Business
AfDB Forum Strategises For Regional Economies
Some participants at the ongoing 47th yearly general meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Arusha, Tanzania, said on Wednesday that the demands of globalisation made it imperative for Africans to make their economies competitive.
The stakeholders, drawn from across the continent, emerging economies and global financial institutions, according to The Tide source, submitted that it was defeatist for Africans to blame others for the failure of their economies.
Also, the Coordinator, Community-Based Agricultural Development Programme, Jacob Vanco, has appealed to the Adamawa Government to pay the unsettled balance of N90.597 million counterpart funds.
Vanco, who made the appeal while speaking with newsmen in Yola, said that the funds would facilitate the smooth implementation of the programme scheduled to close in December 2012.
“I want to appeal to the state government and the beneficiary local governments to support the programme by paying their counterpart funds.
“Five of the nine beneficiary local government councils of Toungo, Girei, Hong, Madagali and Numan are to pay a total balance of N65.597 million.
“The state government also has arrears of N25 million covering from 2007 to 2011, having paid N19.218 million in 2006,” Vanco said.
The coordinator said that Jada, Maiha, Mubi South and Demsa councils had settled their payments totalling N6.756 million.
He explained that the programme, which commenced in 2006, was in operation in five states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna and Kwara.
According to him, the six-year programme which commenced in 2006 was supposed to have ended in 2011 but was extended by one year to December 2012.
AfDB was funding 81 per cent of the entire project, while the three tiers of government and the benefitting communities were expected to contribute three per cent, six per cent, 11 per cent and one per cent respectively, he added.
He noted that the programme was designed to contribute to national food security and increase access to rural infrastructure in the five participating states.
However, the Chairman at one of the seminars on emerging issues in African economies, Nkosana Moyo, described as disheartening, the usual conclusions that Africans don’t understand themselves, in spite of the accepted notion “we know what we want”.
Moyo, a former Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the AfDB, said African countries needed right policies that would make it more productive and competitive.
“We cannot depend on foreign investors to come in with everything. Investors always want to take an upper hand and we end up losing.
“Governments should concentrate on making the right policies to protect national and African interests, otherwise outsiders will go away with our wealth,” Moyo said.
Executive Chairman of Infotech Investment Group in Tanzania, Ali Mufuruki, said African governments could not justify the huge budget spent on policy formulation in the face of the sliding character of the continent’s economies.
Mufuruki explained that Africans should re-evaluate their approach to development programmes that would complement foreign investments.
On current trends in global trade, Mufuruki asked: “Are we ready to harvest the rising commodity prices or are we waiting for another lost opportunity?
“All policies we make must be based on empirical ground and not on perceptions by other people,” Mufuruki said, adding: “Africans haven’t prepared themselves for what is happening in the global economy.”
Director and Head of Global Market at the Standard Bank of South Africa, Terence Sibiya, said it was disappointing for primary commodities to still dominate Africans exports.
“We have to break this huge cycle and come up with innovative instruments to safeguard Africa’s interests if we are to eliminate poverty in this continent,” Sibiya said.
Njuguna Ndungu of Central Bank of Kenya, also called for the creation of strong institutions to lead the continent out of poverty and break Africa’s over dependence on aid.”
”Emerging issues have been with us for a very long time. We need to roll out public investment in an innovative way and develop intra-African trade.
“Poverty is a product of institutional failure. Have we changed the development paradigm? Ndungu asked.
AfDB organised the session to provide an overview of some of the significant forces that could shape Africa’s future.
It was also meant to explore critical public policy choices that could be taken at country and regional level.
Business
Food Vendors, Others Relocate To New Site At PH Airport
The raging controversy between the Port Harcourt International Airport Management and restaurants/canteen operators and theirallies over relocation has been brought under control, as the operators have commenced relocation to their structures at the new site.
Recall that there had been serious feud over a directive by the Manager of the airport, Mr. Michael Area, for food vendors and their allies to relocate to the new site.
They insisted that the new site was too distant and hence, would negatively affect patronage from customers, with possible loss.
They further also insisted that it wouldcost them much money to put up another structure, given the economic situation in the country, since the airport management did not build any structure for them, apart from providing the empty land they have to also pay for.
The situation had led to flexing of muscles, which made the Airport Manager to order for sealing of all shops, resulting in scarcity of food, as airport users could not find a place to eat, apart from the only Genesis fast food spot available.
As at last Friday, The Tide observed that most of the food vendors had transferred their structures to the new place, and had started doing business there already.
Meanwhile, customers have started settling down at the new location as they were seen patronising shops for foods and drinks, in spite of the distance.
Few of the remaining structures at the old site, The Tide further gathered, will also be removed as quickly as possible, and the owners are making efforts to get funds for the job to be done.
One of them, Mrs Aka Love explained that she was going to relocate to the new place before the end of March.
Currently, business activities at the old site have come to null, as the place which was usually a beehive of food, drinks and relaxation, has completely winded down.
By: Corlins Walter
Business
MOWCA Strengthens Maritime Crime Prevention
Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has stepped up interaction with the United States Government to lift restrictions placed on some member countries allegedly implicated in illicit shipping activities.
Adalikwu, who led a delegation from the MOWCA Secretariat to the US Embassy in Abidjan for a first leg of the strategic consultation aimed at promoting seamless participation of MOWCA countries in international trade within the global maritime space, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to the best ethical and lawful maritime practices.
Addressing the U.S Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, H.E Mrs Jessica Davis Ba, the MOWCA SG stated the organisation’s interest in promoting the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) code which aims at enhancing security of vessels and their ports of call.
He expressed the commitment of MOWCA in promoting environmentally friendly, safe and cost effective shipping without any encumbrance that may limit the economic potential of member countries.
Dr Adalikwu recalled that at the instance of the U.S. Department of State invitation, MOWCA participated in the 2023 Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) Conference in Larnaca, Cyprus, on February 28–March 1, 2023, and a virtual meeting held on June 6 2023, with Mrs Jennifer Chalmers, Officer in change of Counterproliferation Initiative.
He recalled The U.S. DOS willingness to support MOWCA’s effort for preventive maritime security through the establishment of the Center for Information and Communication (CINFOCOM) with the aim to ensure a maritime situational awareness domain within MOWCA’s member states’ waters.
He added that MOWCA under his watch is committed to training and retraining of maritime practitioners and experts to enhance the human capital capabilities of member states.
The CINFOCOM will help prevent transnational crimes committed at sea like sanctions evasion by North Korea and other state actors, who exploit poor enforcement due diligence by ship open registries to circumvent United Nations and U.S. trade restrictions.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
Nigeria’s Public Debt Hits N97.3trn – DMO
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has hinted that Nigeria’s public debt increased by 10.7 per cent from N87.87 trillion in the third quarter of last year, to N97.34 trillion as at December 31, 2023.
DMO, in an update data released last Friday, said the increase in the debt stock was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the Federal Government to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
The office noted that the N97.3 trillion public debt comprises of domestic debt of N59.12 trillion and external debt of N38.22 trillion. The sum of $3.5 billion was used to service external debt during the review period.
“Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as at December 31, 2023 was N97.34trillion or $108.229 billion. This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the 36 States Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“There was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for September, 2023, which was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the FGN to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 percent of the total public debt stock, while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for the balance of 39 percent.
“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 percent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 percent) or total of 63.79 percent which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional.
“Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and on-going efforts of the fiscal authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability”, DMO stated.
By: Corlins Walter
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