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South Africa halts orange exports to EU over fungal disease (Reuters)
South Africa, one of the world’s biggest citrus exporters, will voluntarily stop shipments of valencia oranges to the European Union (EU) from areas affected by a fungal disease, the citrus growers’ association said on Wednesday. The decision to halt exports to the EU comes after 10 incidents in which the fungal disease was detected on South African citrus, Citrus Growers’ Association (CGA) Chief Executive Justin Chadwick said in a statement. Chadwick said the voluntary decision was meant to safeguard South Africa’s long-term access to the EU, its biggest export market, which accounts for over 40% of orange shipments and 27% of soft citrus, according to South Africa’s National Agricultural Marketing Council.
“With a month left of the current export season, the CGA and the Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum boards have taken the decision to voluntarily close the export of Valencia oranges from Citrus Black Spot affected areas in South Africa to the EU starting from the 16th of September 2022,” Chadwick said.
The EU implemented new phytosanitary rules requiring enhanced cold treatment for orange imports from Africa, amid concerns over the False Coddling Moth (FCM), a pest which affects citrus fruit. The move disrupted shipments from South Africa, which initiated a dispute settlement case at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the matter.
The dispute was eventually settled after negotiations by the two parties, clearing 1,350 shipping containers of citrus fruit which had been stuck in EU ports for weeks.
Local french fry importers push back against anti-dumping tariff (Mail & Guardian)
Food importers and local manufacturers are lobbying against a heavy anti-dumping tariff imposed by the South African International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) on frozen french fries imported from Europe. According to Fred Hume, managing director of Hume International, one of the largest food importers in South Africa, the heavy import duties on products like frozen chips came about without doing due diligence and that ICAT made the call without consulting with the supply chain that the decision directly impacts. “We have been afforded [tariff] protection over the past decade, but the effects on us as importers in South Africa is that they have disrupted our supply chains numerous times,” said Hume.
French fry importers have asked the government to consider an approach similar to the poultry industry where anti-dumping duties were suspended for 12 months.
Why SA isn’t getting the growth it needs (BusinessLIVE)
The findings of the Covid Project — a series of independent papers commissioned from several of SA’s leading research economists — are alarming but not surprising. Overall, they paint a dismal picture of lost opportunities in a country that has failed to grow substantially for the past decade. While the research reinforces much of what is already known about the economy — that SA “is getting poorer and its people more desperate” — its main departure is to show that the country’s failure to grow faster stems from inappropriate or inadequate policy choices...
Why Kenya Pipeline is raising transport costs (Business Daily)
Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) will be handed more than Sh1.4 billion a year from the proposed transport, storage and handling tariffs of refined fuel, as it seeks more billions to build a new pipeline. KPC says that the cash will be used to build a new pipeline from Mombasa to Nairobi by December 2024 as the company races to meet increasing demand in the local and regional markets. Transport tariffs will rise to Sh3.87 per cubic metre for every kilometre in the year ending June 2023 from the current Sh3.56. This will further increase to Sh4.09 in the year to June 2024 and Sh4.06 a year later.
“We have lined up new investments. We are putting up a new line (Mombasa-Nairobi) and that is going to cost us quite a bit of capital,” Elizabeth Akinyi the Chief Planning Officer of KPC said on Wednesday when during a public participation forum for the proposed tariffs.
The estimated revenues will be higher given that the Sh1.352 billion is based on the annual throughput of KPC that was 7.6 million litres annually in the 2021/22.
Uganda farmers, millers seek ban on maize exports (The East African)
Ugandan farmers and millers are seeking a ban on the export of maize so as to retain husks used for the manufacture of animal feeds. Following the disruption of grain supplies from Ukraine and Russia in the wake of the Moscow invasion, countries in East Africa have been competing for the limited maize stock for consumption and producing animal feeds. The government estimates the country will produce about 2.5 million tonnes of maize this year, down by half, due to poor rainfall.
Agriculture Minister Frank Tumwebaze said the farmers and processors want the government to only allow the exportation of maize flour. “Their argument is that this would bring in more value and also make animal feeds available and cheaper,” he said. Mr Tumwebaze said the government would study the impact of such a ban.
Uganda: Members of Parliament pass Bill promoting local content (ZAWYA)
Parliament has passed the National Local Content Bill, 2022 intended to foster promotion of local content in all but the oil, gas and petroleum sector. Among others, the bill seeks to impose local content obligations on a person using public money or utilising Uganda’s natural resources or carrying out an activity requiring a licence to prioritise Ugandan citizens and resident companies owned by citizens in public procurement. Key among them being section 4 of the bill that tasks a local content entity to give preference to goods which are manufactured in Uganda as well as services which are provided my Ugandan entities.
“The bill is in conflict with the East African Monetary Union. Under Article 13 of the Customs Union Protocol, the [East African Community] EAC partner states agreed to remove all existing non-tariff barriers to trade and not to impose any new ones,” said President Yoweri Museveni in his letter to the Speaker.
“It is not feasible for one department to approve local content plans from bidders, for each individual procurement for the whole country,” the President further stated in his letter.
Increased value addition to spur manufacturing sector growth (Chroincle)
THE local manufacturing sector is expected to grow by 3,7 percent next year on the back of continued Government support as well as increased value addition and beneficiation, a Cabinet Minister said on Wednesday. Industry and Commerce Minister Sekai Nzenza said this while officially opening the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industry (CZI) annual congress in the capital. She said the Government had put in place various measures to stabilise the economy to create a conducive business environment, which had resulted in improved capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector from 47 percent in 2020 to 56,25 percent last year.
“Cognisance of the prevailing macroeconomic environment, the manufacturing sector is projected to grow at an average of 3,7 percent during 2023, on the back of value addition and beneficiation activities in the mining and agricultural sectors,” she said.
She urged the local industry to also tap into the Africa Continental Free Trade Area and other market access opportunities in the Sadc and Comesa regions, to increase capacity and enhance competitiveness in export markets.
FG must ramp up investment in transport, power infrastructure before N4 trillion subsidy removal (Nairametrics)
Nigeria’s petrol subsidy payments which gulped a whooping sum of N2.04 trillion between January and July 2022 to cushion the price effect on Nigerians is set to rise further to a little over N4 trillion. Removal of this welfare package will hit hard on Nigerians unless there is adequate investment in transportation and power, which Nigerians spend heavily on.
The N2.04 trillion subsidy payments in the review period, represents a N1.78 trillion variance from the prorated N258.25 billion budgeted by the federal government. This is contained in the NNPC presentation to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for the month of August 2022.
As a result of the huge subsidy payment, stated under-recovery of PMS or value shortfall, which is the cost of under-priced sales of petrol, Nigeria is now set for its biggest ever fiscal imbalance in history.
However, with petrol subsidy payment expected to quaff at least N4 trillion, increased debt servicing cost, and oil revenue still underperforming as a result of oil theft and under-production, the difference between revenue and expenditure in 2022 could just overshoot the previous year’s record.
Local Oil Refiners Seek CBN, NNPC’s Intervention to Address Funding, Feedstock Challenge (This Day)
Indigenous oil refiners under the aegis of Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) have appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to create crude refinery intervention fund similar to the agricultural credit fund or the pharmaceutical fund domiciled at the apex bank to drive effective business operations in the country. They also called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to consider taking equity or grant loans to modular refineries via the provision of reformer and other requirement units to ensure adequate production of petrol based on agreed offtake conditions.
Global Gateway: Inauguration of Maio port in Cabo Verde to boost connectivity and green growth (European Commission)
The Government of Cabo Verde, the European Union and the African Development Bank, with Team Europe members France, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the German development bank KfW, have inaugurated a modernised port on the island of Maio as part of a wider extension of port infrastructure across the archipelago aimed to boost the sustainable economic development of Cabo Verde. This port infrastructure forms an integral part of one of the strategic transport corridors in Africa the EU envisages to support. It is a clear demonstration of the sustainable investments in partner countries that the EU is scaling up under Global Gateway. The port will facilitate passenger and cargo transport along the strategic Praia–Dakar–Abidjan corridor and significantly increase the potential of the UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve island of Maio for environmentally friendly tourism and inclusive growth.
European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said: “Today marks an important milestone in improving transport links to the beautiful island of Maio and its unique ecosystem. In line with Global Gateway, this strategic investment in port infrastructure and its accompanying Team Europe support to public services, including environmental conservation, enable the local community to better tap into their potential for green growth. Cabo Verde will be able to welcome increasing numbers of tourists while maintaining the highest environmental and social standards that are so necessary to ensure long-lasting benefits.”
Dried mangos are juicing up Burkina Faso’s fruit exports (Trade for Development News)
Between March and July every year, fruit trees across Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, come alive with the delightful smells and colorful sights of mangos.
This heavenly delight is also big earthly business. Mangos account for more than half the fruit grown in the country where eight out of every 10 people live off agriculture.
The real value, however, is foreign exchange earnings from exporting the stuff to Europe, Asia, and neighboring countries. Fresh mangos are sinfully delicious but hard to transport to these export markets without losing freshness. Salvation lies in processed and dried mango products, which have been growing over the past decade.
Production of dried mango increased from 700 tons in 2014 to 3,800 tons in 2020, leading to a 50% increase in export revenue in that period. Aware of the premium on value-added exports, the government of Burkina Faso between 2014 and 2018 partnered with the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) to improve the drying and certification process of dried mangos for export. The project has been key to slowly but firmly pushing the country towards modernizing its agro-processing businesses – and juicing up its exports.
Exporting dried mangos is a profitable alternative to exporting fresh ones as the quality of the latter is often compromised during transport due to poor logistics, like lack of air cargos, or high costs of refrigerated containers. Drying also reduces post-harvest losses, which means more money for producers, processors, and exporters.
Exporting dried mangos also removes barriers associated with exporting fresh produce and ensures more control over the quality of the final product that customers buy.
Political interlude seen as major trade challenge (The Point)
Permanent Secretary Lamin Dampha at the Ministry of Trade, during an interview with this medium to shed light on this allegation, said people might perceive it differently. He, however, confirmed that “the frequency of changes of leadership in the ministry” citing that nine permanent secretaries and four ministers have been appointed at the Trade Ministry in six years.
PS Dampha points out that could be something one can interpret as worrying, saying there is a need to look into that. He added that stability in the ministry is important for the private sector and it sends a positive signal to the business community and potential investors. Meanwhile, another anonymous source told this medium that the government is not transparent when it comes to things relating to importation and exportation, saying this causes the change of leadership in many public places. “How do you expect the work to go smoothly when government politicians try to interrupt the work due to their own interests? In fact, if you change a leader in an institution and bring someone who knows nothing about trade, how do you expect that person to deliver,” he quizzed.
A source informed us that due to political interlude, The Gambia loses its standing at the United States Trade Representative, after being the 184th largest goods trading partner with $47 million in total (two way) goods trade during 2019. Goods exports totalled $45 million; goods imports totalled $2 million. The U.S. goods trade surplus with The Gambia was $43 million in 2019.
African trade and integration
The regional policy dialogue convened to discuss interventions that are necessary to build sustainable agri-food systems in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region has come up with key recommendations on the importance of trade, policy and investment in facilitating sustainable and resilient agri-food systems.
The dialogue has recommended that SADC and national governments should strengthen efforts to dismantle barriers to trade, enhance the participation of women and youths in agricultural value chains, strengthen the functioning of national agricultural research and development services through technology and soil health and fertility to deliver a strong and improved agrifood system.
During the opening session, Honourable Thoko Didiza, Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development of the Republic of South Africa, said that the dialogue was appropriate as the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in the Black Sea had brought about health and macro-economic risks to the African continent. The global food system needed urgent intervention from the African governments, the private sector, and various stakeholders to increase investment and spending in research and development, infrastructure, improved land governance, support to private sector investments and the effectiveness of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The required capacity includes the science and technology institutions and policy frameworks to build resilient food systems that provide healthy diets, build wealth for all and preserve the environment. Sustainable agri-food systems transformation would require interventions on food security, nutrition and health; socio-economics; territorial development and equity; and environmental sustainability.
US$ 20.2M approved by SADC for Twelve Southern African regional projects (Construction Review)
Twelve Southern African regional projects are set to benefit from US$ 20.2M approved by the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The projects were funding, which will cater for the preparation of the projects was approved through the Project Preparation and Development Facility (PPDF). The latter is a tool used by the SADC to fund regional development. According to the regional bloc, the projects involve the energy, transport, and water sectors. They are expected to generate infrastructure investments of at least US$3 billion. Moreover, they have a huge potential to unlock business opportunities throughout the infrastructure value chain.
These opportunities include consultation services, finance, construction, and equipment supply. In addition, they involve technology and skills, and also operations and maintenance.
EAC continues to witness high cost of food amidst Russia-Ukraine war (Garowe Online)
The purchasing power across the Eastern Africa Region continues to be affected by the fallout of the conflict in Ukraine among other factors. The price of a local food basket has increased by 49 percent over the past twelve months, with Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan continuing to record the most expensive food baskets in the region (USD 31.8, 27.3, and 26.5, respectively). Cereals and vegetable oils continued to push the cost of the food basket up, with Sudan recording a more than twofold increase in cereals prices since the conflict in Ukraine started.
A report by Reliefweb between July 2021 and July 2022, the cost of fuel went up by 62 percent, adding to economic hardship for people already struggling with high food prices.
The East African Community (EAC) on Wednesday kicked off its maiden mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at a meeting with a high level government delegation in Kinshasa. The objective of the EAC mission is to enhance the understanding of DRC Government officials on the commitments in the EAC integration pillars and the Community´s governing instruments.
DRC´s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen´Apala stated: “As a member of the EAC, DRC will enact legislations to ensure effective implementation of the provisions of the Treaty establishing the East African Community.”
The Vice Prime Minister said that DRC is committed to creating a conducive business environment through enacting laws and developing policies and programmes to facilitate intra-regional trade.
In his remarks, EAC Secretary General Hon (Dr.) Peter Mathuki said that with the accession of the DRC into the Community and subsequently the deposit of the instrument of ratification, DRC was now at liberty to participate in all EAC programmes and activities.
The Secretary General said that DRC´s entry into the bloc provides EAC Partner States with access to an additional market of approximately 81 million people providing a large market for trade.
The total EAC imports from DRC in 2020 amounted to $49.2 million and the EAC exports to DRC was $584 million in the same period, with the figure expected to increase. The major EAC imports from DRC include: wood, plants, seeds, fruits, re-melting scraps of iron or steel, and natural sands while the exports to DRC include: lime and cement, iron and steel, tobacco, beverages, spirits and vinegar, animal or vegetable fats and oils, fish, wheat gluten, sugar & confectionaries, plastics, and soap among other products.
Unlocking drone potential in East Africa’s aviation (Business Daily)
East Africa is projected to be one of the fastest-growing regions on the continent. Despite this development, its infrastructure ranks behind that of southern and western Africa across a range of indicators. The current gaps in infrastructure are vast, amounting to billions of dollars annually, providing a strong impetus to seek new generational complementary solutions that leverage the field of technology and innovation enabling solutions for travel, transport, security, and supply chains.
According to a study by the East African Business Council on the costs and benefits of open skies, liberalisation between Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda could result in an additional 46,320 jobs and $202.1 million per year in GDP. There is an opportunity to innovate so that the market is open even as technology continues to grow and play a larger role across consumers.
African nations developing air transport sharing mechanism (Defence Web)
African nations are looking at developing an Air Transport Sharing Mechanism to improve the African Union’s airlift capability, and a conference to this effect was recently concluded in Botswana. The conference took place in Kasane, Botswana, from 22 to 26 August during the 5th Liaison Officer Working Group hosted by US Air Forces Africa and the Botswana Defence Force.
“The ATSM [Air Transport Sharing Mechanism] aims to create a dependable, organized, readily-available, effective and efficient air transport operations system on the continent to carry persons and cargo in support of common national and regional peace and security requirements,” said US Air Force Major James Johnson, US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) southern Africa regional desk officer.
USAFE-AFAFRICA reported that the ATSM goal is to enhance the African Union’s strategic lift capability to include medical evacuation, non-combatant evacuation, and humanitarian action and natural disaster support through the Africa Air Mobility Command Centre (AAMCC), a multi-national African airlift unit under the authority of the African Union.
AfCFTA should to be given more support at COP27: Afreximbank President at Egypt-ICF (Daily News Egypt)
President and Chairperson of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Benedict Okey Oramah, emphasized that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a key solution that helps Africa strike a balance between climate action and sustainable development. Orama made his statements during his speech at the second edition of the Egypt-International Cooperation Forum (Egypt-ICF) 2022, which kicked off on Wednesday at the New Administrative Capital.
He noted that AfCFTA adjustment facility requires funding worth $8-10 billion, which will enable countries to adjust and offset significant tariff revenue losses as a result of the implementation of the continental free trade agreement.
Two months to the 27th global climate summit (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, African and other global leaders have rallied in Rotterdam, to highlight the urgency of climate adaptation funding for the continent. The meetings—co-convened by the President of the African Development Bank Group Dr Akinwumi Adesina, CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) Professor Patrick Verkooijen, and African Union Commission Chair Mousa Faki Mahamat—was unanimous about the need for concrete action and finance. Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and GCA Co-Chair said: “The world has a fever. It burns hotter and higher with every day that passes… Statistics tell us that Africa is where the fever is at its most intense and people at the most vulnerable.”
GCA Chief Executive Officer Patrick Verkooijen emphasized the disastrous impacts of climate change hitting all parts of the world. He said it is in Africa, however, that climate shocks will hit the hardest. He said Africa was resolute about its economic advancement and would not stop.
Adesina said: “The current climate financing architecture is not meeting the needs of Africa. New estimates by the African Economic Outlook of the African Development Bank show that Africa will need between 1.3 and 1.6 trillion dollars from 2020 to 2030, or $118 billion to $145 billion annually to implement its commitments to the Paris Agreement and its nationally determined contributions.”
The African Development Bank chief said the African Adaptation Acceleration Program’s upstream facility at the GCA had already helped to generate $3 billion of mainstreamed climate adaptation investments by the African Development Bank, from agriculture to energy, transport, water, and sanitation.
Representatives from across the continent gathered to share their experiences of implementing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) at the just-ended Africa Climate Week. They noted that partnerships and effectiveness in measuring, reporting and verifying greenhouse gas emissions would be key to African countries hitting their various targets.
Partners of the Africa Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) Hub hosted a session entitled Enabling faster and efficient NDC support through advocacy and partnerships.
UNECA’s Director for Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management, Mr. Jean-Paul Adams, said, “to be effective, NDCs needed to be integrated in national budgeting systems to receive funding from the national treasury.” Looking ahead to COP27 Adams said that Africa’s priorities should include a just and equitable transition, finance and resource mobilization through such instruments as debt for climate swaps.
The Deputy Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Africa Office, Dr. Richard Munang, said there was no one size fits all model. African countries should rather consider their own individual contexts and prioritize sectors in which they enjoy a comparative advantage. He also stressed the importance of tapping Africa’s youth dividend.
IMF Managing Director’s Remarks at the Global Center on Adaptation’s Africa Adaptation Summit (IMF)
The future of payments in Africa (McKinsey)
Human commerce has always sought more efficient mediums of exchange, and now this innovation is accelerating. The 21st century has witnessed dramatic shifts in how people pay for goods and services, with electronic payments increasingly displacing cash and, more recently, cryptocurrency and digital currencies emerging as alternatives to traditional conceptions of money.
Africa has kept pace with—and in some cases even led—this innovation, and an influx of new investments and regulatory shifts continues to shape the e-payments landscape on the continent. Although cash is still king in Africa, a McKinsey survey suggests that its supremacy is likely to be challenged in the coming years as e-payments gain momentum. With banks and nonbank players alike innovating to reduce friction in domestic and cross-border payments and deliver much-needed new solutions to consumers and businesses, Africa’s domestic e-payments market is expected to see revenues grow by approximately 20 percent per year, reaching around $40 billion by 2025, compared with about $200 billion in Latin America. By comparison, global payments revenue is projected to grow at 7 percent annually over the same period.
AfDB Enhances Private Sector Assistance to Central African Region (Liberian Daily Observer)
Following the announcement of an additional $5 billion to the African Development Bank’s Enhanced Private Sector Assistance (EPSA) program from the government of Japan, the Bank’s Central Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office is seeking to engage with private sector organizations from the region with economically viable projects for investment.
The announcement, made in Tunis during the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8), comprises $4 billion under EPSA 5 (2023-2025), and is complemented by $1 billion for a new special window to support African countries that undertake reforms to foster debt transparency and sustainability. EPSA 5 aims to address four key priorities: power, connectivity, health and agriculture, and nutrition.
Global economy
How digital connectivity facilitates inclusive global trade (UNCTAD)
UNCTAD has released a new compendium featuring the experiences of 22 countries participating in its Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) programme. ASYCUDA – UNCTAD’s largest technical assistance programme – supports customs authorities in over 100 countries to expedite the clearance of goods and ease trade. The report, the third edition in a series of ASYCUDA case studies, highlights the programme’s success in enabling digital connectivity for inclusive trade. See the 2020 and 2019 editions. “The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the digitization of trade processes and procedures,” said Shamika N. Sirimanne, director of technology and logistics at UNCTAD. “Country experiences during these trying times illustrate how ASYCUDA has helped user countries to grow their international trading activities as they reignite their economies,” Ms. Sirimanne added.
To harmonize and facilitate the integration and exchange of trade information, ASYCUDA is piloting ASYHUB, an open standardized platform for processing and integrating data between the programme and third-party systems. This solution will offer a smart framework to efficiently interconnect government systems and applications.
Digital trade spurs growth in Belt and Road partner countries (Xinhua)
The total added value of the digital economy in 47 major countries around the world hit 38.1 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021, with the scale of China’s digital economy hitting 7.1 trillion dollars, ranking second globally, according to a white paper on the global digital economy released in July by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.
“Digital trade, as an important component of the digital economy, is an important link connecting domestic and international digital markets,” said Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping.
Proposed by China in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) envisions trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes. To keep up with the digital transformation trends, the Digital Silk Road was launched. It is the technology dimension of the BRI, which extends from the ocean floor to outer space enabling artificial intelligence, big data applications and other strategic internet solutions.
As of July, China had established the Digital Silk Road cooperation mechanism with 16 countries, advanced the Silk Road E-commerce bilateral cooperation mechanism with 23 countries, and built 34 cross-border land cables and several international submarine cables with neighboring countries.
“The COVID-19 epidemic led to unprecedented supply chain disruptions,” said Zhang Xiangchen, deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), at the just concluded 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS). “However, it has also become a catalyst for businesses worldwide to significantly accelerate the supply of services through digital networks,” Zhang said. He noted that digitalization is fostering a new circle of innovation in services, which presents great opportunities for economic growth. “Global trade is constantly shaped and reshaped by technological innovations.”
China’s BRI is not just a debt trap but a trade trap too (Moneycontrol)
Opportunity for developed world to woo recipients of Chinese funds through active investments in productive value chains in these countries and make them a core part of the world economic engine
While speaking at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in mid-August, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi had a surprise. He announced that his country, by far the largest creditor to Africa, would forgive 23 interest-free loans to 17 African countries that had reached maturity but were not repaid.
Balance between economy, environment key to achieving prosperity (Antara News)
National Development Planning Minister and Head of the National Development Planning Agency Suharso Monoarfa highlighted the importance of a balance between social-economic policies and the environment for achieving a resilient and prosperous society. “The balance between social-economic policies and the environment is the key to realizing a resilient and prosperous economy in the future,” Monoarfa stated at the G20 Development Ministerial Meeting (DMM) observed by online means here, Wednesday. The G20 Development Ministerial Meeting, organized under Indonesia’s G20 Presidency, aims to discuss development issues in developing countries, least developed countries, and island countries.
The global economy, including economies of G20 countries, is facing various risks, such as an economic decline, energy crisis, and supply chain disruption, the minister stated.
“Increasing commodity prices also means greater risk on economic recovery decline,” Monoarfa stated. The minister said that apart from economic risks, the global community is also facing risks in terms of the social aspect that included a decline in the residents’ welfare and an increasing poverty rate.
Climate Finance: $31.7 billion in fiscal year 2022 (World Bank)
Financing focuses on helping countries reduce GHG emissions and adapt to mounting impacts of climate change. This is a 19% increase from the $26.6 billion all-time high in financing reached in the previous fiscal year. The Bank Group continues to be the largest multilateral financier of climate action in developing countries. “In our last fiscal year ending June 2022, we provided a record $31.7 billion to countries to identify and enable high-priority climate-related projects as part of their development plans.” said David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group. “We will continue providing solutions to pool funding from the global community for impactful and scalable projects that reduce GHG emissions, improve resilience, and enable the private sector.”
As part of its ongoing effort to help countries integrate climate and development objectives, the Bank Group recently launched a number of Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs). CCDRs are a new core diagnostic to help countries prioritize the most impactful actions that can reduce GHG emissions and boost adaptation. A summary of the preliminary findings of these reports will be published in coming months to foster action-oriented discussion in the global community.
