A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) has called on both the Federal and state governments to prioritise accountability in the implementation of policies affecting citizens.

This call was made during the inaugural Nigeria Accountability Summit held in Abuja, with the theme ‘Institutionalising Accountability for Effective Public Administration in Nigeria.’

Organised by prominent entities such as the Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI), BudgIT Foundation, Connected Development (CODE), Dataphyte, Agora Policy, Accountability Lab Nigeria, Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Step Up Nigeria, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), and Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation, the summit aimed to address concerns surrounding policy implementation.

At the event, Olusegun Elemo, the Executive Director at PLSI, emphasized the necessity of holding public administrators accountable for the successful execution of policies.

Elemo highlighted that following the election of the 7th consecutive civilian government in February 2023, both national and subnational governments have initiated policy implementations across various sectors, causing hardships for citizens.

“Therefore, it is important to make sure that policy actors are held accountable to ensure objectives of their policies are achieved to improve citizens’ welfare,” Elemo stressed

In its official communique, the summit called upon the government to empower oversight mechanisms by strengthening regulators and oversight bodies.

Additionally, it urged the enhancement of the legal framework through action plans to improve the justice system’s capacity, including court efficiency, legal procedures, and timely dispute resolution.

The CSOs further advocated for the government to embrace tech-enabled civic engagement and digitize government processes, emphasizing that this would enhance accessibility and transparency.

They also pressed for the creation of sound policies addressing specific challenges, focusing on transparent tax classifications and the removal of small, burdensome taxes. The summit suggested establishing a clear threshold for taxpayers to enhance fiscal transparency.

As citizens grapple with the impact of implemented policies, the call for accountability resonates as a crucial factor in ensuring the well-being and satisfaction of the Nigerian populace.

Source : Business Day

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ABUJA — The Federal Government has taken steps to expedite local vaccine manufacturing and halt its importation.

To achieve this,  government has reviewed and validated the draft national plan for vaccine research and development in the country.

The plan, which was developed in 2021, is the first of its kind in Africa and highlights roles of relevant stakeholders in the vaccine landscape.

This was the fallout of a meeting organised by the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, NIPRD, in Abuja, weekend.

Speaking at the review and validation meeting, the  Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed that the efforts of the Federal Government over the years to commence local vaccines production was already yielding the expected results.

Represented by Dr. David Atuwo, the minister noted that the review and validation meeting was timely because it provided critical stakeholders and policymakers the opportunity to address critical healthcare issues, as well as enhance entry of the pharmaceutical sector into the larger African market.

The review and validation of the draft roadmap, the minister stressed, would fast-track the achievement of the  vaccine policy objectives of the federal government.

“With this initiative, I am confident that the government prioritization as regards local vaccine production will begin to yield the desired result within the shortest possible time, and the reliance on importation of this important public health tool will be drastically reduced.

“The Federal Ministry of Health and Social  Welfare will continue to provide the necessary oversight and work with NIPRD, partners and stakeholders at the various levels to ensure that the desired results of sustainable vaccine R&D and local production in Nigeria are achieved,” he said.

‘Progress made’

Speaking on the government’s level of preparation to kick-start local vaccine manufacturing, the minister said: “Despite the various challenges militating against local production of vaccines, I want to state that appreciable progress has been achieved in these past few years.:

“Nigeria has recently attained Maturity Level Three (ML3) for regulatory oversight and this includes the area of vaccines.

“With this and other ongoing reforms in the health sector, vaccines produced as a result of this process will not only satisfy national needs, but will also be available for international procurement.

“Whilst the government is taking steps to provide the needed infrastructure requisite for the implementation of local vaccines’ production, it is commendable that NIPRD, in line with its mandate, continues to set the pace for responsive innovation in this area.

“This high-level meeting is intended to bring together relevant stakeholders in order to synthesize ideas and solutions for a robust and contextual base plan to achieve sustainable local manufacturing of vaccines in Nigeria.

“This approach will provide a strong foundation that is underpinned by empirical evidence. The adoption of this bottom-up strategy in developing this plan ensures that innovative ideas embedded in this framework are designed to stimulate local vaccines R&D and vaccines production in Nigeria.”

In his remarks, the Director General of NIPRD, Dr. Obi Adigwe, explained that the meeting was the first step to unlocking the health value chain plan which would not only save lives but also address critical socio-economic indices, such as job creation, capacity building, revenue generation and technology transfer.

Dr Adigwe, however, stressed that Africa no more cherished what he described as tokenistic interventions such as fill-finish products.

“Africa no longer has an interest in tokenistic interventions such as fill-finish products, but has become interested in building dependable, equitable, and veracious partnerships that will enable the Continent to undertake full R&D for the production of vaccines,” he stressed.

Source : Vanguard

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It is decision time for Rishi Sunak. Perhaps as early as this week, the Government could put forward its plans for finally getting the Rwanda scheme off the ground and deporting illegal migrants to the east African country.

The Rwanda plan is not perfect: in particular, it would only entail a limited number of deportations. But there is no way in which the numbers crossing the Channel can be seriously reduced without a credible deterrent, and the Prime Minister has made stopping the boats one of his core pledges to the public. He cannot afford to betray the voters on this now.

The Government is understood to be considering a range of proposals for counteracting the criticisms made of the policy by the Supreme Court, which ruled it unlawful last month. A Bill is expected to be introduced that will declare Rwanda safe for asylum seekers and enshrine in law a new treaty with the country.

But on whether to go further, ministers are split. Some favour merely disapplying the UK Human Rights Act in asylum claims. Others fear that this would not go far enough. Conservative backbenchers such as Sir Bill Cash who writes in this paper today, argue that a full-fat alternative, including “notwithstanding” clauses, would remove the right of judicial review.

This could permit the Government to ignore the European Convention on Human Rights without leaving it. Alegally sound Bill may also have to account for a much wider range of treaties which underpin the principle of non-refoulement, perhaps including the 1984 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the 1966 UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

There is some disquiet over whether this latter option, even if it only focuses on the ECHR, would get through Parliament, principally because of opposition in the House of Lords, but also because of a rump of Conservative MPs who have set their faces against their own voters. The Prime Minister cannot allow the defeatism or cowardice of some of his Tory colleagues to get in the way of ending this scandal.

The thousands of migrants entering the country illegally every year are infuriating the public, and potentially constitute a security threat given that we do not know who they are. But the fact that outdated international conventions can stop our representatives from doing what they were elected to do also threatens to undermine faith in democracy itself.

The Prime Minister needs to take a similarly hard-headed approach to legal migration. The current numbers are making a mockery of the promise inherent in Brexit that Britain would once again have control over its borders.

Mr Sunak should not be afraid of a fight on migration – illegal or legal. A semi-skimmed version of the Rwanda plan will not be enough. It would only confirm to the voters that the Government, too terrified of offending bien pensant opinion, is not serious about stopping the boats.

Source : Yahoo

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James Cleverly has said he is frustrated with the fixation on the government’s Rwanda policy, saying it is not the “be all and end all” of plans to tackle illegal immigration.

The home secretary, who replaced Suella Braverman after she was sacked almost a fortnight ago, told the Times he had become frustrated with the focus on the Rwanda plan.

“My frustration is that we have allowed the narrative to be created that this was the be all and end all,” he said.

“The mission is to stop the boats. That’s the promise to the British people. Never lose sight of the mission. There are multiple methods. Don’t fixate on the methods. Focus on the mission.”

The Rwanda scheme has faced a series of legal hurdles since it was first announced in 2020, the latest of which came on Cleverly’s second day as home secretary, when the policy was ruled unlawful by the supreme court.

Despite the setbacks, the government has not dropped the idea.

Rishi Sunak has refused to rule out leaving the European convention on human rights (ECHR) and he is thought to be considering using emergency legislation to opt out of the convention on asylum cases in an effort to force through the Rwanda scheme.

While it was a UK court that dealt the latest legal blow to the legislation, Sunak’s Tories are keen to ensure the ECHR, and the European court of human rights that rules on it, will not prevent the policy being implemented.

The new home secretary struck a more measured tone on the ECHR in contrast to his predecessor. “My argument has always been that we need to modernise, update and reform,” he said.

“What some people, I fear, do is jump to their preferred solution and hang on to that really, really tightly and say this cannot be the right answer unless you do a particular thing.

“I do not want to do anything that might undermine the key cooperation we have with countries [who] are very wedded to the ECHR for understandable reasons.

“Nothing is cost free. Everything needs to be considered, the advantages and disadvantages.”

Net migration to the UK reached a record 745,000 in the year to December 2022, according to revised estimates published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday.

The data places migration levels at three times higher than before Brexit, despite a Conservative party 2019 manifesto pledge to bring overall numbers down.

Sunak is under pressure from Conservative MPs angered by the latest data on legal net migration. The former prime minister Boris Johnson became the latest Tory to pile pressure on the prime minister to act on immigration on Friday.

He said in his Daily Mail column the figures were “way, way too big” and that the minimum income for most migrant workers coming to the UK should rise to £40,000.

Senior Conservatives have said Sunak risks ripping up the Northern Ireland peace process if he blocks human rights laws so the UK can deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. He is under increasing pressure from right-leaning MPs and ministers to close off legal avenues to asylum seekers who have successfully challenged their removal to Rwanda.

Source : The Guardian

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Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, condemned on Saturday the killings of civilians in Gaza, saying that they cannot be justified by Israel’s claim of self-defence. He also criticized Israel’s policy of collective punishment, targeting of civilians and forced displacement of Palestinians.

Shoukry spoke at a press conference with the foreign ministers of Jordan and the United States after the Arab-American ministerial meeting in Amman on the developments in the situation in Gaza. He called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and urged the international community to stop applying double standards to the Palestinian issue.

The foreign minister said that the number of civilian casualties in Gaza was unacceptable and demanded an immediate halt to the Israeli aggression. He reiterated Egypt’s firm rejection of any attempts to undermine the Palestinian cause or the rights of the Palestinian people.

He also stressed the need to revive the peace process based on the two-state solution and to launch an international investigation into the violations committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Shoukry said that Egypt was doing everything possible to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and to provide medical assistance to the wounded civilians. He added that Egypt faced many obstacles in its efforts, but would continue to work for the sake of peace and stability in the region.

He said that Egypt and the United States had many points of agreement on the need to stop the war and protect the civilians, and that Egypt would always cooperate with the United States on this matter.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi echoed Shoukry’s sentiments, saying that the war in Gaza was against all religions and human values. He said that the war crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip must stop and that Israel must not enjoy impunity from accountability.

He called for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the destruction caused by the war. He rejected Israel’s characterization of its actions as self-defense, saying that it would not bring security to Israel or peace to the region.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken affirmed on Saturday that the United States aimed to end the crisis in the Gaza Strip and to achieve a lasting peace in the region. He expressed his gratitude to Egypt and Jordan for their hard work on the two-state solution and their dedication to achieving a safer and more stable Middle East.

Blinken expressed his concern over the escalation in the West Bank and said that the United States condemned the violence and called for holding the perpetrators accountable. He said that the United States believed that the two-state solution was the best way to ensure the freedom and dignity of both peoples. He also said that the United States would take some practical steps to advance this goal.

He said that the humanitarian situation in Gaza was very critical and that the United States would work with its partners to ensure the delivery of aid to the Palestinians. He said that the status quo before the war was not sustainable and that the international community had a responsibility to create a new path for a better future. He said that the United States would intensify its efforts to achieve this objective.

US Secretary of State said: “The humanitarian pause is very important to get aid in to the Palestinians; to ensure that people move safely, buildings are rebuilt; and we will continue to work with our partners to ensure that aid gets in.”

Source : Daily News Egypt

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The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has announced that it will use all available monetary policy tools to maintain restrictive monetary conditions and reach the desired inflation rates. The MPC also stated that its key interest rates depend on expected inflation rates, not current inflation rates and that it will monitor the economic developments and the risks surrounding inflation expectations.

The CBE has set its inflation targets at 7% (±2%) on average in the fourth quarter of 2024 and 5% (±2%) on average in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The MPC decided to keep the CBE’s basic interest rates unchanged at 19.25% for deposits, 20.25% for lending, and 19.75% for the credit and discount rates and the main operation of the CBE. The decision was made last Thursday, amid rising global commodity prices, especially energy prices, due to the geopolitical tensions in the region. The MPC noted that global inflationary pressures have decreased recently as a result of the tight monetary policies adopted by many major economies, as well as the positive impact of the base year. However, global inflation expectations remained above the target rates for those countries.

The MPC also pointed out that the restrictive monetary policies, along with the high degree of uncertainty caused by the recent geopolitical tensions, contributed to lower global economic growth expectations compared to the previous MPC meeting.

On the domestic front, the MPC said that the real GDP growth rate stayed at 3.9% in the first quarter of 2023, the same as the fourth quarter of 2022. The MPC explained that the economic activity in the first quarter of 2023 was driven by the positive contribution of consumption and net exports. The MPC added that net exports have been the main support for growth since the first quarter of 2022, in line with the exchange rate developments. The MPC expects the GDP growth rate to slow down in the fiscal year 2022/2023 compared to the previous fiscal year, which recorded 6.7%.

“Preliminary indicators for the third quarter of 2023 reflect general stability in economic activity compared to the second quarter of 2023,” it added.

The MPC also said that the unemployment rate decreased to 7.0% in the second quarter of 2023, compared to 7.1% in the previous quarter, mainly due to the increase in the number of workers at a faster pace than the increase in the labor force.

The MPC said that, as expected, the annual urban inflation rate continued to rise, reaching 38% in September 2023, driven by an increase in food inflation, while non-food inflation slowed down. The MPC attributed the rise in food inflation for the third month in a row to the continued increase in the prices of fresh vegetables and fruits, unlike the previous months, which were affected by the increase in the prices of basic food commodities.

According to the committee, the monthly changes for each of the previous three months ending in September 2023 reflected the impact of unfavourable climatic conditions that contributed to an increase in the amount of seasonal rise in prices of agricultural products, noting that the annual rate of core inflation witnessed a slowdown for the third month in a row to record 39.7% in September 2023, compared to 40.4% in August 2023.

The MPC explained that in light of the above, it decided to keep the CBE’s basic interest rates unchanged, stressing that it will continue to evaluate the impact of the restrictive monetary policy that was taken and its impact on the economy, according to the data to be received during the coming period.

Source : Daily News Egypt

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JOHANNESBURG — The annual summit of the African Growth and Opportunity Act — a program that has provided eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the U.S. economy since 2000 — wrapped up in South Africa on Saturday.

Under AGOA, total goods imports into the United States were worth about $10 billion in 2022, compared with $6.8 billion in 2021. African leaders are asking the U.S. Congress to renew the trade policy for another 10 years or more before it expires in 2025.

To be eligible for AGOA, nations must respect the rule of law and protect human rights. On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden said four countries would be dropped from AGOA: Niger and Gabon for coup d’etats, and the Central African Republic and Uganda for human rights violations.

On Saturday, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai sat down with several reporters to answer questions about AGOA’s future. The following transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity:

VOA: China is Africa’s largest trade partner; how can the U.S. compete and how do the two countries’ approaches to trade with Africa differ?

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai: Let me start … with what the basis for our relationship is, which is that the U.S. partnership with the countries of Africa is inherently valuable vis-à-vis ourselves, first and foremost. Our historical ties, our people-to-people ties, the fact that the United States grew out of our own colonial past, there are so many points of shared cultural, historical narrative. That is the cornerstone of our partnership.

Beyond that, we look at the demographics of Africa. … By the year 2050, one in four human beings on this planet will be African. Then you look at the median age of the population in Africa and you compare it to the median age in different places and you realize that the future is Africa. The potential — human potential, the economic potential — of Africa, that is another reason why we know that charting our own path for the future necessarily involves partnership with Africa. So, there is the reason why we are here.

Separately, let me turn to your question on China. Yes, China’s footprint in the global economy in terms of trade is enormous. We know that; that is true in many of our conversations around the world. We feel very strongly that the type of partnership the United States brings and can bring is inherently different from what other partners bring and that is why we are focused on enhancing and building on a U.S. partnership with Africa.

Tai addressed other reporters’ questions regarding the U.S. relationship with countries in Africa.

Q: Yesterday, a representative of an African country told me ‘We don’t want Western democracy imposed on Africa.’ How do you cope with this?

Tai: Obviously there’s not just one form of democracy, we all have our versions of democracy. But broadly speaking, I think when we talk about democracy, you break it down, it’s about a system of government where the people have the right and power to select their government. … I don’t think AGOA dictates the specific kind of democracy, I think the way that I have phrased it is AGOA is set up to support African solutions to the political and economic reforms that AGOA’s meant to encourage.

Q: How is the U.S. relationship with South Africa, owing to South Africa’s stance on the Ukraine crisis?

Tai: Now recall I’m the U.S. trade representative, so I am an economic policy team member. So let me focus on the U.S.-South Africa economic relationship. Let’s acknowledge that we live in a very complex world that is only becoming more complicated. That said, I think that the relationship overall, and the relationships on a more human level, are strong, on the economic side, which is where my competency lies. …

We all need to figure out how to navigate this complex world, and I have a high degree of confidence, at least on the economic side, that we have managed to navigate some choppy waters this year and that we will continue to do our best to do so. I think the South African government, on this trip, at this forum, has indicated the strength of its support for the economic relationship with the United States.

VOA: It has been a thorny issue, Africa wants to be developed, and as long as we continue to send raw materials outside of Africa, we are not going to learn the skills. What’s your view?

Tai: As I understand it, you’re talking about: How does Africa and the countries in Africa move up the value chain and industrialize? And I think that that is the challenge of economic development. We in the United States are focused also on a reindustrialization project, having gone through a period of deindustrialization, so it’s made for a period of very interesting conversations while I’ve been here.

I think that that is a tremendously important question that we all have to figure out. In my instincts, I feel convinced that as globalization evolves, because we see that it is needing to evolve … the next iteration of globalization should do a better job than this past one. … This next one has to involve a development program that looks at how we can more effectively partner between advanced economies and emerging economies to provide a win-win solution to development.

And I think that the basic principle is going to be, if you take President Biden’s outlook, that we’re trying to rebuild and reinvigorate our middle class, how through trade policy could we help each other build our middle classes?

How do we do it in a way that we’re not pitting our middle class against your middle class, our workers against your workers? How do we think more about trade being a complementary exercise as opposed to a cut-throat competition? … I have been really, really privileged to work with our partners on the African continent on how we solve that problem.

Q: We’ve heard, especially from Republican members of Congress, that they are going to want to look at enforcement of eligibility because some of them have said they don’t think the administration is doing a good job of implementing enforcement. So, what do you say to that?

Tai: I don’t know who exactly else they would like to suspend from AGOA, but there is an annual review process, it is a very rigorous process … a lot of deliberation goes into it and the calls are not easy.

Source : VOA News

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Climate change poses severe and multiple threats to Nigeria’s current and future development and should be taken more seriously by the Nigerian government and other critical stakeholders, a new report by Agora Policy, an Abuja-based think tank, has said.   

• “It is evident that climate change is not a marginal or peripheral issue that the government and the people of Nigeria can take lightly,” says the report titled “Climate Change and Socio-Economic Development in Nigeria,” which was released today in Abuja and was produced with the support of the MacArthur Foundation.  

The report acknowledges and details a plethora of climate-related initiatives, including policies, programmes and projects and even the 2021 climate change law put in place or undertaken by successive Nigerian governments but it claims that the potentials of these initiatives and interventions are undercut by the absence of commensurate action, lack of synergy and inadequate funding.  

According to the 84-page report, Nigeria, despite her relatively low emission profile, is already bearing the brunt of the effects of changes in climatic conditions and of adverse weather events but that the tolls could be significantly higher. 

Unless urgent and bold actions are taken, the report adds, Nigeria risks becoming one of the worst-affected countries by climate change, with grave implications for the country’s currently fragile economic, social and human development indicators.   

• “Climate change is compounding poverty challenges in Nigeria and impeding the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals,” adds the report. 
• “Climate change is already increasing hunger, poverty, disease-burden, migration, conflict and insecurity in Nigeria. It is damaging infrastructure, changing Nigeria’s coastlines, fueling desertification, producing water scarcity, facilitating erosion and resulting in the loss of revenue for states and the national government.” 

The report states that as at 2020 Nigeria losses at least $100 billion annually to the effects of climate change and the country may lose trillions of dollars in manufacturing, construction and oil and gas assets likely to become stranded as the world gravitates to a green economy.  

• “Nigeria risks becoming a stranded country,” the report asserts. “Climate change has the potential to further jeopardize Nigeria’s economic development and alter its geographical, social and political trajectory for decades.” 

The report highlights the different channels through which adverse effects of climate change could worsen in Nigeria and further compound the country’s developmental challenges.

Some of the highlighted areas include: projected 2.9- and 5.7-degree Celsius rise in temperature across different ecological zones in the country; increased occurrence of floods, droughts, erosion and rising sea levels; the likelihood that 75% of the delta could be lost; and further adverse effects on agricultural yields, food security, health burdens, water and energy sufficiency, peace and security, and adequacy and longevity of critical infrastructure.  

However, the report also identifies opportunities for Nigeria to address climate change while supporting economic growth and resilience.  

• “Climate change offers opportunities for economic competitiveness, energy security, and sustainable development,” states the report.
• “There are many climate-led opportunities that Nigeria can explore to enable rapid economic growth, create jobs for a rapidly growing youthful and urbanizing population, and address high levels of abject poverty and inequality through a just transition.” 

Urging Nigeria to consciously pursue a climate-compatible development agenda, the report recommended the following strategies to the country: investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency, promoting climate-smart agriculture, embracing green manufacturing, harnessing natural resources for adaptation, and enhancing disaster risk reduction systems. 

• “Leveraging climate action to pursue economic development in Nigeria is not only a viable but an essential strategy,” says the report.  
• “The global transition from a high-carbon economy to a low-carbon economy is already well underway and will produce winners and losers across the world.
• Whether Nigeria will swim or sink in the face of the transition will depend on its willingness to take urgent action now and re-align its national development strategies towards a low-carbon economic future.
• To transform climate change from a significant threat into an opportunity requires deliberate planning supported by immediate, bold and courageous action.” 

Other prescriptions made by the report for Nigeria include: strengthening national climate change framework; mainstreaming climate change into the country’s development process; building a climate-resilient and competitive economy; boosting adaptive capacities of communities in different ecological zones in the country; incentivizing investment in low-carbon industries; increasing public awareness about climate change; advocating for a fair and just energy transition; and pursuing a collaborative approach to low-carbon development.  

• “It is our hope that this report will further raise the policy profile of climate change issues in Nigeria and trigger the necessary actions on what is clearly an existential issue for our country,” says Waziri Adio, the founder of Agora Policy.
• “Climate change did not feature as a major issue in the 2023 general election, despite the significant challenges and opportunities it presents to the country.
• It has also not featured as a major priority of the new administration. This needs to change, and urgently too.”  

The release of the report will be followed by a policy conversation in Abuja on 22 November 2023, with the theme: “Nigeria, Climate Change and the Green Economy.”

The event will be organized with partners as part of the buildup to COP28 starting in UAE later this month.  

The report was put together by a team of four renowned experts: Professor Chukwumerije Okereke, director of the Centre for Climate and Development at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State; Professor Emmanuel Oladipo, a leading specialist on sustainable development, environment and climate change; Ms. Ifeoma Malo, co-founder of Clean Technology Hub and a development and governance expert; and Dr. Fola Aina, a development, peace and security expert.   

Produced with the support of the MacArthur Foundation, the report is the fifth policy paper commissioned by Agora Policy to contribute to national debate before, during and after the landmark 2023 elections in Nigeria. The other four reports focused on the state of the economy, security, gender and social inclusion, and transparency and accountability. 

Source : Naira Metrics

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Yemi Osinbajo, vice president of Nigeria, said Africa is poised to become the next frontier for investments, trade, and innovations, subject to sustaining reform momentum in the continent’s policy and regulatory regimes.

Speaking at the 2023 Ibrahim Governance Weekend underway in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, Osinbajo stressed that it is possible to unleash economic prosperity in Africa if governments accelerate reforms, restructure governance systems, and harness demographic dividends.

Osinbajo added that the secret to unlocking Africa’s huge potential lies in investing in education for the youth and reimagining key sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, energy, and financial services.

Kenya is hosting the 2023 Ibrahim Governance Weekend that has brought on board retired African presidents, senior officials, industry executives, heads of multilateral agencies, donors, civil society leaders, and scholars to discuss innovative ways to revitalize governance architecture in the continent.

Convened by Mo Ibrahim Foundation, a not-for-profit pan-African lobby founded by Sudanese-British entrepreneur and philanthropist, the three-day forum is expected to inject vitality into a new governance agenda for the continent that roots for fidelity to the rule of law, transparency, and inclusivity.

Africa has the potential to experience a significant post-pandemic economic rebound anchored on retooling economic policies, improved governance, and visionary political leadership, said Donald Kaberuka, former president of the African Development Bank.

According to Kaberuka, Africa’s greatest potential lies in its vast natural wealth like minerals and arable land, skilled youthful workforce, the embrace of democratic tenets, and ongoing economic reforms that are attracting foreign direct investments.

Kaberuka said Africa’s economic renaissance is in sight once the continent hastens diversification, invests in green manufacturing, and revamps crucial sectors like education and health.

He added that the African Continental Free Trade Area has the potential to convert the continent into a manufacturing and trading hub besides shielding countries from tremors in the global supply chains.

Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, African Union special envoy for food systems, emphasized that structural reforms, progressive leadership, and leveraging technology and innovations are key to realizing the continent’s growth and transformation agenda.

Mayaki said African nations should establish vibrant and resilient institutions of governance in their quest to tackle poverty, under-development, climate crisis, and conflicts. 

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