Day: May 23, 2023

African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina called out developed nations for not honoring the 100 billion USD-a-year climate finance pledge they made to developing countries.

Briefing journalists a day before the kick off of the 2023 African Development Bank Annual Meeting under the theme “Mobilizing Private Sector Financing for Climate and Green Growth in Africa,” in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt the president said that lack of adequate financing for tackling climate change in Africa has become dire and is “choking” the continent.

A combination of droughts and floods is causing massive losses of people and infrastructure, leading to rising numbers of refugees in vast areas of East and Southern Africa, and in the Horn of Africa, he stated, and emphasized that climate change is causing havoc anywhere in Africa today.

According to him, there is still much to do, as Africa’s private sector climate financing will need to increase by 36 percent annually. The African Development Bank is spearheading climate adaptation efforts across the continent and has devoted 63 percent of its climate finance, the highest among all multilateral development banks.

Furthermore, he pointed out that the Bank’s new Climate Action Window will support millions of farmers, enabling them to access climate-resistant seeds. The institution has also launched the Desert to Power initiative to develop 10,000 megawatts of solar power to benefit nearly 250 million people across the Sahel.

“Africa’s measured natural capital alone is estimated to be worth 6.2 trillion USD,” which, if well harnessed, can spur a more rapid economic growth and wealth generation, Adesina added.

He spoke about the Bank’s flagship Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) scheme that provides heat-tolerant seed varieties to increase yield in crops such as wheat.

The President gave the example of Ethiopia which is now self-sufficient in wheat production and plans to export the surplus to neighboring countries.

According to Bank estimates, Africa will need 2.7 trillion USD by 2030 to finance its climate change needs.

Adesina said, “If Africa had that money, the Sahel would have electricity. If Africa had that money, we would recharge the Chad basin, which has provided livelihoods for millions of people in Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon. Everything will change in all those countries; we will green the Sahel. We will insure every single African country against catastrophic weather events.”

“Your role as the media is very important to help carry the news – the news of efforts being made, challenges being faced, and the fierce urgency of now in getting much-needed climate finance to Africa,” the Bank chief underlined.

The Bank will launch its annual African Economic Outlook report on May 24, 2023.

The Bank Group’s Annual Meetings will allow the Bank’s Board of Governors, African leaders and development partners to explore practical ways of “mobilizing private sector financing for climate and green growth in Africa,” in line with the theme of this year’s meetings.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The commitment and coordination of the leadership is crucial for the success of Ethiopia’s second Homegrown Economic Reform, Planning and Development Minister Fitsum Assefa said.

A discussion on the second phase of Ethiopia’s Homegrown Economic Reform is underway in the presence of high officials.

Addressing the discussion, the minister stated that a second phase Homegrown Economic Reform plan which would be implemented from 2024 to 2026 has been prepared as additional national economic development plan is required to build a resilient economy that withstands new challenges.

Noting that one of the four pillars of the reform is strengthening and stabilizing the macro-economy, she said better resource mobilization and successful government spending and investment governance are given much attention in the plan.

The plan also focuses on sustainable debt management, realization of strict fiscal policy, financial sector reform and accessibility.

Improving the investment and business environment is the second pillar of the reform; while improved market accessibility, swift logistics service, and motivated macro-,small and medium enterprises as well as attracting quality FDI are crucial to realize the plan.

The third pillar of the reform focuses on increasing capacity, productivity and competitiveness of sectors, giving priority to improve agricultural productivity and investment, better housing and construction development and investment, it was pointed out.

Also, better mining productivity and investment, boosting export trade, image building, and tourist destination development as well as boosting digital economy are in the plan.

Developing implementation capacity of the government is the fourth pillar of the economic reform. Creating capable and productive civil service, providing better service by overcoming maladministration, implementing coordinated civil service digital information management are vital to realize the plan, the minister stated.

Fitsum finally urged the leadership to work with full commitment and coordination in increasing developmental finance, creating favorable investment climate, modernizing market, boosting production and productivity, and overcoming maladministration by modernizing the service to realize the reform.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

One Africa Expo is pivotal platform to showcase Africa’s potential and deliberate on how to improve trade and investment relations between African countries and beyond, State Minister of Trade and Regional Integration, Kassahun Gofe said.

The State Minister made the remark today at the official opening ceremony of the One Africa Expo 2023 in Addis Ababa under the theme “Enabling Development.”

The expo will be held from May 22-27, 2023 with the objective to improve trade and investment relations between African countries so as to help realize economic growth and development and transformation of the continent.

The expo is expected to serve as a commercial gateway to the African continent and a hub for global connectivity.

During the occasion, State Minister of Trade and Regional Integration, Kassahun Gofe said the event of this kind will bring Africans across all walks of life together to reflect and draw lessons from the past experiences and plan for the future to drive forward the goals and priorities set by African Union’s Agenda 2063.

“The expo will be an excellent platform to showcase Africa’s potential and deliberate on how to improve trade and investment relations between African countries and beyond,” he underscored.

The state minister recalled that Ethiopia embarked on profound economic reform measures aimed at enhancing the role of the private sector, attracting greater Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and digitalizing the economy over the last five years.

These reform measures have already had a significant impact on improving the business and investment climate in Ethiopia, according to him.

As we are celebrate this auspicious event, he reiterated Ethiopia’s commitment to the African Agenda by presenting a unique opportunity to promote trade and investment between Africa and the world.

“We believe that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can serve as a new impetus to our reform effort in creating a more open and integrated economy,” Kassahun added.

To this end, he said Ethiopia has ratified the agreement establishing the AfCFTA and remains committed to take the next step to the full operationalization of the trade agreement.

Ethiopia in collaboration with the continental body assures its commitment to promote the African cause and to strive towards peace and prosperity in our continent, he underscored.

CEO of One African Expo, Yalew Getachew said One Africa Expo presents a unique opportunity to promote bilateral trade between Africa and the rest of the world.

The expo is set to be an unprecedented Business-to-Business (B2B) trade show, created specifically for African governments, private and public business sectors, global companies, and business professionals to showcase their products, services, expertise, he added.

Moreover, he elaborated that by providing a gateway to the global market, the One Africa Expo 2023 presents a unique opportunity to promote bilateral trade between Africa and the world.

Director Division for Economic Cooperation and Regional Integration at IGAD, Osman Mohammed Babikir said the economic and regional integration is one of the key strategy of IGAD.

To this end, this expo will contribute a lot to stimulate the effort of economic and regional integration in the continent, he added.

Moreover, he noted that this expo is bringing many actors together and exchanging views on ways of working together for economic cooperation and continental integration.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

A total of N.dollars 4.2 billion for the financial year of 2023/24 and N.dollars 13.1 billion over the Mid-term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) has been allocated to the requisite infrastructure development sector.

Meanwhile, the transportation sector received a total of N.dollars 2.9 billion and N.dollars 9 billion for the 2023/23 financial year and MTEF respectively.

This was revealed by Deputy Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, Maureen Hinda-Mbuende, at the African Road Maintenance Fund Association (ARMFA) Presidential handover ceremony in Swakopmund on Tuesday.

According to Hinda-Mbuende, this budget allocation is primarily for the completion of ongoing phases of road construction projects with contractual awards.

These include the finalisation of the Windhoek-Okahandja dual carriageway’s second phase, the Swakopmund-Henties Bay-Uis-Kamanjab road and the completion of phase one of the Windhoek-Hosea Kutako Airport road and the retention for the upgrades to Walvis Bay-Kranzberg railway line.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency