Lawmaker representing Obio/Akpor Constituency of Rivers State in the House of Representatives, Rep. Kingsley Chinda, has called on security agencies to apprehend those responsible for the current air pollution in Port Harcourt and its environs.
Soot spreading over a neighbourhood in Port Harcourt, Rivers State
He made the call at a meeting with “Stop the Soot’’ Campaigners and other lawmakers in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Friday, April 13, 2018.
Chinda blamed the current air pollution, which was caused by black soot, in Port Harcourt and environs on the activities of illegal oil refiners and bunkers in the state.
“There is need for investigation to uncover the owners, sponsors and brains behind the illegal refineries which have gravely affected air quality in the state.
“Some of the information we have indicates that we need to look beyond the artisans because they don’t own these illegal refineries.
“There are some big men; perhaps some politicians and big businessmen who are sitting somewhere and using the artisans to make money,” he said.
Chinda said that some of the owners of the illegal refineries might not be indigenes of the state or natives of the Niger Delta region.
Also speaking, Assemblyman Christian Ahiakwo, lawmaker representing Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Constituency 1 in Rivers House of Assembly, said the prevalence of black soot in the atmosphere could cause serious health challenges if efforts were made to address it.
He rejected the notion that illegal refineries and International Oil Companies (IOCs) were not those that triggered the lingering soot across the state.
“How come the IOCs have never raised an alarm, even when they see that pressures in their control rooms are rising – signifying that there is a theft case (at the oil pipelines)?
“From investigations, there are some people who are colluding with the producers of the kpo-fire (adulterated fuel and diesel),” he said.
Ahiakwo said that judging from the manner in which pipelines were opened and clamped; some unscrupulous experts were involved in the business of stealing oil from the pipelines.
He said that the security agencies should hunt down and prosecute such individuals, as part of efforts to address the growing menace of air pollution in the state.
The Africa Mini-grid Developers Association (AMDA) on Friday, April 13, 2018 announced its official establishment. The trade association – currently numbering 11 member companies including innovative start-ups and established utilities – aims to combine private sector innovation, efficiency, and customer service with public sector support to help end energy poverty across Africa.
An impression of a mini-grid solar system
AMDA is said to be the first trade association dedicated exclusively to the mini-grid industry, and is composed of developers operating AC mini-grids that ensure power reliability of at least 20 hours per day. The association also works closely with a variety of solution providers, including EPCs, hardware and software vendors and integrators.
AMDA currently has chapters in Kenya and Tanzania, where member companies have built 430 kilometres of transmission lines, and renewable generation to serve over 11,000 connections, including households, schools, health clinics, micro-enterprise and agriculture. AMDA, which plans to grow into a pan-African platform for private utilities, is in the process of setting up its next chapter in Nigeria, which will include seven additional local developers, and has so far received interest from three other countries.
“AMDA’s vision is to see 100% of Africa electrified before 2030, and this will require utilities to incorporate new and innovative technologies, with mini-grids playing a central role,“ said Jessica Stephens, AMDA’s Global Coordinator. “Mini-grids can deliver more connections per dollar, can be deployed more rapidly than traditional grid infrastructure and play an important role in stimulating local economic opportunities and creating jobs.”
By providing a unified voice for the industry, AMDA aims to partner with governments and utilities to build next generation grids based on the needs of both industry and communities. AMDA will share knowledge and feedback with policy-makers, regulators and investors, while also representing the voice of the customer, which is currently under-represented on the issue of energy access.
Near-term objectives of AMDA include:
Mobilise finance for mini-grids: working with donors, national governments and other stakeholders to develop a smart Results Based Financing (RBF) fund to support scale-up of mini-grids, as well as finding ways to unlock lower-cost debt capital
Equalise public-private incentives: achieving a level playing field, both regulatory and financial, for mini-grids that is on par with other grid-based solutions;
Make Integrated planning the norm: establish national grid integration frameworks that are inclusive of mini-grids;
Better inform market support activities: highlighting useful areas for public interventions and providing market information to organisations funding R&D and innovation;
Unify and expand voice of the sector across Africa: grow the number of members to at least 25 developers across seven countries by the end of 2018, with a longer-term goal of representing all private sector developers across the continent. The next chapter is expected in Nigeria, with the goal of adding Ethiopia and Uganda by the end of 2018.
AMDA is supported by the Shell Foundation, the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development (DfID).
“Mini-grids offer the quickest, most cost-effective way to bring 24-hour power to large parts of Africa, while other areas will be better served by standalone home systems or national grid extension,” said Richard Gomes, Director, Market Development at Shell Foundation. “Unlocking public and private capital to accelerate the growth of this sector is therefore critical to meet the continent’s energy needs. We believe AMDA will help facilitate this by providing an aligned industry viewpoint, accurate market information and technical support for investors and policy-makers that is missing in today’s market.”
Amadou Hott, the African Development Bank’s Vice-President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, said: “Green mini-grids are an essential part of the bank’s New Deal for Energy, 2 which envisions 75 million new connections coming from distributed energy solutions. Through our various initiatives, including the Green Mini-Grid Market Development Programme, the AfDB looks forward to working closely with AMDA to create the necessary conditions for scaling the sector, and energy access, across Africa.”
“Rural electrification is successful when the needs of remote communities are fully integrated into energy access solutions,” said Prosper Magali, Director, Projects and Business Development at Ensol. “The members of AMDA are committed to partnering with these communities to not only provide the safest, most reliable and highest quality service, but to ensure a low-carbon future that builds economic opportunity, resilience, and gender equity.”
The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that mini-grids are a $190 billion investment opportunity between now and 2030, also noting that mini-grids and other distributed renewable solutions are the least cost option for three-quarters of all new connections needed in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 600 million people still lack basic electricity.
Climate change is a grave threat to Africa and any development gains the continent has made, but ambitious action and investment in response could hold tremendous opportunities.
High-level ministerial delegation at the Africa Climate Week in Nairobi, Kenya
This is the message heard at the High-level session of Africa Climate Week in Nairobi, Kenya, where African policymakers, climate change officials and a broad swath of private and public sector representatives are gathered to address climate change.
“Nations are far away from the level of commitment needed to achieve the Paris Agreement‘s goal of limiting temperature rise to 2 degree Celsius, let alone 1.5 degrees, and countries in Africa are among the hardest hit,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa. “We need to invest in ambitious, integrated strategies and programmes in all sectors to turn Africa’s grave threat into a sustainable development opportunity.”
Nations agreed in Paris, France, in 2015 to limit global temperature rise to 2 degree Celsius and strive for a safer 1.5-degree limit. However, commitments made to date, described in countries’ nationally determined contributions, are far from the 2-degree target.
“Africa sees and is sadly witnessing the grave danger posed by climate change,” said Keriako Tobiko, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Kenya. “We can’t be scared into inaction, but must rally with investment, ideas and ambition that can turn calamity into development opportunities.”
The meetings, workshops and networking of private and public sector actors and high-level policymakers at the at the first Africa Climate Week are intended to spur climate action on the ground in key sectors, for example energy, agriculture and human settlements.
How to mobilise the vast investment needed to tackle climate change, through market-based approaches and targeted finance, will receive special attention in Climate Week’s cornerstone event, the 10th Africa Carbon Forum.
Another important outcome of Africa Climate Week will be its harvesting of views for consideration in the official climate negotiation process, as part of the year-long Talanoa Dialogue launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, last November.
“Countries made an historic agreement in Paris in 2015. The work now is on implementation, to limit warming, foster climate resilience, and align global finance flows with a pathway towards climate-neutral, sustainable development,” said Tomasz Chruszczow, a Champion of the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action and Special Envoy for Climate Change, Ministry of Environment, Poland, in urging participants at Africa Climate Week to grasp the opportunity offered by the Talanoa Dialogue to inform and shape the international response to climate change.
Africa Climate Week is hosted and supported by the Government of Kenya and organised by the Nairobi Framework Partnership, together with Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority.
A team of scientists from the Kenya Markets Trust (KMT) on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 shared all the key research findings of four different thematic studies conducted in Kenya under the Pathways to Resilience in Semi-Arid Economies (PRISE) project.
Arid land in Kenya
“The Kenya government is now focusing on the “Big Four” agenda aimed at improving livelihoods, creating jobs and growing the economy by focusing on critical areas of the economy in the next five years,” noted Kamau Kuria, the head of KMT.
“It is noteworthy that part of the PRISE study, which aimed at strengthening the understanding and knowledge of decision makers on the threats and opportunities that semi-arid economies face in relation to climate change, will go a long way in helping unlock the potential of semi-arid lands in Kenya and thus enhance their contribution to the national agenda,” he told delegates drawn from Kenya, Senegal, International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Overseas Development Institute (ODI) during the event to disseminate key research findings in a Nairobi Hotel.
The study, which was commissioned by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Canada and the UK based Department for International Development (DFID) aims at supporting climate resilient economic development in partner countries by identifying opportunities for adaptation that are also opportunities for investment by the public and private sectors.
“These findings from Kenya will help change the narrative in semi-arid areas,” said Dr Eva Ludifrom the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), which is coordinating the PRISE project at a global level.
According to Dr Evans Kitui of IDRC, direct involvement of government officials both at the county and the national level is a pointer towards implementation of policies that will emanate from the four studies. “In the past, research has not been well appreciated. But now, we can see a lot of government participation,” he said.
One of the studies found that, in the past 50 years, temperatures have risen in all the 21 semi-arid counties in Kenya, with five of them recording an increase of more than 1.5oC increase. They include Turkana (1.8oC), West Pokot, ElgeyoMarakwet (1.91oC), Baringo (1.8oC), Laikipia (1.59oC) and Narok (1.75oC).
This, according to Dr Mohammed Said, one of the lead researchers, has impacted greatly on livestock survival, on one hand presenting a disaster, and on the other hand providing an opportunity that can be exploited.
“There were winners and losers,” he told delegates at the forum. “Generally, cattle do not survive the higher temperatures, while at the same time, sheep and goat population increased exponentially,” said Dr Said.
According to the study, whose theme was to harness opportunities for climate-resilient economic development in semi-arid lands and identifying the potential for economic transformation and diversification in semi-arid lands especially in the beef value chain, the overall population of cattle in all the semi-arid counties reduced by more than 26% between the year 1977 and 2016.
However, the study also reveals that goats and sheep population increased tremendously by 76% in the same period, with camels’ population increased by 14%. “This shows that goats, sheep and camels enjoyed the higher temperatures while cattle could not survive the stress,” said Dr Said.
“We’ve seen great potential for implementing some of the adaptation options and I call upon the stakeholders gathered here today, to pull together so we can build resilience and open up the ASALs for trade, investments and better livelihoods,” said Kuria of KMT.
In Nyeri County for example, Dr James Gakuo began with buying severely emaciated cattle for fattening at his farm in Kiganjo through intensive system of beef production that focuses on feeding cattle for 90 days on concentrate feeds till they reach the desired weight for the market, thereby creating a market for such animals that would otherwise have died.
In just two years, 14 other farmers have followed into his footsteps, and are in the business of fattening emaciated cattle thus providing more market to pastoralists who are hardly hit by tough climatic conditions.
Another study looked at the land tenure with special focus on Maasai pastoralist community in Kajiado County.
The study found out that 64 percent of the entire Kajiado County is now private land that is not open for grazing. “Though this has provided opportunity because privatisation can always lead to greater investment opportunities for those who can secure land, it marginalizes the poor and particularly women in the process,” said Dr Stephen Moiko, one of the lead researchers.
According to Dr Eva Ludi of ODI, these findings will be presented at the Talanoa Dialogue in Bonn, Germany come May 2018.
The purpose of the Talanoa Dialogue is for parties to share climate change related stories, build empathy and to make wise decisions for the collective good.
According to Dr Said, county governments should also take advantage of the research findings and scenario projections to develop their spatial plans.
“These findings will be important in formulation of new policies and strategies such as the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP 2018-2022), the National Wildlife Conservation and Management Strategy, and the County Development Integrated Plans (CIDPs),” said Joseph Muhwanga, the PRISE project National Coordinator in Kenya.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed a $200 million Soft Commodity Finance Facility agreement with the Export Trading Group.
Josephine Ngure, AfDB Director General for the Southern Africa Region
According to a statement from the bank on Thursday, April 12, 2018, the facility, which will benefit 17 African countries, comes as part of its strong commitment to promote agriculture in Africa.
The AfDB said the facility was structured to run as two successive loans of $100 million each with a tenure of up to two years.
The bank said it was aimed at helping local farmers and soft commodity manufacturers to produce quality goods that could be exported.
“The intervention will help local farmers and soft commodity suppliers grow their revenues and produce quality crops for export.
“Specifically, the facility will be used to finance the procurement of identified agricultural commodities from over 600,000 farmers.
“Upon purchase of the soft commodities, the SCFF will provide working capital to ETC thus enabling the company engage in processing of the soft commodities such as cashew nuts prior to export.
“The SCFF will also provide funding to procure farm inputs to be supplied to farmers so as to ensure consistency and quality of the commodities being supplied to ETC.
“This Trade Finance intervention along the agricultural value chain will enable the Bank to reach many small-scale farmers indirectly through ETC,’’ the bank said.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ms Josephine Ngure, AfDB Director General for the Southern Africa Region, said the facility would contribute to improving food production in Africa and also add value to it.
“The facility would also contribute to smallholder farmers’ access to inputs like seeds and fertilizers, mechanisation and access to international markets thereby ensuring significant revenues to farmers.
“It will also lead to sustainable process of economic growth and development; regional integration by developing sustainable platforms to supply local and regional markets.
“Lastly, it also has strong gender and youth impact as agriculture employs significant numbers of mostly youths and women,” Ngure said.
Originally established in Kenya in 1967, ETC’s operations connect commodities sourced from the local economies to the broader marketplace and emerging markets to each other and the world.
ETC’s principal activities include: farm inputs and farm implements, processing of agricultural commodities and distribution.
ETC promotes agribusiness in countries where agriculture is, on the average, the biggest employer, providing in excess of 70 per cent of total employment and 77 per cent of all women’s jobs.
The Federal Ministry of Water Resources has called on the private sector to invest in activities of the river basins to enable the country meet its food security target.
Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources
The Director, River Basin Operations and Inspectorate, Mr John Ochigbo, made this call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday, April 12, 2018.
He said that government alone cannot meet the needs of agriculture because of insufficient financial resources.
Ochigbo also called for the removal of impediments to land ownership and acquisition by state government to reduce the challenges facing the river basins in the country.
“I want to use this opportunity to invite investors who are interested in this sector to come and join us, the government does not have sufficient funds to do it all alone, so we need the funds of the private sector to come into this business.
“It is a very lucrative business and I can assure them of their returns. We also call on the state governments to assist us in facilitating the release and acquisition of lands for farming in their various states.
“The honourable minister in the last one month did a presentation to the Economic council where all the governors were present and this appeal was also made for the governors to assist the ministry and the government to remove all encumbrances around land acquisition, so we can launch fully into this programme,” he said
The member representing Port Harcourt Constituency 1 in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Victoria Nyeche, says any development initiative that does not take the environment into consideration is unsustainable.
Victoria Nyeche
Nyeche, the founder of Go Green Movement, an environmental advocacy campaign organisation, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Wednesday, April 11, 2018.
She said that the only way to protect human life was to preserve, conserve and protect the environment.
“The NGO is about the green way of life, it’s an advocacy campaign trying to create environmental awareness because we believe that government should not just talk about development without considering the environment.
“There is need for people to think deeply about the action they take, we need to look at the natural resources that God has provided and use them in a sustainable way.
“That we don’t pay for air doesn’t mean we should pollute the air, that we have water in abundance doesn’t mean we should waste it,’’ she said.
According to Nyeche, the NGO is creating awareness on how people can develop their environment in a way that future generations can also benefit.
“We should not affect the environment in such a way that when you ask your children what a forest is, it become an abstract thing because they won’t get to see forests.
“We are making people know as individuals, NGOs and government, we have a duty to protect our environment and make it a household word that everybody will be a part of.
“So, when government spends so much money in Ministries of Health, Works and others, and appropriate little to Ministry of Environment, they are not actually thinking sustainability.
“A good example is the land reclamation that is going on at Nkpogu area of Port Harcourt without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
“At the end, it will cause flood and displace people and you just begin to wonder if the development is for the people or the people for the development,” the lawmaker said.
Nyeche, the only female legislator in Rivers Assembly, said that even in business, people must not ruin the environment.
“The full cost of a tree is not to cut it down to get timber; it also purifies the environment by taking off the carbon dioxide and providing us with oxygen.
“So, it sustains our life but people don’t even give a second thought when they cut down trees, they don’t consider the number of years it takes for a tree to grow,’’ she said.
Nyeche said the Go Green Movement has a nexus with her aspiration to vie for a seat in the Green Chambers of the National Assembly in 2019 to consolidate on her environmental campaign.
An International environmental researcher, Mr Balogun Oloruntoba, has charged Nigerians to be sensitive to the dangers posed to their health by carbon emissions and other agents of environmental pollution.
Carbon emission: The WHO says that, in one year, 46,750 persons died as a result of outdoor pollution in Nigeria
Balogun, who gave the charge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 in Abuja, urged the government to invest in reducing its effect.
He called on the Nigerian government to join other developed countries in stopping global warming through reducing carbon emissions to help protect the environment.
“Many developed and developing countries have been focusing on reducing carbon emissions to stop global warming which tends to be vital in protecting the environment.
“Global warming is the gradual increase in the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere accredited to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide and other air pollutants.
“The emissions causing this effect are greenhouse gases which are gases that are absorbed into the atmosphere which end up emitting radiations within the thermal infrared range.
“The major gas taken into consideration is the Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas which is emitted mostly by daily activities of humans such as the burning of materials, petrol and other fossil fuels, production of cement, cutting down trees and more.
“These acts are what lead to the world gradually becoming hotter in all regions.
“The imbalance in climate then causes natural disasters to occur in places that are not prone to disasters and cause extreme effects in prone regions,’’ he said.
Oloruntoba said that the Nigerian Government should create platforms for awareness and encourage Nigerians to take measures to stop global warming.
“It is important for Nigerians to be educated on this as I have realised that a good number of Nigerians have never heard about the concept of climate change or global warming.
“The government should sponsor the spread of global warming awareness and modes of improvement.
“Investing in renewable energy, recycling waste and preventing waste of resources are the major solutions to solving or managing global warming.
“It is important that we plant more trees and greenery around us instead of burning bushes and we should stop dumping waste into water bodies.
“Many people who are into gardening recycle their waste and trash by allowing it decompose in their soil which nourishes the soil and enables growth of plants.
“This sort of measures would help our environment immensely.’’
Often in the immense challenge of climate change, we focus on the immediate action that needs to happen. There is a good reason for this. Science says that we are running out of time to avert the worst impacts of climate change on people and on our planet.
Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UNFCCC
Yet as we take action before 2020, we have to keep an eye on the future. Our action today must be in service to the long-term goals agreed when the world first came together to address the climate challenge.
In the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, governments agreed a long-term objective of stabilising “greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.” This objective fundamentally guides Parties to the Convention as they engage in the intergovernmental process to address climate change.
This process has delivered important multilateral agreements towards this goal, such as the 2015 Paris Agreement, the Kyoto Protocol and more. These represent concrete actions and time frames to reduce emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. They also include cooperation on finance, technology, and capacity building with a view to increase efforts over time.
The Paris Agreement is a bold statement by the international community under the United Nations to transform the global economy. The goals enshrined in the agreement will only be achieved if we limit the impact that our power generation, production methods, agriculture and consumption patterns have on the climate system. The Agreement is itself a global strategy for the longer term that is defined by three aims:
First, limit the average global temperature rise to well below 2C above preindustrial levels and pursue efforts to limit this increase to 1.5C
Second, increase the ability to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change and foster climate-resilient and low greenhouse gas emissions development, in a manner that does not threaten food production.
Third, make financial flows consistent with a pathway toward low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.
This provides clear direction for long-term development. Science states that achieving the long-term temperature goal requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak by 2020 and reduced to zero this century. To limit warming to as close to 1.5C, this reduction to zero must take place around the year 2050. Given the link between economic activity, greenhouse gas emissions and the impacts of climate change, this is a signal to nations and non-state stakeholders alike.
The temperature goal reflects a vision of society we want for the future. It represents a transformation of our economic system where development is not hindered by negative impacts of climate change. Such a transformation compels us to rethink the way we produce, use, and consume energy. It requires innovation in how we manufacture and build, and new strategies to manage land and ecosystems.
To reach net-zero global net greenhouse gas emissions before the end of this century, we need to strike a balance between emissions from human development and the planet’s capacity to remove emissions through healthy, natural ecosystems and sound land management.
This transformation must be achieved over time but also in time. Policies need to be put in place now. Technologies need to be developed, matured, and deployed at scale. The practices and behaviours of all economic actors need to move ever faster toward low-emission and sustainable business and investment models.
From a national perspective, these strategies are fundamental. They inform short- and medium-term political and economic cycles, while providing political certainty for bold action in the real economy. At the same time, they provide the flexibility needed so countries can transform their economies without compromising their development and poverty eradication goals.
UN Climate Change is glad to collaborate with World Resources Institute and United Nations Development Programme to provide nations and stakeholders with a library of value resources to help develop long-term climate strategies and ensure they are successfully implemented. Find out more at www.longtermstrategies.org
UN Climate Change is committed to leverage our many years of multilateral cooperation to achieve a better future for humanity. It is how we can come together to meet the challenge of climate change.
By Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change
To help unlock economic growth, the African Development Bank (afDB) is coordinating the implementation of an integrated development strategy for Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa.
AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina with Portugal’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Teresa Ribeiro
In preparation for the rollout of this initiative, the bank and the Government of Portugal have signed an agreement to provide language training to African Development Bank staff interested in learning Portuguese, as well as professional conference translation services.
The language-learning cooperation agreement, signed by the Institute for Cooperation and the Portuguese Language (Camões – Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, I.P.) and the bank at the AfDB headquarters in Abidjan, also provides conditions for the translation and dissemination of the Bank’s standard project procurement and financial management documents into Portuguese.
“The Lusaphone countries are not one contiguous group. What we are talking about here has a cultural, linguistic, political and economic perspective. I believe Portugal will play a key role in bringing about greater integration,” AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina told the visiting Portuguese delegation led by Teresa Ribeiro, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.
“As a bank, we are committed to this. We are also delighted about the Portuguese training agreement we have signed,” Adesina said.
Teresa Ribeiro commended President Adesina for his vision and the bank’s support to Lusaphone countries. She welcomed the possibility of a compact that could respond to challenges facing the Portuguese-speaking countries.
“What we want to achieve with the African Development Bank is a very ambitious programme that responds to critical issues. The countries need the compact to enable investors,” she said.
As part of the Bank’s catalytic role, it is relying on the historical, cultural and language bonds that unite Africa’s Portuguese-speaking countries with Portugal and Brazil, to help stimulate greater economic ties, private-sector business growth and trade opportunities.
The Bank has also initiated a Compact for Development for the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) with the Government of Portugal to help unlock growth opportunities, develop the potential of untapped natural resources and create local capacity to design and manage projects.
The compact is expected to be signed at the bank’s Annual Meetings, taking place from May 21-25, 2018 in Busan, Korea.
President Adesina spoke about the planned introduction of de-risking instruments to help attract private investors to Portuguese-speaking African countries. He thanked the Government of Portugal for its support and for the deposit of its paid subscriptions to the African Development Fund, the bank’s concessional window.
The President stressed the crucial role the private sector could play in enhancing growth, and described the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) as the bank’s strategy to leverage capital, global pension funds, and capital funds to invest in Africa in a very smart way.
The bank is planning to have a special session for Lusaphone investors at the inaugural Africa Investment Forum, scheduled for November 7-9, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Adesina underscored the importance of the Portuguese Technical Cooperation Fund, which Portugal has put in place for the bank’s use. The Fund, he said, has been instrumental in enabling the Bank to provide technical support to Lusophone countries on the continent.
Countries under the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) of Africa include Angola, Cabo Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe.
