Kenya's Q3 GDP growth slows on weak construction, mining sectors

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's economic growth slowed in the third quarter of 2024 from the same period a year earlier due to underperformance in most sectors of the economy, the statistics office said on Tuesday.

The economy grew 4.0% year-on-year from 6.0% 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 2.0% while mining and

quarrying shrank 11.1%, 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%, from an initial 5.0%, citing the impact of floods, anti-government protests and faltering fiscal consolidation efforts.

The finance ministry has estimated that the economy expanded 5.2% in 2024 and projects growth of 5.4% in 2025. The economy grew 5.6% in 2023.

(Reporting by George Obulutsa and Hereward Holland; Editing by Ed Osmond and Jacqueline Wong)