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The Power of the Rising Development Generation Africa
The Power of the Rising Development Generation Africa
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Private-Sector Investment Sought For Fight Against Climate Change
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“Private-sector investment, in addition to public-sector engagement, will be vital to effectively tackle climate change, participants of a symposium held to contribute to this year's G8 summit said Wednesday. The symposium, hosted by Japan's Finance Ministry…stressed the importance of the role of the private sector in the global fight against climate change. Jamal Saghir, Manager of Energy, Transport and Water Department at the World Bank, said that more than 85 percent of resources to mitigate the negative impact of climate change are expected to come from the private sector. To mobilize substantial private-sector capital, there is a need to reduce the risks and increase the perceived rewards of investing in clean energy, he said. …”


Meanwhile in related G8 news, Kyodo News reports that UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Secretary General Supachai Panitchpakdi in an interview on Tuesday “…urged Japan to exercise leadership in establishing an effective technology-sharing scheme at the upcoming G8 summit that can draw cooperation from emerging economies in tackling global warming. The former director general of the World Trade Organization also said developing nations' exports should not be stifled in the name of preventing global warming, rapping such moves by some industrialized nations as protectionist. The UNCTAD chief also voiced concern over excessive misgivings from the industrialized world about the development policies of emerging donors like China and India…”

March 28, 2008 | 2:49 PM Comments  0 comments

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Africa Utilises Only 4 Per Cent of Its Water Resources
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The president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Donald Kaberuka, has said that 340m Africans lack access to safe drinking water and almost 500 million lack access to improved sanitation facilities. He said this during when launching the First African Water Week (AWW-1) which opened in Tunis on Wednesday. The former Rwandan finance minister told more than 400 delegates at the conference that only 4% of Africa's annual renewable water resources had been developed for irrigation, water supply and hydro power use, compared to 70% to 90% in developed countries. He further said per capita water storage in Africa is less than 100 cubic metres compared to about 3,500 cubic metres in Europe and 6000 cubic metres in the US. "Without adequate amounts of water, of the right quality, there cannot be any meaningful progress in the socio-economic development of communities," Kaberuka observed, adding that of all development challenges facing communities in Africa, water was central and perhaps the most crucial.

The AWW-1, jointly organized by the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) and the African Development Bank, is taking place under the theme "Accelerating Water Security for Socio-Economic Development of Africa". The AMCOW is composed of all African ministers in charge of water. Rwanda is being represented by State Minister for Water and Mines, Prof. Munyanganizi Bikoro, and the Coordinator of the National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, Albert Yaramba. Prof. Bikoro was yesterday due to present a case study of Rwanda on the public-private partnership in scaling up investment on rural water and sanitation sector.

The chairman of the United Nations Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, His Royal Highness, Willen Alexander, the Prince of Orange, said the fundamental question for the First African Water Week should be finding ways to get Africa on track to meet its water supply and sanitation targets. "It is clear to me that many countries lack the capacity they need to reach the MDGs yet there are some countries that will not only meet but exceed their targets", said Willen Alexander. Yaramba toldYaramba told The New Times. that in 2002, only 41% of the Rwandan population had access to clean and safe water. "In order to achieve the MDGs target, we invested a lot in clean water supply initiatives and as of 2007, we had exceeded the required figure since our study indicated that 72% of the population already has access to clean and safe drinking water," he revealed.

He added that the Government was supporting the initiative such that the remaining 28% will also have access to clean water. "Evidently by 2015 we shall have reason to celebrate," Yaramba said confidently. Main deliberations of the First African Water Week will focus on lessons of world experiences on achieving water security, the challenges of water security and the sanitation gap and the infrastructure investment requirements to achieve desired water security. Participants will also discuss challenges of environmental and social impacts for water infrastructure and the roles of key stakeholders and the development of appropriate partnerships.

March 28, 2008 | 2:49 PM Comments  0 comments

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Donors React to Health Minister's Claim
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The group of 15 foreign donors who finance the Mozambican health service through the PROSAUDE programme on Thursday undertook to honour in full their promises of support, and even to increase their funding of health care, according to a report in Friday's issue of the independent newsheet "Mediafax". The group was reacting to accusations made on Monday by Health Minister Ivo Garrido. Speaking at the opening of a meeting of the Health Ministry's Coordinating Council, Garrido claimed that in 2007 donors did not disburse the promised funds on time, thus causing delays in a large number of programmes.



But, according to Neil Squires, counsellor for health in the Maputo office of the British Department for International Development (DFID), last year 14 of the 15 PROSAUDE partners disbursed "everything they had promised", and some even disbursed more than planned, thanks to the rise of the Euro and other currencies against the US dollar. The problem arises with the 15th partner, the Global Fund to Fight Malaria, Tuberculosis and AIDS. The group of donors said this was because the Health Ministry "failed to reach, as planned, some of the conditions laid down by the Global Fund".



Nonetheless, the donors stressed that all efforts are being made to ensure that this year all the money from the Global Fund will be disbursed on time. Squires added that a joint memorandum of understanding between the government and the donors is being concluded, which should guarantee a continual increase in funding, will remove conditionalities, and ensure that future funds are disbursed in good time.

March 28, 2008 | 2:36 PM Comments  0 comments

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Making Nigeria Africa's Business Hub
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All too soon we have arrived at yet another conference organised by the section on business law aimed at raising the standard of business law practice in Nigeria. The theme for this year's conference is law and development in a globalised economy. I have said it repeatedly that our aspirations as a country will only be fulfilled when we plug into the global economy. And one major instrument to achieve this is the law. A cursory look at the subjects slated for discussion will reveal that the commanding heights of businesses in Africa are infrastructural development and legal and regulatory issues, because these are the vehicles that translate otherwise mundane concepts into reality.



We can ask ourselves a few rhetorical questions, what if Nigeria had uninterrupted power supply, what if we had excellent highways, railways, transport systems, what if what if what if. The principle here is that development is driven by man and it is the ability of man to move in the easiest and quickest fashion from one location to another that impacts directly on the level of development any nation can achieve. Nigeria can be a business hub not only for this continent but for itself because if we had highways and railways linking one part of this country efficiently with another, it means business people at all levels can move their wares, themselves and create this extensive network and bee hive of activities that can guarantee growth. Yet in this busy atmosphere we dream of there must be order and that is where the law comes in. It is this link between law and development that this conference tries to establish. It is therefore not difficult to see why interest in this conference has gone well beyond these shores. Nigeria occupies a unique place in Africa and we must never shy away from the role to lead the continent.



When the SBL held the first conference in 2006, we knew immediately given the level of interest and attendance that there was hunger for knowledge in this country. Last year, we widened the horizon to include Africa and the hunger even became more severe and so this year, we have decided that we might as well go global. It is our firm intention to establish this conference as the best and most prestigious business law conference on this continent. At the time of writing this piece we have received nearly a hundred and fifty registrations from abroad and this of itself is a clear testimony of the high esteem in which we are held. We cannot therefore afford to devalue ourselves.



As I did on previous occasions, I encourage all Nigerian lawyers to attend and especially make a plea for senior lawyers especially from the well established law firms to sponsor juniors so that we can all begin to taste of this international standard that we so frequently talk about. Abuja 2008 will be a bee hive of intellectual feast, social interaction and business networking. As with the IBA there are a number of social activities that are lined up and many of these will showcase our rich cultural heritage. The famous play KURUNMI Play by Ola Rotimi will be one of the highlights of the social events. The chairman's dinner on the closing day will feature Afe, Atanda dance movement and band and Sammy Needle. What this tells you is that we all are in for a swell time. One last thing, don't forget to bring out the best your wardrobe has to offer because it is also an opportunity to show off to the world. And another final thing, remember to be good hosts to our foreign visitors, because this conference should also showcase our traditional African hospitality.



Henry Ekwuruke, DGAi

UMUAHIA, NIGERIA.