Category: ECONOMY

Feed Africa Summit: African Development Bank to commit $10 billion to make continent the breadbasket of the world

Opening the summit, President Sall — who is also the African Union chairperson — said the time had come for the continent to feed itself

DAKAR, Senegal, January 26, 2023/ — The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org), will commit $10 billion over the next five years to boost Africa’s efforts to end hunger and become a primary food provider for itself and the rest of the world. Bank Group President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, announced Wednesday at the Dakar 2 Africa Food Summit in Diamniadio, east of the Senegalese capital of Dakar.

Adesina called on more than 34 heads of state, 70 government ministers, the private sector, farmers, development partners, and corporate executives to work out compacts that would deliver food and agriculture transformation at scale across Africa. He encouraged them to take collective action to unlock the continent’s agricultural potential to become a global breadbasket.

The Dakar 2 summit — under the theme Feed Africa: food sovereignty and resilience — takes place amid supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. More than a thousand delegates and dignitaries attended, including the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins.

The Government of Senegal and the African Development Bank Group are co-hosting the summit, eight years after the inaugural Dakar 1 summit where the newly elected Adesina announced the Bank’s Feed Africa strategy.

Opening the summit, President Sall — who is also the African Union chairperson — said the time had come for the continent to feed itself by adding value and stepping up the use of technology.

Sall said: “From the farm to the plate, we need full food sovereignty, and we must increase land under cultivation and market access to enhance cross-border trade.”

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat said the Dakar summit was timely and would provide innovative solutions to help Africa become less dependent on food imports.

“Food sovereignty should be our new weapon of freedom,” Mahamat told the gathering. He urged development partners to work together within existing structures, such as Agenda 2063 and the African Continental Free Trade Area, for sustainable transformation.

Mahamat commended the African Development Bank for rolling out transformative initiatives, including a $1.5 billion emergency food production facility in 2022 to help African countries avert a potential food crisis following Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The President of Kenya, William Ruto, said, “It is a shame that 60 years after independence, we are gathered to talk about feeding ourselves. We can and we must do better.”The African Development Bank Group chief said: “Today over 283 million Africans go to bed hungry every day. This is not acceptable. No mother should ever have to struggle with rumbling of the stomach of a hungry child.”

“We must raise the bar. We must raise our ambition. We must arise and say to ourselves: it is time to feed Africa. The timing is right, and the moment is now. Feed Africa; we must,” said Adesina.

The bank head urged the leaders to turn political will into decisive actions to deliver food security for Africa, “We must strongly support farmers, especially smallholder farmers, majority of whom are women, and get more young people into agriculture. And we must take agriculture as a business, not a development activity, and boost support to the private sector.”

President Higgins of Ireland said with Africa’s young population accounting for about 20% of the world’s young people, the continent had great potential. He said the rest of the world would look up to it in the future.

“Let us make this century Africa’s Century, one which will see the continent become free from hunger,” Higgins said.

In his message to the summit, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres acknowledged that Africa was currently facing the challenges of climate change and food insecurity, as the Russia-Ukraine war had caused the price of fertilizers to shoot up and made their supply difficult.

He pledged the UN’s support to help Africa become a global food powerhouse.

President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria said countries must offer more robust support for farmers, dedicate a chunk of the national budget to agriculture, and motivate youth and women to farm.

Buhari said: “Feeding Africa is imperative. We must ensure we feed ourselves today, tomorrow, and well into the future.”

The Nigerian president commended Dr. Adesina and the African Development Bank for rolling out special agro-industrial processing zones across the continent, including in Nigeria.

He said: “Special agro-industrial processing zones are game changers for the structural development of the agriculture sectors. They will help us generate wealth, develop integrated infrastructure around special agro-processing zones, and add value.”

During the three-day summit, private sector players are expected to commit to national food and agriculture delivery compacts, to drive policies, create structural reforms, and attract private sector investment.

Central bank governors and finance ministers are expected to develop financing arrangements to implement the food and agriculture delivery compacts, in conjunction with agriculture ministers, private sector players, commercial banks, financial institutions, and multilateral partners and organisations

Contact:
Kwasi Kpodo
media@afdb.org

For more information: www.AfDB.org

SOURCE
African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

Distributed by:APO Group

January 26, 2023

Measuring Multidimensional Poverty: Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI), Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) Organize Training for Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group Staff

Over 40 staff from the various IsDB Group entities attended the training sessions

JEDDAH, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, January 26, 2023/ — The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) (https://IsDBInstitute.org), Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) jointly organized a training workshop on measuring multidimensional poverty. The workshop was designed to build the capacity of IsDB Group staff in producing data-driven research that supports evidence-based policymaking.

The training was held on the 24-25 January 2023 at the IsDB Headquarters in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Tackling poverty and building resilience is one of the strategic pillars of the new IsDB strategy. Hence, the importance of measuring and understanding multidimensional poverty not only to inform policymaking but also IsDB interventions.

The training focused on the meaning and application of the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), developed by OPHI.

While poverty has traditionally been measured in terms of income, MPI captures poverty in its many forms, reflecting the depth and breadth of multidimensional poverty.

The global MPI is an internationally comparable measure of acute multidimensional poverty, developed and published by OPHI and the United Nations Development Programme since 2010. The measure includes information from more than 100 countries and is updated annually. The global MPI 2022 covers 41 of the 57 OIC countries.

The training was delivered by OPHI’s Director of Programs and Operations, Ms. Corinne Mitchell, and Research and Policy Officer, Ms. Alexandra Fortacz.

Day one of the training raised awareness about the value-added of multidimensional poverty measures and increased understanding of Multidimensional Poverty Indices and their advantages in poverty efforts for the IsDB Group. Day two focused on the technical aspects of computing and analyzing an MPI.

In their separate speeches at the opening of the workshop, IsDBI Acting Director General Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem and ISFD Director General Dr. Hiba Ahmed underscored the significance of understanding multidimensional poverty measurement in order to enable IsDB Group to tailor its development policies and programs.

Dr. Al-Suwailem noted that the workshop “will enable us to acquire and improve our skills in measuring poverty statistics, to eventually produce, interpret, and apply multi-deprivation evidence in shaping our thinking, policies, and interventions.”

Dr. Hiba Ahmed, for her part, said the partnership among the three institutions “will not only provide us with evidence to guide our policies and interventions but will also build our capacity to undertake poverty interventions tailored to the needs of our member countries.”

IsDBI, the knowledge beacon of the IsDB Group, develops knowledge-based solutions to tackle member countries’ pressing development challenges. ISFD is the poverty alleviation arm of the IsDB Group. The two organizations have been working with OPHI as part of a wider collaboration with the IsDB Group.

Over 40 staff from the various IsDB Group entities attended the training sessions.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI).

SOURCE
Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI)

January 26, 2023

Ghana’s domestic debt restructuring has stalled: four reasons why

Published: January 25, 2023 11.45am SAST

Author:Theophilus Acheampong

Associate Lecturer, University of Aberdeen

Ghana is facing multiple financial and economic challenges and has requested a US$3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help it restore macroeconomic stability. This will include bringing public debt down to more manageable levels from the currently estimated 105% of GDP to 55% in present value terms by 2028.

IMF assistance, which is yet to be approved by the fund’s executive board, is conditional on Ghana restructuring its public debt – domestic and external – which in turn requires the buy-in of bondholders. This means that those who lent money to the government by buying bonds will have to agree to the restructuring, such as a longer repayment period.

As a first step of the debt restructuring, the Ghanaian government announced a voluntary Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) in early December 2022. It seeks to exchange about GHS137.3 billion (US$11.45 billion or about 15% of 2021 GDP) of existing domestic notes and bonds held by various local investors for a package of 12 (initially four) new bonds with different payout dates.

For any sovereign debt restructuring exercise to succeed, a qualifying majority (usually 75%) of debt holders must agree to change the contract’s key financial terms. This prevents a minority investor group from holding out and preventing the debt restructuring from proceeding.

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But the subscription to this programme is below 50%, well below the government’s 80% target. Bondholders have stated that the terms offered mean that they will lose money.

Groups such as the Ghana Individual Bondholders Forum have estimated losses of 50% to 90% on their investments if they exchange their current instruments.

That’s where things are stuck, forcing government to extend the closing date for the bond exchange three times already since early December 2022.

So what’s gone wrong? Why has the government not been able to get domestic bondholders to accept the terms it has put on the table?

I offer four reasons: investors face significant losses; the government’s “take-it-or-leave-it” approach; a lack of faith in the government; and the fact that there’s no sense of sharing the burden.

What’s behind the standoff

Significant losses by investors: My colleague Dr Yakubu Abdul-Salam estimates that investors will lose 62.40% of their bond’s original market value. The Ghana Individual Bondholders Forum says bondholders will lose about 88.2% of their investments at current inflation levels. Several bondholders have refused to participate. This is contrary to the government’s earlier expectation of “overwhelming support for this exchange”.

Ghana’s government has so far announced three extensions of the deadline as it struggles to reach the industry benchmark of a qualifying majority. The new 31 January 2023 deadline may not be met either.

Government’s take-it-or-leave-it approach: Government has presented the plan as a free or voluntary choice. But there are no real alternatives on the table.

If the restructuring is not carefully managed, it could have a substantial impact on the domestic financial sector, which owns a large portion of the bonds. Any losses within the financial sector then cascade into adverse effects on economic growth, employment and inequality.

Read more: Ghana and the IMF: debt restructuring must go hand-in-hand with managing finances better

The government’s approach has been to “divide and conquer”. Instead of meeting all the bondholders’ representatives through, for example, a national debt forum, the government has met some groups individually to offer or change concessions.

This strategy means one group loses out and another gains. For example, individual bondholders were initially excluded from the bond exchange programme. They were included after pension funds were exempted from the programme.

Lack of good faith in the government: Bondholders feel that the government has not been truthful about the dire state of the economy.

The current administration has sought to blame the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic for Ghana’s current economic and financial challenges. The conflict has been a contributing factor but several studies, including one by the World Bank, have shown that Ghana’s finances were precarious even before the pandemic. For example, the country’s external (foreign) and overall debt were at a high risk of distress as far back as 2019.

In other words, the country had been living beyond its means for years. It only needed an external shock to expose the weakness.

No sense of burden-sharing: Bondholders have also expressed reservations about the burden of the bond swap not being shared across the society. Nor is it being pitched as though it would achieve better outcomes for the country.

One of the key lessons from Jamaica’s successful debt exchange programme, as highlighted in a 2012 IMF study, is that

there was a perception that the burden was being shared across the society to achieve a better outcome for the country as a whole.

This made the plan acceptable to those directly affected.

In Ghana’s case, the government’s divisive approach has made it difficult for bondholders to appreciate the severity of the situation and thus reach acceptable comprises. One demonstration of burden sharing, for example, would be to cut wasteful public expenditure and the size of government. Without this, the terms of the bond swap amount to what the convener of the Individual Bondholders Forum has described as

How can uptake be improved?

Ghana must comprehensively restructure its public debt and improve its public finances. But the proposed bond exchange must be restructured to increase its chances of acceptance by domestic bondholders.

How can this be done?

Firstly, by organizing a national debt forum with all stakeholders. The forum would offer an opportunity for frank conversations with all bondholders present rather than the current siloed divide-and-rule approach whose outcome has been the inclusion, exclusion and re-inclusion of certain categories of domestic bondholders.

Secondly, the government must renegotiate with the IMF to extend the “below 55% of GDP in NPV terms by 2028” public debt target to at least 2032. This would buy the country time to adjust gradually. The scale of cuts and debt restructuring needed now could be milder. It would also mitigate the ripple effects on the economy, which includes some domestic financial institutions possibly going under due to considerable losses.

Thirdly, the government must share the burden by cutting down on wasteful expenditure. In Jamaica, they understood the need “to change course, away from a history of continued public debt expansion and government deficits, which had not delivered in terms of economic growth and improved standards of living”. The same could be said of Ghana.

Source:(The Coversation)

January 26, 2023
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2023: Seychelles President Ramkalawan advocates for Small Island Nations alongside President of Palau during ADSW Summit

19 January 2023 | Foreign Affairs

Abu Dhabi, UAE 19^thJanuary 2023: During the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2023, the President of Republic of Seychelles, Mr Wavel Ramkalawan participated in a panel conversation alongside the President of the Republic of Palau, H.E. Surangel S. Whipps, Jr that was Moderated by Anchor & Correspondent, CNN Eleni Giokos.

During this particular session, the two Heads of State contributed to ADSW Summit by sharing their perspective on the roles and responsibilities of nation leaders in climate control, combating climate change and achieving Net Zero. Through his participation, President Ramkalawan had the opportunity to share real life examples and efforts being implemented by Seychelles as a Small Island Developing State in the Indian Ocean.

“Seychelles, like all SIDS will continue to keep moving forward. Our existence is being threatened. Being small, remote and vulnerable to various external shocks, means we will be not able to overcome these challenges including climate change on our own. We are counting on the support of all stakeholders. The world has become more globalized and multilateralism will be more important than ever to the small states as it provides more access to the global fora, allowing us to be heard, to address our unique social, economic, and environmental challenges and to find solutions together with the rest of the world” said President Ramkalawan.

The session was hosted by Masdar as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, which convened various world leaders from government, business and finance to take action, as they continue to work collectively to deliver on a climate roadmap for a net-zero future.

President Ramkalawan highlighted some of Seychelles conservation efforts focusing on how Seychelles has now moved to 100 percent protection of all its mangroves and seagrass meadows this year, adding to the already 32 percent protection of its ocean and 50 percent of its forest.

Also aimed at transforming pledges into action requires open dialogue and inclusiveness, with all stakeholders working together to forge partnerships, unlock investment and launch technologies and solutions that will accelerate sustainable development around the world. The event is also playing a vital role in not only advocacy but in ensuring momentum between COP27 and COP28, focusing on a wide range of critical topics including Food and Water Security, Energy Access, Industrial Decarbonization, Health, and Climate Adaptation.

During the moderated in conversation session other topics such as, Impact of climate change on small nations, the importance of the COP process to small nations, examining what the country is doing to adapt to climate change and the latest trends shaping the world’s sustainability agenda were also addressed.

Amongst some of the dignitaries present included the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, H.E Eng. Awaidha Al Marar who delivered the opening address during the panel session. Also present was the Former President of Seychelles, Mr James Michel, who following the panel discussion expressed appreciation on how President Ramkalawan defended and promoted Seychelles.

Source(Seychelles State House)

January 25, 2023
OIC Secretary-General Meets with Foreign Minister of Chad

Jeddah, 24 January 2023
The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), H.E. Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, met today, January 24, 2023, at the OIC Headquarters in Jeddah, with H.E. Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chadians Abroad and International Cooperation of the Republic of Chad.During this meeting, the Chadian Foreign Minister reiterated the importance that his country attaches to the role of the OIC, and its support for the efforts deployed by the Secretary-General to achieve the OIC goals.
For his part, the Secretary-General reaffirmed the OIC’s support for the efforts invested by the Republic of Chad to strengthen its stability and promote its development.

Source: (OIC Secretariat)

January 24, 2023
Graduate Mentorship Coaching Programme,4th Cohort Gets Set

…….As 40 Africans from 15 African Countries Enrolled!!!

Story: Mohammed Abu

The Africa Graduate Mentorship and Coaching Programme (AGMCP), which is facilitated by the Interconnections for Making Africa Great Empowered and Sustainable (IMAGES) Initiative, has enrolled 40 Africans from 15 countries into the mentorship and coaching programme for the 4th cohort, according to a Press Release issued in Ibadan, on Tuesday.

“Interested organizations working on agriculture and food systems in Africa may contact us for mutually-rewarding partnership to develop the capacity of the mentees”, said, Dr Olawale Olayide the President of IMAGES while also adding, “Please join us to congratulate the mentees, and wish them a successful Fellowship Year”.

The mentees, the Release said, are in three categories namely, Master, Doctoral and Post-doctoral, representing the five economic regions and countries of the continent.

For the North Africa region, the release added, the beneficiary country is, Algeria, for Central Africa region, Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo, for Western Africa region, Benin, Ghana, Niger and Nigeria and while for Southern Africa region, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe were the beneficiary countries.

The AGMCP Fellowship Year runs from January to December. The 40 mentees will be assigned to renowned mentors, and will conduct research and capacity development training on the Sustainable African Food Systems.

January 3, 2023
New Year Message 2023 by the President of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr Wavel Ramkalawan

31 December 2022 |

Seychellois sisters and brothers,

Like the song says ‘a year ends and another begins.’ The year 2022 has already passed into history. Each of us will note certain dates with joy, pain, sadness, a feeling of accomplishment as well as missed opportunity. 2022 is a book already written and 2023 offers us this new page on which to write another year of our personal story, the story of our country and the story of the world.

Allow me in the first place to use that very important little word, but which sometimes comes out of the mouths of humans with great difficulty – thank you.

I wish first and above all to thank Almighty God for protecting our nation and our country.
I say thank you to all who have taken our country to heart and given all their energy to make it progress. I say thank you to the public sector which has served our people with devotion and the private sector, which has created wealth for our nation and people to enjoy. Thank you to all Seychellois and foreign workers who have permitted our country to continue on its march to prosperity. To everyone in voluntary and community organisations working hard to raise the standards of morality, spiritual and mental strength, the Seychellois nation expresses its gratitude and extends all of its encouragement for you to continue doing so.

Thanks also go to all the youth who have done well in their studies and brought pride to themselves as well as their parents and to their teachers. To our athletes and sportspersons who have hoisted our flag to its highest and brought joy amongst our people, I say thank you.

Thanks also go to our retirees who have contributed towards bringing us to where we stand today, and who continue to reflect and encourage us who are younger along this life’s journey.

My special thoughts at this time also go to all of our families who have gone through misfortune and who are still walking with eyes filled with the tears of separation. I say to you ‘Courage and strength in each step you take. We will walk in solidarity with you and give you our shoulders to lean on in your difficult moments.’

Brothers and sisters, my wish is that this new year will bring new and positive energy, fresh inspiration and new strength for us to advance even further ahead. It is we, each individual, who will write on each and every page of this new year, from 1 January to 31 December. The majority of things will be in our hands, but there will also be also chapters which will be written for us, and outside of our control. And so, I ask that we do as well as is possible with all that is within our control. Let us not only think of ourselves, but move away from that spirit of self-centeredness and at all times, think of others and do that little thing which you should.

I invite all Seychellois and all workers to reflect on that little extra something which I can do to bring relief to a brother, a sister, and make a compatriot progress. Often it is not big things that brings us frustration but the little things. The student who lacks one point to pass and the person who misses a bus by one minute is frustrated. And so it is the little things which we need to do in order to improve our own personal lives and the lives of our people.

I invite you to make a resolution that we will give importance to doing little things. A long journey starts with a small step, the construction of a large building commences with a first brick, writing starts off with a small letter ‘A’ and counting commences with a little number ‘0’ (zero). Attach ourselves to those little things and we will accomplish major transformation where we are.
If we make those little gestures, like saying ‘good morning’, our community will be more fraternal, a small ‘thank you’ raises morale, a little smile makes friendship grow, a little help to one who is weak brings relief, and a moment taken to listen to someone can save a life. Reflect also that somehing negative, however tiny, can also destroy lives, just like a matchstick can spark a major fire, a tiny lie cause a major argument.

For our civil servants, working in government, I invite you to reflect on those small things which during 2022 made people frustrated : that little call that you did not make, the letter you did not reply to, that piece of paper you kept in your drawer, the offensive tone you replied to a client with, that postponing to tomorrow what you could do today, that little word you did not say to someone to help them. Let us change this and let us bring our people out of pointless frustration and know joy on their faces.

What I have said applies for all workers of course, whether you are in the public or private sector. Deliver a good service in all that you do. And perhaps, – why not ? – whilst you are doing your work, put yourself in the place of the client you are serving. Would you be happy with the tone that you replied to him with ? Would you be happy with the language used in that letter you wrote ? If you would not be happy, don’t make another unhappy. Serve others as you would be happy to be served.

I have no doubt that we can do this for our country. That, in 2023, each one of us can do better and render the best service to our people and in doing this, raise our country to the highest. I ask that each one of us reflect deeply on those two little remarks that I have made. Let us stop making our neighbour live in anger and frustration. Why should I throw my waste out in public and dirty my country ? Do I need to blast my music out loud to the detriment of my neighbour ? Why do I need to sell poisonous drugs to Seychellois children ? Why do I need to be akward and make others angry ? Please, let us change those poor mindsets and truly live as brothers and sisters in this blessed land, Seychelles.

Yes, like Ton Joe sings for us, ‘Seychelles is our blessed country.’ And so I invite all of us to become more patriotic. Let us love our country even more. Consider her like our mother, forever grateful that when we strengthen our country and put ourselves at her service, she returns so much more to us. The higher we raise country, the more we, Seychellois, as a nation, will rise. Encourage each other, show more love for your community, adhere to the law and walk in solidarity with each other. Take a brother’s, a sister’s misfortune as our own misfortune and this will allow us to have and live in more love. Take care of your neighbour and he will take care of you too.

I dedicate once again all of my strength in lifting our beautiful country Seychelles. I give all of my energy to work for all of Seychelles’ children and to make us progress as far as is possible. Let us continue to along this route together for the love of our beautiful country, Seychelles.

Let our God shower our beautiful country with his blessings and his love. We are one people, one nation who is living in the world’s most beautiful country. May God bless you and your family.

Happy New Year 2023.

Thank you

January 1, 2023
Hydroelectric power plant in Hatta,UAE, is 58% complete: DEWA

The power plant will have a production capacity of 250 MW, a storage capacity of 1,500 Mwh, and a life span of up to 80 years once completed

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced that the pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant site, which it is building in Hatta, is 58 per cent complete.

The power plant will have a production capacity of 250 MW, a storage capacity of 1,500 Mwh, and a life span of up to 80 years once completed.

It is the first station of its kind in the GCC, with investments of up to Dhs1.421bn. The project is planned for completion in Q4 2024.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), recently visited and inspected the construction site at the hydroelectric power plant, where he was briefed about the progress of the project.

The visit also included the inspection of the power generators site and the upper dam, where the water intake in the Hatta Dam connected to the power generators has been completed.

Construction of the 72-metre main roller compacted concrete wall of the upper dam has also been completed.

Al Tayer also inspected the work progress of the water tunnel, which is 1.2 kilometres long and connects the two dams. The concrete lining of the water tunnel is complete.

Al Tayer said the plant in Hatta is part of DEWA’s efforts to achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100 per cent of Dubai’s total power production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.

The project supports the comprehensive plan to develop Hatta and meet its social, economic, developmental, and environmental needs, in addition to providing innovative job opportunities for citizens in Hatta.

The hydroelectric power plant will be an energy storage facility with a turnaround efficiency of 78.9 per cent that utilises the water stored in the upper dam, which is converted to kinetic energy during the flow of water through the 1.2-kilometre subterranean tunnel.

This kinetic energy rotates the turbines and converts mechanical energy to electrical energy which is sent to DEWA’s grid within 90 seconds in response to demand. To store energy, clean energy generated at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will be used to pump the water through this tunnel back to the upper dam by converting the electrical power to kinetic energy making the whole project 100 per cent renewable.

In recent news, DEWA also reported a net profit of Dhs6.47bn for the first nine months of the year, recording near parity with its full-year net profit for 2021.

Credit(Gulf Business)

December 27, 2022
Africa’s free trade area offers promise for cities – but only if there’s investment

Published: July 25, 2022 3.57pm SAST

The African Continental Free Trade Area came into operation on 1 January 2021. This is a considerable achievement. The free trade area is now the world’s single largest market for goods and services, when measured by number of countries, after the World Trade Organisation. It is also the largest in terms of geographic area and population size.

If implemented as foreseen by the agreement, the free trade area will unlock significant growth for the African continent. The World Bank has estimated that by 2035, trade between African countries could expand by 81%, boosting output by US$450 billion, raising wages by 10%, particularly benefiting women, and lifting 30 million people out of extreme poverty.

These expectations, based on research into the links between trade and economic growth, have generated excitement and political impetus around getting the free trade area working.

Less well understood, however, is the fact that for the agreement to fulfil its promises, the continent’s cities are key. They are hubs for production and consumption, and will become significantly more so. But their current set-up, lacking the necessary infrastructure and services, means most of Africa’s cities are not yet ready to benefit from and support the free trade area. This will require substantially greater investments in the continent’s cities.

This link between urbanisation and trade is analysed in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s recently launched publication, Cities: Gateways for Africa‘s Regional Economic Integration.

What cities bring to the party

The importance of cities in unlocking the benefits of the free trade area is premised on three well established advantages of the economic density that cities can provide.

Firstly, firms, which are the primary vehicles for producing goods for export, prefer to be in cities. There, they are closer to a larger pool of labour and to each other. This proximity enables them to specialise but still have access to inputs for their production processes from other firms. They can also learn from each other, which spurs innovation.

Secondly, cities are the physical locations from which most trade takes place. Cities provide the main transport links, including road junctions, ports and airports.

Think of the Port of Mombasa, which serves not only Kenya, but also Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. It is also difficult to think of a major city that is not served by an airport.

Cities also provide their own internal markets. Rapid urbanisation, with an estimated 900 million people set to enter African cities in the next 30 years, creates a large upcoming consumer pool. This is the third advantage of density.

Particularly in the African context, it is not only the number of consumers that will make the difference. As evidence shows, when people move to cities, their diets change as well. For example, there is a greater demand for goods with higher value addition, such as refined grains and processed foods. This is an opportunity for Africa’s farmers to gain, too, as this value addition will fetch a higher price.

Not yet fit for purpose

Substantial investments in infrastructure are needed for cities to be able to unlock the benefits of the free trade area.

Most notable is the paucity of paved roads. Currently only an estimated 800,000km out of 2.8 million km of the continent’s roads are paved. This statistic is critical because an estimated 80%-90% of African trade takes place by road. This raises the costs of African trade. For example, while it costs about US$2,000 to ship a container from China to the port in Beira, Mozambique, it costs more than double that amount, namely US$5000, to move it 500km further inland to Malawi.

This lack of infrastructure is a hindrance in cities too. In particular, according to the UN Economic Commission for Africa report, the cities that should drive the largest portion of trade and reap relatively larger benefits from the free trade agreement’s provisions are small to medium size ones, especially those located close to borders.

These are also the cities that have had comparatively less investment to date. Without basic infrastructure, they will not attract firms – the drivers of production, value addition and export.

Whatever happens in implementing the free trade area, rapid urbanisation will continue across Africa. Consumption preferences of the continent’s population will shift. If African firms can’t meet these demands, imports from other regions of the world will do so.

Under this scenario, other countries will disproportionately gain from Africa’s new urban consumer population.

Investing in cities

The current political support for the free trade agreement is significant, with all but one African country having signed the deal and 43 countries already having ratified it. Harnessing the combined effect of trade and urbanisation could positively transform the African continent’s economy.

This will require not only the signing of policies but their implementation.

To date, only Egypt, Ghana and South Africa have readjusted their national regimes to implement the customs rules under the agreement. Well-managed urbanisation is still not a primary policy focus in many countries. The result is that populations are settling in cities quicker than planning and investments are happening. Rather than benefiting from well-managed density, major African cities are characterised by the proliferation of slums and congestion. On top of this, substandard infrastructure is deterring large firms.

Each of these challenges has its own host of policy reforms, programmes and actions that need to be taken. But to unleash the combined benefits of trade and urbanisation, it will be important to build on the political momentum that the free trade agreement has set in motion. This will ensure that national legislation is centred on the agreement’s impacts on cities, and on the needs of cities.

Similarly, in planning for urbanisation, particularly intermediary and border towns, investments should focus on unleashing their comparative advantages in relation to the free trade agreement.

Credit(“The Conversation”)

December 27, 2022
Securing Minnesota’s bid for Hosting World Expo 2027

MAU intensity’s Campaign as U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit hold

Mohammed Abu

The Minnesota Africans United (AU) delegation representing Diaspora Community groups from all 54 nations of Africa is in Washington for the entire week of activities related to the on-going U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit.

The move is intended to garner support for Minnesota as the host city for the World Expo 2027 event. The targeted audience are, African Heads of State, Foreign Ministers, Cabinet Members and other officials from the 49 African nations taking part in President Biden’s U.S. Africa Leaders’ Summit.

As of mid-week, meetings had taken place with leaders from Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Liberia, Somalia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Zambia, Guinea, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Malawi, Mali, and the United Arab Emirates.

These were contained in a Press Release issued by MAU in Minneapolis on Thursday.

MAU leaders and supporters, the release further said, are bringing a powerful message of support for Expo 2027 to national leaders from every region in Africa,

“We are working towards an Africa-wide consensus of support for Minnesota’s bid to host an international exposition under the theme of “Healthy People, Healthy Planet.

“We are making the case that by supporting Minnesota’s bid they can help create a powerful engine for advancing two-way trade and investment that can benefit both the Diaspora living in Minnesota and the people living on the continent of Africa.” Intimated Basil Ajuo, MAU’s President & Chief Executive Officer,

“Until now, we have primarily been meeting with senior African government officials in their embassies in Paris, in New York, and in national capitals. Having nearly all the Heads of State or their designated representative in Washington all at the same time has been an incredible opportunity to make the case for Expo 2027.

“We have built up a great deal of support for our bid and now we’re concentrating on turning that strong support into a continent-wide consensus for everyone to support Minnesota ’Ajuo disclosed adding, ‘This week, coming on the heels of a very successful lobbying blitz of African Ambassadors in Paris last month, gives the Minnesota’s bid the boost needed to propel us in the final six-months of this exciting campaign.”

Minnesota Africans United

Minnesota Africans United (MAU) is a coalition and statewide organization for all African immigrants’ communities in Minnesota. MAU supports Minnesota’s African Immigrant community with representation from 55 African countries. We act as a connection for the network of African immigrants in Minnesota, and for local African immigrant community organizations, and small businesses.

Website https://www.mnafricansunited.org/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MNAfricansUnited/

Twitter https://twitter.com/MNAfricans

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mnafricansunited/

December 16, 2022