While there has been great social and economic progress across Africa, its economies have not kept pace with legitimate demands, including providing jobs to young people, said United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson at a high-level meeting of regional partners held today at Headquarters.
“Unemployment is not just an economic challenge. It is also a social, psychological and political one,” said Mr. Eliasson at the briefing by African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to Member States and the UN system.
The event, on The Role of Africa’s RECs in Consolidating Peace, Security, Governance and Development in the Context of Agenda 2063, was co-organized by the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, Read More
Mombasa — The Kenya Maritime Authority is in talks for a debt sale that would finance a commercial shipping line to tap into growth in a region preparing to become an oil exporter.
The bonds may be offered on the Nairobi Stock Exchange, director-general Nancy Karigithu said in an interview in the port city of Mombasa on September 30, without giving details. The regulator is trying to build capacity to take advantage of demand in East Africa, a region set to grow 6.6% this year, faster than the sub-Saharan African average, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Training marine engineers to international standards is very expensive and we have been Read More
Seeking to end the impasse at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), India and the US have directed their officials to ‘urgently’ start consultations with other WTO members to work out the next step.
India’s tough stand led to impasse in the WTO. New Delhi had decided not to ratify WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which is dear to the developed world, without any concrete movement in finding a permanent solution to its public food stock-holding issue for food security purposes.
“The leaders discussed their concerns about the current impasse in the WTO and its effect on the multilateral trading system, and directed their officials to consult urgently along with Read More
Zambia has the highest inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) among the 16 Landlocked Developing Countries in Africa, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
This is according to a statement released to the media by Zambia’s First Secretary for Press and Public Relations Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Chibaula Silwamba.
Speaking at a special event on facilitating the participation of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) in regional and global community value chain, UNCTAD New York Office chief Chantal Carpentier said FDI flows to LLDCs fell by 11 per cent in 2013, and that the Asian group of LLDCs experienced the largest fall in FDI flows of nearly Read More
China is viewed favorably in just half (19 of 38) of the nations surveyed excluding China itself. Beijing’s strongest supporters are in Asia – in Malaysia (81%) and Pakistan (81%) – and in the African nations of Kenya (78%), Senegal (77%) and Nigeria (76%).
There is also a high positive opinion of China in Latin American nations that have become large commodity exporters to Beijing, such as Venezuela (71%), Brazil (65%) and Chile (62%). This favorable opinion toward the People’s Republic is not shared everywhere, however. Only 28% of Germans and Italians and 37% of Americans hold a favorable view of China. But it is in Japan where, more than Read More
It is cold in the fish sorting room at the Seawork fish processing plant at Walvis Bay in Namibia.
Berta Kamwi is clad in Wellington boots, down jacket and rubber apron. With speed and precision, she runs her knife over a half-frozen hake removing its head and tail. It is evidently a job that brings her some satisfaction.
“I’m proud of what I’m doing here. I have experience of more than eight years in fishing industry. It’s how I’m paying the school fees for my kids and my accommodation,” she told DW.
Fish is one of Namibia’s most important exports. The country sells 373 thousand tons abroad every year, most of it Read More
China has provided $833,000 worth of equipment and medical supplies to Ghana to help its fight against the Ebola epidemic, in addition to provisions and aid to other suffering West African countries, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We are grateful to China for the leading role it is playing in the fight against Ebola in the sub-region,” Deputy Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson, who signed for Ghana, was quoted as saying by the news agency on Monday.
China’s aid to Ghana will include Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), beds and sanitizers among other essential supplies, according to Xinhua. China will also provide $1 million in funds, $2 million worth of grain and food, Read More
The US is planning a new staging area for unmanned drones in Niger. Attacks against terror groups will be carried out from the city of Agadez.
The road to Agadez is long and treacherous. The city lies in the middle of the Sahara, about 900 kilometers away from the capital city of Niger, Niamey. Yet Agadez is strategically important to the United States. The American government plans to build a drone base in the former caravan city from which it can strike against Islamist groups in the Sahel region.
Residents have mixed feelings about this idea. “American soldiers are helpful in the fight against the jihadists,” a passer-by in Agadez Read More
Lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have prompted a fresh wave of thinking. Africa needs a transformative developmental framework. However, a structural transformation agenda will require an adequate, predictable, sustainable and integrated financing mechanism geared towards financing developmental goals. Also, the continent must embark on reforms to capture currently unexplored or poorly managed resources. This includes curtailing illicit financial flows and rather transforming those funds into a powerful tool for enhancing domestic resource mobilization, as a way of furthering the continent’s development.
According to recent studies, from 1970 to 2008, Africa lost $854 billion to $1.8 trillion in illicit financial flows. The latest progress Read More
Sukuk, bonds adhering to the Islamic banking principles of risk-sharing, real asset financing and no interest, are becoming increasingly attractive to a number of sovereigns.
“Sukuk instruments are a natural fit for the African market and hold great potential amid unprecedented funding needs for infrastructure building across the continent,” Malaysia International Islamic Finance Centre (MIFC) said in a recent report, Islamic finance drives new development in Africa.MIFC reports that a total of $84.3 billion worth of infrastructure Sukuk have been issued by more than 10 countries between 2001 and 2013.
Sukuk, structured through the use of various Shari’ah principles such as Murabahah, Ijarah and Musharakah, is often viewed as a safe Read More