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Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com), the philanthropic arm of Merck Germany, marks  the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women with the announcement of “Stop GBV” Poster Contest in partnership with H.E Mrs. NEO JANE MASISI, The First Lady of Botswana and Ambassador of Merck More Than A Mother, with the aim to prevent gender-based violence and child abuse in the country.

Merck Foundation CEO, Dr. Rasha Kelej, joined the virtual cycling tour of Botswana First Lady, H.E. Mrs. NEO JANE MASISI to become a part of this creative initiative. “I believe this is the first time that an African First Lady has cycled across her country for a cause. It was also great to see the amazing support the President of Botswana, H.E. MR. MOKGWEETSI MASISI gave to his lovely wife, First Lady and mother of Botswana, and to all of us to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls 
I salute my dear sister, H.E MRS. NEO JANE MASISI for her great efforts and innovative idea to stop Gender-Based Violence and encourage us to take a stand against GBV and child abuse” Dr. Rasha Kelej emphasized.
Speaking of the “Stop GBV” Initiative, and before her cycling tour to support it , The First Lady of Botswana H.E MRS. NEO JANE MASISI said, “The pandemic has brought us to a standstill, but it has also given rise to another pandemic; that is violence against girls, women and children. Pre-existing gender inequities that fuel violence at homes, has worsened due to extended quarantine periods. The “Stop GBV” initiative and the Poster Contest along with Merck Foundation will contribute to our efforts to end GBV (Gender based Violence) in Botswana, and we have focused our joint efforts to fight against GBV, protecting humanity especially the girls and women. GBV has destroyed families and taken us back in the achievement of development goals, and promoted disunity within communities, both at national and international level.”
Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and One of the 100 Most Influential Africans (2019, 2020) emphasized, “The Coronavirus outbreak has worsened the impact of existing social and cultural issues, which severely affected women and children, who have been locked up with their abusers and have become the victims of domestic abuse more than ever. With the “Stop GBV” Initiative, I am joining hands with my sister, H.E Mrs. NEO JANE MASISI, The First Lady of Botswana, to support her great efforts to Stop Gender-Based Violence and encourage people to take a stand against GBV and child abuse.”
The “Stop GBV” Poster Contest will be Merck Foundation’s and The Botswana First Lady’s aim to contribute towards eliminating gender-based violence from Botswana.
The “Stop GBV” Poster Contest will be held across Botswana and the aim of the Contest is to select the most creative and inspiring work advocating one of the key Contest objectives which are: To Stop GBV, help people understand that GBV is unacceptable and evil, promote Zero tolerance of GBV, and demonstrate that GBV can be emotional, financial, physical, and sexual.
The Contest is open for both females and males from the age of 18-55, and all Batswana regardless of place of residence, are eligible to enter the contest.
Entries for the contest should be submitted by email in File format (JPG, PNG) to first-lady@gov.bw by including a narrative to explain the key message on the poster as part of the email, and the narrative should not exceed 200 characters.
The last day to submit entries for the “Stop GBV” Poster Contest is 30 November 2020. 
“Violence against girls, women, and children continues to be a pressing issue not only in Africa but everywhere across the globe, and with the event of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the “Stop GBV” Poster Contest in partnership with The First Lady of Botswana, we hope to bring a change in our societies and convey that prevention of gender-based violence is a basic human right”, added Dr. Kelej.
 Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Merck Foundation.
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About Merck Foundation: The Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com), established in 2017, is the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people and advance their lives through science and technology. Our efforts are primarily focused on improving access to quality &#038; equitable healthcare solutions in underserved communities, building healthcare and scientific research capacity and empowering people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with a special focus on women and youth. All Merck Foundation press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck Foundation Website.  Please visit www.Merck-Foundation.com to read more. To know more, reach out to our social media: Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com); Facebook (bit.ly/347DsTd), Twitter (bit.ly/2REHwaK), Instagram (bit.ly/2t3E0fX), YouTube (bit.ly/2E05GVg) and Flicker (bit.ly/2RJjWtH).
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First Lady during her cycling tour to STOP GBV and marked the International day of ‘Elimination of violence against Women and Girls’ through the Poster Contest

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By Woelinam Dogbe, President of the Alliance for Financial Consumer Protection (AFCOP)

Ghana’s financial sector is in crisis. A crisis occasioned by the collapse of over 300 financial institutions; and which has affected every division of the financial sector. Universal banks, savings and loans companies, microfinance companies, capital market institutions, and insurance companies have been impacted.

While majority of the collapsed institutions were licensed and regulated, a few were unlicensed and ought not to have been in operation. The fact that the unlicensed institutions were allowed a free rein to operate until their eventual collapse, speaks volumes about the existing regulatory regime and the safety of financial consumers.

Experts have identified the causes of the crisis to be: weak regulatory supervision, unethical behaviour by managers of the financial institutions, and poor corporate governance practices. In the specific case of the unlicensed institutions, their illegal activities flourished because of dereliction of duty on the part of regulators.

The devastation caused by the crisis has been severe and widespread. Apart from financial losses, consumer confidence in the financial sector has been significantly weakened. Some consumers have lost their lives as a result of the trauma of having their life savings locked up in collapsed institutions.

Unquestionably, there is the need for a regulatory regime that is fit-for-purpose. One that prioritizes the need to ensure the safety of institutions as well as prioritize the need to protect consumers. Thus, the necessity of regulatory reform is imperative.

Presently, the regulators of Ghana’s financial sector (i.e. Bank of Ghana &#8211; BOG, Securities and Exchanges Commission &#8211; SEC, National Insurance Commission – NIC and National Pensions Regulatory Authority &#8211; NPRA) have through their actions and inactions demonstrated that they prioritize Prudential Regulation (“ensuring financial institutions remain strong”) to the neglect of Conduct Regulation (“ensuring the safety and fair treatment of consumers”).

This lopsided approach to financial sector regulation has resulted in consumers suffering unfair treatment and exploitation at the hands of financial service providers. Examples of the mistreatment of consumers include: unfair pricing practices, unconscionable loan terms, misrepresentation of risks associated with products, mis-selling, product pushing, poor handling of customer complaints, etc.

The reform of financial sector regulation in Ghana must institutionalize conduct regulation and afford it the importance it deserves. This will require strong commitment from government to sponsor the needed legislation. This is the surest way to ensure the financial sector is safe and works well for all.

State of financial consumer protection in Ghana
Financial consumers in Ghana continue to suffer at the hands of financial institutions because of manifestly weak market conduct regulation. The present crisis has further exposed the deep-seated disregard and lack of commitment to financial consumer protection in Ghana.

A careful review of the regulatory interventions and policy prescriptions that have been implemented or mooted following the crisis have centered on “saving the institutions” with very little focus on “protecting consumers”.

While it is important to protect the institutions; because the safety of the institutions has implications for the safety of consumers’ deposits and investments, it is equally important to proactively protect consumers and ensure they are treated fairly and are not exploited.

Financial consumers are vulnerable and need to be protected from elements within the financial sector who would want to take advantage of this vulnerability to cheat consumers to rake in abnormal profits.

There is a widespread practice within Ghana’s financial services industry where providers; particularly banks and SDIs, arbitrarily increase fees on products and services that consumers have already signed on to. For example, it has become an annual ritual for banks and SDIs to upwardly review fees such as account maintenance fees, card maintenance fees, transaction fees etc. The only obligation the central bank has placed on the banks and SDIs is for them to give customers at least a 30-day notice period before implementing the fee reviews.

The point is often made by financial institutions that, if consumers are unhappy with the fees being charged, they are at liberty to switch to another provider. This argument is at best, disingenuous and laced with mischief because, as things stand today, it is very difficult for consumers to switch banks or SDIs. For example; banks and SDIs mirror each other’s pricing; thus, when one bank or SDI introduces a new fee or increases an existing fee, the others follow. Therefore, if a consumer decides to switch, he or she will only be “jumping from frying pan to fire”.

Sadly, the regulators who ought to ensure consumers are treated fairly are themselves the guilty party. For example; the National Insurance Commission (NIC) recently implemented new pricing dynamics for motor insurance. The stated objective was to sanitize pricing practices and mitigate systemic risks resulting from price undercutting. Unfortunately for consumers, the consequence was a steep increase in premiums.

The steep premium increases priced out millions of consumers from comprehensive motor insurance cover. Consumers were made worse off and were exposed to severe loss as a result of being priced out. It took massive public uproar and resistance from insurance companies for the NIC to roll back some of the elements that caused the price hike.

It is important to note that, unfair pricing is only a minutia of the mistreatment consumers receive. Others include issues such as financial institutions pushing high risk products to vulnerable consumers. Product pushing and mis-selling exist but there’s no record of regulators punishing, naming and shaming institutions that have engaged in such bad behaviour.

Best practices in financial consumer protection in Africa 
There are pockets of great examples of proactive financial consumer protection across Africa. Some regulators on the continent are living up to expectation and doing what is required to ensure consumers are protected and treated fairly.

One of the shining lights is the Bank of Zambia (BoZ). The BoZ in September 2018 issued a notice titled “Bank of Zambia notice to the public on the prohibition of unwarranted charges and fees directives of 2018”. In the said notice, the BoZ detailed a list of twenty-six (26) charges and fees that it had prohibited.

The charges and fees prohibited by the BoZ included: initial debit card issuance fees, debit card maintenance and renewal fees (annual, quarterly or monthly), commission on turnover activities on account, automated teller machine (ATM) surcharges, point of sale (POS) transaction charges (own bank customer and other bank customer), charge for balance and other account inquiries by a customer over-the-counter or any electronic platform, among others.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is also worthy of applause. The CBN has taken some steps to ensure banks in Nigeria handle customer complaints in a timely and effective manner. It has instituted and published a fine grid for improper handling of customer complaints and delays in resolving customer complaints. The CBN’s policy of naming and shaming is commendable. When consumers see and feel that the regulator is acting and sanctioning errant institutions, their confidence in the financial system grows. The CBN recently sanctioned some errant banks and fined them as much as 2 million Naira (circa USD5,200) for breaching various consumer protection mechanisms.

Another regulator leading the way is the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the CBE championed several initiatives that not only focused on keeping the institutions afloat, but also rolled out deliberate interventions to bring tangible relief to consumers.

The CBE instructed banks to cancel ATM withdrawal fees and points of sale (POS) fees for six months. It also instructed banks to give 6 months repayment holiday to individuals and businesses impacted by COVID-19. Also, the CBE instructed the suspension of late fees (penalty interest). Furthermore, in an effort to reduce cash handling, all bank transfers within Egypt were exempted from fees and charges.

Challenges with Ghana’s financial sector regulation architecture 
There is ample evidence that the existing financial sector regulation architecture in Ghana is not fit-for-purpose. The recent crisis has badly exposed this fact. Aside the loopholes in prudential regulation that are at the root of the crisis, the neglect of conduct regulation is a major cause for concern. This needs to be addressed, lest we risk another crippling crisis.  

The major drawbacks of Ghana’s existing financial sector regulation architecture are:

The financial sector has become entwined; but still operates with siloed regulators

The financial sector regulators are biased towards prudential regulation and have limited capacity for conduct regulation

The financial sector lacks an effective institutional mechanism to set and enforce market conduct standards

Ghana’s financial sector has evolved to the point where banking halls have become distribution points for non-bank financial products. Today, banks are distributing insurance, capital market, and pension products. Even mobile money operators are distributing banking, insurance and pension products. Thus, the financial sector has become vastly entwined. However, regulation has lagged behind the sector’s evolution. The sector still has fragmented regulators (i.e. BOG, SEC, NIC, and NPRA) operating in silos and overseeing both prudential and conduct regulation for their respective industries.

Having an entwined sector with siloed regulators presents peculiar dangers to consumers. It becomes a complicated proposition for consumers when, for example, they buy a non-bank product (i.e. insurance or capital market product) through a bank and are faced with a challenge that needs a regulator’s intervention to resolve. Or; when a consumer buys a pension product through a mobile money operator and is unfairly treated, knowing which regulator to approach can be unsettling and stressful.

Furthermore, when a novel ponzi scheme emerges, the siloed regulators pass the buck and are hesitant to take responsibility to stop harm to consumers. A classic example is the Menzgold scam that swept through the country a few years ago; and left in its wake millions of victims. In the Menzgold case, instead of the BOG and SEC taking decisive measures to shut down the scam, they pussyfooted and took to issuing statements to say Menzgold was not licensed to operate.

Secondly, the fact that the current architecture does not prioritize consumer protection is abundantly evident. Unlike in best practice examples from Zambia, Egypt and Nigeria where the BoZ, CBE and CBN respectively have been proactive in implementing effective measures to protect consumers and ensure they are treated fairly, the opposite is the case in Ghana.

The regulators in Ghana have adopted a laidback attitude towards the subject and have in some cases merely designated units as being responsible for market conduct, in an attempt to window dress the issue.

Thirdly, the financial sector lacks an institutional mechanism to set and enforce market conduct standards across the sector. As a result of the lack of standards, actions and inactions of financial institutions and regulators that are injurious to consumers are not flagged and nipped in the bud. Also, since there are no standards, bad conduct is allowed to fester to the detriment of consumers.

The absence of standards also breeds the consequence of consumers not being aware of their rights and remedies available to them. Thus, they are unable to shield themselves from exploitation and unfair treatment. Consumer education is poor; and mostly non-existent, because the regulators have shunned this duty of care.

Political Commitment
The reform of financial sector regulation can only happen with unalloyed commitment from government. The intricacies of Ghana’s political system make it such that, the required legislation to birth the reforms needs government backing and sponsorship.

It is therefore welcome news that Ghana’s main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress, through its leader, H.E. John Mahama, has promised to “establish a Financial Services Authority that will be responsible for ensuring that consumer markets work for consumers, providers and the economy as a whole” if voted into power.

It is hoped that the proposals made in this article will be adopted and incorporated in the reform of Ghana’s financial sector regulation architecture.

A proposed fit-for-purpose financial sector regulation architecture for Ghana
To forestall future crisis in the financial services sector and advance consumer protection, an effective and fit-for-purpose regulation architecture is critical. It should be a regulation architecture that proactively identifies problems and nips them in the bud, one that severely punishes wrong doing, names and shames, and one that resolves the imbalances between prudential regulation and conduct regulation.

It is against the foregoing background that the following proposals are made:

Decouple prudential regulation and conduct regulation. This calls for discarding the current model that warehouses prudential regulation and conduct regulation in the same institutions. An effective and efficient decoupling of prudential regulation and conduct regulation will resolve the challenges enumerated.

Task the existing industry regulators (i.e. BOG, SEC, NIC and NPRA) exclusively with responsibility for prudential regulation. Thus, the responsibility for conduct regulation must be taken away from them.

Establish a single independent conduct regulator. The new entity will be the sole regulator of market conduct across the entire financial services sector; i.e. banking, insurance, securities and pensions.

The proposed architecture is a unique adaptation of the Twin Peaks Model. In the typical twin peaks model that exists in counties such as the United Kingdom, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa among others, there are two regulators – one focused on prudential regulation of the entire financial services sector and the other regulator focused on conduct regulation of the entire financial services sector.

In the United Kingdom, for example, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are responsible for prudential regulation and conduct regulation respectively. The two entities (PRA and FCA) were formed in 2013 in a wave of regulation reforms following the 2007 financial crisis. Hitherto, a single entity was responsible for both prudential and conduct regulation until the split in 2013.

In the proposed model for Ghana, each of the industries (banking, insurance, capital markets and pensions) within the sector will have independent prudential regulators. There may be too much disruption if an attempt is made to have a single prudential regulator for the entire sector at this point. Perhaps, in the next phase of reforms, having a single prudential regulator for the sector may be considered. For now, the focus must firmly be on a single conduct regulator.

The benefits of the proposed model – having a single independent conduct regulator and industry-specific prudential regulators – are evident.

The industry prudential regulators will focus on keeping the institutions sound. They will have the mandate to set prudential requirements and to ensure compliance. In addition, they will be clothed with the power to license institutions for their respective industries.

The single independent conduct regulator will ensure that consumers are protected across the entire financial services sector. It will ensure institutions conduct themselves properly in the market. It’s core focus will be on areas such as: product suitability and safety, fair pricing practices, resolution of customer complaints, among others.

No new product can be introduced onto the market without the prior approval of the conduct regulator. Neither can an approved product be modified without the express approval of the regulator. Before the conduct regulator approves a product, it must ascertain that the institution submitting the product for approval has been duly licensed by the appropriate prudential regulator. Such a regime will prevent scams like Menzgold, DKM, and the others from taking root.

The independent conduct regulator will have the power to stop an institution from operating in the market if it deems its products or practices to be harmful to consumers or other market players. More importantly, it will have the power to prosecute institutions and/or individuals if their activities pose a danger to consumers or if they are found to be behaving badly or to have behaved badly.

With the proposed single independent conduct regulator, consumers will have a single point of contact for all complaints or challenges they have with any financial institution. Thus, the challenge of having to contend with many regulators in an entwined financial sector will be eliminated.

The proposed regulator will set market conduct standards, proactively police the market to ensure it is safe for all participants, punish, name and shame offenders, and educate consumers on their rights as well as on how to protect themselves in the market.

Operationalizing the proposed architecture will be easy to do. Marshalling the needed human capital to staff the proposed independent conduct regulator should not be difficult. The various industry regulators currently have some staff who ostensibly are tasked with monitoring market conduct. These staff can be pulled out to form the nucleus staff of the new institution. The nucleus staff would need to be augmented with professionals with the requisite technical expertise.

If there’s a silver lining in the crisis that has hit Ghana’s financial sector, it is that it presents a golden opportunity to reform Ghana’s financial sector regulation architecture. The time to act is now!
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Woelilnam Dogbe.
The author, Woelinam Dogbe, is the President of the Alliance for Financial Consumer Protection (AFCOP). He is a Chartered Banker, a Financial Sector Specialist, and a Management Consultant. He can be reached via wydogbe@gmail.com.
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Why Ghana needs a new financial sector regulation architecture (By Woelinam Dogbe)

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group.
CCPIT Shanxi, a government body, organized the Shanxi Brands Online Tour on the Silk Road (Middle East and Africa) 2020 which is held offline on 24 November 2020 in Shanxi Province, China as well as on the GTW – Virtual Exhibition Platform.

This high level event was graced and attended by distinguished leaders, dignitaries and VIP guests from the Middle East and Africa region and Shanxi province who delivered keynote speeches on the opening ceremony including Mr. Hongliang Zhang, Deputy Director of General office of the People’s Government of Shanxi Province; Mr. Xuhang Li, Consul General of Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Dubai; His Excellency, Ambassador Anderson N. Madubike, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; H.E Abdalla Al Owais, Chairman of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice-president of DEWA; Eng. Mohammed Al Taani, Secretary General of the Arab Renewable Energy Commission; Mr. Haidar Alhussainy, Chairman of Najaf Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Xiusheng Li, Vice chairman from CCPIT Shanxi introduced these VIPs to all attendees first.

More than a hundred representatives of outstanding Shanxi brands attended the offline conference and hundreds of overseas companies and buyers joined the event through the Online Platform. The event was broadcasted live with simultaneous translations where attendees can choose between English or Chinese language.

The Event consists four parts, the first of which is the grand opening ceremony following by VIP Speeches, while the second part is the Online MoU Signing. The 3rd part highlighted the Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference between Shanxi and MENA region and the last part is the general introduction of Shanxi Virtual Exhibition. The invited VIP Guests shared their marketing experiences and expertise and discussed how to strengthen and enlarge the bilateral economic and trade cooperation in the face of the COVID 19 crisis that seriously affected the entire world.

Mr. Hongliang Zhang, Deputy Director of General office of the People’s Government of Shanxi Province delivered a speech that Shanxi Brands Online Tour on the Silk Road adhere to the principle of &#8220;Achieving Shared Growth Through Discussion and Collaboration&#8221; under the &#8220;One Belt and One Road&#8221; initiative. It is with excellent products, high quality production and latest sophisticated technology, with the rest of the world to develop mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation of important opening to the outside activities. Shanxi Brands Online Tour on the Silk Road has been held 20 times in 20 different locations within a span of 6 years and successively developed more than hundred times in 26 countries through the trade and investment promotion and foreign exchange activities initiated by the government of Shanxi Province.

The event is held virtually this year due to the pandemic crisis that opens new opportunity for every attendee to take advantage of the digital technology. Adopting the method of combination of online and offline platform, the event also featured online conference, online video meeting and even online MOU singing. Aside from the MoU signed between CCPIT Shanxi and Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yuncheng Economic and Technological Development Zone and East African Chamber of Commerce, Industry &#038; Agriculture (EACCIA) also signs MoU during the event and both of them mutually make efforts on the promotion of cooperation and exchanges between enterprises in the areas of trade and investment.

Mr. Xuhang Li, Consul General of Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Dubai speaks about the productivity advantage of Dubai and the General Secretary, Xi Jinping’s result of visit in 2018.

Ambassador Anderson N. Madubike, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; H.E Abdalla Al Owais, Chairman of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Dr Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice-president of DEWA; Mr.Tariq Badri, Director of Business Development of Dubai South; Eng Mohammed Al Taani, Secretary General of Arab Renewable Energy Commission; Mr. Haidar Alhussainy, Chairman of Najaf Chamber of Commerce expressed their gratitude and appreciation to Shanxi Brands Online Tour and acknowledged Shanxi Province as an important and integral part of China. No matter which countries are you from, you are able to find what you want from China.

There are 7 Shanxi companies and 6 overseas establishments that played a vital and important role in the marketing and promotion to the attendees and this shows the industrial strength and advantage of Shanxi enterprise. Furthermore, the promotion presented by overseas establishment expressed positive cooperation intention which will result to long-term development for the future cooperation between Shanxi overseas enterprises.

The previous edition of Shanxi Brands Online Tour on the Silk Road (Middle East and Africa) 2020 was held last September 28 to October 15, 2020 where 120 companies joined the fair and uploaded their products on the GTW – Virtual exhibition platform. The Expo has attracted visitors and buyers from at least 12 MENA countries including U.A.E, Iran, Pakistan, Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, Egypt, and many more. One of the main highlight of the fair is the B2B online match meeting wherein 60 Shanxi companies met with hundreds of pre-qualified buyers and conducted business discussions and networking where exhibitors promote their products and brands on the GTW Virtual Exhibition platform. The exhibitors on GTW received 1703 meeting appointment from visitors in MENA region. Page view of Shanxi event reached up to 27906. The most exciting is that the prospective Purchase amount reached up to $140,900.

Presently, visitors and prospective buyers can still meet high quality exhibitors from Flange &#038; Pipe fittings, Food &#038; Agriculture, Construction, Chemical-industry, Environmental protection, Machinery, Rail traffic, Medicine and their 1131 products through this link: www.globaltradeweek.com/Shanxi
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Dozens of Distinguished Guests Join Opening Ceremony and Conference of Shanxi Brands Online Tour on the Silk Road (Middle East and Africa) 2020!

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group. 
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African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) (https://AERCAfrica.org) will host its 53rd Plenary Session on the theme on the “Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic and Public Finance in Africa – Challenges and Opportunities” on December 7, 2020. The sessions will be held virtually where researchers, academics, policy makers, and non-state actors will discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Public Finance in Africa in terms of the challenges ahead and opportunities afforded. The official opening of this session will be by Hon. Dr. Thapelo C. Matsheka, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Botswana and the Policy Panel led and chaired by Honorable Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, Minister of Finance of Nigeria where leaders of Central Banks and Revenue Authorities will be represented.

“While the African continent has registered relatively lower deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic, most countries have put in place a wide range of restrictions on businesses operations and mobility of people to contain the spread of the virus and has  impacted negatively on economic activities. The growth outlook for 2020 for Africa hovered around 3.2% before the pandemic struck, which is one of the lowest since 2013. Thus, growth and the capacity for growth in African economies was already fragile. What is less emphasized in these perilous times is Africa’s weak capacity of health care systems and the health care infrastructure beyond the governance issues that have emerged. These are all likely to exacerbate the pandemic and will have very negative impact on the African economies, thus reversing the gains of poverty reduction and human capital developments that have been achieved in the last 20 years”, said Professor Njuguna Ndung’u, AERC’s Executive Director.
During the session, Dr Rabah Arezki, Chief Economist and Vice President for African Development Bank, will deliver the keynote speech on COVID-19 Impact on Public Finance in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities for African economies. The plenary will feature presentations by lead academics and experts in the field. These include:
 	The Political Economy of State Capacity to Mobilize Taxes in Africa by Prof. James Robinson, University of Chicago 	Taxation and State Building in Africa: Agenda for Action by Dr. Catherine Pattillo, Assistant Director, IMF 	Information Technology and Tax Mobilization in Times of Covid-19 by Dr. Oyebola Okunogbe, World Bank 	Fiscal Sustainability in Africa: Accelerating the Post-COVID-19 Recovery through Improved Public Finances by Dr Edward Sennoga, African Development Bank 
The policy Panel:
 	H.E. Dr. Eyob Tekalign, State Minister of Finance, Ethiopia. 	H.E. Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of Central Bank, Ghana. 	H.E. Commissioner General Gathii Mburu, Kenya Revenue Authority.  	H.E. Aziz Gueye, Deputy Director of the Senegal Tax Office. 
In the lead up to the plenary session, AERC will host the Binannual Research Workshop Concurrent sessions from Monday, 23 November &#8211;  Friday, 27 November 2020, which will include five parallel Thematic Groups that cover the focal areas of AERC’s thematic research programme; the pilar for capacity building through research:
 	Group A: Poverty, Labour Markets, and Income Distribution 	Group B: Macroeconomic Policy and Growth 	Group C: Finance and Resource Mobilization 	Group D: Production, Trade and Economic Integration 	Group E: Agriculture, Climate Change and Natural Resource Management 
We shall have up to 70 papers presented during these concurrent sessions, each addressing different policy issues. This workshop is basically a capacity building event intended to sharpen participants’ research skills. You can join these discussions using the link provided.
 Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Economic Research Consortium.
Media Contact: For African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) Mr Charles Owino Publications Manager Mobile: +254 (0) 721 382 777 Email: charles.owino@aercafrica.org
For Africa Communications Media Group (ACG) Ms Tshego Tshangela Account Manager Mobile: +27 (0) 84 624 2996 Email: tshego@africacommunicationsgroup.com
About African Economic Research Consortium (AERC): The AERC (https://AERCAfrica.org) was established in 1988 and has become a premier capacity building institution in the advancement of research and training to inform economic policies in sub-Saharan Africa. The AERC’s mission rests on two premises: first, that development is more likely to occur where there is sustained sound management of the economy; second, that such management is more likely to happen where there is an active, well-informed cohort of locally based professional economists to conduct policy-relevant research. The AERC is a network that builds capacity through three primary components: research, graduate training in economics, and communications and policy outreach. The organization integrates high quality economic policy research, postgraduate training, and policy outreach within a vast network of researchers, universities, and policy makers across Africa and beyond. In the current five years strategy, the AERC has emphasized the themes of raising its quality for research and graduate training outputs that will develop a momentum of its own sustainability that will become important for policy influence across SSA economies. Learn more at https://AERCAfrica.org and follow us on Twitter @aercafrica.

 Notes to Editors: 	·  The AERC to Host 53rd Plenary Session of the Biannual Research Workshop virtually. Journalists are requested to register credentials prior to the meeting for logistical purposes. 	·  The 53rd Plenary Session is themed “Covid-19 Pandemic and Public Finance in Africa – Challenges and Opportunities”. Detailed agenda and event information will be made available here: www.aercafricaevents.org 	·  Spokesperson, AERC’s Executive Director, Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u is available for pre &#8211; and post-event interviews on the topic of Covid-19 Pandemic and Public Finance in Africa.

African Economic Research Consortium to Host a Virtual Plenary Session on: COVID-19 Pandemic and Public Finance in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

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Financing facility to YDE is in line with APICORP’s (www.APICORP.org) strategic drive to support energy diversification and access to sustainable power in MENA region; Facility to be used for developing solar energy assets in key markets across the region including Jordan and Pakistan; YDE currently has over 110 megawatts of solar assets in operating and under construction in the UAE, Jordan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), a multilateral development financial institution, announced today that it has signed USD 50 million revolving construction facility with Yellow Door Energy Limited (”Yellow Door Energy”), a leading UAE based sustainable energy provider for businesses, to develop solar-PV plants in the region with key emphasis on Jordan and Pakistan.

Yellow Door Energy currently has over 110 megawatts of solar assets operating and under construction in the UAE, Jordan, and Pakistan, with recent expansions into Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman.

The first utilization of the financing will be for solar PV projects in Jordan, where Yellow Door Energy is currently operating and building 79 MW of solar PV projects across the country – the largest such portfolio of any company operating there.

Yellow Door Energy is one of APICORP’s investee companies and in 2019 the Corporation and a consortium of international and regional banks invested USD 65 million in Yellow Door Energy to scale up investments in solar energy and efficiency solutions in emerging markets.

Dr Ahmed Ali Attiga, CEO of APICORP, said: “For years, APICORP has been a trusted financial partner in the region’s energy sector, and we are delighted to extend further support to Yellow Door Energy as it scales up its solar operations in into new markets. APICORP is also one of Yellow Door Energy’s shareholders, and the revolving construction facility demonstrates our commitment to accelerate the sustainable energy transition in the region. APICORP’s financing portfolio is now over 15% green and we are looking to continue to increase this as we move towards our strategic priorities for the energy transition.”

“These sorts of agreements are a key focus for us at a time when regional policymakers are prioritizing distributed solar projects and demand for renewables has reached an all-time high across the MENA region and globally. We firmly believe that with the right mix of regulations, technology and financing, renewable energy has a massive potential to make inroads in the MENA region,” further noted Dr Attiga.

Jeremy Crane, CEO of Yellow Door Energy, said: &#8220;Yellow Door Energy is pleased to be working with APICORP again to propel our mission to provide low cost, reliable and sustainable energy solutions to businesses across MENA. This USD50 million revolving construction facility demonstrates the innovative thinking that makes APICORP and Yellow Door Energy leaders in their respective fields. The rapid growth of Yellow Door Energy needs flexible and affordable funding arrangements to support our international growth. With over USD50 million of solar and energy efficiency projects currently under construction, we continue to be the leader in the region&#39;s energy transition.&#8221;

In light of the growing demand for electric power and environmental concerns, governments and policymakers are embracing alternate sources of energy such as solar, as they offer numerous advantages including reduction in electricity costs, long-term savings and being more environmentally-friendly.

APICORP has significantly increased financing and equity investments in green technologies over the last several years to comprise over 15% of its current financing portfolio. In addition to its investment in Yellow Door Energy, APICORP provided a USD40 million financing facility to Saudi Arabia’s first independent sewage treatment plant to bring more cost-effective technologies to wastewater recycling.

A rapidly emerging sector within the regional energy mix, APICORP forecasts that USD97 billion of the USD237 billion the MENA region will need to invest in the power sector over the next 5 years to meet its energy needs will be in the renewables sector.

The legal advisors in the transaction were Norton Rose Fulbright for APICORP and Stephenson Harwood Middle East LLP for Yellow Door Energy. DNV GL acted as Yellow Door Energy’s technical advisor.

Read more: https://bit.ly/2UYUQar
 Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP).
Media Contact: Hassan Al-Jundi APICORP Mobile: +966 55 8012942 Email: haljundi@apicorp.org
Zeeshan Masud Weber Shandwick Mobile: +971 55 918 6751 Email: zmasud@webershandwick.com
Daniel Chinoy Weber Shandwick Mobile: +971 50 255 3402 Email: dchinoy@webershandwick.com
Yellow Door Energy Josephine Pham Phone: +971 4 454 3033 Email: gosolar@yellowdoorenergy.com
Follow APICORP at: Twitter: bit.ly/32ME96z Instagram: bit.ly/3lDZR3O LinkedIn: bit.ly/2IEOcnf
About APICORP: The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) (www.APICORP.org) is a multilateral development financial institution established in 1975 by an international treaty between the ten Arab oil exporting countries. It aims to support and foster the development of the Arab world’s energy sector and petroleum industries. APICORP makes equity investments and provides project finance, trade finance, advisory and research. APICORP is rated “Aa2” with stable outlook by Moody’s and its headquarters is in Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. More information can be found at: www.APICORP.org
About Yellow Door Energy: Yellow Door Energy (www.YellowDoorEnergy.com) is the leading sustainable energy partner for businesses, serving commercial and industrial customers in the Middle East and South Asia. The company’s solar and energy efficiency solutions enable businesses to reduce energy costs, improve power reliability and lower carbon emissions. Yellow Door Energy’s shareholders include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Mitsui, Equinor, and APICORP.
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Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) extends a USD50million revolving construction facility to Yellow Door Energy to finance solar projects

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President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta urged African governments to put their citizens at the centre of delivering service during Africa Delivery Exchange 2020, a virtual event that opened Tuesday.

In remarks to open the two-day workshop, Kenyatta noted that on a continent of around 1.3 billion Africans with a median age of around 20 years, there is a very tangible underlying sense of urgency when it comes to expectations of government. 
“Our people know and understand what development ought to look like and what benefits it should bring to their social-economic wellbeing. Therefore, any failure to quickly address the missing middle within the development paradigm could create a deficiency of trust between the electorate and those in positions of leadership,” Kenyatta said. 
The event was jointly hosted by Kenya President’s Delivery Unit, the African Development Bank and the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) for Global Change.
Kenyatta recognized the Bank and the TBI&#39;s support in advancing Kenya’s development, thanking African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina and Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who joined him on a panel. 
“Without the lessons from TBI, we would have had to reinvent the wheel, but instead, we started with a tried and tested model, and we have improved on it to reflect our unique circumstances here in Kenya.”    
In his remarks, Blair observed that leadership demands have changed and that governments are expected to do far more than they ever were traditionally. “They’ve got to deliver services for their people; they’ve got to put in place the right environment for their economy, they’ve got to deal with all sorts of huge crises, of which COVID-19 is just the latest example. All of these require extraordinary focus, clarity and decisionmaking.”
To meet these delivery expectations, governments must focus on prioritization, policy, personnel and performance management. “Performance management is the most critical one. What’s difficult is that each of these systems you’re trying to change will have interests that often will obstruct. They’ll need areas that need you to go across the whole of government, to get something done in one area of government, they’ll have complicated politics around them.”   
Adesina commended Kenyatta for focusing on ordinary citizens and praised the Kenyan government’s ‘Big Four’ agenda, which prioritizes food security, affordable housing, manufacturing, and affordable healthcare for all, and noting a fifth area in which the country had made great strides. “Mr. President, you’re doing exceptional work on energy. You’re connecting your people all over the country in an amazing way with last mile delivery. If you add in energy, you’d actually have a big five.”
The Bank president set out some delivery lessons: A clear vision; publish delivery expectations to create accountability; establish a culture of accountability; rigorous results measurement; ensure sustainability.
“The Bank is currently developing a new Africa public service delivery index, that will help to rate African countries including sub nationals on the delivery of public services,” he added.  
The COVID-19 pandemic formed a backdrop to the event.
This is not the first pandemic we’ve faced, Adesina said, but it must never happen again that the continent is caught unprepared. “Africa has underinvested massively on healthcare. We need to change and give Africa a quality health care defense system to make sure we have excellent primary health care.” 
“One question is, how do you keep the sense of urgency that you had when dealing with the disease and carry that same sense of urgency and focus into building back better afterward?”
The African Development Bank has formed strategic partnerships with Government Delivery Units in Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia, and is working toward approval of a fourth in Senegal. In January 2019, the Bank led the launch of the African Delivery Units Network to provide a platform for sharing knowledge, experience and expertise among African governments’ delivery units.
The two-day event includes technical sessions and presentations by specialists, including representatives of national and city government, multilateral development institutions and other development partners.
 Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
Media Contact: Olufemi Terry Communication and External Relations Department African Development Bank Email: o.terry@afdb.org
About the African Development Bank Group: The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org
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Africans “know and understand what development ought to look like,” says President Uhuru Kenyatta

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Your Excellencies, President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, Honorable Ministers, Ambassadors, Lord Mayors, the Board of Directors, Senior Management and Staff of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org), Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Welcome to the Delivery Unit Exchange Conference, 2020.

Thank you very much, my dear friend and brother, President Uhuru Kenyatta, for co-hosting this event together with the African Development Bank. I admire you, Mr. President because you are ‘people-focused’.

In the same manner, my dear friend, Rt. Hon Tony Blair, as Prime Minister of the UK, focused on ‘people’. A great friend of Africa, he called at the time for a ‘Marshall Plan for Africa’.

Development is about people. It starts with people, is accountable to people, and must have positive impacts on people.

The challenge for any government is how to accelerate the delivery of results. Yes, we need economic growth, and it’s always a good sign when GDP grows, but let’s be clear: nobody eats GDP.

Growth must translate into meaningful impacts on the lives of people. What we should be measuring is not the quantum of economic growth, but the quantum of growth in the quality of life of people. 

This is what President Kenyatta called ‘delivery imperative’ to close what he called ‘the empty space’ between policy and program conceptualization and delivery for people.

That is what motivated me, when I was first elected President of the African Development Bank in 2015, to sharply focus our work on the High5s: Light up and power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the Quality of Life of the People of Africa.

Focus is the foundation for success. In the past five years, our financing has impacted 335 million people.

Some of our investments included the Lake Turkana project, the largest wind power plant in Africa; the last mile electricity connectivity project now connecting over 1.2 million low-income Kenyans to electricity; and the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant in Morocco.

Our work on regional integration supported the landmark Senegambia Bridge, linking Senegal and Gambia, the 1,000 km Addis-Ababa-Nairobi-Mombasa highway linking Kenya and Ethiopia that has increased trade by 400% between both countries. 

You can feel the impact of the Bank all across Africa.

We are focused on supporting governments to translate their vision into reality. That’s why the Bank has supported a few African countries to establish Delivery Units to speed up their transformation processes. We are delighted to work on this with the former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair through the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

President Kenyatta is rolling out fast, with impressive results, his impactful Big 4, agenda thanks to the President’s Delivery Unit in Kenya. I commend all the Cabinet Secretaries supporting the President to deliver and close the ‘empty space’.

The key is faster, better, results. My experience, both as a Minister in Nigeria and as President of the African Development Bank, has taught me some lessons on delivery. 

First, nothing gets done without a very clear vision. The more complex your vision, the less your chances of success. No one can implement what they do not understand.

Second, publish your expectations for the delivery of your vision. This creates accountability and drives an institutional sense of mission and purpose. 

Third, establish a culture of accountability. Leaders are elected, but those working under or with them are not. Citizens accountability forums should be used to engage on what’s being done and what’s being achieved.

Fourth, have a rigorous way to measure results. Results power enthusiasm and enthusiasm drives attainment of visions. Public budgets should, therefore, be based on Results-Based Financing.

Fifth, ensure sustainability. We must avoid frequent policy reversals. Political electoral cycles must no longer truncate development pathways.

The Bank is currently developing a new Africa Public Service Delivery Index to rate African countries on the delivery of public services.

The Delivery Unit Exchange will offer excellent opportunities to share best practices and partnerships to improve the delivery of quality projects for transforming Africa. 

Africa will rebound from COVID-19. We must now transform Africa, better, faster, with resilience.

Africa’s hope should not be deferred. Africa’s future is now!  

Thank you very much.
 Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

Remarks by Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President, African Development Bank, at the African Delivery Unit Exchange Conference, November 24, 2020

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Pearson (https://middleeast.Pearson.com), the world’s learning company, hosted a virtual launch of its PTE Secure English Language Test (SELT) in Nigeria. These tests have been approved by the UK Home Office and are used for UK Visas &#038; Immigration (UKVI) purposes.  

SVP for English Assessment at Pearson, Freya Thomas Monk, says these tests offer a fast, fair and convenient choice for anyone who wishes to work, study or come to live in the UK. 

Monk is excited about launching this product in the African continent and believes that this test will help many Nigeriens broaden their horizons and apply for opportunities in the UK. “The process is simple and brilliantly designed, interactive and most importantly a true reflection of one’s language ability. We look forward to growing on the continent.”

At the virtual launch, Ozhan Toktas, Pearson’s MD for Africa and Middle East provided an overview of Pearson and the role the education institution will be playing in Africa going forward. He was joined by Monk who discussed the value of Pearson PTE. Alongside her, Pearson Head of Market Development Assessment, Muna Mazhar provided insights on UKIV SELT. Before the final Q&#038;A, Deputy High Commissioner Ben Llewellyn-Jones reiterated the importance of these tests and assessments from a UK perspective.   

Tests are delivered through the Pearson VUE test center network. Pearson VUE’s network of test centers have implemented proactive health and safety measures including, but not limited to, readily available hand sanitizer, increased sanitization in high touch areas, and disinfected testing workstations (completed between each test taker) to support the safety of testing candidates and staff. Face masks are required at all Pearson VUE-owned test centers. 

Monk says, “We continue to see high demand from test takers who want to book and deliver PTE as a Secure English Language Test, especially when it comes to applying for a UK Visa and Immigration purposes.” 

This new location brings Pearson’s worldwide total of UKVI approved locations close to 150. Monk says this will help meet customer demand and give Nigerians more choice of test locations as they look to move to the UK to work, study or live. 

Pearson’s SELT tests are focused on immigration requirements and the details are as follows:

 	PTE Academic (UKVI) – a four–skills language test accepted for work and study visas. It tests Speaking, Writing, Reading and Listening skills.    	PTE Home – a two-skills language test accepted for family, settlement, citizenship applications as well as Sportsperson and Representative of an Overseas Business applications. It tests Speaking and Listening skills.    
PTE Academic is one of the fastest-growing products in Pearson and is a strategic growth priority for the company, posting 17% growth in test volumes last year. The test is already accepted by the Australian and New Zealand Governments for all visa applications. It is also accepted by 100% of Australian, New Zealand and Irish universities and 99% of UK universities.
 Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Pearson.
Note to Editors: 
 	Pearson is the world’s learning company with more than 22,500 employees operating in 70 countries. We provide content, assessment and digital services to learners, educational institutions, employers, governments and other partners globally. We are committed to helping equip learners with the skills they need to enhance their employability prospects and to succeed in the changing world of work. We believe that wherever learning flourishes, so do people. Visit @Pearson or www.Pearson.com for more information. 	More information on PTE can be found at https://pearsonpte.com  	PTE Home is a new, computer-based English test that supports individuals, families and communities wishing to live, work or stay in the UK on their journey from arrival to settlement. Results are typically available within 48 hours, reducing the stress that can be associated with a long wait for results.  	Pearson VUE has been a pioneer in the computer-based testing industry for decades, delivering more than 16 million certification and licensure exams annually in every industry from academia and admissions to IT and healthcare. We are the global leaders in developing and delivering high-stakes exams via the world’s most comprehensive network of nearly 20,000 test centres as well as online testing in over 180 countries. Our leadership in the assessment industry is a result of our collaborative partnerships with a broad range of clients, from leading technology firms to government and regulatory agencies. For more information, please visit https://home.pearsonvue.com 	Pearson VUE continues to monitor the situation and make decisions about test centre operations in accordance with government and local authorities. Please check this page for frequent updates: https://home.pearsonvue.com/coronavirus-update 
 	Under the UK Home Office commercial agreements Pearson will deliver a) SELT tests for those already in the UK, b) SELT tests for those in the rest of the world.  	For more information on the UK Home Office Visa and Immigration process as well as  the other test providers, click here (https://bit.ly/363fsVh). Media filesDownload logo

Pearson PTE To Launch Secure English Language Testing in Nigeria

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As part of tackling climate change, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change States Members have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in order to stabilize the increase in Earth&#39;s temperature at 2oC through their commitment materialized in NDC in Paris in 2015. In its Article 13, Paris Agreement highlights the need for countries to build confidence through the development of a &#8220;strengthened transparency framework&#8221; by a Monitoring, Reporting and verification (MRV) system of emissions and absorptions. The purpose of this framework should be to facilitate the production of national greenhouse gas inventories in order to produce regular national communications. As such climate transparency framework is absent in Burkina Faso, the Swedish Government through GGGI (www.GGGI.org) has funded a three-year project to implement it.

Effectively launched in 2020, this MRV project is nationally supported by the Ministry of Environment, Green Economy and Climate Change of the Republic of Burkina Faso. In April 2020, the project team started the implementation with an assessment at national level. This is the Rapid Assessment work with a series of activities that have been conducted, particularly around data collection and deliverables production (literature review, interviews with keys partners and stakeholders at national level, analysis of existing data, technical sessions with keys sectors and experts). This work has led to the development of several documents, among which: The Review of existing MRV initiatives and the mapping of institutions at the national level working on MRV.
The results of this Rapid Assessment showed that, from 2001 to 2020, Burkina has made an Intentionally Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC); three National Communications (CN), the third is under validation; three greenhouse gas inventories (GHGI); one national adaptation plan (NAP); one national adaptation program of action (NAPA); and one Biennial Updated Report (BUR). Were submitted to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: In 2015, the INDC (October), the PNA (October), and the second NC (April); In 2007: the PANA (November); and In 2002: the first CN (May), and a national GHG inventory report (May).
Three greenhouse gas inventories (GHGI) 2001, 2007 and 2019 were used, as the basis for the preparation of the above-mentioned reports.
The current situation review has underlined these main observations: a strong mobilization of the governing bodies in the development of GHGI and reports to be submitted to the secretariat of the UNFCCC; deconcentrating of the statistical services, in general direction of statistics within the various ministries; the availability of technical skills within the INSD (National Institute for Statistics and demography), as well as at the universities and research centers, to participate in the development of country specific parameters; an improvement in the GHGI methodology used, and greater sectoral coverage due to the acquisition of new skills, and an increase in the pool of national experts; the availability of TFPs (technical and financial partners) to support the development and implementation of a formalized and effective MRV system in Burkina Faso; and the strong mobilization of Burkina Faso to fulfill its commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.
The Institutional mapping of the MRV initiatives in Burkina Faso reveals that the system is organized around the Directorate of Green Economy and Climate change (DGEVC) and the Permanent Secretary of the National Council of Sustainable Development (SP/CNDD) where the UNFCCC focal point seats.
This Rapid Assessment step has allowed to develop a preliminary understanding of Burkina Faso’s national situation regarding the GHG MRV system. It showed that necessary institutions to an effective MRV system are present and fulfill their mandate in the socioeconomic organization of Burkina. Then it indicates the pathway to the establishment of the MRV system whose next step within this project, is the development of MRV guidelines.
Links to the reports: https://bit.ly/33faOSm https://bit.ly/2IXUL4E
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GGGI Burkina Faso Country office.

The Rapid Assessment of Burkina Faso Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Monitoring, Reporting and verification (MRV) system

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Today 727 people have tested positive for the virus, from a sample size of 4,913 tested in the last 24 hours, bringing to 78,512 the number of confirmed positive cases in the country. The cumulative tests are now 848,016. From the cases 705 are Kenyans while 22 are foreigners.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Kenya.

Coronavirus – Kenya: COVID-19 updates (24 November 2020)

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Over 2 million confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent &#8211; with more than 1.7 million recoveries &#038; 49,000 deaths cumulatively.

View country figures &#038; more with the WHO African Region COVID-19 Dashboard: http://arcg.is/XvuSX.
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Coronavirus – Africa: COVID-19 Update (24 November 2020)

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As classrooms around the developing world begin to re-open, the U.N. World Food Programme is receiving US$119 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide school meals in five countries in Asia and Africa.

“Yet again, USDA demonstrates real leadership in reaching school-age children in the developing world with proper nutrition. In many countries, school meals are the only food some children receive each day, so we are enormously grateful for USDA’s support,” says Jon Brause, the director of WFP’s Washington office.

The United States provides school meals funding through a competitive award process managed annually by USDA’s McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program. 

The latest awards, which take effect this month, see WFP’s programmes in Cote d’Ivoire, Laos, Nepal and Rwanda receiving US$25 million each, while WFP’s programme in Bangladesh will receive US$19 million.

The awards, in cash and in kind, enable WFP to feed about 841,000 children under agreements of three to five years. This amounts to an important bridge for these five governments, giving them temporary support until they can establish their own sustainable, national school feeding programs.

McGovern-Dole has provided meals to classrooms in the developing world since 2003, contributing significantly to students’ learning, health and nutrition. It has long been one of WFP’s largest funding sources for school feeding activities, including take-home rations when schools have closed due to Covid-19. Nearly 370 million children missed out on school meals so far this year, including 13 million receiving WFP ones.

“This support is yet another testament to the strength of WFP’s school feeding activities worldwide – and it comes at a critical time,” says Carmen Burbano, WFP’s Rome-based director of School Feeding.

WFP’s school feeding programmes span 61 countries and are a key social safety net for poor and vulnerable households. In 2019, WFP provided school meals to 17.3 million schoolchildren, and helped governments reach an additional 39 million children.

Photos available here
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).

United States provides US$119 Million to World Food Programme (WFP) for School Meals in Five Countries

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New cases: 1 Total Confirmed: 2,406 Deaths: 74 Recovered: 1,828 Total in quarantine: 92 Dischardged from quarantine: 12,118
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Information and Communication, Sierra Leone.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Sierra Leone: COVID-19 update (23 November 2020)

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New cases: 6 Total confirmed cases: 6009 Total active cases: 282 Total recovered: 5443 (2 New) Total number of tests conducted: 71970 (1287 New) Total deaths: 185 (0 New)
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health and Population, Republic of Malawi.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Malawi: COVID-19 Daily Information Update (23rd November 2020)

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced a revised outlook for airline industry performance in 2020 and 2021. Deep industry losses will continue into 2021, even though performance is expected to improve over the period of the forecast.

 	A net loss of $118.5 billion is expected for 2020 (deeper than the $84.3 billion forecast in June). 	A net loss of $38.7 billion is expected in 2021 (deeper than the $15.8 billion forecast in June). 
Performance factors in 2021 will show improvements on 2020; and the second half of 2021 is expected to see improvements after a difficult 2021 first half. Aggressive cost-cutting is expected to combine with increased demand during 2021 (due to the re-opening of borders with testing and/or the widespread availability of a vaccine) to see the industry turn cash-positive in the fourth quarter of 2021 which is earlier than previously forecast.    “This crisis is devastating and unrelenting. Airlines have cut costs by 45.8%, but revenues are down 60.9%. The result is that airlines will lose $66 for every passenger carried this year for a total net loss of $118.5 billion. This loss will be reduced sharply by $80 billion in 2021. But the prospect of losing $38.7 billion next year is nothing to celebrate. We need to get borders safely re-opened without quarantine so that people will fly again. And with airlines expected to bleed cash at least until the fourth quarter of 2021 there is no time to lose,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO. 2020 The COVID-19 crisis challenged the industry for its very survival in 2020. In the face of a half trillion-dollar revenue drop (from $838 billion in 2019 to $328 billion) airlines cut costs by $365 billion (from $795 billion in 2019 to $430 billion in 2020). “The history books will record 2020 as the industry’s worst financial year, bar none. Airlines cut expenses by an average of a billion dollars a day over 2020 and will still rack-up unprecedented losses. Were it not for the $173 billion in financial support by governments we would have seen bankruptcies on a massive scale,” said de Juniac. All major operational parameters in the passenger business were negative:
 	Passenger numbers are expected to plummet to 1.8 billion (60.5% down on the 4.5 billion passengers in 2019). This is roughly the same number that the industry carried in 2003. 	Passenger revenues are expected to fall to $191 billion, less than a third of the $612 billion earned in 2019. This largely driven by a 66% fall in passenger demand (measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometers/RPK). International markets were hit disproportionately hard with a 75% fall in demand. Domestic markets, largely propelled by a recovery in China and Russia, are expected to perform better and end 2020 49% below 2019 levels. 	Further weakness is demonstrated by passenger yields which are expected to be down 8% compared to 2019 and a weak passenger load factor which is expected to be 65.5%, down from the 82.5% recorded in 2019, a level last seen in 1993. 
Operational parameters for cargo are performing significantly better than for passenger but are still depressed compared to 2019:
 	Uplift is expected to be 54.2 million tonnes in 2019, down from 61.3 million tonnes in 2019 	Cargo revenues are bucking the trend, increasing to $117.7 billion in 2020 from $102.4 billion in 2019. A 45% fall in overall capacity, driven largely by the precipitous fall in passenger demand which took out critical belly capacity for cargo (-24%), pushed yields up by 30% in 2020. 
“Cargo is performing better than the passenger business. It could not, however, make up for the fall in passenger revenue. But it has become a significantly larger part of airline revenues and cargo revenues are making it possible for airlines to sustain their skeleton international networks,” said de Juniac.  In 2019 cargo accounted for 12% of revenues and that is expected to grow to 36% in 2020. 2021 Airline financial performance is expected to see a significant turn for the better in 2021, even if historically deep losses prevail. The expected $38.7 billion loss in 2021 will be second only to 2020 performance. On the assumption that there is some opening of borders by mid-2021 (either through testing or growing availability of a vaccine), overall revenues are expected to grow to $459 billion ($131 billion improvement on 2020, but still 45% below the $838 billion achieved in 2019). In comparison, costs are only expected to rise by $61 billion, delivering overall improved financial performance. Airlines will still lose, however, $13.78 for each passenger carried. By the end of 2021 stronger revenues will improve the situation, but the first half of next year still looks extremely challenging. Passenger numbers are expected to grow to 2.8 billion in 2021. That would be a billion more travelers than in 2020, but still 1.7 billion travelers short of 2019 performance. Passenger yields are expected to be flat and the load factor is expected to improve to 72.7% (an improvement on the 65.5% expected for 2020, but still well below the 82.5% achieved in 2019). The cargo side of the business is expected to continue with strong performance. Improved business confidence and the important role that air cargo should play in vaccine distribution is expected to see cargo volumes grow to 61.2 million tonnes (up from 54.2 million tonnes in 2020 and essentially matching the 61.3 million tonnes carried in 2019).  A continued capacity crunch due to the slow reintroduction of belly capacity from passenger services combined with a higher proportion of time and temperature sensitive cargo (vaccines) will see a further 5% increase in yields. This will contribute to strong performance in cargo revenues which are expected to grow to an historic high of $139.8 billion. Challenges to Recovery While the industry will see improved performance in 2021 compared to 2020, the road to recovery is expected to be long and difficult. Passenger volumes are not expected to return to 2019 levels until 2024 at the earliest, with domestic markets recovering faster than international services. Several critical challenges need urgent attention: Debt Levels and Financial Support: Airlines are surviving on financial life support from governments. Even after $173 billion of government support of various kinds in 2020, the median airline has just 8.5 months of cash to survive. Many have far less as the industry enters into the critical winter period, which is characterized by weak demand even in normal times. While cash burn has diminished from the peak of the crisis, airlines are still expected to burn an average of $6.8 billion/month during the first half of 2021, before the industry turns cash positive in the fourth quarter of 2021. “The financial damage of this crisis is severe. Government support has kept airlines alive to this point. More is likely needed as the crisis is lasting longer than anyone could have anticipated. And it must come in forms that that do not increase the already high debt load which has ballooned to $651 billion. Bridging airlines to the recovery is one of the most important investments that governments can make. It will save jobs and kick-start the recovery in the travel and tourism sector which accounts for 10% of global GDP,” said de Juniac. Closed Borders/Quarantine: The biggest factors impeding the industry’s recovery are travel restrictions and quarantine measure that effectively prevent a meaningful revival of travel. The most immediate and critical solution is the safe re-opening of borders using systematic COVID-19 testing. Longer-term, the widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccinations should enable borders to remain open without testing or restriction, but the timeline for vaccine availability is uncertain.  “We have the ability to safely re-open travel with systematic testing. We cannot wait on the promise of a vaccine. We are preparing for efficient vaccine distribution. But testing is the immediate solution to meaningfully re-open air travel. With 46 million jobs at risk in the travel and tourism sector alone because of plummeting air travel, we must act fast with solutions that are at hand. We have fast, accurate and scalable testing that can safely do the job. The airlines are ready. The livelihoods of millions are in the hands of governments and public health authorities. Governments understood the criticality of a viable air transport sector when they invested billions to keep it afloat. Now they need to protect those investments by giving airlines the means to safely do business,” said de Juniac.  Confidence “The numbers couldn’t get much worse. But there is a way forward. With the continued financial support of governments to keep airlines financially viable and the use of testing to enable travel without quarantine, we have a plan to overcome the worst immediately. And longer-term the progress on vaccines is encouraging. Most importantly, people have not lost their desire to travel. The market response to even small measures to lift quarantine is immediate and strong. Where barriers have been removed, travel rebounded. The thirst for the freedom to fly has not been overcome by the crisis. There is every reason for optimism when governments use testing to open borders. And we need to make that happen fast,” said de Juniac. Regional Summary While all regions are impacted by the crisis, those airlines with larger domestic markets or with large cargo operations are performing better. The differences between the regions become more exaggerated in 2021 with Asia Pacific and North American carriers seeing the most significant reductions in expected losses.
Region
2020 Demand vs 2019
2020 Capacity vs 2019
2020 Profits
2021 Demand vs 2020 (vs 2019)
2021 Capacity vs 2020 (vs 2019)
2021 Profits
World
-66.3%
-57.6%
-$118.5b
+50.4% (-50%)
+35.5% (-43%)
-$38.7b
North America       
-66.0%
-51.6%
-$45.8b
+60.5% (-45%)
+36.4% (-34%)
-$11.0b

 			 			 			 				North American airlines benefit from an earlier recovery in the US domestic market (the largest domestic market in the world) and have already restructured more extensively than other regions which supported their pre-crisis industry-leading financial performance. 			 			 		 		 			 			
Europe
-70.0%
-62.4%
$26.9b
+47.5% (-56%)
+35.5% (-49%)
$11.9b

 			 			 			 				European airlines rely to a large extent on international market revenues, economies were hit by a severe 2nd wave of COVID-19, and so stronger revenues do not arrive until later in 2021 with fairly widespread vaccine availability (though not at developing country ends of their markets). 			 			 		 		 			 			
Asia Pacific               
-62.0%
-55.1%
-$31.7b
+50.0% (-43%)
+38.4% (-38%)
-$7.5b

 			 			 			 				Chinese airlines and China’s economy lead the recovery, with the large Chinese domestic market allowing a return to profitability by the end of 2020.  				Success in virus control helps some other parts of the region, ahead of vaccine distribution.  				The importance of cargo is a further factor leading to this region experiencing stronger financial performance than other regions. 			 			 		 		 			 			
Middle East             
-73.0%
-64.5%
-$7.1b
+43.0% (-61%)
+23.6% (-56%)
-$3.3b

 			 			 			 				Middle East airlines have been challenged by the importance of connecting traffic over Gulf hubs and elsewhere, since long-haul air travel markets have been slowest to reopen. However, airlines in this region have grown their cargo business and this has been some offset. 			 			 		 		 			 			
Latin America             
-64.0%
-60%
-$5.0b
+39.0% (-50%)
+34.3% (-46%)
-$3.3b

 			 			 			 				Latin American airlines have received little government support, leading to bankruptcies, and COVID-19 containment has been challenging.  				Some key markets have remained open and air travel has been helped by the opening of borders with a negative COVID19 test requirement rather than quarantine. However, vaccine distribution and vaccination may be a little behind more developed markets, leading to a more delayed recovery in financial performance. 			 			 		 		 			 			
Africa           
-72.0%
-62.8%
-$2.0b
+35.0% (-62%)
+21.5% (-55%)
-$1.7b

 			 			 			 				African airlines have also received little government support and there have been a number of failures.  				The relative lack of cold chain facilities in the region may delay the distribution of vaccines and this region is expected to experience a delayed recovery in financial performanc 			 			 		 	 Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Coronavirus: Deep losses continue into 2021

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Tests conducted: 5305343 Positive cases identified: 769759 Total recoveries: 711195 Total deaths: 20968 New cases: 2080
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa, Department of Health.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – South Africa: COVID-19 statistics in South Africa (23 November 2020)

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group.
COVID-19 Update: A total of 14377 tests were conducted since the last report, with 2080 new cases. We report 65 more COVID-19 related deaths bringing the total number of deaths to 20968.

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Distributed by APO Group on behalf of National Institute for Communicable Diseases, South Africa (NICD).Media filesDownload logo

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