Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 22 July 2024

[Bulls n Bears]

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Major International Business Headlines Brief:::  22 July 2024 

 


 


 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


 

ü  Nigeria: Hardship - Nigerians in Pain, Frustrated, Anglican Bishop Tells
Tinubu

ü  Kenya: KQ Report It Outage, Flight Booking System Disrupted

ü  Ghana: Students Fear for Their Future As Ghana's Unemployment Numbers Hit
1.9 Million

ü  Kenya Moves to Slash Rice Imports With Certified Seed Production

ü  Africa: Global Microsoft Outages Affecting African Users

ü  Angola: Family Farming Produces More Than 80 Percent of Agricultural Food
in Angola

ü  Tanzania: Milestone As 98 Pc of Villages Successfully Electrified

ü  South Africa: Joburg Families Plead With City Officials to End Power Cuts

ü  Kenya: China's Direct Investment in Kenya Drops Sharply

ü  Nigeria: Dangote Refinery 45 Percent Completed, Not Yet Licensed - Nmdpra

ü  Namibia: Partnership Boosts Namibia's Oil Search

ü  Uganda Faces Hurdle in Cross Border Power Trade

ü  'Significant number' of devices back up - CrowdStrike

ü  Modi's new budget faces jobs crisis test in India

ü  CrowdStrike IT outage affected 8.5 million Windows devices, Microsoft
says

ü  The Spanish fightback against record tourism

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Nigeria: Hardship - Nigerians in Pain, Frustrated, Anglican Bishop Tells
Tinubu

Akure — THE Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Owo in Ondo State, Revd
Stephen Fagbemi, has lamented that the economic challenges in the country
have left Nigerians in pain and frustration just as he urged President Bola
Tinubu to as a matter of urgency intensify efforts to address the security
challenge and economic hardship facing Nigerians.

 

He stated this in his Charge delivered during the third session of the 14th
Synod of the Church held at St Stephen's Church, Ipele in Owo local
government area of the state.

 

The cleric noted that the effects of the current economic hardship are real
and painful.

 

 

Fagbemi said: "Unless urgent and effective steps are taken to curtail the
effects of the current economic situation in the country, Nigeria may
witness an uncontrollable rise in crime.

 

"Nigeria has become a harder place to live in as evident in the fact that
many people are leaving the country for greener pastures while many are
finding themselves in difficult situations where they fled to.

 

"Nigeria and its people have encountered acute economic hardship within the
past year owing to the sudden removal of petroleum subsidy and due to
devaluation and instability of the foreign exchange.

 

"The resultant effects of these actions are the harsh economic reality that
Nigerians are facing daily. Inflation is almost out of control and prices of
goods and commodities have risen astronomically.

 

"It has become hard for people to feed their families. Perhaps only very few
wealthy individuals can claim to be comfortable at the moment.

 

"We urge our government to work harder at diversifying our economy. Already
it is evident that unemployment is very high, as so many graduates are
walking about without any job or means of livelihood. This makes the future
look bleak and hopeless for many."

 

He noted that despite the economic quagmire, Nigeria has continued to borrow
while "the political class is not undergoing any serious economic adjustment
as their monthly take-home which is humongous is a shameless inconsideration
of the plight of their electorate."

 

- Vanguard.

 

 

 

 

Kenya: KQ Report It Outage, Flight Booking System Disrupted

Nairobi — Kenya Airways is among the global companies affected by the global
IT outages that have hit airlines, media, and banks.

 

KQ, in a statement, admitted that the outage is part of a larger global
system disruption, which has severely impacted their ability to process
bookings efficiently.

 

"We are currently experiencing a system outage that has affected our booking
system as a result of a global system outage. Customers are advised to
expect slower than usual service as we implement our Business Continuity
Plan," it said in a statement.

 

In response to the challenges posed by the outage, Kenya Airways has advised
customers to visit their booking offices for assistance.

 

This approach aims to provide direct support to passengers who may face
difficulties in making or modifying their travel arrangements.

 

Many flights have similarly been grounded, with queues and delays at major
airports across the world.

 

In the UK, railway companies have reported delays and say they're
experiencing "widespread IT issues."

 

Major airlines such as Delta and American Airlines have issued a "global
ground stop" on all their flights.

 

Flights that are currently airborne will continue, but no further flights
will take off for now.

 

British broadcaster BBC has also reported that the Sky News channel is off
air due to the outages.

 

- Capital FM.

 

 

 

 

Ghana: Students Fear for Their Future As Ghana's Unemployment Numbers Hit
1.9 Million

With 1.9 million Ghanaians unemployed, students nearing graduation express
fear and uncertainty about their future, citing limited job opportunities,
lack of training, and government's inaction.

 

About 1.9 million Ghanaians are currently without employment, jobs, or
access to training opportunities, data from the 2023 Annual Household Income
and Expenditure Survey (AHIES) report has shown.

 

Published by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the report has raised
concerns throughout the country, particularly among students.

 

The Accra Times' Nii Marmah Boye visited the Ghana Institute of Journalism
(GIJ), University of Ghana (Legon), and Accra Technical University (ATU) -
to interact with students nearing graduation to seek their opinions on the
report and their perspectives on whether successive governments have
overlooked the youth in the country's development process, as many of them
will soon complete their national service and return home.

 

 

The students expressed their fears about the future. Despite their academic
pursuits and aspirations, the sense of uncertainty looms large, casting a
shadow over their hopes and dreams.

 

Ella, a final-year student expressed fear about the high unemployment rate,
stating that as a youth still in school, the lack of jobs and limited
opportunities for internships and training are alarming, making it difficult
for young people to gain practical experience and secure their future.

 

"Yes [I am scared], that number is huge and as youth we are still in school,
some people are even yet to figure out what they want to do and now there
are no jobs, it will definitely scare you," Ella said. "Some are in school,
some are also not in school; people who are not in school do not get
training and we that are in school too we barely get job opportunities like
internships and internships are very essential for students because it gives
you practical experience of the field you are venturing into."

 

 

She added that the prospect of entering a job market with 1.9 million
unemployed youth is frustrating especially for those still in school, as it
reduces motivation and raises concerns about future employment opportunities
and gaining practical experience through internships.

 

"It's very scary and reduces your motivation as a person because if 1.9
million people are unemployed, idle, not receiving any formal skill to
survive, you would ask yourself what am I going to do when I get out of
school? Unemployment is really a big deal and it's very scary to think about
it as a youth," she lamented.

 

Also, according to Serwaa Konadu, a final year student at GIJ, she feels
hopeless about the future, seeing no immediate change in sight, and believes
that even opportunities like vocational training are out of reach due to
high costs, making it inaccessible to many.

 

"I think there's no hope for the future, there could be a change but now,
from the look of things, there's no hope. Now in this government, even if
you want to go and learn trade, it's expensive so not everyone can afford
money to learn a trade, Konadu said.

 

 

As a final year student at the University of Ghana, Felix Abloh is worried
about the scarce job opportunities, questioning how they can create a bright
future with such limited options.

 

"As I approach graduation, the lack of job opportunities is a cause for
great concern. How can we build a better future when faced with such limited
prospects?" Abloh quizzed.

 

Bismark Addo from the Accra Technical University wondered if their voices
will be heard and if genuine opportunities would be created for them.

 

"The reality of being among 1.9 million unemployed Ghanaians is unsettling.
Will our voices be heard, and will meaningful opportunities be created for
us?" Addo quizzed.

 

Seyram Atso from the University of Ghana also believes that successive
governments have failed to provide meaningful support to the youth, with
their efforts being short-lived

 

I don't think successive governments have actually done anything to help the
youth. Most governments come to power and they want to help. But then the
help is just something like a nine-day wonder," Atso said.

 

She further criticized the government's lack of comprehensive plans to
address youth unemployment, citing the example of NABCO, a job initiative
that was discontinued.

 

"There was something like NABCO (a job-related policy introduced by the NPP
government) that gave jobs today. It was dissolved and now the government
knows that every year we have students graduating from school and they
actually absorb them through the national service scheme, she said. But I
have not really seen a government coming out with a full plan on how to get
the youths working,"

 

- Accra Times.

 

 

 

 

Kenya Moves to Slash Rice Imports With Certified Seed Production

Kenya is implementing measures to cut rice imports with the development of
sustainable certified seed production system.

 

The country's research body-Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research
Organisation (KALRO) is pioneering the efforts in partnership with a Korean
agency, which will ensure Kenya, which ships in up to 75 percent of the
total rice requirement annually, cuts reliance on imports.

 

In a five-year collaboration with the Korea Partnership for Innovative
Agriculture (KOPIA), the project will focus on the production of
early-generation seed, the multiplication of elite varieties, and
distribution to farmers.

 

 

The project will produce 5.8 tonnes of early-generation seed and 1,000
tonnes of certified Generation 1 seeds of high-yielding, climate-resilient
varieties. Additionally, it will train 75 local technical experts, 10
experts in South Korea, and 210 farmers in quality rice seed production.

 

Speaking at the project launch in Mwea, KALRO Director General Eliud Kireger
said Kenya's domestic rice sector has failed to meet rising demand, a
situation exacerbated by middle-class population growth and urbanisation.

 

"Rice consumption is increasing, especially among young people. With urban
population expected to reach 50 percent by 2050, the demand for rice will
significantly outpace supply," said Kireger Dr Kireger.

 

Dr Kireger highlighted that the current per capita rice consumption is 28 kg
per year, projected to rise to 30 kg by 2027, resulting in a demand of 1.8
million tonnes.

 

Presently, Kenya consumes about 950,000 to one million tonnes annually but
produces only 200,000 tonnes, creating an 80 percent deficit.

 

To address this, the government aims to achieve a 25 percent annual growth
rate in rice production under its Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.

 

The DG expressed optimism that within four to five years, the project could
reduce the deficit by up to 60 percent by improving access to high-yielding
certified seeds.

 

KOPIA will contribute to rice research by introducing and commercialising
Tongil rice varieties from the Korea Africa Food and Agriculture Cooperative
Initiative (KAFACI), including ISRIZ 6, ISRIZ 7, and UKAFACI 39.

 

The project will also address mechanisation challenges faced by farmers,
particularly in drying processes.

 

KOPIA Kenya Director Ji Gang Kim emphasised the importance of increasing
rice self-sufficiency through new varieties, certified seed dissemination,
and improved cultivation technology. He also highlighted the need for better
drying and post-harvest management to ensure high-quality rice.

 

John Macharia, a rice farmer from Bura, Tana River, praised KALRO for
addressing seed access challenges. "Since introducing the Komboka variety,
we've improved our yields and eliminated brokers dictating prices," he said.

 

KALRO and KOPIA have collaborated for over 15 years on projects including
maize, indigenous chicken, potato, and sericulture. Currently, they are
promoting chicken feeds containing black soldier fly larvae and rice
by-products in Kenya.

 

- Business Day Africa.

 

 

 

Africa: Global Microsoft Outages Affecting African Users

Several news agencies are reporting a worldwide Microsoft outage today, and
now African users are being affected.

 

Microsoft users are unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and
services, while the company's cloud services outage grounded planes in the
U.S.

 

It's unclear if the outage is linked to the March 2024 problems caused by
damaged undersea fiber optic cables in West Africa.

 

This is part of what Microsoft's cloud status page shared:

 

Title: Users may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services

 

User impact: Users may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and
services.

 

More info: Users may notice that some of the affected users are seeing
relief as we continue to mitigate the impact.

 

Impacted services may include but are not limited to the following:

- PowerBI: Users may notice that their service is in read-only mode while we
address impact.

- Microsoft Fabric: Users may notice that their service is in read-only mode
while we address impact.

- Microsoft Teams: Users may be unable to leverage Microsoft Teams functions
including presence, group chats, and user registration.

- Microsoft 365 admin center: Admins may be intermittently unable to access
the Microsoft 365 admin center and any action may be delayed if accessible.

- Microsoft Purview: Users will see a delay in events being processed in
Microsoft Purview.

 

 

Current status: We're continuing to progress on our mitigation efforts for
the affected Microsoft 365 apps and services. We still expect users to see
remediation as we address residual impact.

 

Scope of impact: This issue may be impacting any user attempting to use
various Microsoft 365 apps and services.

 

Start time: Thursday, July 18, 2024, at 9:56 PM UTC

 

Preliminary root cause: A configuration change in a portion of our Azure
backend workloads, caused interruption between storage and compute resources
which resulted in connectivity failures that affected downstream Microsoft
365 services dependent on these connections.

 

Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 services are also affected.

 

Downdetector reported a sharp increase in South Africans reporting Microsoft
365 issues from around 7am this morning. Capitec Bank users also reported
outage issues.

 

 

 

 

Angola: Family Farming Produces More Than 80 Percent of Agricultural Food in
Angola

Cazenga — The head of department of the Institute for Agrarian Development
(IDA), Miguel Filho, reiterated on Thursday in Luanda that family farming in
Angola is responsible for more than 80% of all agricultural production in
the country.

 

According to the source, this agricultural production is responsible for
food in the country, as it represents more than 90% of the entire sown area
in Angola.

 

According to the official, who was speaking at the opening of the provincial
workshop for dialogue and public consultation to prepare the national policy
for the development of family farming, family farmers preserve traditional
food products, contributing to a balanced diet.

 

For his part, the deputy governor of Luanda for the Economic sector, Jorge
Augusto, said that family farming plays a crucial role in the provincial
economy, as it is a vital source of subsistence and a fundamental pillar in
the production of food security.

 

For Jorge Augusto, this form of production is also very important in the
preservation of biodiversity and in the sustainable management of natural
resources.

 

The representative in Angola of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Fund
(FAO), Paulo Dias, argued that investment in family farming contributes to
the empowerment of rural women, giving feedback for the future of the
country, with improved production, good nutrition, a healthy environment and
a better life for all.

 

According to the organization, this event aimed to ensure a broad
participation of the main actors in agriculture in this productive segment
in the process of formulating proposals for instruments and public policy
for family farming, as well as responding to the challenges of family
farming in the national development plan. KAM/ACS/QCB/DOJ

 

- ANGOP.

 

 

 

 

Tanzania: Milestone As 98 Pc of Villages Successfully Electrified

In a significant milestone of rural transformation, the Rural Energy Agency
(REA) has successfully electrified 98 per cent of all villages across the
country.

 

Such great stride in the energy sector is in line with the ruling party
CCM's 2020-2025 Election Manifesto, which directs the government to supply
electricity to all streets and villages by 2025.

 

With one year ahead to the deadline, the sixth phase government under
President Samia Suluhu Hassan is on track to beat the envisioned goal of
connecting all villages with electricity infrastructure, which is critical
in elevating citizens' living standard.

 

The REA Director of Rural Electrification, Engineer Jones Olotu told the
'Daily News' in an exclusive interview in Dar es Salaam recently that as of
July this year the power agency connected with electricity a total of 12,031
villages, equivalent to 98 per cent of all villages.

 

He said currently, only 287 villages are not connected with power, noting
they will be connected to power in September this year.

 

 

He said that a total 8,247 villages had already been connected with
electricity, equivalent to 66 per cent by 2020.

 

And, REA has been implementing a five years grand plan of electrifying the
remaining 4,071 villages that would see all 12,318 villages countrywide
linked with power by next year.

 

REA ambitious plan is aligned with the ruling party CCM's Election Manifesto
2020-2025 and the Third National Five-Year Development Plan covering
2021/2022 to 2025/2026 (Third FYDP) that aims at guiding the country's
efforts towards the attainment of the Tanzania Development Vision 2025, all
together intend on among others to achieve a middle-income, competitive and
semi-industrialised economy with shared growth and high-quality human
development.

 

"We are ahead of the manifesto as by September this year, which is before
its time limit (2025), we are going to realise electrification of all
villages," Mr Olotu said.

 

 

He said availability of electricity in rural areas has been boosting
citizens' income by enabling them open new economic activities such as shops
and kiosks, groceries, restaurants and hair cutting and beauty salons.

 

ALSO READ: PURA set to announce new oil, gas exploration opportunities

 

Furthermore, it improved domestic activities like lighting, charging phones
and listening to radio, he said adding it also made life easier and more
pleasurable by allowing businesses and kiosks to function even during the
night hours.

 

On the other hand electricity supported children's education by allowing
them to study at night, he said and noted it enabled villagers to receive
health services closer to their homes and at a lower cost.

 

The next step ahead, he said REA's focus is to ensure electricity reaches
all hamlets and households referring to the fact that presently, only 32,
827 hamlets equated at 51 per cent have power, while 31,532 others are yet
to be connected.

 

 

He said the rural energy body has another five years electrification plan
spanning from the current 2024/2025 Financial Year aiming at lighting 20,000
hamlets at a cost of about 6tri/-.

 

Mr Olotu detailed that REA projected to connect 4,000 hamlets per year. The
country has a total of 64,359 hamlets.

 

"Up to now, we are undertaking procurements for implementation of the first
batch within the current financial year. Few days to come, we will announce
tenders for contractors to be located to specific hamlets," he said.

 

Toward national wide households' electrification, according to the Third
FYDP, the country targets at ensuring 60 per cent of all households are
connected with power by the end of 2025/2026 FY from 40 per cent lighted in
2021/2022.

 

He lauded the government for implementation of the Julius Nyerere Hydropower
Plant (JNHPP) project that after its completion is expected to add 2,115
megawatts (MW) into the national grid, critical in stabilising electricity
supply in the country and beyond.

 

In February 2024, the project injected 235MW into the national grid after a
switching on of its ninth turbine that strengthened electricity availability
both in urban and rural areas.

 

A villager, Mr Peter Nzema (30) based in Bukumbi village, Shinyanga Region
commended the government for connecting their rural community with
electricity.

 

He said their village was connected in 2023 ending over five decades of
living in dark without electricity.

 

He said prior to being connected with electricity their village's economic
activities were paralysed with no any factory in comparison to now whereby a
maize mill has been established by a local investor.

 

More significantly, he said the Bukumbi village experiences some sort of
urbanisation, as a result of residents who take initiative to open up
saloons and shops.

 

"It is just a beginning of transformation of the village that for so long
time we used to dream one day to have electricity," Mr Nzema said.

 

However, he noted that there is a slow pace in connecting the hamlets
existing in their villages.

 

"It's okay that the electricity has reached our village but the number of
households connected remains less than 10, the power has not been
distributed to our residential area as we hoped," he said, adding "We are
ready to pay."

 

Mr Nzema told Daily news if REA starts to connect households in their
village, it will enable small farmers including himself who choose to
undertake irrigation especially in vegetable and fruit crops including
tomatoes and water melon to scale up production.

 

 

"Small scale farmers who adopt irrigation are eager to see their households
and hamlets are connected with electricity to get rid of using diesel
powered generators, which make them incur high cost of production," he said.

 

Reacting on the on-going rural electrification, Economist cum Investment
Banker, Dr Hildebrand Shayo anticipated that the transformative move will
directly affect, positively though, the commercial sector through the use of
specific electrical appliances encompassing refrigerators.

 

Furthermore, he said presence of electric lights will facilitate residents
to extend working hours, subsequently propelling the country's development.

 

"Electrification in rural areas may result in to increases in daytime
working hours and noticeable increases in evening and night time working
hour," Dr Shayo said.

 

Dr Shayo said in his ongoing research on Economic Impact of Rural
Electrification in Tanzania, he found that the number of shops per 1,000
people in electrified villages is 4.28, compared to 3.43 in nonelectrified
villages, a roughly 25 per cent difference.

 

Regarding institutional development, he said that electrified villages in
several case study areas have much greater levels of institutional
development.

 

"I can assert that it dramatically improves the general standard of living
in rural areas, lowers rural-urban migration, increases industrial and
agricultural production, and produces more jobs" Dr Shayo remarked.

 

Ms Betty Mbuzi, a resident at Mwatulole Street in Geita Region said she was
optimistic that electrification all villages in their region will catalyse
mining activities involving artisanal miners in their region which is
endowed with minerals.

 

She noted that lack of electricity in some villages while others are
connected with it culminate into energy divide.

 

- Daily News.

 

 

 

South Africa: Joburg Families Plead With City Officials to End Power Cuts

City of Johannesburg losing between R5-million and R10-million monthly due
to illegal connections, says City Power

 

Frequent power outages across parts of Johannesburg are becoming
life-threatening for residents like 73-year-old Agnes Dube from Bellevue
near Yeoville.

 

Dube is a pensioner and relies on an oxygen machine because she has a
respiratory illness. But unscheduled power cuts have been happening so often
in her area that Dube's oxygen machine is not able to recharge its back-up
battery. During these protracted power outages, Dube's family members have
to find transport to rush to someone's home in another suburb to charge the
machine.

 

Residents we spoke to say the power cuts are unpredictable, and sometimes go
off several times a day, or up to three days. This is extremely frustrating
and costly for households who cannot afford an alternative power supply like
solar. The problems have been ongoing since 2022.

 

 

According to community leaders, the area is plagued with many illegal
connections from abandoned and hijacked buildings in the area. They say this
overstretches local substations, which then results in power failure.

 

Over the past year, people have protested a number of times over the issue.
In February, residents of Bellevue, Yeoville, Upper Houghton, and other
areas marched to City Power, demanding "uninterrupted electricity" but
nothing changed.

 

In March, Yeoville Bellevue Civic Movement and Electricity Crisis Committee
collected about 1,800 signatures and petitioned the Johannesburg Mayor and
the Gauteng Premier to mitigate the impact of these power cuts.

 

"Soon after submitting the petition, electricity went back to normal for two
months, save for the occasional issues with our overloaded substation and
transformers. But for the last few months, things worsened with electricity
being cut anytime, sometimes for days," said Nomsa Mbatha from the Yeoville
Bellevue Civic Movement and Electricity Crisis Committee.

 

 

"These electricity problems are unconstitutional because electricity is a
basic human right, which is why we petitioned the City. Our substation
should be upgraded to cope with the overload," Mbatha said.

 

Bad for business

 

Traders selling food at the Yeoville market say their businesses are
suffering due to the power cuts because they need electricity to cook the
food they sell. They say they often have to throw away perishable goods that
get spoiled when the refrigerators are off for days.

 

"The situation with electricity is bad for business. We have engaged with
the City to help with backup power, but nothing has worked out," said Mercy
Mokgehle, secretary of the Yeoville Market.

 

Schools in the area are also suffering.

 

According to Dhiraj Bharuth, Principal of Sacred Heart College, the school
has a generator, but they have had to spend so much money on diesel instead
of investing those funds. He said that when the generator is not working,
they halt educational activities.

 

"We are lucky to have a generator, but there are schools that do not have
generators at all, and this affects education. Recently, we have had more
outages than anywhere else in Johannesburg. The City needs to put heads
together to solve the situation," said Bharuth.

 

City responds to residents

 

City officials addressed the community on Tuesday.

 

During the meeting, community members accused City officials of corruption,
and blamed them for not securing infrastructure.

 

General Manager for City Power in the Inner City, Arsenio Cossa, told the
community that illegal connections, theft, vandalism, overloading, and low
payment levels remain major challenges in the community.

 

He said the City is losing between R5-million and R10-million monthly due to
cable theft and equipment.

 

The City promised that it is currently in the process of upgrading the grid
by installing cables and transformers and would have the situation under
control by September. Residents who were struggling with affordability were
encouraged to apply for the Expanded Social Package, which enables people to
access free basic services.

 

Residents said they will continue protesting if they do not see a change
soon.

 

- GroundUp.

 

 

 

Kenya: China's Direct Investment in Kenya Drops Sharply

Nairobi, Kenya — A report by Kenya's National Bureau of Statistics shows a
significant drop in direct investment from China. The report says Beijing's
investments in Kenya fell by more than a third over the last three years.
Analysts say China is increasingly focused on exporting products rather than
investing.

 

Jimmy Yimming, a Chinese manufacturer who makes human hair products,
showcased wigs at a Kenyan mall. Yimming said he traveled to Nairobi to try
to find Kenyan partners for his business.

 

"I think the Kenyan market is very good," Yimming said. "I'm looking forward
to staying here for a long time in the future, I hope I can have a chance of
that."

 

 

China has invested heavily in Kenya and other African countries in recent
years, often as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. Beijing became Kenya's
top source of imports, according to national data, and remains so.

 

But Kenyan data show that between 2020 and 2022, Chinese expenditures in
Kenya's construction sector, which is China's leading area of foreign
investment in the country, dropped more than 34%.

 

Investments over the same period from the U.S. increased slightly, to 7.4%
from 7.1%.

 

Research analyst Churchill Ogutu said Washington is setting foot in Kenya's
crucial areas of need for investment.

 

"Broadly we are looking at a number of sectors that are usually the
beneficiaries," Ogutu said. "Health, ICT [information and communications
technology], pharmaceuticals are the main beneficiaries of FDIs [foreign
direct investments] into Kenya, and this is where America stands out."

 

In a State Department report last year, the U.S. said Kenya's positive
business climate has made it attractive to international firms seeking a
location for regional or pan-African operations, adding that American
companies continue to show strong interest in establishing or expanding
their presence there.

 

The National Bureau of Statistics report indicates India is now the leading
nation for foreign investment in Kenya, followed by Japan, then China.

 

- VOA.

 

 

 

 

Nigeria: Dangote Refinery 45 Percent Completed, Not Yet Licensed - Nmdpra

Mr Ahmed said the allegations raised by the refinery that its operations are
being scuttled owing to a lack of supply of crude oil by International Oil
Companies (IOCs) are untrue.

 

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority
(NMDPRA) on Thursday said the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote refinery is
still at the pre-commissioning stage and has not yet been licensed.

 

The NMDPRA Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, disclosed this while speaking to
the state house correspondents on Thursday.

 

Mr Ahmed said the allegations raised by the refinery that its operations are
being scuttled owing to a lack of supply of crude oil by International Oil
Companies (IOCs) are untrue.

 

 

"Well, just like you rightly asked, there are lots of concerns about the
supply of petroleum products nationwide and the claims by some media houses
that we were trying to scuttle the Dangote refinery; that is not so.

 

"Dangote refinery is still in the pre-commissioning stage. It has not been
licenced yet. We have not licensed them yet. I think they are at about 45
per cent completion. So we can not rely heavily on one refinery to feed the
nation because Dangote is requesting that we should suspend or stop all
importation of petroleum products, especially automotive gas oil (AGO) or
jet kero and direct all marketers to the refinery," Mr Ahmed said.

 

He explained that the expectation is not good for the nation in terms of
energy security and also not good for markets because of monopoly.

 

 

"So, in terms of quality, currently, the AGO quality in terms of sulphur is
the lowest as far as West Africa's requirement of 50 parts per million
(ppm). Dangote refinery, as well as some major refineries like Waltersmith
refinery, produce between 650 ppm to 1,200 ppm. So, in terms of quality,
their quality is much more inferior to the imported quality," he said.

 

Background

 

Last month, the Vice President, Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited
(DIL), Devakumar Edwin, accused IOCs in Nigeria of doing everything to
frustrate the survival of Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals.

 

He said the IOCs are deliberately frustrating the refinery's efforts to buy
local crude by jerking up the high premium price above the market price,
thereby forcing it to import crude from countries as far as the United
States, with its attendant high costs.

 

 

Speaking to a group of energy editors at a one-day training programme
organised by the Dangote Group at the time, Mr Edwin also lamented the
activity of the NMDPRA in granting licences indiscriminately to marketers to
import dirty refined products into the country.

 

Responding to the claim at the time, the NMDPRA said there is no dirty fuel
being imported into the country, noting that it takes seriously its
statutory mandate to ensure that only quality petroleum products are
supplied and consumed in Nigeria.

 

The NMDPRA explained that the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) heads of state in 2020 endorsed a declaration adopting the Afri-5
fuel roadmap that requires that certain products have minimum 50 parts per
million (ppm) litres of sulphur.

 

On Wednesday, Mr Edwin insisted that IOCs operating in Nigeria have
consistently frustrated the company's requests for locally produced crude as
feedstock for its refining process.

 

Mr Edwin's response came against the background of a statement by the Chief
Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission
(NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe.

 

Mr Komolafe had, in an interview on ARISE News TV, said that "it is
'erroneous' for one to say that the IOCs are refusing to make crude oil
available to domestic refiners, as the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has a
stipulation that calls for a willing buyer willing seller relationship."

 

He stated that IOCs prefer to sell crude to international trading arms, who
then sell it at a margin.

 

He highlighted that when cargoes are offered to the oil company by the
trading arms, it is sometimes at a $2-$4 (per barrel) premium above the
official price set by NUPRC.

 

On Thursday, the House of Representatives resolved to set up an ad hoc
committee to investigate the alleged conspiracy by IOCs against the
refinery.

 

The resolution follows a motion of urgent public importance moved by the
Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) on Thursday.

 

In the motion, Mr Chinda said the alleged conspiracy undermines the
refinery's performance from complete optimisation.

 

"The alleged conspiracy against Dangote refinery relates to efforts by the
IOCs to deliberately frustrate the refinery's ability to buy local crude oil
by manipulating and increasing the premium price above the market price," he
said.

 

I had to watch this three times, still don't believe what I just sawLike
what? pic.twitter.com/ywvLUBEIBK-- Kalu Aja (@FinPlanKaluAja1) July 19, 2024

 

Mr Chinda added that "whilst the IOCs are keen on exporting raw materials to
their home countries and thus creating wealth and employment for their
countries, thereby adding to their GDP, Nigeria continues to be a dumping
ground for refined products, thus making us dependent on imported petroleum
products."

 

Consequently, the House urged the federal government, the NUPRC, the
Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA),
and well-meaning Nigerians to support Dangote Refinery to succeed.

 

The refinery

 

The 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery commenced production
of diesel and aviation fuel in January.

 

Announcing the commencement of production, the company said the refinery had
received six million barrels of crude oil at its two SPMs 25 kilometres from
the shore.

 

The first crude delivery was done on 12 December 2023, and the sixth cargo
was delivered on 8 January.

 

The company made a further move towards the commencement of the production
of refined petroleum products with the receipt of an additional one million
barrels of bonny light crude supplied by the Nigeria National Petroleum
Company Limited (NNPC Ltd).

 

In April, the company commenced supplying petroleum products to the local
market.

 

Last month, Mr Dangote said that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known
as petrol, refined at the refinery, will hit the market by July.

 

NNPC Limited had earlier announced plans to acquire a 20 per cent stake in
the refinery.

 

However, last Sunday, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said
NNPC Ltd now owns only 7.2 per cent stake in the refinery due to its failure
to pay the balance of its share, which was due in June.

 

"The agreement was actually 20 per cent, which we had with NNPC, and they
did not pay the balance of the money up till last year, and then we gave
them another extension up till June (2024), and they said that they would
remain where they have already paid which is 7.2 per cent. So NNPC, the
government (sic) owns only 7.2 per cent, not 20 per cent," Mr Dangote said,
according to reports.

 

Confirming the development in a statement, the NNPC Ltd said its period
assessment of the investment portfolio led to the decline in its share of
the refinery.

 

- Premium Times.

 

 

 

 

Namibia: Partnership Boosts Namibia's Oil Search

The Oslo-listed company BW Energy has bought shares in ReconAfrica to
further the search for oil in Namibia.

 

According to a statement by the African Energy Chamber (AEC), BW Energy will
obtain a 20% working interest in petroleum exploration licence 73, which is
located in Namibia's Kavango Basin.

 

The statement noted that the collaboration is valued at a potential US$141
million.

 

The AEC lauded the partnership for its positive impact on exploration
activities and resource development within the region.

 

"ReconAfrica is currently exploring efforts in the Kavango Basin, adding the
recent drilling of the Naingopo-1 well which targeted the Damara Fold Belt,
with future plans encompassing a multi-well exploration programme alongside
a comprehensive 3D seismic survey in the Kavango Rift Basin," noted the AEC.

 

 

ReconAfrica has compiled data to make clear the basin's petroleum system,
effectively mitigating exploration risks and facilitating the selection of
optimal future well locations.

 

The statement noted that the strategic partnership grants BW Energy
participation in two exploration wells within the Damara Fold Belt and the
upcoming 3D seismic programme.

 

"They hold the option to join exploration activities in the rift basin over
the next two years. Notably, ReconAfrica will retain a 70% working interest
in the licence, ensuring a substantial potential upside in the event of a
discovery."

 

The statement noted that BW Energy brings a wealth of expertise in oil and
gas monetisation across diverse markets to the venture, and the company
already holds an operated stake in Namibia's Orange Basin, specifically the
1,3 trillion cubic feet Kudu gas field.

 

- Namibian.

 

 

 

 

Uganda Faces Hurdle in Cross Border Power Trade

Uganda, renowned for its burgeoning surplus of energy, is poised to enter
the regional electricity market by November next year.

 

However, the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) has
expressed concerns over the lack of essential supporting infrastructure
necessary to actualize cross-border electricity trade.

 

During the recent Power and Electric International Expo, Jenkins Miiro, a
representative from UETCL, underscored the critical need for infrastructure
to facilitate seamless electricity exchange among neighboring countries.

 

"The regional market is slated to commence next year around November. The
primary obstacle we face currently is the inadequate supporting
infrastructure," stated Miiro.

 

 

He emphasized that despite these challenges, interconnected countries will
still be able to engage in electricity trade.

 

Miiro highlighted Uganda's surplus power as a pivotal advantage in regional
trade discussions.

 

"There have been discussions about Uganda having surplus power. This surplus
not only positions us favorably in the regional market but also presents an
opportunity for us to leverage our generation capacity," he explained.

 

The absence of a dedicated market operator for day-to-day monitoring and the
ongoing development of market rules were also noted as critical ongoing
tasks by Miiro.

 

These elements are crucial for ensuring the efficient functioning of
cross-border electricity trade.

 

Reports indicate that Uganda is currently engaged in studies to interconnect
with several neighboring countries including South Sudan, Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania, and Rwanda.

 

This move is bolstered by the fact that a staggering 97% of Uganda's
electricity is sourced from renewable sources, giving it a substantial
advantage over many other countries in the region.

 

Eng. Willy Kiryahika, a renewable energy consultant, stressed the importance
of government investment in renewable energy infrastructure to capitalize on
the potential of regional electricity trade.

 

"Given Uganda's strategic central location, our existing transmission
infrastructure can effectively transmit electricity to neighboring countries
such as South Sudan and Rwanda, thereby opening up opportunities for revenue
generation through export," suggested Miiro.

 

The concept of 'wheeling,' where Uganda could utilize its transmission
network to transport electricity to neighboring countries and charge a
transmission fee, was highlighted as a potential strategy to capitalize on
the surplus power.

 

While Uganda stands poised to become a significant player in the regional
electricity market, the journey is fraught with challenges, primarily
centered around the need for robust supporting infrastructure.

 

The development of this infrastructure is not only crucial for the
operationalization of cross-border electricity trade but also for maximizing
Uganda's renewable energy potential on the international stage.

 

As preparations intensify and regional partnerships evolve, the spotlight
remains on Uganda's ability to overcome infrastructure hurdles like lack of
power transmitters and emerge as a powerhouse in the regional energy
landscape.

 

- Nile Post.

 

 

 

 

'Significant number' of devices back up - CrowdStrike

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike says "a significant number" of devices that
were impacted by a global IT outage on Friday are now back online.

In a social media post, the company - whose faulty security update caused
Microsoft Windows computers to crash around the world - added it "continues
to focus on restoring all systems".

 

Microsoft has estimated that the incident, which is being described as one
of the worst IT outages in history, impacted 8.5m computers around the
world.

Businesses, banks, hospitals and airlines were among the worst-hit, with
some still struggling to fully restore their systems.

 

"We understand the profound impact this has had on everyone. We know our
customers, partners and their IT teams are working tirelessly and we’re
profoundly grateful," CrowdStrike said.

 

"We apologise for the disruption this has created."

 

The firm also said it is deploying a new fix that it hoped would speed up
the recovery of computer systems.

However, CrowdStrike did not say how many devices were still being impacted.

 

More than 1,400 flights, into or out of the US, were cancelled on Sunday,
according to aviation tracking and data platform FlightAware.

Delta and United Airlines were the worst affected US airlines.

 

Health services in Britain, Israel and Germany were also impacted on Friday,
with some services cancelled.

 

The massive outage has put a spotlight on the vulnerability of global
computer networks, showing how a single glitch can cause global chaos.

 

"All too often these days, a single glitch results in a system-wide outage,
affecting industries from healthcare and airlines to banks and auto dealers"
said the Chair of the US Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan, in a social
media post.

 

"These incidents reveal how concentration can create fragile systems."

Until this incident the company had been one most trusted brands in the
cybersecurity industry.

 

According to CrowdStrike's website, it has 29,000 customers around the
world, including some of the biggest companies in the US.

One major economy largely unscathed by the outage was China, as CrowdStrike
is not widely used in the country.-BBC

 

 

 

 

Modi's new budget faces jobs crisis test in India

On Tuesday, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's coalition government will
present its first federal budget following a narrow election victory.

A weakened Mr Modi, reliant for the first time on coalition partners, is
widely expected to usher in a reset in his spending policies, while
maintaining fiscal prudence.

 

Analysts suggest the new government may need to focus more sharply on the
rural majority, who have not benefited as much as the wealthy from the
country's rapidly growing GDP.

 

A jobs crisis in India is driving workers to Israel

The fact that this is Mr Modi's third term will preoccupy him with thoughts
of leaving a lasting legacy and may “tempt” him to do something about
economic prosperity for the masses, says Rathin Roy, a former member of the
prime minister’s Economic Advisory Council.

 

“It is the one area where his legacy will say he has conspicuously failed in
the past.”

 

In the 10 years that he’s been in power, Mr Modi has poured billions of
dollars into state funded infrastructure, building sea bridges and
expressways. He’s also undertaken tax cuts for big corporations and launched
subsidy schemes to incentivise exports-focused manufacturing.

 

India’s shaky macro economy has stabilised and its stock markets have
soared.

But so have inequality and rural distress.

 

BMW cars have logged their highest sales ever in the first half of this year
even as overall consumption growth has been the lowest in two decades.

Wages have stagnated, household savings have dropped and well-paying jobs
remain out of reach for most Indians.

 

India’s regional imbalances are also stark. A majority of the country lives
in northern and eastern India where per capita incomes are lower than Nepal,
and health, mortality and life expectancy worse than Burkina Faso, according
to Mr Roy.

 

Nine in 10 economists now say chronic joblessness is the biggest challenge
confronting Modi 3.0. A post-election survey shows seven in 10 Indians
support taxing the super-rich and eight in 10 economists believe growth has
not been inclusive.

 

India's jobs crisis is more serious than it seems

Travelling through northern India’s agrarian heartland, the fate of its
rural majority sticks out in sharp contrast with those living in its cities.

 

Muzaffarnagar in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh is barely a few hours
away from the Indian capital, Delhi. Barring the state-of-the-art highway
that cuts through the expansive open fields, it feels like a region that’s
been largely bypassed by the country’s shiny economic boom.

 

Sushil Pal’s family has tilled the plains of Behra Asa village for
generations. It’s hard toil that hardly pays anymore, he told the BBC.

Mr Pal didn’t vote for Mr Modi’s party this time despite supporting it in
the previous two elections. The prime minister’s promise to double farm
incomes, he says, has remained just that - a promise.

 

“My income has gone down. The costs for inputs and labour have gone up but
not for my crop,” Mr Pal said. “They only marginally increased procurement
prices for cane before the elections.

 

“All the money I make goes in paying school and college fees for my sons.
One is an engineer but hasn’t had a job for two years,” he said.

 

India is facing a jobs crisis - thousands gathered to seek employment in
Israel earlier this year

Down the road from his field, an export-focused furniture workshop has seen
its turnover drop by 80% in the past five years as global orders dried up
following a post-Covid sales bump.

 

Rajneesh Tyagi, the owner, said he would have liked to sell locally to
mitigate the lull overseas, but continuing rural distress means there’s no
demand for his products.

 

“The farm economy is down and the biggest problem in growing local demand is
high debt among the farmers and unemployment,” he added. “They have no
capacity to buy anything”.

 

Mr Tyagi’s business represents a wide universe of micro enterprises that
form the backbone of India’s economy. India Ratings, a credit ratings
agency, estimates 6.3 million enterprises have shut down between 2015 and
2023, costing 16 million informal jobs.

 

In contrast, profits reported by India’s 5,000 listed companies rose sharply
by 187% between 2018 and 2023, spruced up in part because of tax cuts,
according to commentator Vivek Kaul.

 

India's economy: The good, bad and ugly in six charts

Bridging such gaping divides between the formal and informal parts of the
economy and bringing prosperity to India’s villages will be the biggest
challenges for Mr Modi as he embarks on a third term in office.

 

His first post-election budget may see a “tilt” towards welfarism though not
necessarily a pivot away from more capital spending on big infrastructure
projects, economists at Goldman Sachs said in a note.

 

A larger-than-expected dividend transfer from the central bank (0.3% of GDP)
will enable the government to boost welfare spending and maintain capex,
with a focus on rural economy and job creation, says the Wall Street bank.

 

Even those who manage money for some of India’s wealthiest concur with this
view.

Rajesh Saluja, CEO and managing director of ASK Private Wealth, says poverty
reduction will most likely be on the government’s budget agenda and it can
be done “without upsetting the fiscal math”, given the strong revenues and
tax collections.

 

Protests have been held against high food prices

But economists warn more cash handouts are a poor substitute for real
reform-led development. About 800 million Indians already live on free grain
and some states spend close to 10% of their revenues on welfare schemes.

 

The budget will have to lay out a vision for how the government plans to put
millions into the workforce and create earning potential.

“The reduced footprint of the unorganised sector has implications for
employment generation. Therefore, a judicious mix of policy which allows
coexistence of both formal and informal sectors needs to be pursued in the
interim,” says Sunil Kumar Sinha, principal economist at India Ratings.

 

India should also incentivise low-end, labour intensive manufacturing in
sectors such as textiles and agri-food processing to address its massive
domestic demand, Mr Roy says.

 

Economists at India’s largest bank SBI have suggested extending
production-linked incentives Mr Modi has offered to exports-oriented sectors
to small enterprises.

“So far, when we think of manufacturing, we are thinking of posh people. We
are thinking of supercomputers. We are thinking of getting Apple to come and
make a few iPhones here,” Mr Roy said.

 

“These are not things that 70% of India's population consumes. We should
produce in India what 70% of India's population wants to consume. If I'm
able to make 200-rupee ($2.4, £1.8) shirts in this country and not let that
import demand leak to Bangladesh and Vietnam, it will boost
manufacturing.”-BBC

 

 

 

CrowdStrike IT outage affected 8.5 million Windows devices, Microsoft says

It’s the first time a figure has been put on the incident and suggests it
could be the worst cyber event in history.

The glitch came from a security company called CrowdStrike which sent out a
corrupted software update to its huge number of customers.

Microsoft, which is helping customers recover said in a blog post: "We
currently estimate that CrowdStrike’s update affected 8.5 million Windows
devices."

 

The post by David Weston, vice-president at the firm, says this number is
less than 1% of all Windows machines worldwide, but that "the broad economic
and societal impacts reflect the use of CrowdStrike by enterprises that run
many critical services".

 

The company can be very accurate on how many devices were disabled by the
outage as it has performance telemetry to many by their internet
connections.

The tech giant - which was keen to point out that this was not an issue with
its software - says the incident highlights how important it is for
companies such as CrowdStrike to use quality control checks on updates
before sending them out.

 

“It’s also a reminder of how important it is for all of us across the tech
ecosystem to prioritize operating with safe deployment and disaster recovery
using the mechanisms that exist,” Mr Weston said.

 

The fall out from the IT glitch has been enormous and was already one of the
worst cyber-incidents in history.

The number given by Microsoft means it is probably the largest ever
cyber-event, eclipsing all previous hacks and outages.

The closest to this is the WannaCry cyber-attack in 2017 that is estimated
to have impacted around 300,000 computers in 150 countries. There was a
similar costly and disruptive attack called NotPetya a month later.

 

There was also a major six-hour outage in 2021 at Meta, which runs
Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. But that was largely contained to the
social media giant and some linked partners.

The massive outage has also prompted warnings by cyber-security experts and
agencies around the world about a wave of opportunistic hacking attempts
linked to the IT outage.

 

Cyber agencies in the UK and Australia are warning people to be vigilant to
fake emails, calls and websites that pretend to be official.

And CrowdStrike head George Kurtz encouraged users to make sure they were
speaking to official representatives from the company before downloading
fixes.

"We know that adversaries and bad actors will try to exploit events like
this," he said in a blog post.

 

Whenever there is a major news event, especially one linked to technology,
hackers respond by tweaking their existing methods to take into account the
fear and uncertainty.

 

According to researchers at Secureworks, there has already been a sharp rise
in CrowdStrike-themed domain registrations – hackers registering new
websites made to look official and potentially trick IT managers or members
of the public into downloading malicious software or handing over private
details.

Cyber security agencies around the world have urged IT responders to only
use CrowdStrike's website to source information and help.

 

The advice is mainly for IT managers who are the ones being affected by this
as they try to get their organisations back online.

But individuals too might be targeted, so experts are warning to be to be
hyper vigilante and only act on information from the official CrowdStrike
channels.-BBC

 

 

 

The Spanish fightback against record tourism

If you can elbow your way onto one of Majorca’s sunspots this summer, you
will witness two unstoppable forces.

The first, as old as time, the waves of the Balearic Sea, methodically
erasing the day’s lovingly crafted sandcastles.

The second, a more modern phenomenon, the tsunami of tourism threatening to
consume all in its path.

Every inch of beach is taken. Finding a parking space is like striking gold.

 

If you leave your sunbed for too long, your possessions are unceremoniously
turfed to make space for the long queue of would-be usurpers.

All these are the signs of a bonanza that’s seen and heard across the
island, not least in the incessant beeping of contactless payment machines
ringing out from the teeming hotels, restaurants and bars.

 

A chorus of commerce powered by record numbers of visitors.

But if this is a tale of colossal wealth being showered onto a
business-savvy Spanish community, Sonia Ruiz certainty has not shared any of
it.

We meet the mother of one, 31, in a park a few hundred metres from the shore
in the capital, Palma.

 

Her four-year-old son Luca negotiates the various playground slides with no
apparent concern.

But Sonia is really struggling. Her landlord has asked them to leave and she
says finding a new place is impossible.

“Every day I’m looking and every day the rent is higher,” she says.

 

“I even stop people in the street and ask if they have something because the
day is approaching when I will have to leave the apartment, and I just see
me and my son homeless because there is absolutely nothing.”

Sonia and her partner are separated but have been forced to live together
because individually they cannot afford the cost of rent, despite taking
home 2,400 euros a month between them.

 

“They ask you for deposits of several months. Some have even told me that
they don't want children, they don't want animals. And so many people are
looking.”

Sonia and her son sitting on the beach

Like thousands of Majorcans, Sonia is protesting this weekend against the
surge in tourism that is being blamed for plummeting living standards among
the local population.

 

Activists say spiralling housing costs are being driven by a huge number of
houses and apartments being bought by foreigners, or at least rented out to
them for large chunks of the summer.

“It’s impossible to sustain this sort of model," 25-year-old Pere Joan
Femenia explains from outside the cathedral in Majorca’s capital, Palma.

He is part of a movement called "Menys Turisme, Més Vida", or "Less Tourism,
More Life".

He says not only are unprecedented numbers of visitors pricing locals out of
the housing market, they are also using up public spaces, public services
and natural resources.

 

Pere started his activism five years ago as part of Greta Thunberg’s climate
movement, but his focus has shifted to the cost of living for his fellow
islanders.

“Businesses are changing from one's selling traditional products to
multi-nationals selling ice cream and we are losing our identity. We want to
preserve our culture," he says.

 

Pere points over to the port, far beyond the rows of street vendors and
swelling crowds filling the square, explaining that some cruises disgorge as
many of 12,000 visitors every day onto the island.

He says it is a myth that Majorca needs ever-expanding tourism to survive,
and that the reality is many locals are preparing to leave for good because
they can no longer afford it here.

 

Up close shot of Pere Joan 

Pere argues that putting limits on flights arriving and cruises docking will
immediately ease the pressure on the island.

It is a demand that will form part of the slogans and banners carried around
Palma during this weekend’s protest.

Spain’s National Institute of statistics says last year 14.4 million foreign
tourists visited the Balearic Islands, of which Majorca is by far the
biggest - followed by Menorca then Ibiza.

 

The institute says the number of international visitors to the archipelago
increased by 9.1% compared with 2022 while their spending went up even more
- 16.4%.

When Spanish visitors are taken into account too, activists claim this year
could see 20 million visitors to the Balearics.

As Spain’s tourist hotspots have developed over the decades, the debate over
whether the millions of visitors bring more problems than benefits has
intensified.

Thousands rally against Canary Islands mass tourism

 

This year it feels like something has changed. The anger among many locals
is reaching a new level - notably demonstrated in Barcelona recently when
visitors were drenched with water pistols.

 

There have been demonstrations elsewhere on the mainland, in Malaga, as well
as in the Canary Islands. Spain’s tourist magnets are now looking to repel a
seemingly inexorable deluge.

 

Some British newspapers compiled lists of “hostile holiday hotspots” to
avoid in the summer of 2024.

On a packed beach in Magaluf, the long-time destination of choice for
millions of British holidaymakers, the Green family from Rotherham are
paddling happily.

This is dad Adam’s first trip abroad, although calling it a “holiday” may be
a stretch as he and his wife keep tabs on their seven kids.

“It’s hectic, but we’re getting there. Apart from the heat, it’s great” he
says

.

Adam and Charlotte pictured on the beach 

I ask whether they’ve heard about the various protests that have been taking
place and if it made them think twice about coming out to Majorca.

“I saw a little bit on the news”, says Charlotte, “but I tried not to watch
it because I didn’t want it to stress me out and put me off coming because
we’d already booked and paid for it.”

 

And how about the central thrust of the local protesters’ argument - that
burgeoning tourism is having a hugely negative impact?

“Don’t the tourists boost it and make the money for this place?" asks Adam.

“People travel around the world and this is it. With no tourists there’d be
no jobs, no wages, no nowt. They rely on it, don’t they?”-BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


 Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


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