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Africa

Kenya wins African Security Council seat

Kenya was elected to the UN Security Council on Thursday after defeating Djibouti in a run-off vote.
Kenya was elected to the UN Security Council on Thursday after defeating Djibouti in a run-off vote.

 

Kenya wins African Security Council seat

Kenya was elected to the UN Security Council on Thursday after defeating Djibouti in a run-off vote.

The east African nation will replace South Africa in the non-permanent seat. It received 129 votes against Djibouti’s 62.

Niger and Tunisia are the other representatives of the African continent.

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said the win was a “demonstration of the country’s growing profile and influence in the community of nations as a steadfast and dependable development partner”.

He thanked Djibouti for being a “worthwhile opponent” and the African Union (AU) for its endorsement.

Djibouti and Kenya had failed to clinch the two thirds majority (128 votes) in the first round of voting.

President Kenyatta said the country will consolidate and voice Africa’s position in the Security Council and will advance its 10-point agenda outlined in its campaign.

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Africa Culture

COVID-19: Countries observe Day of the African Child Virtually

 

COVID: Countries observe Day of the African Child Virtually
COVID: Countries observe Day of the African Child Virtually

 

COVID-19: Countries observe 2020 Day of the African Child Virtually

Different African countries today marked the 2020 Day of the African Child (DAC) with restriction following the spread of Coronavirus.

Every year, on 16 June, the African Union and its Member States observe the Day of the African Child (DAC) as a commemoration of the 16th June 1976 student uprising in Soweto, South Africa, where students who marched in protest against apartheid-inspired education, were brutally murdered.

To celebrate the children of Africa and calls for serious introspection and commitment towards addressing the numerous challenges they face in Africa, the DAC 2020 theme’s will reflect on ‘Access to a Child-Friendly Justice System in Africa’ as adopted by the African Union Executive Council, during its 34th Ordinary Session, held on 07 – 08 February 2019, statement by the African Union said.

“Due to the current COVID19 crisis, the commemoration of the event at the continental level will be done through a Webinar, which aims to examine the elements of a child-friendly justice system, including the application of a child rights-based approach and use the four principles of children’s rights as a tool for realizing access to a child-friendly justice system in Africa. The Webinar also aims at creating a platform for dialogue among children, policymakers, organizations working on children’s rights, and the academics on the major challenges in ensuring equal access to child-friendly justice to all groups of children in Africa. It will further serves as an experience sharing forum where positive trends, mechanisms, and structures in Member States will be discussed.

The virtual commemoration will be held on Zoom (access link and password will be sent in due course) and Livestreamed on the Committee’s Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/acerwc/

In Nigeria, two children have appealed to Nigerian governments at all levels to provide and strengthen access to child-friendly justice systems.

They also appealed to the federal government to establish specialised courts and dedicated law enforcement units within the Nigerian police, security, defence forces, and agencies in the six geo-political zones of the country to fast-track the full implementation of the Child Rights Act 2003, a Nigerian online platform, Premium Times reported.

Open letter

In an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Girl-child Ambassador and the Youth Ambassador, Save the Children International, Nigeria, Purity Oriaf and Maryam Ahmed, said the implementation and domestication of the 2003 Child Rights Act will provide children in Nigeria the necessary legal policy framework for seeking justice when their rights are denied or abused.

“We would like to sincerely request the government to design a child-led, comprehensive, multi-sectoral, national development agenda, and plan for children. As we celebrate The Day of the African Child this year, we would like to very sincerely engage with Your Excellency our dear President on how we can jointly seta national development agenda specially tailored for children that ensure our rights are protected, respected, and fulfilled,” they said.

The children ambassadors also said there has not been any child-friendly and child-focused COVID-19 response initiative since schools were closed in March. “We understand that the action to close schools was to protect us from the deadly COVID-19 Pandemic.”

“While we appreciate some innovations to bridge the learning gaps through radio and TV programs and in some cases, online learning platforms, not all children have access to these facilities. We worry that many of us living in rural areas and those living in low-income households will be left behind,” they said.

According to them, “our right to access, undisrupted, safe, free, and quality education is at risk.”

“There is also the possibility that many children will not go back to school (especially the girls) as their families may decide to marry them off as a way of dealing with the uncertainties,” the ambassadors said.

“Today, children stand with one voice, from Soweto to Sokoto, demanding a a multidisciplinary approach that requires their right to justice to be integrated into regulation and the operationalization of child-friendly justice systems,” they said.

The ambassadors said children are under attack through increasing cases of sexual abuse, molestation, and violence, including rape, early child marriage and forced child labour and trafficking, “making us feel more unsafe, unprotected and experiencing different forms of trauma”.

Crisis

In a separate statement, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Nigeria is facing a child rights crisis as the world celebrates the Day of the African Child 2020.

“More than 36,000 child victims of violence, including 5,693 survivors of sexual violence (16 percent), were identified and documented in seven states of Nigeria since 2017. But very few of those cases made it to the courtrooms, let alone resulted in justice for child victims,” UNICEF said.

The UN organisation also said the number of children awaiting trial “for what are often petty crimes is estimated to be more than 1,000 – with children often held in detention with adults and in conditions that no child should live in.”

The UNICEF’s Representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins, also said access to a child-friendly justice system is essential for protecting children’s rights and addressing violence against children.

“Without access to a child-friendly justice system, children’s rights will remain elusive – and as a society, we cannot serve the best interests of children, especially in the face of violations of their rights,” he said.

The Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union), established The Day of the African Child to honour the courage of children and in memory of those killed.

The 2020 Day is themed, “Access to a child-friendly justice system in Africa’’.

About the Day of the African Child

In 1991, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the then OAU instituted the Day of the African Child (DAC) in memory of the 16th June 1976 student uprising in Soweto, South Africa. At that time, students marched in protest against the poor quality of education they received and demanded to be taught in their own languages. The DAC serves to commemorate these children and the brave action they took in defence of their right. The DAC thus celebrates the children of Africa and calls for a serious introspection and commitment towards addressing the numerous challenges facing children across the continent.

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Africa Business

AfDB bursts partiality jigs, lists all COVID Aid to African countries

Nigeria’s Head of AfDB to face fresh probe on US position
Nigeria’s Head of AfDB to face fresh probe on US position

 

AfDB bursts partiality jigs, lists all COVID Aid to African countries

The African Development Bank (https://www.AfDB.org) has listed all African countries which have benefited from the banks COVID-19 interventions and the amount received by each country.

This response is coming on the heels of allegations that the President of the Bank, Akinwumi Adesina has been partial with the Banks interventions.

The Nigeria’s Head of the AfDB is facing fresh probe on US position.

The Bank’s operations have continued to run smoothly since the first cases appeared in early March, despite the wide range of lockdowns and measures imposed by governments to flatten the curve.

The COVID-19 pandemic is forecast to cause Africa’s GDP to drop by between $22.1 billion and $88.3 billion.

African countries, with the experience of having fought off Ebola, are working to adapt to this new threat and looking to the Bank for an effective, multilateral response to the crisis.

As of June 12, the Bank’s COVID-19 emergency packages have reached the continent’s five geographic regions.

West Africa

Before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, West Africa was home to at least four of the continent’s fastest-growing economies, and it has felt the impact of the disease hard, as borders remain closed and economic and social distress deepens.

Gambia, Mali and Niger will benefit from an ECOWAS support package to bolster national health systems in response to the pandemic. Much of the funds to this region will seek to address shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators and other emergency equipment. The support will also enable governments to provide shortfall cash to the millions of people who have been affected by mass layoffs or are unable to work because of lockdowns.

Nigeria – 288.5 million euros
Senegal – 88 million euros
Côte d’Ivoire – 75 million euros
Cabo Verde – 30 million euros
ECOWAS – $22 million

North Africa

The North African region is the worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 60,000 cases as at 12 June. The disease has already triggered a sharp drop in household incomes in North Africa, as export and tourism earnings suffer. The region will be assisted with a series of emergency operations to boost containment measures and help to ensure the supply and distribution of laboratory tests and reagents. The package will also support national and regional coordination mechanisms.

Morocco – 264 million euros
Tunisia – 180 million euros
Egypt – $500,000

East Africa

East Africa, the continent’s fastest-growing region economically, has been simultaneously struck by the coronavirus outbreak and an infestation of desert locusts, a double whammy for the region’s farmers and economies.

In a region of climate change and water scarcity, post-harvest losses and poorly developed agricultural markets could threaten the promise of economic reforms and investment.

Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda are the top-performing countries, which have all seen a sharp fall in tourism revenue.

Kenya – 188 million euros

Southern Africa

A decisive lockdown has been effective in stemming the spread of COVID-19 in the region’s economic powerhouse, South Africa. The spread of the virus is by no means curtailed. Measures taken across the region to contain the pandemic have affected millions of people, many of whom work in the informal economy.

Assistance to this region comes in the form of preventive and protection measures as well as financial assistance to the vulnerable beyond the end of the epidemic.

Mauritius – 188 million euros
Zimbabwe – $13.7 million

Central Africa

In Central Africa, Cameroon has reported over 8,000 cases as at 12 June and significant community transmission.

The package approved for this region, $13.5 million, will target the provision of PPEs, testing kits and healthcare and laboratory facilities, for Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, which is among the countries with the least number of ventilators on the continent.

CEMAC/RDC – $13.5 million

Timeline of COVID-19 support:

The Bank’s rollout of emergency response support to assist African countries began in March and has provided a package of financial relief and preparedness and response assistance.

March 27: The Bank raised $3 billion from the Fight COVID-19 Social Bond, the largest dollar-denominated social bond ever launched in international capital markets. Proceeds from the bond, with a three-year maturity, will help alleviate the impact of the pandemic on livelihoods and Africa’s economies.

April 2: The Bank provided $2 million in emergency assistance to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to bolster the capacity of member countries on infection prevention, testing and case management. WHO Africa will also boost surveillance systems, procure and distribute laboratory test kits, and support coordination at national and regional levels.

April 8: The Bank announced a COVID-19 Response Facility that will provide up to $10 billion to African governments and the private sector to tackle the disease and mitigate suffering that results from the economic downturn and job losses.

Categories
Africa US

Nigeria’s Head of AfDB to face fresh probe following US position

Nigeria’s Head of AfDB to face fresh probe on US position
Nigeria’s Head of AfDB to face fresh probe on US position

 

Nigeria’s Head of AfDB to face fresh probe following US position

 

Following insistence on fresh probe of corrupt allegations against him, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has said it has commissioned an independent inquiry into allegations of corruption against its head, Akinwumi Adesina.

The former Nigerian agriculture minister is seeking re-election in August.

But the United States has led calls for him to be investigated on suspicion of embezzlement, preferential treatment for fellow Nigerians in senior appointments, and the promotion of people suspected or convicted of fraud and corruption.

Adesina denies any wrongdoing and was initially cleared of the allegations by an internal investigation.

The institution – one of the world’s five major multilateral development banks – is the only African lender afforded the highest credit rating.

A number of African leaders, including Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari have backed the embattled AfDB chief, saying that the rule of engagement of the AFDB should be followed in the case.

ALSO READ: Buhari throws absolute weight behind Adesina’s re-election in AfDB

Buhari is not convinced that Akinwunmi Adesina is culpable of corruption charges levelled against him by unnamed members of staff of the bank.

During a meeting with Adesina on Tuesday, Buhari said his administration would stand solidly behind Adesina in his bid to get re-elected as AfDB President.

16-point allegations against Adesina bordering on corruption is threatening his re-election for another five-year term in the continental institution. But Adesina who is currently a sole candidate for the election has denied all charges, saying they are trumped-up.

The president spoke at the State House, Abuja, Tuesday, while hosting Mr Adesina.

“In 2015, when you were to be elected for the first term, I wrote to all African leaders, recommending you for the position. I didn’t say because you were a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Minister, and I belonged to the All Progressives Congress (APC), so I would withhold my support. I’ll remain consistent with you, because no one has faulted the step I took on behalf of Nigeria,” said Mr Buhari.

The president pledged that Nigeria would work with all other leaders and stakeholders in AfDB to ensure that Mr Adesina was elected for a second term built on the record of his achievements during his first term.

Mr Adesina is facing allegations of corruption at the bank and is being investigated.

He denies the allegations and had earlier been cleared of the claims raised by a whistleblower group, but the United States, the bank’s second-largest shareholder after Nigeria, has called for an external probe.

The Nigerian government and other African leaders have been rallying support for Mr Adesina who is seeking a second five-year term.

Giving a background to what was happening in the bank, Mr Adesina, a former Nigerian Minister for Agriculture, said the 16 allegations raised against him were trumped up, “and without facts, evidence, and documents, as required by the rules and regulations of the bank.”

He added that the Ethics Committee of the bank cleared him of all the allegations, and calls for fresh investigation by the United States of America, were against the rules.

“My defense ran into 250 pages, and not a single line was faulted or questioned. The law says that report of the Ethics Committee should be transmitted to the Chairman of Governors of the bank. It was done, and the governors upheld the recommendations. That was the end of the matter, according to the rules. It was only if I was culpable that a fresh investigation could be launched. I was exonerated, and any other investigation would amount to bending the rules of the bank, to arrive at a predetermined conclusion,” Mr Adesina said.

Stressing that the motive was to soil his name, and that of the bank, the AfDB president said he was proud to be Nigerian, and thanked President Buhari for his unflinching support.

“You helped me to get elected in the first place, and you have supported me robustly all along, and the African Union unanimously endorsed my re-election” he declared.

While commiserating with President Buhari on the death of the former Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, Mr Adesina described Professor Ibrahim Gambari, new Chief of Staff as “a man of integrity, and of global standing.”

Categories
Africa

Ex US Rep at AfDB, Harold Doley, Calls for U.S. Support to Adesina

US Rep at AfDB, Harold Doley, Calls for U.S. Support to Adesina
Cape Town. 18.1017. Harold Doley during an inerview in Cape Town. Picture:Ian Landsberg/ANA

 

Ex US Rep at AfDB, Harold Doley, Calls for U.S. Support to Adesina

The first ever U.S. Representative to African Development Bank, Ambassador Harold E. Doley, Jr., has written an open letter to United States Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin.

Here is full text of the letter:

The Honorable Steven T. Mnuchin,
Secretary of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury,
1500 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20220

Dear Secretary Mnuchin,

This letter follows your recent correspondence to the Chair of the Bureau of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank Group, and Minister of Planning and Development of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Madame Minister Nialé Kaba.

It was my honor to be nominated by President Reagan to serve as the first U.S. Executive Director of the African Development Bank from 1983-85.

As you recall, the African Development Bank was created by several African countries in 1964, with the U.S. becoming a shareholder in 1983. Previously, we became members of the African Development Fund (ADF) in 1974, as a result of legislation introduced by the then Congressman Andrew J. Young, Jr.

In the intervening years, the U.S. has played a leadership role as the Bank’s largest non-regional (non-African) shareholder, and the second-largest overall.

Since taking office in 2015, the  current and 8th President of the Bank, the U.S. trained and globally renowned Akinwumi Adesina (https://bit.ly/2ZTKs7s), restructured the bank and refined its focus through a High5 (www.AfDB.org/en/High5s) strategy that has directly impacted the lives of millions of Africans. This has been through strategic investments in energy and electricity, agriculture technologies that significantly improve food security, access to private sector finance, improved transport infrastructure, and water and sanitation.

In 2019, with U.S. support, the African Development Bank’s shareholders approved a General Capital Increase (https://bit.ly/2Mk7fRT) of $115 billion, the largest in the Bank’s 56-year history. The increase more than doubled capital from $93 billion to $208 billion. Also, in 2019, the Bank’s concessional window, the African Development Fund (ADF), received a 35% replenishment with donor contributions. U.S. shares of $499,695,200 represent 7.81% of total subscriptions which are a critically needed resource for Low Income Countries (LICs) and Transition States.

Ultimately, supporting Africa’s private sector is critical for social and economic development. In 2018, Adesina led an unprecedented effort to attract global investments into Africa through the inaugural Africa Investment Forum (https://AfricaInvestmentForum.com) which mobilized $78.8 billion in investment interests between 2018 and 2019. At the 2019 event, the United States’ International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) signed a $5 billion facility agreement with the African Development Bank. The U.S. Treasury and State Department’s support has certainly led to a greater understanding of Africa’s dynamic investment landscape for American businesses.

Adesina has astutely led the Bank’s bold and decisive COVID19 response with a $10 billion COVID-19 Response Facility (https://bit.ly/3co0Bog) to cushion economic and social impacts of the pandemic on the continent. This, is in addition to the successful launch of an oversubscribed $3 billion Fight COVID19 (https://bit.ly/2XNZUPZ) social bond on the London Stock Exchange, making the largest US dollar denominated social bond ever in world history.

The Bank’s 2019 innovative Desert to Power (https://bit.ly/2yS1kAD) initiative will develop 10,000 Megawatts of solar power across 11 countries in the Sahel Region and provide electricity for 250 million people. When completed, the $20 billion investment will be the world’s largest solar zone.

Adesina’s groundbreaking Affirmative Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) (https://bit.ly/3eEAg7a), launched at the 2019 G7 Summit in Biarritz, France and at the Global Gender Summit in Rwanda, has received strong support from President Macron, the G7 leaders ($251 million), African Presidents, and an additional $61.8 million from Ivanka Trump’s Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WeFi). AFAWA will leverage $3 billion in women business financing.

While there have been concerns in some circles about China’s role in Africa, American enterprise thrives on competition and is poised to play a more influential economic role in the years ahead. America’s role at the AfDB and other multi-lateral development banks, is crucial for the global economy.

Recently, in conformity with the governance rules and procedures of the Board’s Ethics Committee, the Bank cleared Adesina of wrongdoing stemming from several allegations levelled against him.

It is an acknowledged fact that Akinwumi Adesina is a global player of impeccable character who has helped mobilize billions of dollars for Africa and helped accelerate the continent’s development. It is why the Executive Committee of the Africa Union, speaking for 55 African countries, unanimously endorsed him as the sole candidate for re-election to a second term. This is vital for Africa’s continued economic growth, infrastructure and investment.

It is traditional at multilateral development institutions that sole candidates be re-elected by acclamation. Therefore, Mr. Secretary, the people of America implore you to use your good offices to continue to support Africa, the African Development Bank and President Adesina in his bid for re-election; and that you walk in lockstep with your fellow African Governors.

Thanking you in advance for your consideration,

Sincerely,

Harold E. Doley, Jr.

cc: Madame Minister Nialé Kaba, Chair of the Bureau of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank Group, and Minister of Planning and Development of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire

About Ambassador Harold E. Doley:
Harold E. Doley, Jr. is an investment banker and founder of the oldest African American owned investment-banking firm in the United States.

1973, Ambassador Doley bought a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and is the only African American to have owned a seat (there are no longer NYSE individual memberships). He operated his membership as a Floor Broker, executing orders for other members and member firms on the floor of the NYSE. Ambassador Doley began his professional career in investment banking in 1968. He served as Vice President with major Wall Street firms prior to buying his own seat. He serviced institutional accounts of banks, insurance companies, and universities with portfolios totaling over $500 million. During this period, Ambassador Doley also affected and counseled on a number of mergers and acquisitions of life insurance companies. Ambassador Doley was the Co-Founder of the U.S.-Africa Chamber of Commerce. He chaired the investment committee of Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund’s (SAEDF) private equity fund and placed the first black market maker on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Over the years, he’s advised African stock exchanges and the regulatory bodies of those stock exchanges. Ambassador Doley was honored by his industry peers as an Outstanding Broker of the Year in 1971. The Dow Jones Wall Street Journal selected him as Stock Picker of the Year in 1990.

Ambassador Doley was accorded ambassadorial rank while serving as United States Representative to the African Development Bank and Fund (AfDB), from 1983 to 1985, once the U.S. became a stockholder in the bank.[citation needed] The AfDB, headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, is a development finance institution owned by the governments of 50 African and 25 non-African countries, with 800 employees, and assets of $50 billion. Ambassador Doley crafted and conveyed U.S. Government positions regarding AfDB financial proposals and policies. While at the African Development Bank and Fund, Ambassador Doley participated in the first $100 million private placement for Africa. Upon returning to the private sector, he was the lead banker for the first $100 million U.S. medium-term notes for the African Development Bank and Fund, a 30-year bond (sold to TIAA-CREF). The AfDB was able to quadruple its capital by using Ambassador Doley’s capital increase formula. While serving as United States Executive Director to the AfDB, Ambassador Doley worked with the Vice President of Finance in securing a AAA rating from the global financial rating agencies, the first AAA rating for an African-based entity, and to more than tripling its authorized capital. Ambassador Doley worked with African Heads of State and Ministers involved with commerce, finance, and international trade and development.

In 1982 Ambassador Doley was appointed the Founding Director of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) at the U.S. Department of Interior. Ambassador Doley managed MMS, an organization of more than 5,000 employees and a budget of $1.2 billion, and its collection of $12 billion in income due the United States Treasury. This represented the second largest income source to the U.S. Government.[citation needed] Mr. Doley had prior experience in this realm, having served in 1980 as a Board Member of the Louisiana State Mineral Board, a gubernatorial appointment.

 

Categories
Africa

Buhari throws absolute weight behind Adesina’s re-election in AfDB

Buhari throws absolute weight behind Adesina’s re-election in AfDB
Buhari throws absolute weight behind Adesina’s re-election in AfDB

 

Buhari throws absolute weight behind Adesina’s re-election in AfDB

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari is not convinced that Akinwunmi Adesina, the embattled President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) is culpable of corruption charges levelled against him by unnamed members of staff of the bank.

During a meeting with Adesina on Tuesday, Buhari said his administration would stand solidly behind Adesina in his bid to get re-elected as AfDB President.

16-point allegations against Adesina bordering on corruption is threatening his re-election for another five-year term in the continental institution. But Adesina who is currently a sole candidate for the election has denied all charges, saying they are trumped-up.

The president spoke at the State House, Abuja, Tuesday, while hosting Mr Adesina.

“In 2015, when you were to be elected for the first term, I wrote to all African leaders, recommending you for the position. I didn’t say because you were a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Minister, and I belonged to the All Progressives Congress (APC), so I would withhold my support. I’ll remain consistent with you, because no one has faulted the step I took on behalf of Nigeria,” said Mr Buhari.

The president pledged that Nigeria would work with all other leaders and stakeholders in AfDB to ensure that Mr Adesina was elected for a second term built on the record of his achievements during his first term.

Mr Adesina is facing allegations of corruption at the bank and is being investigated.

He denies the allegations and had earlier been cleared of the claims raised by a whistleblower group, but the United States, the bank’s second-largest shareholder after Nigeria, has called for an external probe.

The Nigerian government and other African leaders have been rallying support for Mr Adesina who is seeking a second five-year term.

Giving a background to what was happening in the bank, Mr Adesina, a former Nigerian Minister for Agriculture, said the 16 allegations raised against him were trumped up, “and without facts, evidence, and documents, as required by the rules and regulations of the bank.”

He added that the Ethics Committee of the bank cleared him of all the allegations, and calls for fresh investigation by the United States of America, were against the rules.

Mr Adesina is facing allegations of corruption at the bank and is being investigated.
Mr Adesina is facing allegations of corruption at the bank and is being investigated.

 

“My defense ran into 250 pages, and not a single line was faulted or questioned. The law says that report of the Ethics Committee should be transmitted to the Chairman of Governors of the bank. It was done, and the governors upheld the recommendations. That was the end of the matter, according to the rules. It was only if I was culpable that a fresh investigation could be launched. I was exonerated, and any other investigation would amount to bending the rules of the bank, to arrive at a predetermined conclusion,” Mr Adesina said.

Stressing that the motive was to soil his name, and that of the bank, the AfDB president said he was proud to be Nigerian, and thanked President Buhari for his unflinching support.

“You helped me to get elected in the first place, and you have supported me robustly all along, and the African Union unanimously endorsed my re-election” he declared.

While commiserating with President Buhari on the death of the former Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, Mr Adesina described Professor Ibrahim Gambari, new Chief of Staff as “a man of integrity, and of global standing.”

Categories
Africa

AfDB approves 30 million euros loan for Cabo Verde to fight COVID-19

AfDB approves 30 million euros loan for Cabo Verde to fight COVID-19
AfDB approves 30 million euros loan for Cabo Verde to fight COVID-19

 

AfDB approves 30 million euros loan for Cabo Verde to fight COVID-19

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) has extended a loan of €30 million to Cabo Verde to help the West African island nation fight the COVID-19 outbreak and mitigate its economic impacts.

The loan, approved on 26 May, will be used to fund the country’s health and social response, support macro-economic stability, and assist the private sector.

As of 27 May, Cabo Verde had reported 390 infections, 155 recoveries and four deaths. Only one of the country’s 10 islands has been affected, namely Santiago, home to the capital city Praia. Cabo Verde is currently focusing on restarting economic activities gradually and the Bank’s support will help the country achieve that in a safer manner.

The Bank noted that while Cabo Verde’s health system was better equipped than that of many countries in the region, it could do with additional capacity in the face of the health crisis.

The pandemic has halted Cabo Verde’s recent strong economic performance. In 2019, its GDP grew by 5 percent. The country, which relies heavily on the blue economy and tourism, is expected to see its economic output contract by 4 percent in 2020.

The AfDB funding will support a commitment from authorities to increase the number of ventilators from 20 to 86 in isolation rooms, and in total from 35 to 130 by mid-June.

A social inclusion income program will be expanded to reach a total of 8,000 vulnerable and woman-headed households, out of an estimated 9,000 households living in extreme poverty. Currently, 5,000 households are receiving such support.

In addition, a scheme will be established to partially fund the wages of furloughed workers from affected businesses. Temporarily suspended employees will receive 70 percent of full wages for the duration of the crisis.  

The funding forms part of the Bank’s $10 billion COVID-19 Crisis Response Facility, approved by the Board of Directors on 8 April this year.

The Bank said containment measures had slowed the spread of the pandemic in Cabo Verde.

Measures to contain the virus are expected to have a disproportionate impact on certain segments of the population, which may deepen inequality. Young people in particular stand to be affected, given their already high rate of unemployment and underemployment. Women, who make up a disproportionate segment of affected sectors like services, are also a high-risk group, along with those at the front line of the pandemic in professions like nursing. Other vulnerable groups include unprotected workers, such as those who are self-employed, or in key formal sectors like tourism.

The government of Cabo Verde has created a National Technical Intervention and Response Team, and is budgeting for an increase in the number of key medical equipment and salaries for further medical staff.

The Ministry of Health and Social Security approved the COVID-19 National Contingency Plan in January, detailing strategies for all stages of the pandemic, responsibilities, priorities and action plans across all levels of government.

Categories
Africa

AFDB: Obasanjo, Minister Ahmed rally African leaders to support Adesina

AFDB:  Obasanjo, Finance Minister rally African leaders to support Adesina
AFDB: Obasanjo, Finance Minister rally African leaders to support Adesina

 

AFDB: Obasanjo, Minister Ahmed rally Africa’s support for Adesina

Following the position of the United States of America on the investigation of thee President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has called on former African Presidents who are leaders of thoughts in the continent to rise-up and defend Africa’s stake in the AfDB, bemoaning undue  outsiders’ interference in the continental body.

In a letter dated May 26th, 2020, which he copied former presidents of Benin Republic, Botswana, Liberia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozanbique, Niger Republic among others, Obasanjo spurred the leaders to note that Adesina has done greatly for the AfDB and should not be condemned by foreign interests.

Also, in a separate letter, Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed wrote to the Chairman of AfDB Board of Governors, Kaba Niale, urging the Board to stick by the laid down rule of engagements of the Bank and applauded the outcome of the Board’s investigations which exonerated Adesina.

Adesina was accused of favouritism and corruption by unnamed individuals and has been absolved of the allegations by the bank’s ethics committee.

 “The call for an independent investigation of the president is outside of the laid down rules, procedures and governing system of the bank and its articles as it relates to the code of conduct on ethics for the president,” Ahmed wrote.

In his letter, Obasanjo wrote: “Unfortunately, the US government, through the US treasury secretary, has written a public letter (that was also distributed to the press globally) to disagree with the conclusions of the ethics committee of the board of directors and the chairman of the board of governors of the bank.
Instead of accepting the exoneration of the president of the bank, they called for an independent investigation.

“This is outside of the rules, laws, procedures and governance systems of the bank. The US treasury secretary disparaged the bank and ridiculed the entire governance system of the bank which has been in place since 1964.

“This is unprecedented in the annals of the African Development Bank Group. If we do not rise up and defend the African Development Bank, this might mean the end of the African Development Bank, as its governance will be hijacked away from Africa.”

Obasanjo also advised that it is “critical” to emphasise the need for the AfDB to remain an “African-focused development bank rather than one which serves interests outside Africa.

Letter from H_E Obasanjo on AfDB May 2020

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Africa Politics

Burundi welcome new President after 15 years of Nkurunziza

Burundi welcome new President after 15 years of Nkurunziza: Evariste Ndayishimiye was a rebel leader alongside Pierre Nkurunziza. Credit/BBC
Burundi welcome new President after 15 years of Nkurunziza: Evariste Ndayishimiye was a rebel leader alongside Pierre Nkurunziza. Credit/BBC

 

Burundi welcome new President after 15 years of Nkurunziza

 

Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi ruling party has been declared winner of last week’s presidential election.

The authorities in Burundi say the ruling party’s candidate has been elected as the new president.

The electoral commission said Ndayishimiye won almost 70% of the vote in last week’s poll.

The retired general will take over from President Pierre Nkurunziza, who has led Burundi since 2005.

The former leader is widely expected to maintain a lot of influence.

The main opposition party has expressed doubt about the official results, which suggest its candidate, Agathon Rwasa, only gained a quarter of the votes – mostly in its traditional stronghold in the west.

 

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Africa Latest News

Regional Integration Key to Africa’s economic development–ARII 2019 Report

Regional Integration Key to Africa’s economic development, says ARII 2019 Report
Regional Integration Key to Africa’s economic development, says ARII 2019 Report

 

Regional Integration Key to Africa’s economic development–ARII Report

 

The second Africa Regional Integration Index (ARII 2019) was launched Friday by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) and the African Union Commission (AUC), with a call to action to African economies to deepen their integration.

The 2019 Index, which builds on the first edition published in 2016, provides up-to-date data on the status and progress of regional integration in Africa. It also helps to assess the level of integration for every Regional Economic Community (REC) and their member countries.

The report observed that although 20 countries score above average, no African country can be considered well integrated in its region. Even the most integrated country, South Africa, scores 0.625 less than two-thirds of its potential on the scale.

The report found that much more needs to be done to integrate regional economies to make them more resilient to shocks such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the Index shows that levels of integration on the continent are relatively low with an average score of 0.327 out of 1.

“Whereas the Index edition we are releasing today has data cut off points in 2019, the present COVID-19 pandemic has reopened the question of whether enough is being done in advancing regional integration as a means to help Africa withstand systematic shocks such as the one being experienced today,” said Stephen Karingi, Regional Integration Division Director at the ECA.

“This index is both a measurement exercise and a call to action; to build resilient economies through integration,” he added. “It will identify the solutions needed to truly build an integrated Africa.”

Jean-Denis Gabikini, Acting Director of the AUC’s Economic Affairs Department, welcomed the collaboration in producing the Index. He noted that the Index covers issues of intellectual property, competition policy, investment and digital trade which are critical to the successful negotiations of Phase II and III of AfCFTA.

“To achieve an “integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, representing a dynamic force in the concert of nations”, this ARII report will support AU Member States and RECs to address industrialisation and value addition priorities for the development of the continent,” Gabikini said.

With the establishment of RECs and the creation of AfCFTA, Africa has reinforced regional integration as a major development priority for the continent under the 2012 Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT) Action Plan.

The Index ranks the level of integration of African countries within their respective RECs and also with the rest of the continent. It scores across five key dimensions: trade, productive capacity, macroeconomic policy, infrastructure, and free movement of people.

Among the eight RECs recognised by the AU, the East African Community (EAC) scored highest for overall integration, with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) coming last.

The African Development Bank’s Director for Regional Development and Regional Integration, Moono Mupotola, said the Index was a useful tool for tracking progress on the regional integration front and would help countries identify priorities to improve integration. 

“The crippling effects of COVID-19 illustrate the need for enhanced production of African finished goods and services that can readily be traded across the continent,” Mupotola said.

David Luke, coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) at the ECA pointed out that the productive and infrastructure dimensions of regional integration are intricately linked. Tackling these two dimensions along with implementing the AfCFTA would be a massive boost for trade, he said.

For Africa to succeed in its long-standing efforts towards closer economic integration, ARII 2019 made the following recommendations:

  • Improve regional networks of production and trade by enhancing countries’ productive, distributive, and marketing capacities;
  • Build innovative, regional value-chain frameworks in different sectors using improved technology, higher-quality inputs, and updated marketing techniques;
  • Fully implement the AfCFTA to remove non-tariff barriers, which remain a major challenge for regional integration;
  • Enhance African workers’ competencies to match the technology and production capacities of today and tomorrow to succeed in the global economy;
  • Improve infrastructure through increased public–private partnerships, tapping into national resources and using regional and global infrastructure development funds and other innovative financing tools, accompanied by rigorous competition and transparency in procurement and construction processes; and
  • Implement the Protocol on the Free Movement of People, which will enhance economic growth through increased opportunities for tourism, trade and investment, human capital mobility, and allow firms to find skills more easily, in turn driving productivity.

The report can be downloaded (here) (https://bit.ly/2WUgZsl). For more information visit the website: https://www.integrate-africa.org/ as well as https://arii.uneca.org/, a dedicated platform developed by the ECA for anyone interested in accessing, extracting and using data contained in ARII 2019 for further analysis and policy making

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