cost of living - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Cost of living relief on the cards as Kenya, Nigeria currencies gain ground

SQUEEZED by painfully high prices for over a year, households in Kenya and Nigeria are beginning to get some relief as their national currencies strengthen against the US dollar and the cost of living starts to come down. In 2023, the shilling and naira were ranked among the worst-performing currencies in the world, according to data from Bloomberg and World Currency Monitor. The naira was the worst-performing currency in Africa in 2023, depreciating by over 40% against the US dollar while the shilling ranked 6th worst worldwide, with a slump of over 15% against the US Dollar. However, consumers in…

Mar

2024

By ABRAHAM ACHIRGA and SEUN SANNI

Hard times in Nigeria as reforms deepen cost of living crisis

BUSINESS

BLESSING Joseph has been weaving bags, sandals and jewellery earning enough money to feed her son and send him to school. But since November, she has fallen on hard times as customers have stopped coming and she and her son routinely go to bed hungry. She is among millions in Africa's largest economy, grappling with the worst cost of living crisis in decades, that has deepened since President Bola Tinubu introduced bold but unpopular economic reforms after he assumed office last May. Last year, Joseph could easily make 30,000 naira ($18.83) a week but now she will be lucky to…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Artist moves into rubbish skip in protest at ‘crazy’ London costs

WORLD

NATALIE THOMAS AN artist has built a home in a rubbish skip in London and plans to live in it for a year, seeking to draw attention to the "crazy" price of renting a room in Britain's capital during a cost of living crisis. Harrison Marshall, 28, moved into the specially-adapted skip on a patch of grass in Bermondsey, south London a month ago, explaining that it was the only way he could afford to live in the central area near where he works. Returning to the city after a period abroad, he said he struggled to find somewhere to…