Justice Festus Ntong of Akwa-Ibom State High Court sitting in Ikot Ekpene has declined an application to stop the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) or any other federal anti-corruption agency from investigating allegations of corruption involving the finances of the Government of Akwa Ibom State.
Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State
The Akwa Ibom State Attorney General (AG), Mr. Uwemedimo Thomas Nwoko, had filed a suit before Justice Ntong, seeking the court to restrain ICPC or any other federal anti-corruption agency from investigating the government of the state for alleged corrupt practices without prior authorisation by the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.
The Akwa Ibom State AG had argued in the suit that a federal agency would be acting beyond its powers if it investigated a matter involving an official or agency of the Akwa Ibom State Government.
He therefore joined the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly and the Akwa Ibom State Government as respondents in the matter because, in his opinion, they were not exercising their power and rights to prevent a federal agency from encroaching on their jurisdiction. Others joined as respondents in the suit included the Inspector General of Police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and some banks.
Upon a preliminary objection filed by ICPC disputing the competence of the court to entertain any claim against the Federal Government or any of its agencies, the trial court ruled that the State High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain such a claim and therefore struck out the case.
It may be recalled that in a similar case brought before the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt by all the 23 Local Government Councils of Rivers State in suit number FHC/PH/CS/432/2010, Hon Justice Tijani Abubakar by a ruling dated 31 May, 2012 dismissed the plaintiff’s claim and held that the issue of the constitutional authority of ICPC to investigate any person or authority in Nigeria for alleged corrupt practices had been decided with finality by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the case of Attorney General of Ondo State vs Attorney General of the Federation (2002).
Self-styled Special One, José Mourinho, has lambasted Manchester United’s relentless schedule as the team will have to play three games in the space of seven days.
José Mourinho
With injuries ravaging his club, the Manchester United manager could not but say, “We have lots of enemies (fixture schedule). Normally the enemies should be Rostov but we have a lot of enemies. It’s difficult to play Monday with 10 men. It’s difficult to play now at 12 O’clock on Sunday (Middlesbrough).”
He made the observation after an hamstring injury hit Paul Pogba, a blow to the head of Daley Blind and fatigue taking the better of Marcos Rogo in their second-leg match of the round of 16 of Europa League at Old Trafford on Thursday, March 16, 2017.
Juan Mata’s second-half goal gave Manchester United a 1-0 victory over Rostov and a 2-1 win on aggregate in the Europa League quarter-final decider.
Mourinho says: “We were afraid of extra time. It was a difficult game. A lot of people might say we should have scored more goals. But a lot of things are going against us. The boys are amazing. We will probably lose the game on Sunday. Fatigue has a price,” he concluded.
Mourinho has won each of his past eight European home games (Chelsea 3, Man Utd 5), with his teams scoring 21 goals and conceding just two.
In fact, Mourinho has not lost a home game in European competition since the 3-1 semi-final second-leg loss to Athletico Madrid in April 2014 (won 10, drew 2).
The Red Devils are now unbeaten in their past European matches at home including qualifier, won 13, drew 3, losing in March 2013 to Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, the quarter-finals draws held on Friday, March 17 2017 saw Manchester United facing Anderlecht from Belgium, while French side Lyon play Besiktas, Dutch giants Ajax meet German team Schalke, and Celta Vigo face Belgium’s Gent.
The first leg matches are set to take place on Thursday, April 13 and the return games a week later.
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Patricia Espinosa, in an article she authored and published in the “Ministers Reference Book: Commonwealth 2017”, says that the next two years must see major progress towards the low-carbon, sustainable development model which offers the only realistic path to security and well-being for all people.
Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UNFCCC
The Paris Climate Change Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals, universally agreed under the United Nations, stand as the international community’s momentous commitment to turn humanity back from the cliff edge of extreme climate change and environmental collapse.
The challenge is like none that we have seen before because it encompasses every nation, every person and demands that all work together towards the common goal.
If this reads partly like an extract from the founding principles of the Commonwealth, it is meant to do so and reflects the strong lead that the Commonwealth has continued to take in pressing for the full implementation of both agreements.
Tipping Points – Right Action Now or Wait Until Too Late?
This existential, planetary-wide threat breaks down all old barriers and assumptions.
There is no safe hiding place for any country, developed or developing. The rich and secure for a while may dodge the direct impacts better than the poor and vulnerable but their ultimate fate will be the same, if we do not succeed.
The time to step up and accelerate common action on climate and sustainable development has come for two fundamental reasons.
First, and most decisively, the signals from planet Earth are telling us that the trajectory towards uncontrolled global warming is still rising.
In recent months, greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere have surpassed record thresholds. The last three years in a row saw global temperatures rise to repeated record highs.
Extreme weather is hitting all parts of the world.
Seven countries in southern Africa have serious drought. In Madagascar, one million people need food support after several years of failed rains. In 2016, there were 15 weather and climate disaster events in the United States with losses exceeding $1 billion each. Middle East summer temperatures tick ever higher. A site in Kuwait hit 129.2 degrees F or 54 degrees C in July.
Second, the multiple and immediate challenges which countries now face cannot be allowed to dilute the unprecedented depth and breadth of global political will and the momentum to act by governments, cities, business and civil society that was captured in the UN climate and sustainability agreements.
In fact, it is only the very solutions to climate change and sustainable development that will ultimately reduce the rising problems which nations face today.
The benefits of this transformational change in the way humans produce and consume power and resources are widely recognised: new and stable lives and livelihoods, disappearing pollution and improving health, falling costs and quality investment returns to governments and citizens, lower levels of national insecurity.
2017 Offers Increasing Profile of Commonwealth Climate Leadership
The Commonwealth’s major role as a cooperative forum of countries from all cultures and at all stages of development is brought into sharp perspective as Fiji prepares to take on the next Presidency of the annual UN climate change conference in November, in Bonn, Germany.
It is a significant reflection, for example, of the Commonwealth’s reach and role that around two thirds of the Small Island Developing States in the UN are also members of the Commonwealth.
Fijian Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama has set out his priorities for the Presidency, calling for steeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and to ramp up the finance developing countries need to green their economies and build resilience to the inevitable impacts of climate change.
Small island developing states are, of course, among the most vulnerable to extreme weather and rising sea levels. Fiji only recently suffered more major flooding from severe rains.
Fiji’s climate change conference presidency is an opportunity for the Commonwealth community both to highlight the urgency of climate action for the most vulnerable countries and to underline the common action that both developed and developing countries need to take together.
It is important, therefore, to emphasise how these two objectives are linked firmly under the stated principle that action on climate change encompasses every nation and demands that all work together towards the common goal.
For example, small islands have some of the most vulnerable coastlines and require urgent global climate action to stay as close as possible to the 1.5 degree Celsius limit of warming set out in the Paris Agreement as a preferred defense line against extreme climate change.
But climate science predicts that 1.5 degrees and above also threatens potentially severe damage to coastlines elsewhere, including in megacities of the world’s biggest and most populated economies, from New York to Shanghai, from Rotterdam to Bangkok.
Storm and flood can turn an affluent neighborhood into a mud-soaked nightmare overnight just as easily as devastate a poor village and can bankrupt developed and developing country cities alike.
Similarly, a much faster and decisive shift of global finance flows into low-carbon solutions and resilient infrastructure is an immediate and urgent need for both the richest and poorest countries.
In this area, too, the combined expertise and experience of the Commonwealth members has much to contribute in concrete initiatives such as the Multilateral Debt Swap for Climate Action proposal, which would address both debt and climate change, and the pioneering Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub.
Strong Momentum Sustained So Far – Three Big Next Steps on Climate Action
It is encouraging that strong momentum has continued so far in the year after Paris.
There are three broad and interlinked avenues of effort which will get this unprecedented global job done most efficiently and quickly.
This includes national climate action by all countries across public and private sectors, intensive international cooperation and a comprehensive shift in public and private investment towards clean, renewable energy and resilient infrastructures.
Almost all countries submitted intended national climate plans in support of the Paris Agreement and almost 120 have now turned those intentions into firm plans under the Agreement – known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
In addition, the first very long-term, emission reductions plans have started to appear, so far from Canada, France, Germany, Mexico and the US, in response to the Agreement’s recognition that clarity and direction over decades is required.
These NDCs are the foundation of the Paris Agreement, the policy and investment plans for low-carbon, resilient development that go hand-in-hand with the core objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals.
It is most important that these blueprints are translated into cross-government policies and investment strategies that readily attract the resources and funding necessary to enable countries to reach the goals they have set for themselves.
It is in this way that NDCs can also provide a myriad of business opportunities – opportunities that revolve around every economic sector and every walk of life.
Meanwhile, global finance flows for climate action continue to rise and should reasonably soon reach one trillion dollars per year. More is needed and soon.
For example, China has recently said it will invest the equivalent of about $360 billion into renewable power by 2020, creating over 13 million jobs. This starts to approach the scale and speed of effort required.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance has reported that global clean energy investment fell 18% in dollar terms in 2016. One of the reasons is good: the cost of solar power continued to fall. It is also true that fossil fuel prices are at par or are higher than renewables in many markets.
But the reversal in trend is not. Emissions must peak soon and be rapidly decreasing by 2030 to have a chance of meeting the Paris temperature goals. Government policy retains a commanding influence over energy prices and it is essential that renewables are allowed a level playing field.
Removing all fossil fuel subsidies and requiring pollution costs to be fully factored into government, business and investment accounting are non-negotiable demands, if atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases are to fall fast enough.
Good news, therefore, that last December’s climate change conference in Marrakech, Morocco, highlighted the growing alignment of government, private sector and civic climate action.
For example, a club of subnational governments, the Under2 Coalition, who have committed to reduce their emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050, announced their membership has grown to 165. It represents a third of the global economy and a population of around one billion people across North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia.
The Climate Vulnerable Forum of over 40 nations issued a Marrakech Vision committing themselves to ambitious aims, including 100% renewable energy between 2030 and 2050.
The international climate change negotiations under the UN also have a most important objective to deliver the rule book of the Paris Agreement, which is essentially the operating manual to deliver a transparent global accounting of emissions reductions, provision of climate finance, technology development and transfer, and adaptation needs.
Governments have indicated a fast track date of 2018 for completion of this rule book.
The details of the task are complex but the principle is simple: transparency builds trust that countries are delivering on their pledges which, in turn, generate the confidence for all countries to increase their own action on climate change to the best of their abilities.
Across each of these three avenues of effort – national plans, finance and international negotiations – I look forward this year to the continued support, expertise and commitment of the Commonwealth to help sustain high momentum and achieve long-term success.
The world wrote down the directions to a future of peace and well-being for all peoples in the words of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. The destination is decades away, but only by speeding up now will nations reach it together.
On Tuesday, March 7 2017, at the Triple Point in the heart of Park W, where the territories of Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso meet, the General Directors of the wildlife management agencies from each of the three countries signed an agreement to strengthen collaboration in wildlife law enforcement in this critical wildlife area.
Picture shows the General Directors of the wildlife management agencies from Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso with the signed agreements. Photo credit: Philippe Bouché
This effectively gives the “green light” to initiate activities designed under a major Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) initiative to build law enforcement capacity, strengthen the integrated management of the transboundary area, and enhance the protection of what is widely considered the most important area for wildlife in West Africa, including due to its 8,900 elephants.
The activities to be implemented under the agreement were defined late last year at a meeting that brought together senior management and area wardens from the five protected areas in the three countries that make up the W-Arly-Pendjari Protected Area Complex (WAP). This targeted intervention, which is expected to last into 2019, is funded by the European Union through the CITES Minimising the Illegal Killing of Elephants and other Endangered Species (MIKES) project, and is being implemented in partnership with the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Regional Office in Burkina Faso. MIKES is a project of the ACP group of States, supported by the EC through the 10th EDF, and implemented by the CITES secretariat.
The WAP was selected as one of the eight “Focal Sites” under the MIKES project where support for wildlife law enforcement capacity building is most needed. The areas were prioritised based on detailed assessments of existing law enforcement capacity, as well as on their importance for elephant conservation, the co-occurrence of other key CITES-listed species, and the level of poaching and other threats impacting each site. In each site specific packages of activities have been developed to ensure that the support addresses the unique issues in each area.
Following the signing of the agreement, John E. Scanlon, the Secretary-General of CITES, said: “CITES is particularly pleased to provide frontline support to this critically important area for elephants and other endangered species in West Africa. This can be a challenging and complex area to work in, but through our strong and on-going collaboration with national wildlife agencies, IUCN, and with the financial support of the European Union, we are confident that we can make a very practical on-the ground difference in helping to reduce the illegal trade in wildlife in this key wildlife area, as well as throughout Africa and beyond.”
Activities will be implemented in five protected areas that make up the WAP: Park W (Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger), Pendjari National Park (Benin) and Arly National Park (Burkina Faso).
Activities will focus on: strengthening patrol staff capacity and performance throughout the area; improving law enforcement management, including communications within and between the protected areas; increasing the contribution of intelligence to wildlife law enforcement; and enhancing community and intra-gency collaboration and support for wildlife law enforcement operations.
The European Union has provided support to Park W itself since 2001 (in addition to the support provided through MIKES).
At the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP17), held in Johannesburg in September/October 2016, the CITES Secretariat was asked to work with its partners in the delivery of activities that focus on wildlife crime enforcement support in countries in Central and West Africa.
The Women Green Fellowship (WGF) programme has opened application for the 4th cohort of the fellowship. It will close on Friday, March 31, 2017.
The Women Green Fellowship
“We are looking for women who desire to change the way things are done and want to improve it,” says Ayodele Taofiq-Fanida, Director, Women Green Fellowship.
Taofiq-Fanida adds: “Women Green Fellowship is a place to ignite ideas, nurture inspirations and birth the solutions that will change the system from ego to eco. The programme is geared towards helping learners re-establish relationship with nature and learn the wisdom embedded in age-old rural communities. It also brings together social entrepreneurs and change agents from around the country to become green experts, leaders and industry thinkers in the clean technology world. Our fellows are exposed to inspiration, ideas, solutions and astute network that transform and impact the world positively.”
Describing the last cohort as “exciting and excellent,” the promoters of the programme expressed “happiness at the success recorded thus far by our fellows, as ethical and social change leaders in the society.”
“Our 2016 Fellows were able to solve challenges around the environment, health, and food security in a unique and sustainable manner which in turn will provide avenue for employment and job creation in the country,” notes Taofiq-Fanida, adding:
“Are you a disrupter, innovator who is eager to become a solution provider to numerous challenges facing the society today? Then, we need you to join us in creating this ripple effect that will extend beyond the community of life-long Fellows to the rest of the country and, by extension the world, as we collectively take actions that will bring about a sustainable world by 2030.”
Women mayors from some of the world’s greatest cities and women business leaders have committed to use their growing global power to tackle climate change and deliver on the ambition of the Paris Agreement.
Women mayors and UN officials at the Women4Climate conference in New York City
Meeting on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at the inaugural Women4Climate conference in New York City, the mayors of Paris, Mexico City, Durban, Cape Town and Caracas, pledged to support and mobilise the next generation of women leaders, fighting climate change.
Hosted by C40 Chair and Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo at Columbia University, the first-of-its-kind event brought together women mayors from many of the world’s largest and most influential cities. The 15 women mayors that lead cities in the C40 network represent 100 million urban citizens and over $4 trillion dollars in GDP. These women leaders were joined by CEO’s and innovative change-makers who represent the next generation of women leaders acting to reduce carbon emissions and protect the world from the impacts of climate change.
Their call was echoed by Michael R. Bloomberg, U.N. Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, and Miguel Ángel Mancera, Mayor of Mexico City.
The event officially launched the C40 Women4Climate initiative. A major new effort by the C40 Cities network that will deliver the following impact:
Empower & Inspire
Contribute to the emergence of the next generation of climate leaders by sharing knowledge and experiences through a global mentorship program dedicated to women in C40 cities. The young women involved will be guided by C40 mayors and committed leaders from the business sector, international organisations and civil society. The programme will represent a turning point in the lives of the women involved, providing them with the tools they need to develop themselves and their activities.
Inform & Raise Awareness
Highlight the key role women play in the development and championing of climate policies. C40 will undertake research to fill the knowledge gap about the interplay between gender, cities and climate. The results will be instrumental in helping cities deliver inclusive climate action plans.
Drive Action
Support future climate leaders by launching an annual challenge dedicated to awarding women researchers and entrepreneurs on the best innovations in climate and sustainability.
Influence
Achieve visibility and thought leadership to motivate and inspire women around the world to become leaders in business, government and climate-focused organisations. We will hold ambitious events to showcase the thought leadership achievements of the Women4Climate Initiative, inform the wider conversation around women and climate and create a new vocation among future leaders.
“As women, we know all too well that the powerful often seek to silence our voices when we speak out to protect the most vulnerable in our communities,” said C40 Chair and Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo. “We are here today to show that we refuse to be silenced. All around the world, in city halls, corporate boardrooms and on the streets of our cities women are demanding action to protect the planet from the threat of climate change.”
Across the globe women are leading climate action. Former UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, French Minister of Environment Ségolène Royal and Ambassador of France for Climate Change Negotiations Laurence Tubiana were the architects of the historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Women held six of the most influential positions at the COP22 global climate talks in Morocco during 2016. Women mayors have been instrumental to implementing the Paris Agreement and their power is growing. The number of C40 cities with women mayors has increased from four to fifteen since 2014.
“Women leaders were instrumental in securing the Paris Climate Agreement and women mayors of C40 cities are stepping up to help ensure their nations reach their goals,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, C40 President of the Board and U.N. Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change. “Women leaders at companies and non-profits are also speeding our progress, and I’m glad to say that includes the CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies, Patti Harris, and the head of our environment programme, Antha Williams.”
“Every week I meet inspiring young women from business, NGOs and politics, who are determined to change the world, said Mayor of Washington D.C., Muriel Bowser. “If our cities and climate are in their hands then It makes me very confident for the future.”
L’Oréal has already communicated their strong will to engage and support C40 in the long-term development of the Women4Climate Initiative. “At L’Oréal, we consider it strategic to engage with C40 women mayors to empower the next generation of women leaders in fighting climate change,” said Alexandra Palt, L’Oréal Chief Sustainability Officer. “This commitment reflects two of L’Oréal’s major orientations: gender equality and climate protection. Women will play a critical role in tackling climate change. It is our responsibility to empower and support them.”
“Women are more likely to work in industries that will be affected by a changing climate, such as agriculture,” said Mayor of Durban, Zandile Gumede. “That is why women need to help lead this fight, to ensure that the environment and the future generations are protected.”
“Mexico City is one of the first cities to incorporate gender equity into its Climate Action Program, we have identified 78 actions to reduce the vulnerability of women to climate change in the city,” said the Mayor of Mexico City Miguel Ángel Mancera. “The official launch of the Women4Climate initiative in Mexico City during the C40 Mayors’ Summit was inspiring and a commitment we take with great responsibility.”
Workers, under the aegis of the Cross River State chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Wednesday, March 15 2017, took to the streets of Calabar, the state capital, to show support for embattled Governor Ben Ayade over the controversial Superhighway project.
During the peaceful demonstration, members of the labour organisations gave a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to approve the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report on the proposed Superhighway and the Bakassi Deep Seaport projects.
Photos by Tina Todo.
A banner displayed during the protest rally
Workers in action: NLC Cross River chairman, John Ushie (second from right), with TUC Cross River chairman, Clarkson Otu
The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) in Abuja on Thursday, March 16, 2017 said candidates awaiting results are eligible to register and sit for the Universities Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s Head of Public Relations
A statement by the spokesman of JAMB, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, however, stressed that any candidate who fails to upload their results between May and August would not be confirmed to gain admission into any tertiary institution.
According to Benjamin, this would enable JAMB grant admission to only qualified candidates who are ready to advance their educational pursuit in tertiary institutions, conserve resources and also provide credible data.
Benjamin said: “Nigerians are still not clear whether candidates with awaiting results will write our exams or not. Today, we want to make it categorically clear that candidates with awaiting results are eligible to register and sit for our examinations. However, the board will not confirm any admission for any candidate with awaiting result.
“All candidates who are desirous of tertiary education are to upload their O’ Level result on our site. We don’t want to be giving admissions to candidates that are not qualified to be admitted. It has been discovered over time that most of the times when these candidates are admitted, they don’t meet the requirements.
“You have from May up to August to upload your result. At the point of admission we would have sieved our records and any candidate who has not uploaded his or her result at that point, is not eligible for admission.
“We have a good number of candidates who have written their exams in years past and they have their results ready waiting for this process, we will factor those ones and the few ones that will get their results before August. We are not working for those that will be writing their exams. But if by chance you write your O’Level examinations and JAMB this year and your result is ready, good for you.”
Benjamin added that candidates, who are not computer literate, have a choice of applying for a UTME mock examination at a fee of N700 nationwide.
Benjamin explained that the UTME mock examination was optional and aimed at allowing students have a feel of the Computer Based Test, especially those ignorant of the CBT process.
Infomineo reveals rising global interest in the Middle East Africa region, and listing the leading destinations on the Fortune 500 to include Dubai, Johannesburg, Casablanca, Nairobi, Lagos, and Cairo
A view of the Lagos Marina, a popular business hub.
Lagos, the bustling Nigerian commercial capital city, is among the leading African destinations on the Fortune 500 list, according to a new report released by Infomineo, a global business research company.
The report focuses on multinationals looking at entering, or already present, in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. Overall, there was a 17% increase in the number of companies in MEA in 2016 compared to 2015, with Johannesburg being the leading destination for Africa.
But, besides being a choice for technology companies, the Lagos megacity is also considered the premier location for organisations looking to manage their operations across Western Africa with 12 Fortune 500 companies already established in the sub-region.
Indeed, the MEA region has become increasingly important for the majority of global Fortune 500 countries, according to the report, which includes the regional footprint of multinationals in the MEA region, the most commonly chosen cities, and the factors which influence the selection of the region, country and city – each element revealing the dynamic growth patterns within the region and a clear trend of Fortune 500 companies establishing some kind of presence in MEA.
In 2016, 196 Fortune 500 companies had established a dedicated regional headquarters in the MEA region. In the Middle-East, Dubai is the most popular choice with 138 companies establishing a dedicated entity in the city. There has also been a marked uptick in companies deciding to cover MEA from outside of the region – 38 companies up from 22 have established a regional headquarters in areas such as London, Brussels and Paris. The leading destinations on the Fortune 500 list include Dubai, Johannesburg, Casablanca, Nairobi, Lagos, and Cairo. Egypt remains behind the leaders due to political instability, however, it has seen a 250% increase in Fortune 500 investment since 2015. Germany and France are leading in terms of coverage rate while China has the lowest presence in the region.
Industry type plays a pivotal role in the selection of city and country. Financial services are more likely to base MEA coverage from London, while technology companies are more inclined towards Casablanca or Lagos. The latter city is also the premier location for organisations looking to manage their operations across Western Africa with 12 Fortune 500 companies already established in the region. Automotive and Healthcare tend to have a presence in both Africa and the Middle East, while Technology is more inclined to having a presence from the outside.
Nairobi, in Kenya, is the leading destination for the FMCG companies and tends to be the top choice for organisations looking to service Eastern Africa. Dubai and Johannesburg are the most popular hubs overall, but both Casablanca and Nairobi are rapidly gaining traction and international awareness. Casablanca has the highest growth rate overall, while Dubai has the highest count. The same can be said for London, which has tripled its number of regional HQs in the region, acting as an MEA hub. Given the geographical proximity and the talent pool present in the city, it could be that London is playing the role of a first step into the MEA region, especially for Japanese and North American companies.
There are numerous factors which impact on the organisation’s selection of a specific city. These include the local market potential, maturity of the industry, existing competitors, political stability and the quality of the employment market, among others. Determining the attractiveness of a location along these clear lines assures the Fortune 500 companies of a stable and profitable investment and significantly mitigates risk. The most attractive cities are Dubai, Johannesburg, Casablanca and Nairobi, and at the lower end of the spectrum, Cairo, Paris, Algiers and Cape Town.
Through this analysis, organisations gain a thorough understanding of markets and factors which ensure a steady base of operations from which organisations can expand into the growing MEA market, and establish brand and identity within the growing middle classes. Infomineo has undertaken in-depth analysis and research on the MEA region, revealing the various factors inhibiting or inspiring Fortune 500 uptake.
Its champagne on the Island of Madagascar as their Football Association president, Ahmad Ahmad, has been elected president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Ahmad Ahmad, president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF)
The party stemmed from the defeat Ahmad handed down to Issa Hayatou, which ended his 29-year reign as CAF president.
Ahmad polled 34 of the 54 votes casted in the election, which was held Thursday, March 16, 2017 at CAF 39th General Assembly in Addis Ababa,capital of Ethiopia.
The 57-year-old, who appeared emotional, became only the seventh CAF president in the CAF’s 60-year history.
“This is a sweet victory as we have worked hard for years and months,” said elated Ahmad.
Ahmad, who became Madagascar FA chief in 2003, takes over as CAF president on an initial four-year term and has promised to modernise the body and make it more transparent.
Hayatou has been in power since 1988, when he replaced Abdel Halim Mohammad, and has over seen significant growth in the Continental game and in CAF’s standing within the global football community.
The Cameroonian who as a result of this defeat will lose his position on the ruling Council of FIFA, was led from the auditorium by aides who ignored requests for comments from the media.
