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NAIROBI. — Kenya’s economic growth slowed in the third quarter of 2024 from the same period a year earlier due to under-performance in most sectors of the economy, the statistics office said yesterday.
The economy grew 4 percent year-on-year from 6 percent in the same quarter the previous year, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.
“The decelerated growth was largely due to a general decline in growth in most sectors of the economy.
The growth was constrained by contractions in construction and mining and quarrying activities,” the statistics office said.
Construction activities contracted 2 percent while mining and quarrying shrank 11,1 percent, the office said.
Growth in agriculture, forestry and fishing, transportation and storage activities, financial and insurance activities, real estate activities, wholesale and retail activities and accommodation and food service activities helped cushion the economy from slowing further, the statistics office said.
Nationwide protests against proposed tax increases at the end of the second quarter resulted in disruptions and incidents of violence in major towns.
President William Ruto subsequently scrapped the tax measures, but demonstrations persisted into the third quarter, with protesters calling for better governance, an end to corruption and better service delivery.
The World Bank has downgraded Kenya’s economic growth estimate for 2024 to 4,7 percent, from an initial 5 percent, citing the impact of floods, anti-government protests and faltering fiscal consolidation efforts. The finance ministry has estimated that the economy expanded 5,2 percent in 2024 and projects growth of 5,4 percent in 2025.
The economy grew 5,6 percent in 2023. — Reuters
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