Category: Business

Nigeria has been chosen by the Heads of State and Government of the Sahel Region Climate Commission (SRCC) to host the Secretariat of the Sahel Climate Fund.

Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s spokesman, confirmed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

He added that communiqué was issued at the end of the second conference of Heads of State and Government of SRCC, held on the margins of 36th AU Summit.

Shehu said that the SRCC also approved the appointment of Issifi Boureim of Niger Republic as the Executive Secretary of the Commission.

Boureim, until his appointment, was the Coordinator of the Transitory Operational Framework of the Commission.

His appointment is for a non-renewable period of three years, without the possibility of candidacy for future terms of office.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had declared Nigeria’s interest to host the headquarters of the Sahel Climate Fund and readiness to provide all necessary amenities.

The Sahel Climate Fund is the financial body of the Sahel Region Climate Commission (SRCC).

The body is one of the three climate Commissions for Africa created in Marrakech, Morocco in 2016 at the Summit of African Heads of State and Government.

The Morocco meeting was organised at the initiative of King of Morocco on the sidelines of the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Among other decisions by leaders of member countries during the mini-summit in Addis Ababa include the adoption of the methods of contributions from the States for the financing of the operations of the Executive Secretariat.

The decision taken also include the Sahel Climate Fund as well as for the participation in the 1st recapitalization of the said Fund.

A panel of Heads of State comprising Buhari, King Mohammed VI of Morocco, President Alassane Quattara of Cote d’Ivoire and General Idriss Deby of Chad was established to support the work of the President of the Commission.

The communique also named eminent personalities as Ambassadors for advocacy and the mobilisation of resources for the financing of climate related programmes and actions in the region.

The Ambassadors are Issoufou Mahamadou, former President of the Republic of Niger and first president of the Commission, Amina Mohammed and the UN Deputy Secretary-General.

Others include,Tidjane Thiam, Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki, MO Ibrahim, Aliko Dangote, Ibrahima Thiaw, Paul Kammogne Fokam and Mossadeck Bally.

NAN reports that the Sahel geo-climatic region comprises 17 countries stretching from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, including Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso and Cameroon.

Others are Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Guinea Conakry, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sudan and Chad.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

African Union (AU) Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, Amani Abou-Zeid, yesterday urged African countries, to turn difficulties into opportunities to transform Africa’s energy sector.

“The last three years have been difficult years in the whole world, with a series of crises that have brought several industries, several sectors and the lives of people around the world to disruptions in so many ways – the economies and the livelihoods,” Abou-Zeid told the press, on the sidelines of the 36th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly.

She said, the AU, in collaboration with partners, has been working in order to put the African continent on a path of recovery from the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AU commissioner, however, said, since 2022, due to geo-political tensions and the Ukraine crisis, “the situation is getting more complex,” putting the energy sector into the spotlight across the world.

“These are not like any other times. The continent had problems before and these problems have been compounded by the crisis over the last three years,” Abou-Zeid said.

Noting Africa’s long-existing energy deficit that was further exacerbated, following recent global and continental phenomenon, the AU commissioner emphasised the need to exert concerted efforts to address the challenge.

“Since our continent suffers from energy poverty, we would like to use this situation – as difficult as it is – to accelerate access to energy, and to secure energy for all countries on this continent,” Abou-Zeid said.

“We are determined to turn these difficult times into opportunities for the continent,” she said.

She further emphasised the need to improve the development and use of green and sustainable energy across the African continent.

“I would like to reiterate the importance of energy, the importance of digitalisation when it comes to recovery, when it comes to building resilience within the continent,” the commissioner underscored.

The two-day summit, slated from Feb 18 to 19, at the headquarters of the AU in Addis Ababa, was held under the theme of the year for 2023 – “The Year of AfCFTA: Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation.”

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Branching out from the usual bilateral agreements between the United States and individual nations, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) recently crafted a new type of grant to promote cross-border economic integration and trade between two African countries.

The first so-called regional compact in the amount of $504 million — $202 million for Benin and $302 million for Niger — will focus on reducing transportation costs between Benin’s Port of Cotonou and Niger’s capital of Niamey.

But there’s more, said Mahmoud Bah, deputy chief executive officer of the MCC, an independent U.S. agency that has been providing foreign assistance around the world for nearly two decades.

“It will also try to address some of the root causes of maintaining road assets,” he said. “In both countries, they’ve committed to improving road maintenance, so there will be policy and institutional reforms around road maintenance, contributions, how the fund is flowing and how those funds are allocated to roads that actually need to be maintained.”

Benin and Niger will contribute a combined total of $15 million to the various projects.

The regional compact also aims to eliminate trade bottlenecks between the two nations and cut down on spoilage from delays, Bah told VOA.

MCC previously invested $1.1 billion in Benin and Niger. Some of that money went toward eliminating procedural constraints affecting the flow of goods through the Port of Cotonou.

The new projects aim to build on progress made.

“We hope that we will connect our previous investment to this new investment,” said Bah. “The port of Benin is effectively a model in the region, thanks to the work we jointly did, and this road piece connecting that port to customers, farmers, clients in Niamey along the corridor from Cotonou is the big story here. I truly believe that regional integration is an essential piece of the entire continent’s development.”

Other grants in the works

In southern Africa, MCC recently signed a memorandum committing Washington and Maputo to pursue a compact later this year to protect Mozambique’s coastal areas.

“Mozambique is one country that is faced with extreme adverse effects of climate,” said Bah. “Sixty-five percent of Mozambicans live on the coastal part of Mozambique. It has 2,300 kilometers of coast, and it’s being pounded every year by heavier and heavier cyclones. In the last five years, Mozambique had four 100-year cyclones — cyclones that are supposed to happen every hundred years.”

About four years ago, Cyclone Idai killed hundreds in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi and displaced millions in what the United Nations called “one of the worst weather-related catastrophes in the history of Africa.”

In Mozambique, Bah also visited mangroves, which are slated for funding in an upcoming MCC compact.

“It’s the ecosystem that allows the planet to survive certain climatic impacts, but it’s being taken away by these cyclones,” he said. “Also, the mangroves themselves are being chopped to make charcoal, but the people that are chopping these mangroves have no other alternatives.”

MCC also hopes to help restore an 80-year-old bridge on the brink of collapse and connect small farmers by helping them become more commercially viable.

Eligibility criteria

To receive money from MCC, a country needs to meet the agency’s standards on a range of criteria, from good governance to economic freedom.

And even after receiving funds, the criteria need to be respected throughout implementation. For that reason, MCC recently terminated Burkina Faso’s grant funding after a military takeover.

“When we see a coup d’etat, especially the military coup d’etat, it calls into question the model and what for us … is a red line,” said Bah. “We cannot face Congress and say, ‘We need to support this country,’ when in fact we see an attempt or a confiscation of the constitution by a group of military [forces].”

Bah said he hoped the partnership between the two countries would soon be restored, because it was a tough decision for the MCC to stop the work that had already begun.

Meanwhile, MCC is working on signing a compact with Sierra Leone this year to help make electricity cheaper and its energy sector more reliable.

Other potential beneficiaries in Africa include Mauritania, Togo and Gambia. Senegal will be tapped for the next regional compact.

Free money?

MCC started under a Republican administration nearly 20 years ago and has benefited from bipartisan support.

To the skeptics who say there’s no such thing as free money, Bah said the only cost of getting an MCC grant is abiding by the agency’s model and meeting the eligibility criteria. Otherwise, the grants are not to be repaid.

And to anyone who may be uneasy with taxpayer money being spent overseas, here is one way to look at it, he told VOA.

“When countries grow and have a peaceful transfer of power, where they have a democratically elected government, there is a tendency for that growth to be contagious and for us to spend less money in those countries than the alternative,” said Bah.

“So, it’s an opportunity for businesses in the U.S. to find frontier emerging markets where they can invest. It’s an opportunity for our partner countries to invest in the U.S. To me, it’s a win-win situation.”

Source: Voice of America

The Djibouti Chamber of Commerce delegation Arrived in Addis Ababa on Sunday to explore business and investment opportunities, according to Ethiopian Investment Commission.

The delegation is in Addis for an official investment consultation and to explore business and investment opportunities.

Ethiopian Investment Commissioner Lelise Neme received the delegation team and discussed with its president.

In the coming days, the team will have various investment site visits and consultation platforms that aim to promote investment opportunities in Ethiopia aiming to further strengthen the bilateral trade and investment partnerships between the two countries.

Source: Ethiopia News agency

Harare – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Acting Deputy Executive Director, and Director of Corporate Services Ms. Sonja Leighton-Kone will visit Zimbabwe from 06 to 11 February 2023.

During her visit, Ms. Leighton-Kone will meet with His Excellency President E.D. Mnangagwa; and other senior Government officials including Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry; Minister of Energy and Power Development; and Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development. In addition, Ms. Leighton-Kone will be meeting with the UN Resident ad Humanitarian Coordinator Mr Edward Kallon and the UN Country Team.

During her visit Ms Leighton will engage senior Government officials on environmental opportunities and challenges especially issues linked to triple planetary crisis of climate change, loss of nature and biodiversity, and waste and pollution. Her discussions with Government will include on strengthening collaboration with UNEP and marshalling practical solutions to the triple planetary crisis supported by UNEP as part the 2022-2026 Zimbabwe UN Sustainable Development Cooperation.

Ms Leighton will also have consultations with the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Heads of UN agencies in Zimbabwe and the UN Country Team on enhancing coordination and cooperation in the delivery of support to the country.

Facilitated by the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Ms Leighton will also travel to the field to see projects on environmental sustainability.

Ms. Leighton-Kone will be accompanied by Frank Turyatunga, Regional Director, and Representative for Africa; Ms. Meseret Teklemariam Zemedkun, Head, UNEP Southern Africa Sub-Regional Office; and Rami Abdel Malik, Special Assistant to the Deputy Executive Director.

Ms. Leighton’s brief bio is available on: https://www.unep.org/people/sonja-leighton-kone.

Source: UN Environment Programme