firms ahead of Q3 current account data

Climate Investment Funds board backs $500 mln Ethiopia nature plan

How Jaguar Plans To Save Itself

Biden meets African leaders in Angola to advance Lobito railway project

Using Coffee as a Catalyst for Positive Change in Africa

S.African consumer confidence drops, but signals strong festive season

South African Markets – Factors to watch on Dec 4

African Markets – Factors to watch on Dec 4

Discontent runs high as Ghana readies to vote on Saturday

Zimbabwe central bank keeps policy rate at 35%

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