At least one person was killed in renewed anti-government protests across Kenya on Tuesday, a Reuters reporter said, as police clashed with demonstrators demanding that President William Ruto step down.

Youth-led protests that broke out a month ago against proposed tax hikeshave continued even after Ruto withdrew the legislation and fired almost all of his cabinet. Activists say they want Ruto to resign and are calling for systemic changes to clean up corruption and address poor governance.

At least 50 people have been killed in the protests to date, the government-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said on Tuesday.

In Kitengela, a town on the southern outskirts of the capital Nairobi, police fired repeatedly in the direction of hundreds of protesters, some of whom were throwing rocks, Reuters TV footage showed. The protesters also burned tyres, waved Kenyan flags and chanted "Ruto must go!"

A Reuters reporter saw the body of one protester lying on the ground with blood oozing from a head wound. The national police spokesperson declined to comment.

In a statement, the interior ministry did not directly address events on Tuesday, but said security agencies were under instructions to exercise restraint.

The demonstrations on Tuesday appeared to be some of the biggest since Ruto withdrew the tax increases on June 26. The Nation newspaper reported protests in at least 23 of Kenya's 47 counties.

In Nairobi's city centre, riot police fired tear gas at several dozen protesters and medics were seen carrying away an injured person on a stretcher. In Nakuru, a journalist was injured, with television footage showing her bleeding from her thigh.

Njeri Wa Migwi, an activist who was protesting in downtown Nairobi, said the demonstration was entirely peaceful until police started firing tear gas.

"Today feels very insidious. It was like the police were out to get us," she said.

DEBT CRISIS

The protests have created the biggest crisis of Ruto's two years in power. With Kenya spending over 30% of its revenues just paying the interest bills on its debt, he has been caught between the demands of lenders to cut deficits and a hard-pressed population reeling from rising living costs.

"Ruto is very incompetent," said one protester in Nairobi who did not give his name. "The guy is a puppet to the IMF."

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been a major target of the ire of young Kenyan protesters, who have accused it of being the driving force behind the proposed tax hikes.

The IMF has said its main goal through its lending programmes with Kenya has been helping the country overcome economic challenges and improve its people's well-being.

Ruto's office had announced "multi-sectoral" talks for this week to address grievances raised by the protesters, but there was no sign they had begun. Most of the leading activists behind the protests have rejected the invitation, instead calling for immediate action on issues like corruption.

Ruto's spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

The protests began peacefully but later turned violent. Some demonstrators briefly stormed parliament on June 25, and the police opened fire.

In addition to the 50 deaths, 413 people have been injured, 682 have been arbitrarily detained and 59 have been abducted or are missing in connection with the protests, KNCHR said.

Ruto has promised to investigate accusations of abuse but has broadly defended the conduct of the police. Last week, he accepted the resignation of the national police chief, whose ouster had also been demanded by protesters.

On Monday, Ruto accused the Ford Foundation, an American philanthropic organisation, of sponsoring those who had caused "violence and mayhem" in Kenya, without providing evidence.

The Ford Foundation rejected the allegation, saying it did not fund or sponsor the protests and has a strictly non-partisan policy for its grant-making.

Reuters

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA, have blamed hastily implemented government policy shifts without corresponding plans to mitigate the negative effects of the inception of the present government for the socio-economic crises confronting the country currently.

The trio spoke separately on the issue yesterday, with NECA saying major policy shifts undertaken by the government in 2023 and the adverse impacts they had across various sectors, are having terrible effects on businesses and the national economy.

President and Chairman of Council, NECA, Taiwo Adeniyi, at the 67th Annual General Meeting, AGM, of the Association yesterday in Lagos, lamented that the combination of fuel subsidy removal, and exchange rate liberalization have significantly created market distortions and increased the cost of doing business, leading to a contraction in business activities since mid-2023.

He said: “It is no longer a secret that private businesses in the economy are beset with innumerable challenges, pushing many to the realm of mere subsistence.

‘’A good number of these private businesses continue to exist due to sheer determination and doggedness of the owners and investors, who are committed to supporting the economy.

Our concerns

Adeniyi listed six key concerns of businesses including the high cost of doing business due to depreciation in the value of the naira, increased Customs forex rate for clearing of cargoes, business-antagonistic regulations, proliferation of provocative taxes/levies and oversight functions of the National Assembly.

He said: “Private businesses are struggling with high production costs due to increased import bills for foreign inputs and raw materials. Before the liberalization of the forex regime, N460 was exchanged for US$ in the official market and about N750/US$ in the parallel market.

“After the policy, the exchange rate soared to N1600/US$, significantly raising import costs for the private sector. To address these challenges, we urge the Federal Government to review the current forex liberalization policy and adopt a more guided forex management procedure that supports domestic production.

“The upward review of Customs rate for cargo clearance to N1,413/US$ from N952/US$ in February 2024 has severely impacted businesses. These increases depleted the working capital of businesses, increased cost of production and drove up commodity prices, while also reducing household purchasing power.

‘’It has also contributed ominously to the general contraction of private businesses in the economy. Therefore, we urge the government to embark more on policies that are not only pro-business but also drive production and ensure job creation.

“In recent times, we have witnessed a proliferation of unfriendly and unjustifiable regulations aimed at organized businesses. It is our firm believe that regulations are meant to promote businesses and not to stifle them.

“Some of the recent regulations have become a source of shock and distraction to organized businesses, even though some of them were eventually suspended. For instance, the recent ban on alcoholic beverages in small packs by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, caused significant anxiety in the sector before being suspended after lengthy engagement with the government.

‘’We, therefore, urge the government to always conduct exhaustive consultation with private sector stakeholders on policy issues and act in the overall interest of the country within the prevailing circumstances.

“In recent times, we have observed several new taxes being imposed on private businesses by the Federal Government agencies. While we have witnessed the introduction of new taxes and levies, we commend government’s bold initiative of inaugurating the Taiwo Oyedele led Presidential Committee on Fiscal and Tax Reforms.

‘’It is hoped that the recommendations of the presidential committee will usher in a new dawn in tax administration in Nigeria.

“For over 10 years, we have witnessed the incessant invitation of organized businesses by different committees of the National Assembly on issues within the purview of the executive arm of government.

‘’Constitutionally, the National Assembly’s oversight function does not extend to private businesses. This responsibility lies with the ministries, departments, and agencies, MDAs, of the government.

‘’These invitations have caused significant distress to businesses, consuming time and resources. Although NECA has ongoing litigation on the dimension of the exercise of the oversight function with the Supreme Court, we urge the committees of the National Assembly to exercise their oversight responsibilities within the confines of the constitution.”

MAN blames forex, power, inflation

Reacting, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, also identified foreign exchange (FX) volatility, inadequate power supply and high inflation as some of the topmost challenges they encountered in their operations in the first quarter of 2024 (Q1’24).

This, according to it, led to a further surge in production and distribution costs by 20.7 per cent within the period.

MAN based its position on the response of chief executive officers in the manufacturing sector on a survey it carried out.

The Manufacturers CEO Confidence Index, MCCI, Q1’24 survey report stated: “The list of manufacturers’ challenges include unstable and high exchange rate/scarcity of FX; inadequate power supply/frequent power outages; high inflation/high operating cost (of raw materials, labour, equipment and maintenance); high cost of energy (petrol, diesel, gas); high and multiple taxes, charges and levies, among others.”

Commenting, the Director General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said: “The subdued performance of the sector is attributed to some ongoing harsh economic reforms that have compounded the long-standing challenges confronting the sector.

‘’This is confirmed by the finding of this report which reveals that forex scarcity, inadequate power supply, high inflation, rising energy cost, multiple taxation, policy inconsistency, exorbitant interest rate, poor infrastructure and high logistics costs are the top ten challenges depressing productivity in the sector.

“MAN expects government to frontally address insecurity, improve electricity supply, promote fiscal sustainability, and ensure policy consistency.’’

NACCIMA seeks improved public finance management

Similarly, the Director General, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA, Sola Obadimu, said: “The cost of doing business continues to rise almost on a daily basis.

‘’That’s neither healthy for business operations nor planning. Due to rising interest rates, MSMEs may not have the financial capacity to borrow. Large businesses may also prefer to downsize rather than borrow at current rates.

“With decreasing production due to high cost of funds, unemployment may worsen with the possibility of an increase in crime rates. Unfortunately, in the midst of all these, there seems to be a deliberate effort to aggressively pursue tax drive policies.

“Certainly, there is a need for an improvement in public finance management to ameliorate the harsh economic environment.”

NLC threatens to shut Nigeria

Meanwhile, in his goodwill message at the NECA AGM, President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Joe Ajaero, solicited the support of NECA for a better wage for workers, saying it was not about figure but the value of money.

Ajaero said: “Fair wages are not just a matter of social justice; they are also instrumental in boosting worker’s productivity and, consequently, the bottom line for employers. Enhanced purchasing power among workers will lead to increased consumption, thereby addressing the concerns of rising inventories in warehouses.

‘’We have advocated from the beginning of our engagement on the national minimum wage fixing exercise for the need to put more money in the hands of workers. We made this case on the understanding that it will help our businesses and rev up the economy.

‘’We had strongly believed that your organization would have been one with us and would have seen that we are actually making a great case for the survival of your businesses. We do not have any interest in crippling our businesses because you cannot cut your nose to spite your face.

‘’It is on this premise that we urge members of NECA to join us in the quest for a national minimum wage that will eliminate deep poverty from the lives of workers; wages that will not increase the number of the working poor and amount to a starvation wage for Nigerian workers is what we should all push for.

‘’The only way to break the present consumer resistance is to increase the wages of workers and that speaks to the policy of government that seeks to reflate the economy. It is not by giving handouts or reducing Nigerians to beggars who must queue at the various charity parks before they can eat.

‘’We must join hands to stop this collective slide into the pit. We must save our businesses by saving workers. N250,000 as national minimum wage is already a steep consideration by Nigerian workers.

As we are speaking now, the House of Representatives and the Senate are meeting to make sure they decentralize wage.

‘’We all know that wage in International Labour Organisation, ILO, is a national law and Nigeria will not be an exception. We will also demand that the wages of political officeholders and others are brought under minimum wage.

‘’You cannot be in the Senate and you are under minimum wage and not legislate for a better wage We should know your wage, we should know what you are earning. If you are a governor, you have security vote that is unaccounted for. If you have excess funds, you will not know that people are suffering.

“But if everybody is brought under the minimum wage, even if the governors want to create level 18, 19, or 20 for them, they all should come under the wage system. That is the only way it is going to work.

“If it is possible, both the House of Representatives and the Senate should be on part-time basis.
‘’Let it be based on professional callings. If you are a lawyer, a doctor, you have a business or profession of your own. If they meet three times a week, then the remaining days in the week, you go on with your businesses because the money being spent at the National Assembly is unimaginable. ‘’Unless we address this, the country will continue to go down and the gap between the rich and poor will continue to widen.

Later, in a chat with journalists after his remarks, Ajaero warned that should the governors and members of the National Assembly succeed in deregulating the minimum wage, Organised labour would shut the country for one month.

He insisted that by the International Labour Organization, ILO, Convention 131 ratified by Nigeria, minimum wage is a national issue, warning that organised labour would not accept a situation where governors, working with the members of the National Assembly, imposed slave wage and poverty on workers and Nigerians.

“As we are here, a joint committee of the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Judiciary are meeting. They have decided to remove section 34 from the Exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list so that state governors can determine what to pay you and so that there will be no minimum wage again.

‘’You cannot decide what you should earn. The very moment the House of Representatives and the Senate come up with such a law that will not benefit Nigerian workers, they will be their drivers and gatemen, and there will be no movement for one month.

‘’We cannot accept any situation where the governors and the National Assembly members will foist a slave wage on workers and force poverty on the citizens. Organised ‘labour will not accept it,’’ Ajaero said.

Vanguard

The consensus among Nigeria’s private sector is clear and damning: President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies are decimating businesses, causing widespread job losses, exacerbating poverty, and deepening national misery. The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) have all sounded the alarm. It is imperative that the government change course before it is too late.

The policy shifts enacted in 2023, particularly the removal of fuel subsidies and the liberalization of the exchange rate, have created market distortions and increased the cost of doing business. These changes, implemented without adequate measures to mitigate their negative impacts, have led to a contraction in business activities and left many private enterprises struggling for survival. Taiwo Adeniyi, President of NECA, has lamented that the economy's private businesses are now operating on sheer determination and doggedness, rather than any conducive policy environment.

The high cost of doing business in Nigeria has been exacerbated by the depreciation of the naira, which has skyrocketed from N460 to N1600 per US dollar in the official market. This has significantly raised import costs and depleted the working capital of businesses. The upward review of Customs rates for cargo clearance has further strained businesses, driving up production costs and commodity prices while reducing household purchasing power. These pressures are stifling private businesses and contributing to a general economic contraction.

Moreover, the proliferation of unjustifiable regulations and taxes is creating an even more hostile environment for businesses. NECA has pointed out that recent regulations, such as the temporary ban on small packs of alcoholic beverages by NAFDAC, have caused significant anxiety and disruption. These regulations often appear to be implemented without proper consultation with private sector stakeholders, adding to the unpredictability and instability that businesses must navigate.

The manufacturing sector, represented by MAN, has highlighted the additional challenges of foreign exchange volatility, inadequate power supply, and high inflation. These issues have driven up production and distribution costs by over 20 percent in the first quarter of 2024 alone. The government’s harsh economic reforms have compounded these longstanding problems, leading to a further decline in productivity and economic performance.

The NACCIMA has also raised concerns about the rising cost of doing business and the aggressive pursuit of tax policies. With interest rates soaring, many businesses, especially MSMEs, are unable to secure the financing they need to operate and grow. This, coupled with decreasing production and rising unemployment, creates a vicious cycle of economic decline and social instability.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has joined the chorus of criticism, warning that the government's failure to address these issues could lead to widespread unrest. Joe Ajaero, President of the NLC, has emphasized the need for fair wages to boost worker productivity and stimulate economic growth. The call for a national minimum wage that can lift workers out of poverty is not just a matter of social justice but an economic necessity.

In light of these multifaceted crises, it is clear that the current economic policies are unsustainable. The government must embark on a more balanced approach that supports domestic production, ensures fair and stable exchange rates, and provides a conducive environment for businesses to thrive. Regulatory and tax policies must be crafted in close consultation with the private sector to avoid unnecessary disruptions and foster a climate of stability and growth.

Failure to act decisively and change course will only deepen Nigeria’s economic woes and exacerbate social tensions. It is time for President Bola Tinubu and his administration to listen to the voices of the private sector, labour organizations, and economic experts. The future of Nigeria’s economy, and the well-being of its citizens, depend on it.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reduced its forecast for Nigeria’s economic growth to 3.1 percent in 2024 — down from a 3.3 percent projected in April.

The downgrade is 0.2 percentage points below the prior forecast.

In its July 2024 World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday, IMF said a lower-than-expected activity in the first quarter (Q1) of the year impacted decisions for the downgrade.

The IMF, however, retained a 3.0 percent forecast for Nigeria’s economic growth in 2025.

NIGERIA AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Revealing further, IMF downgraded its forecast for sub-Saharan Africa economic growth in 2024 to 3.7 percent — from the April forecast of 3.8 percent.

“The forecast for growth in sub-Saharan Africa is revised downward, mainly as a result of a 0.2 percentage point downward revision to the growth outlook in Nigeria amid weaker than expected activity in the first quarter of this year,” the Bretton Woods institution said.

However, IMF increased its forecast for economic growth in the region for 2025 to 4.1 percent — from 4.0 in its April projection.

GLOBAL PROJECTION 

IMF retained its global economic forecast at 3.2 percent in 2024 and 3.3 percent in 2025.

“Growth is expected to remain stable. At 3.2 percent in 2024 and 3.3 percent in 2025, the forecast for global economic growth is broadly unchanged from that in April,” the international lender said. 

“Among advanced economies, growth is expected to converge over the coming quarters. 

“In the United States, projected growth is revised downward to 2.6 percent in 2024 (0.1 percentage point lower than projected in April), reflecting the slower-than-expected start to the year. 

“Growth is expected to slow to 1.9 percent in 2025 as the labour market cools and consumption moderates, with fiscal policy starting to tighten gradually. By the end of 2025, growth is projected to taper to potential, closing  the positive output gap.”

Also, IMF forecasted that global inflation will continue to decline. 

“In advanced economies, the revised forecast is for the pace of disinflation to slow in 2024 and 2025,” the Bretton Woods institution said.

“That is because inflation in prices for services is now expected to be more persistent and commodity prices higher. 

“However, the gradual cooling of labor markets, together with an expected decline in energy prices, should bring headline inflation back to target by the end of 2025. 

“Inflation is expected to remain higher in emerging market and developing economies (and to drop more slowly) than in advanced economies.”

IMF said inflation is already close to pre-pandemic levels for the median emerging market and developing economy partly due to falling energy prices.

The Cable

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) announced that the federal, state, and local governments shared N1.35 trillion in June, marking an increase of N210 billion from the N1.14 trillion distributed in May. The details were disclosed in a communiqué issued after the July meeting, chaired by Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.

According to the communiqué, the N1.35 trillion shared among the three tiers of government in June came from a gross total of N2.48 trillion. The breakdown included N142 billion in statutory revenue and N523 billion from value-added tax (VAT) revenue. Additionally, the revenue included N15 billion from the electronic money transfer levy (EMTL), N472 billion from exchange difference revenue, and N200 billion from exchange difference and augmentation, totaling N1.354 trillion in distributable revenue for June.

From the N1.35 trillion, the federal government received N459.7 billion, states received N461.9 billion, and local government councils got N337 billion. Oil-producing states were allocated N95.5 billion as derivation (13 percent of mineral revenue). The cost of collection amounted to N92.1 billion, and N1.03 billion was allocated for transfer intervention and refunds.

The gross revenue available from VAT for June was N562.6 billion, higher than the N497.6 billion available in May. Of the N523 billion in distributable VAT revenue, the federal government received N78.5 billion, states got N261.9 billion, and local governments were allocated N183.3 billion.

The gross statutory revenue for the month was N142.5 billion. From this, the federal government received N48.9 billion, states got N24.82 billion, and local governments received N19.14 billion. Oil-producing states were given N49.5 billion as 13 percent derivation revenue.

Regarding the N16.34 billion from the EMTL distributed to the three tiers of government, the federal government received N2.3 billion, states got N7.8 billion, and local governments were allocated N5.4 billion.

The FAAC communiqué also noted significant increases in companies' income tax (CIT) and VAT, with marginal increases in import and excise duties and EMTL. Conversely, there were considerable decreases in petroleum profit tax (PPT), royalty crude, rentals, and customs external tariff levies (CET). The balance in the excess crude account (ECA) as of June was $473,754.57.

Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 57, Palestinian health officials say

Israeli forces battled Hamas-led fighters in several parts of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, and Palestinian health officials said at least 57 people were killed in Israeli bombardments of southern and central areas.

The Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas has accused Israel of stepping up attacks in Gaza to try to derail efforts by Arab mediators and the United States to reach a ceasefire deal. Israel says it is trying to root out Hamas fighters.

In Rafah, a southern border city where Israeli forces have been operating since May, five Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a house, Gaza health officials said. In nearby Khan Younis, a man, his wife, and two children were killed, they said.

Later on Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike on a car killed at least 17 Palestinians and wounded 26 others in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the officials said.

The airstrike hit near a tented area housing displaced families in Attar Street in the humanitarian-designated area of Al-Mawasi, the health ministry said.

The Israeli military said the strike targeted a senior militant of the Islamic Jihad group, an ally of Hamas.

"We are looking into the reports stating that several civilians were injured as a result of the strike," the military statement said.

Reuters footage showed residents carrying bodies of the dead and wounded on donkey carts and in rickshaws to hospitals.

"The car was targeted, the blood was splashing, and shrapnel hit our tents and martyrs were left on the street. We screamed: ‘We need an ambulance'. We put (the casualties) on carts and rickshaws and the ambulance came after a while,” said eyewitness Tahrir Matir, who lives in a tent nearby.

UN SCHOOL ALSO HIT

In the historic Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, at least four Palestinians were killed in separate shelling and aerial strikes in central Gaza, medics said. An Israeli airstrike also killed four in Sheikh Zayed in northern Gaza, they said.

Hours later, an Israeli air strike on a U.N.-run school that housed displaced families in the Nuseirat camp killed 23 people and wounded many others, health officials said.

Among those killed was local journalist Mohammad Meshmesh, taking the number of journalists killed in the conflict to 160, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office said.

"Where is the safety for (U.N.) agency schools? There are no more safe agency schools, or safe clinics, no more safe houses, no safe streets. We have been left desolate, displaced and destroyed," said eyewitness Umm Omar Ahmed at Nuseirat camp.

The Israeli military said in a statement it had attacked a group of "terrorists" who had operated from inside the school, after taking steps to mitigate the risk to civilians.

Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas after its militants killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostage in an attack on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, according to Israeli tallies.

On Tuesday, the military said it had eliminated half of the leadership of Hamas' military wing, with about 14,000 fighters killed or captured since the start of the war.

At least 38,713 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory offensive since then, Gaza health authorities said in their latest update on Tuesday. Israel also says 326 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza.

Relatives visited Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza to say farewell to relatives before funerals.

"We’re exhausted... we are extremely tired, our patience is over," said elderly Palestinian Sahar Abu Emeira. "Whether Hamas or the others (Israel) they need to agree as soon as possible."

TALKS PAUSED

Efforts to end the conflict stalled on Saturday after three days of negotiations failed to produce a viable outcome, Egyptian security sources said, and after an Israeli strike targeting Hamas' top military chief, Mohammed Deif.

That attack killed more than 90 people in the Khan Younis area, according to Gaza health authorities.

A Palestinian official close to the negotiations told Reuters Hamas was keen not to be seen as halting the talks despite the stepped-up Israeli attacks.

"Hamas wants the war to end, not at any price. It says it has shown the flexibility needed and is pushing the mediators to get Israel to reciprocate," the official said.

He said Hamas believed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to avoid a deal by adding more conditions that restrict the return of displaced people to northern Gaza, and to keep control over the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday that two senior advisers to Netanyahu had said Israel was still committed to reaching a ceasefire.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine lying about wanting peace talks – Moscow

Kiev’s statements about resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict by political and diplomatic means are empty words and deception, a senior Russian diplomat told TASS news agency on Wednesday.

Alexey Polishchuk, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Department, explained that a ban on negotiations with Moscow introduced by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky is still in effect, making peace talks impossible.

“If the authorities in Kiev were actually ready to resolve the crisis using political and diplomatic methods, they would first of all cancel the decree that is in force in Ukraine on the self-prohibition of negotiations with the Russian leadership,” he said.

In March 2022, Zelensky signed a decree declaring any prospect of Ukrainian peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin illegal, but left the door open to negotiations with Russia.

Kiev’s statements about seeking peace are made “to win the sympathy of countries of the Global South and lure them into the anti-Russian Western camp,” Polishchuk said, adding that he hopes most states understand this.

His comments come a day after Zelensky suggested that Ukraine and its supporters intend to hold a second ‘peace summit’ by November, and will invite Russia to participate.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the goals and agenda of such an event were unclear, noting that the previous Western-backed gathering in Switzerland had made no progress in resolving the crisis.

The Swiss-hosted summit was focused on three points of Vladimir Zelensky’s ‘peace formula’, including calls on Russia to withdraw from all territories that Ukraine claims as its own, reparations paid by Moscow to Kiev, and a tribunal for the Russian leadership after the conflict. Moscow has dismissed the proposal as being detached from reality.

Zelensky’s offer of negotiations was set out days after a survey carried out by the Razumkov Center for Political and Economic Studies suggested that nearly 44% of Ukrainians support the idea of “official peace talks” with Russia. At the same time, the poll showed that an absolute majority are still not ready to make concessions to Moscow and believe that Kiev could prevail in the conflict.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Zelenskiy proposes legislation to strip awards from Ukrainian 'traitors'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged parliament on Tuesday to pass legislation that would define procedures to strip "traitors" of state awards previously bestowed on them, including the country's highest honours.

Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, named no individuals that would be subject to the proposed legislation to alter Ukraine's criminal code.

He said the measure sought to "restore justice" by targeting those who "as a result of their actions, have lost the right to any respect from Ukrainians".

"A legal mechanism is needed to effectively strip such individuals of all state awards of Ukraine and honorary titles," he said.

"They deserve only one 'title' - traitors. And their 'reward' will be accountability to Ukraine and our people for everything done against Ukraine, against our state and against our independence."

He said the legislation would apply to all state awards, including the country's highest honour, Hero of Ukraine.

Since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of Ukrainians have been accused of collaborating with Moscow, including a number of prominent personalities.

These include Viktor Medvedchuk, pro-Kremlin business magnate and chief of staff to former President Leonid Kuchma, who was sent to Russia after being included in a mass prisoner swap in September 2022.

Any legislation could also apply to former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov who fled Ukraine during the 2014 popular uprising that removed from power President Viktor Yanukovych, since convicted of treason in absentia.

RT/Reuters

Fears that AI will be stealing jobs were given fresh life on Wednesday, when accounting giant Intuit announced it would lay off 1,800 employees as part of an AI-centered reorganization. The cuts will affect 10 percent of workers at the company, which owns accounting software TurboTax and QuickBooks.

In a memo sent to staff, Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi noted that aligning the business with AI will make it competitive as technological change sweeps the economy.

"Companies that aren't prepared to take advantage of this AI revolution will fall behind and, over time, will no longer exist," he wrote.

The layoffs, which will be completed in September, are not a result of economic hardship, according to Goodarzi, who maintained that Intuit is "in a position of strength" financially. (Laid off employees will receive at least 16 weeks' severance and a minimum of six months' health insurance coverage.) Rather, Goodarzi cited poor performance as the motivating factor in laying off 1,050 of the company's 1,800 employees.

"We've significantly raised the bar on our expectations," he wrote.

Goodarzi added that the company would replace departing staff at a rate of 1:1 by creating new roles bolstered by generative AI tools. "We will hire approximately 1,800 new people primarily in engineering, product, and customer-facing roles such as sales, customer success, and marketing," the CEO said in the memo.

In an email to Inc., a company spokesperson said that the layoffs are "about increasing investment in key growth areas: Gen AI, money movement, mid-market expansion, and international growth."

Intuit's shift to AI-oriented labor is happening amid fears that the technology could displace droves of workers. According to a June survey conducted by Duke University and the Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and Atlanta, two-thirds of the American CFOs who responded said their companies are looking to replace human workers with some kind of automation. Over the last year, 60 percent of the 450 companies surveyed said they have "implemented software, equipment, or technology to automate tasks previously completed by employees."

AI software, which is often used to produce text, audio, and images on demand, is increasingly viewed by company leaders as essential to competitiveness.

Last August, Erik Brynjolfsson, a professor at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, spoke to the New York Times about a shift in thinking regarding AI capabilities. "To be brutally honest, we had a hierarchy of things that technology could do, and we felt comfortable saying things like creative work, professional work, emotional intelligence would be hard for machines to ever do," he said. "Now that's all been upended."

Additional data shared with Inc. indicates that startups are turning to OpenAI's text generation tool, ChatGPT, in lieu of hiring freelancers on gig work sites, such as Fiverr, Upwork, and Toptal.

According to an unpublished survey by the accounting firm Kruze Consulting, the number of startups paying for enterprise versions of ChatGPT has exploded since 2023. Nearly two-thirds of the companies on Kruze's client list of 550 VC-backed startups are paying for the service, Kruze reports, whereas, the average spend on freelance copywriters has plunged by 83 percent since November 2022.

"Basically, startups aren't spending money on outsourced marketing -- mainly writing -- now that they can use AI," Healy Jones, VP of financial strategy at Kruze, said in an email to Inc.

While recent news and figures make for grim reading for freelance copywriters, data indicate that AI's incursion into other roles has been less dramatic, at least for now. A recent survey by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that companies could only replace 23 percent of wages paid to human workers with AI tools performing the same jobs. Researchers determined this by assessing the current cost of using AI models to perform certain tasks, and then comparing that cost with compensation for human workers.

"This is not something where all of the jobs are replaced immediately," Neil Thompson, director of MIT's FutureTech research project, said in a press release last month.

Nonetheless, layoffs at high-profile companies like Intuit will signal that a technological tipping point is near -- and along with it, more fallout for workers.

Inc

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 34.19 percent in June 2024 — up from 33.95 percent in May.

The data is captured in the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its consumer price index (CPI) report for June, released on Monday.

The CPI measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services.

According to the bureau, food inflation also surged to 40.87 percent in the month under review as prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages continued to surge.

NBS said the headline inflation rate in June showed an increase of “0.24% points when compared to the May 2024 headline inflation rate”.

“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.40% points higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2023, which was 22.79%,” the NBS said.

“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in the month of June 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e. June 2023).

“Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in June 2024 was 2.31%, which was 0.17% higher than the rate recorded in May 2024 (2.14%).

“This means that in the month of June 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is higher than the rate of increase in the average price level in May 2024.”

FOOD INFLATION EDGED UP BY 15.62% IN JUNE

NBS further said the food inflation rate in June 2024 was 40.87 percent on a year-on-year basis — a 15.62 percent uptick compared to the rate recorded in June 2023 (25.25 percent).

This, the bureau said, was caused by increases in prices of items such as millet whole grain, garri, guinea corn, bread and cereals class, yam, groundnut oil, palm oil, and catfish.

“On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in June 2024 was 2.55% which shows a 0.26% increase compared to the rate recorded in May 2024 (2.28%),” the bureau said.

“The rise in food inflation on a month-on-month basis was caused by the rise in the rate of increase in the average prices of groundnut oil, palm oil, etc (oil & fats class), water yam, coco yam, cassava, etc (potatoes, yam & other tubers class), tobacco, catfish fresh, croaker, mudfish fresh, snail, etc, (Fish Class).”

“The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending June 2024 over the previous twelve-month average was 35.35%, which was an 11.31% points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in June 2023 (24.03%).”

The report also said Edo (47.34 percent), Kogi (46.37 percent), and Cross River (45.28 percent) states spent more on food in June, while Nasarawa (34.31 percent), Bauchi (34.78 percent) and Adamawa (35.96 percent), recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis.

On the other hand, Yobe (4.75%), Adamawa(4.74%), and Taraba (4.12%) states had the highest food inflation month-on-month.

NBS said states such asNasarawa (0.14 percent), Kano (0.96 percent) and Lagos (1.25 percent) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a month-on-month basis.

A few African nations have been designated as hunger hotspots by international organizations and media sources in recent years. While identifying regions that are vulnerable to hunger is crucial for coordinating assistance and support, designating a region as a "hunger hotspot" has serious and frequently negative consequences for the affected nations.

These countries can are considered hunger hotspots for key reasons, the most prominent of which is conflict. Conflicts typically exasperate hunger as the constant fighting deters the production of food. Additionally, food sent as relief aid is usually controlled by those at the forefront of the fighting, leaving the more vulnerable population with very few options.

The recently released Hunger Hotspots report by the United Nations highlights that organized violence and armed conflict are the primary causes of deteriorating severe food insecurity in the majority of hunger hotspots (17 out of 21 countries/territories).

Other significant reasons can cause acute food shortages including a rapidly rising food inflation level. This causes severe strains on households and leaves the poor with very short rations.

Climate change has also become huge, as extreme temperatures cause stagnation of farming. Some countries can experience intense heat which is very unconducive for crop production, while some countries experience massive bouts of rainfall, causing erosion and all sorts of drawbacks for farming.

With that said, here are the 10 African countries considered hunger hotspots in 2024.

Top 10 African countries with the highest number of hungry people

Methodology

Food security experts, disputes, economic, and natural hazards analysts from FAO and WFP, both in Rome and on the ground, collaborate to identify hunger hotspots. The strategy starts through prioritizing based on quantitative and qualitative variables elaborated on in the report.

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