Protests spread in Africa as fuel crisis deepens

{"text":[[{"start":13.8,"text":"Rising fuel prices have triggered deadly protests in Kenya and forced countries across Africa to take emergency measures, as a deepening energy crisis drives severe disruption across the continent."}],[{"start":26,"text":"Diesel and petrol prices at the pump have surged in recent weeks, as the economic shock of the war in the Middle East starts to reach consumers across sub-Saharan Africa. "}],[{"start":35.65,"text":"The impact of the war on many African economies was initially blunted by government fuel subsidies and regulated prices that lag the wholesale market by a month. But states have been forced to pass on more fuel price hikes as they can no longer afford the subsidy bill. "}],[{"start":51.349999999999994,"text":"The move last week by Kenya’s government to raise diesel prices by 23.5 per cent sparked protests in which four people were killed this week and a transportation strike that brought the country to a standstill, closing many businesses and schools. "}],[{"start":66.44999999999999,"text":"“Brace yourselves,” said Kenyan opposition politician Fred Matiang’i, in a speech this week. “The worst is about to come.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":74.35,"text":"The Kenyan government has already spent more than £200mn in two months to cushion the rise of fuel prices, according to John Mbadi, the country’s finance minister, who added that strains on the budget had forced its hand."}],[{"start":87.85,"text":"Energy traders and analysts believe the fallout of the Middle East conflict could get worse, as the continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz chokes off global oil supplies and pushes fuel prices higher. "}],[{"start":100.05,"text":"“This is increasingly a ‘higher for longer’ environment, which we expect to last for the next few months,” said Mark Russell, chief executive of Puma Energy, which operates more than 700 fuel stations in Africa and 2,200 globally. "}],[{"start":115.14999999999999,"text":"“Governments will need to continue managing regulated fuel prices in a way that protects security of supply, while avoiding excessive pressure on public finances,” he added. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":124.1,"text":"The price surge has placed a huge fiscal burden on governments that are paying to subsidise their fuel and has exacerbated foreign exchange pressures for governments by increasing the cost of energy imports."}],[{"start":136.1,"text":"In recent days the island nation of Comoros suspended increases in fuel prices after deadly protests. A strike by minibus drivers brought Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, to a halt after diesel prices increased by 46 per cent."}],[{"start":151.04999999999998,"text":"Landlocked countries that rely on fuel brought in by truck — such as Malawi, Zambia and Botswana — are among the countries that are most affected."}],[{"start":159.35,"text":"Malawi has exhausted its strategic fuel reserves and is selling part of its gold holdings to raise foreign currency, as the economic shockwaves from the Iran conflict deepen an existing fuel crisis in one of Africa’s poorest countries."}],[{"start":173.45,"text":"Prices for diesel and gasoline in Malawi have both risen more than 140 per cent over the past 12 months — making it one of the most expensive countries in the world to buy fuel."}],[{"start":185.45,"text":"Malawi officials said last month the country’s fuel reserves had “completely run out” as it grappled with acute shortages and a foreign currency crunch."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":195.7,"text":"The Malawi government is negotiating an emergency facility with Afreximbank, the pan-African trade bank, to finance fuel imports. "}],[{"start":204.1,"text":"Malawi’s central bank is also selling 590kg of semi-processed gold bars purchased from local miners in an effort to raise around $74mn to pay for fuel imports, according to a spokesperson."}],[{"start":217.7,"text":"Mphatso Mullen, a long-haul truck driver who transports goods across southern and eastern Africa, said he had spent days searching for diesel while soaring prices eroded already thin profit margins."}],[{"start":230.2,"text":"“At times we find ourselves having already loaded the containers but we go weeks without finding fuel,” he said from the Malawi-Tanzania border, where he had been stranded for three days while searching for diesel. “Sometimes the clients ditch you to find another transporter with fuel.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":246.89999999999998,"text":"Razia Khan, chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank, expects economic growth forecasts to be downgraded as a result of the fuel crisis."}],[{"start":256.84999999999997,"text":"“We were thinking Africa could grow 4.3 per cent this year — now it looks a little different,” she said. “The concern is that this [crisis] will create inflationary pressures.” "}],[{"start":267.84999999999997,"text":"Central banks that before the Iran war had been expected to lower interest rates “will have to think about whether to proceed with that easing”, Khan added."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":276.2,"text":"Higher fuel costs are also a further hit to the creditworthiness of indebted African countries that investors already saw as close to default or needing emergency loans from the IMF."}],[{"start":287.55,"text":"Senegal’s finance minister warned last week that the cash-strapped West African country is facing an energy shock after budget revenues increased less than expected in the first quarter of the year. Senegal has been seeking a $1.8bn bailout from the IMF."}],[{"start":304.65000000000003,"text":"Mozambique’s dollar debt is trading at around 83 cents on the dollar, or a yield of 15 per cent, as investors expect it will have to restructure terms to receive a bailout from the fund."}],[{"start":317.55,"text":"Yields on the dollar debt of some African governments are already among the highest in the world, though they have generally rallied since April’s ceasefire and some countries such as Nigeria are benefiting from economic reforms as well as oil exports."}],[{"start":332.6,"text":"Data visualisation by Alan Smith"}],[{"start":343.15000000000003,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779263448_4542.mp3"}