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<p>According to Ghana’s Minister for Aviation, Cecilia Dapaah, the continent&#8217;s air transport industry supports about seven million jobs and US$80 billion in GDP, but still faces numerous challenges.</p>


Rwanda, Ghana sign air service agreement

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<p>Ghana’s Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta, joined CNBC Africa to speak on the rationale to champion a unified Africa, and the way forward.</p>


Championing a united Africa

<p>Justina Crabtree</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/nigeria-is-leading-on-pan-african-free-trade-bank-chief-says.html">Nigeria is leading on pan-African trade, despite not even signing up to the deal: Bank chief</a></p>
<ul>
<li>Nigeria is in a position of leadership on a pan-African trade deal despite not signing up, the managing director of Ecobank Nigeria told CNBC.</li>
<li>The African Union is proposing a continent-wide trading bloc that would result in the largest free trade area in terms of participating countries since the formation of the World Trade Organization.</li>
<li>Kenya and Ghana ratified the agreement last week, while Ethiopia&#8217;s Prime Minister has said that his country is ready to follow suit.</li>
</ul>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/14170224/105205401-GettyImages-511145528.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="George Osodi | Bloomberg"/></p>
<p>Nigeria is in a position of leadership on a proposed Africa-wide trading bloc despite not having signed up to the agreement, the managing director of commercial lender Ecobank Nigeria told CNBC.</p>
<p>Nigeria has &#8220;shifted the balance of power,&#8221; and &#8220;put itself in the situation where they now have the call,&#8221; Charles Kie said in an interview Friday.</p>
<p>In March, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/105076688?__source=cnbcafrica|inline|story|&amp;par=cnbcafrica &amp;doc="><br />
<strong>44 members of the 55-nation African Union signed up to the Continental Free Trade Area</strong><br />
</a> (CFTA), an agreement which proposes a common market across the African continent. The new bloc would result in the largest free trade area in terms of participating countries since the formation of the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/104412796?__source=cnbcafrica|inline|story|&amp;par=cnbcafrica &amp;doc="><br />
<strong>World Trade Organization</strong><br />
</a>.</p>
<p>But Nigeria and South Africa, the region&#8217;s two largest economies, did not get on board, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/105094579?__source=cnbcafrica|inline|story|&amp;par=cnbcafrica &amp;doc="><br />
<strong>citing concerns over safeguarding jobs and cheap Chinese goods flooding the market</strong><br />
</a>.</p>
<p>The summit took place in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Rwanda&#8217;s President Paul Kagame is also chair of the African Union for 2018. Meanwhile, Nigeria&#8217;s President <strong>Muhammadu Buhari</strong> did not attend the event.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/14170229/105205415-GettyImages-924096960.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Stefan Heunis | AFP | Getty Images"/></p>
<p>&#8220;When you are the largest economy on the continent, and it&#8217;s a tiny, small country like Rwanda who is leading the conversation on the CFTA, there&#8217;s a very simple question that you ask yourself: &#8216;Where is your leadership?'&#8221; Kie said.</p>
<p>By initially turning down the deal, Nigeria has the &#8220;leverage&#8221; to &#8220;get some of the conditions that they think are critical for the economy to now be put on the table,&#8221; Kie explained. &#8220;They (won&#8217;t) just absorb the impact of the decision that was taken, but they&#8217;re also part of the solutions that are going to come.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just making a pure and basic analysis of the powers in presence, and I&#8217;m looking at what it entails,&#8221; he said. &#8220;All of this is political, it&#8217;s the heads of state that sign these agreements.&#8221;</p>
<p>Kie was confident that Nigeria would eventually subscribe to the deal.</p>
<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t have any doubt that Nigeria will join&#8221; the free trade agreement in its own time, he said. &#8220;Nobody will doubt the interests of this for the continent.&#8221;</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/14170234/105205434-GettyImages-648352552.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Frederic Soltan | Corbis | Getty Images"/></p>
<p>Kenya and Ghana, both African economies boasting strong fundamentals, ratified the agreement last week. Ethiopia&#8217;s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who leads the east African powerhouse economy which has seen double-digit GDP (gross domestic product) growth as recently as 2017, said on Monday that his country is ready to follow suit.</p>
<p>Intra-African trade currently comprises less than 20 percent of the continent&#8217;s total, with countries often focussed on exporting commodities to former colonial powers instead. It is hoped that the new free trade deal will shift emphasis away from this and towards manufacturing.</p>
<p>The African Union posits the agreement as uniting a market of 1.2 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of $2.5 trillion.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have to make sure that the rules of engagement when it comes to the free trade area are clearly defined,&#8221; both in terms of protecting national economies and establishing their manufacturing capacities, Kie said. &#8220;It&#8217;s not going to come overnight.&#8221;</p>


Nigeria is leading on pan-African trade, despite not even signing up to the deal: Bank chief

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<p>Ghana has kicked off the mobile money interoperability program which allows customers to send and receive money across various mobile networks. Kwame Oppong, Digital Financial Services Consultant joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Ghana launches mobile money interoperability scheme

<figure><img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209061/original/file-20180306-146650-1kgus7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="File 20180306 146650 1kgus7y.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1" /><figcaption>Millions of people without electricity access in Africa live close to existing power grid infrastructure.<br />
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebekah-shirley-440192">Rebekah Shirley</a>, <em><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/strathmore-university-2081">Strathmore University</a></em></p>
<p>At least 110 million of the 600 million people still living without access to electricity in Africa live in urban areas. Most are within a stone throw from existing power grid infrastructure.</p>
<p>In Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and Liberia alone there are <a href="http://www.cgdev.org/blog/shedding-new-light-grid-debate-power-africa-countries">up to</a> 95 million people living in urban areas. All in close proximity to the grid. In Kenya about <a href="https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/power-africa-observations-from-kenya/">70%</a> of off-grid homes are located within 1.2km of a power line. And estimates for “under-the-grid” populations across sub-Saharan Africa range from <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/348741492463112162/pdf/114375-REVISED-4-18-PMWB-AfricasPulse-Sping2017-vol15-ENGLISH-FINAL-web.pdf">61% to 78%</a>.</p>
<p>Besides energy access being crucial for many basic human needs, these underserved populations represent a massive commercial opportunity for <a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/how-deregulation-could-improve-reliability-for-african-utilities">cash-strapped</a> sub-Saharan African utilities. Electricity providers could reach tens of millions of densely packed customers without the cost of a last-mile rural grid extension.</p>
<p>So, why aren’t these potential consumers connected to the formal grid?</p>
<p>Urban communities often face many challenges in obtaining electricity access. These range from the prohibitively high cost of a connection, to the challenges of informal housing, the impact of power theft on services and socio-political marginalisation. In many cases, these obstacles are difficult to address successfully.</p>
<p>However, recent advances in distributed renewable energy technologies mean a more affordable, faster to deploy, cleaner alternative is at hand in Africa. One that can step in where policy and utility reforms are wanting.</p>
<h2>Barriers to grid connections</h2>
<p>One of the major barriers to electrification is the cost of a grid connection. A grid connection in Kenya, for instance, is estimated at <a href="http://dil.berkeley.edu/electrification-for-under-grid-households-in-rural-kenya-five-questions-for-ken-lee/">USD<br />
$ 400 per household</a>. This is nearly one-third of the average per capita <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/kenya/gdp-per-capita">income</a> of a Kenyan.</p>
<p>Beyond pure cost barriers, urban communities often can’t access energy services for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2512?WT.ec_id=NCLIMATE-201504&amp;spMailingID=48302515&amp;spUserID=ODkwMTM2NjQyMAS2&amp;spJobID=643211240&amp;spReportId=NjQzMjExMjQwS0">other</a> socio-economic reasons. For instance, not being metered because they <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21721141-making-slums-less-exploitative-may-be-africas-biggest-challenge-exploitation-and">don’t have</a> a formal address. Or living in in an area that is difficult to service – such as near flood plains or in informal housing settlements.</p>
<p>Corruption among electricity service providers, power theft by customers and the establishment of electricity cartels also complicates and limits electricity access.</p>
<p>Finally, the utilities themselves face many challenges in implementing reforms to get more people connected. Take the example of the Kenya Power and Lighting Company, which owns and operates most of the electricity transmission and distribution system. In 2015 it introduced a subsidised connection fee of US $150. This was done through the <a href="http://www.kplc.co.ke/content/item/1120/last-mile-connectivity">Last Mile Connectivity Project</a>. In one year, this installment-based payment plan led to a <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/08/17/bringing-electricity-to-kenyas-slums-hard-lessons-lead-to-great-gains">30-fold increase</a> in legal electricity connections in impoverished neighbourhoods.</p>
<p>But the project was <a href="https://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/smartcompany/1226-3483888-miyytdz/">marred</a> by cost overruns and inflated and misreported new connection numbers. On top of this, newly connected households often have very low consumption levels and low-income customers were often unable to make payments, even at subsidised rates.</p>
<p>Without the necessary infrastructural development, experts <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001233193/shocking-kenya-power-details-of-fake-meter-activations-to-please-president-uhuru">argue</a> that the program puts a strain on the technical, commercial and financial resources of the utility. This means that the programme may find it difficult to generate revenue, recover costs or provide the service intended to new customers.</p>
<h2>Decentralised renewables</h2>
<p>Decentralised renewable energy technologies offer an <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-senegal-needs-to-do-to-close-its-energy-gap-by-2030-88575">important solution</a> for “under-the-grid” electrification. They are simple, fast and agile. They have short installation times, and offer a reliable electricity service for informal settlements.</p>
<p>Pay-as-you-go solar systems and appliances, for example, <a href="http://www.wri.org/publication/stimulating-pay-you-go-energy-access-kenya-and-tanzania-role-development-finance">can provide</a> a much lower barrier to entry. Compared to the high upfront connection costs noted earlier in Kenya, a 15-watt solar home system costs <a href="http://www.wri.org/publication/stimulating-pay-you-go-energy-access-kenya-and-tanzania-role-development-finance">on average</a> USD $9 per month for 36 months after which point the household owns its system.</p>
<p>The renewable energy sector recognises this under-the-grid market. In fact, <a href="https://www.kenyacic.org/sites/default/files/publications/KCIC%20Solar%20Survey-3.pdf">about 35%</a> of solar lighting product sales in Kenya are made in peri-urban areas. And it’s a good bet. <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2889673">Evidence</a> shows that the willingness to pay for decentralised renewables is much higher than a grid connection because they are seen as more reliable.</p>
<p><a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/532f79fae4b07e365baf1c64/t/58e3f73ce4fcb5a3a0989855/1491334979777/Decentralized-Renewables-From-Promise-to-Progress-March-2017.pdf">Policies to support</a> decentralised technologies include: integrated energy planning that incorporates these solutions, adopting and enforcing product quality control standards and providing financial incentives – like reduced import duties for products or local loan and grant programs.</p>
<p>These solutions show that with the right approach, and simple innovations, Africa’s prospective urban customers can finally get access to electricity.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92211/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><em>Ben Attia, a Research Consultant with Greentech Media, contributed to the writing of this article</em></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebekah-shirley-440192">Rebekah Shirley</a>, Research Director at Power for All and Visiting Research Scholar, <em><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/strathmore-university-2081">Strathmore University</a></em></p>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/millions-of-urban-africans-still-dont-have-electricity-heres-what-can-be-done-92211">original article</a>.</p>


Millions of urban Africans still don’t have electricity: this is how to fix the problem…

<p>Justina Crabtree</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/23/china-does-not-have-to-ask-anyone-for-respect-ghanas-president-says.html">China does not have to ask anyone for respect, Ghana’s president says</a></p>
<ul>
<li>Nana Akufo-Addo pinpointed China&#8217;s development story Saturday in a speech that promoted intra-African economic co-operation.</li>
<li>He also extolled African unity as a means of generating economic prosperity.</li>
</ul>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://media.cnbc.com/i/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2018/04/23/105151583-GettyImages-949191316.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Dominika Zarzycka | NurPhoto | Getty Images"/></p>
<p>Ghanian President Nana Akufo-Addo pinpointed China&#8217;s development story Saturday in a speech that promoted intra-African economic co-operation.</p>
<p>&#8220;China does not ask anyone for respect now,&#8221; he said, referring to foreign students&#8217; enthusiasm for learning Mandarin as evidence of Beijing&#8217;s influence.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve run out of excuses for the state of our continent,&#8221; Akufo-Addo added, speaking at the London School of Economics. &#8220;If we work at it, if we stop being beggars, and spend Africa&#8217;s monies inside the continent, Africa will not need to ask for respect from anyone.&#8221;</p>
<p>China&#8217;s influence in Africa is more nuanced than simply providing loans and building infrastructure. <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/105114262?__source=cnbcafrica|inline|story|&amp;par=cnbcafrica &amp;doc="><br />
<strong>Ethiopia</strong><br />
</a> — among the world&#8217;s fastest growing economies with gross domestic product (GDP) expansion at 10.9 percent in 2017 — espouses a China-style state-led development model, for example.</p>
<p>Akufo-Addo also extolled African unity as a means of generating economic prosperity.</p>
<p>&#8220;Africa is losing annually more than $50 billion United States dollars through illicit financial outflows,&#8221; he said, referring to a <a href="https://www.uneca.org/sites/default/files/PublicationFiles/iff_main_report_26feb_en.pdf">United Nations report</a> led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki. &#8220;The dispiriting part of the story, of course, is the fact that some Africans are complicit.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is clear that we are not well-equipped to cope with those who come to conduct business in our countries with the aim of making extraordinary returns through unorthodox and illegal means.&#8221;</p>
<p>Akufo-Addo also highlighted the importance of a nascent <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/105076688?__source=cnbcafrica|inline|story|&amp;par=cnbcafrica &amp;doc="><br />
<strong>pan-African free trade agreement</strong><br />
</a> proposed by the African Union.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://media.cnbc.com/i/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2018/04/06/105114344-GettyImages-144865684.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Jenny Vaughan | AFP | Getty Images"/></p>
<p>&#8220;The free trade area will succeed as we transform the structure of our economies from economies that are dependent on the production and export of raw materials to value-adding economies,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Trade, then, is made not on the basis of raw material exports but on the basis of things we make. That is the surest route to prosperity.&#8221;</p>
<p>Less than 20 percent of trade in Africa is internal at present. At a March summit of African Union members in Kigali, Rwanda, 44 countries signed up to the pact — although, notably, two of the continent&#8217;s major economies, South Africa and Nigeria, did not. If implemented, the agreement would establish the largest trading bloc in terms of member countries since the formation of the World Trade Organization (WHO).</p>
<p>Ghana itself is among Africa&#8217;s <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/105067242?__source=cnbcafrica|inline|story|&amp;par=cnbcafrica &amp;doc="><br />
<strong>fastest growing economies</strong><br />
</a>. In 2017, its GDP grew by 8.4 percent, more than double that of the previous year as the West African country expanded its oil production. But, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) anticipates more modest growth this year of 6.3 percent.</p>
<p>Akufo-Addo made headlines in December for saying that it was &#8220;not right&#8221; for Ghana to depend on European funding during a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.</p>


China does not have to ask anyone for respect, Ghana’s president says

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<p>The IMF has warned African countries about the risks of rising debt. Ghana and Gambia have government debt to GDP ratios that are over 50 per cent. Is it right to ring the alarm bells for West Africa&#8217;s debt situation?</p>


Should we sound the alarm on debt in West Africa?

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<p>There have been calls for the Bank of Ghana and Commercial banks to cut down the cost of credit, as the country&#8217;s new framework for calculating interest rates takes shape. Sulemana Mohammed, CEO of Doobia joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Understanding the cost of credit in Ghana

<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; Global growth will keep a steady pace this year and next, buoyed by stronger trade and U.S. fiscal stimulus that will fade by the early 2020s, while increased tariffs could damage market confidence and output, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.</p>
<div class="container_2pnvl">
<div class="container_1tVQo" tabindex="-1">The IMF, in its latest World Economic Outlook, kept its 2018 and 2019 global growth forecasts unchanged at 3.9 percent for both years after upgrades in January.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p>The projections were released as thousands of global finance officials were gathering in Washington for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings this week.</p>
<p>The IMF said it raised its U.S. growth forecast by 0.2 percentage point for both years, to 2.9 percent for 2018 and 2.7 percent for 2019. It said lower U.S. corporate income tax rates and accelerated investments due to a temporary tax break would boost U.S. growth through 2020, but these effects would then reverse quickly, causing a slowdown.</p>
<p>Ghana has lost its pole position as the fastest growing economy in Africa to Ethiopia. The IMF expects the West African nation&#8217;s economy to grow 6.3 percent this year, whilst Ethiopia&#8217;s growth is forecast at 8.5 percent.</p>
<p>Africa&#8217;s largest economy Nigeria, is expected to expand 2.1 percent this year whereas the continent&#8217;s most advanced economy, South Africa&#8217;s growth is expected at  1.5 percent, from 0.9 percent forecast three months ago.</p>
<p>“Global growth is projected to soften beyond the next couple of years,” the IMF said in the report, adding that advanced economies would be “held back by aging populations and lackluster productivity.”</p>
<p>The Trump administration has maintained that Republican tax cuts passed last year would allow the United States to maintain sustained gross domestic product growth above 3 percent for years and defy forecasts that U.S. budget deficits will balloon over the coming decade.</p>
<p>For now, the IMF said increased export demand was contributing to slight growth forecast upgrades for the euro area and Britain for 2018, while the IMF kept its forecasts unchanged for Japan, China, India, Russia and Mexico.</p>
<p>Forecasts were cut slightly for Canada, the Middle East and North African countries, as well as a number of low-income developing countries.</p>
<p>The IMF said prospects for developing economies to grow per-capita incomes face difficult prospects over the next five years, especially in commodity-exporting countries in the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.</p>
<p>Risks to the global growth forecasts were broadly balanced for the next few quarters, with the potential for stronger business profits to increase hiring and investments that could boost productivity, the IMF said.</p>
<p>But trade tensions, such as the United States and China’s recent dueling tariff announcements, could take a direct toll on trade and economic activity and also cause financial market turmoil that would tighten financial conditions and hurt confidence.</p>
<p>“An increase in tariffs and nontariff trade barriers could harm market sentiment, disrupt global supply chains, and slow the spread of new technologies, reducing global productivity and investment,” the IMF said. “Greater protectionism would also lower consumer welfare by making tradable consumer goods more expensive.”</p>
<p>Research from 2016, the IMF said, showed that tariffs or other barriers that led to a 10 percent increase in import prices in all countries would lower global output and consumption by about 1.75 percent after five years and close to 2 percent in the long term. Global trade would fall 15 percent after five years and 16 percent in the long run under such a scenario, it said.</p>
<div class="container_28wm1">
<div class="attribution_o4ojT">
<p class="content_27_rw">Reporting by CNBC Africa and David Lawder; Editing by Leslie Adler</p>
</div>
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<div class="trustBadgeContainer_1gqgJ"><span class="trustBadgeTitle_7sKLj">Our Standards:</span><span class="trustBadgeUrl"><a href="http://thomsonreuters.com/en/about-us/trust-principles.html">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a></span></div>


Ghana has just been knocked out of pole position as Africa’s fastest growing economy

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<p>The Ghana and South Africa government to government engagement is currently taking place at the IDC in Sandton. So far there is robust discussion about the government policies.</p>


Minister Rob Davies on how SA can benefit from trade with Ghana

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<p>Ghana&#8217;s finance Minister recently indicated plans to hit the international market to raise about $1.5 billion dollars by the end of April. Meanwhile, in a bid to check the country&#8217;s debt stock, IMF advised the government to cut the target to $500mn.</p>


IMF advises Ghana to check debt stock

<p>By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/leah-oyake-ombis-385024">Leah Oyake-Ombis</a>, <em><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-nairobi-1958">University of Nairobi</a></em></p>
<p>Uncollected <a href="http://nairobiassembly.go.ke/acts/Solid-waste.pdf">solid waste</a> is one of Nairobi’s <a href="http://www.cityfarmer.org/NairobiCompost.html">most</a> visible environmental problems. Many parts of the city, especially the low and middle-income areas, don’t even have waste collection systems in place. In high income areas, private waste collection companies are booming. Residents pay handsomely without really knowing where the waste will end up.</p>
<p>The Nairobi county government has <a href="https://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/dn2/Nairobi-City-sinking-in-trash/957860-3188156-12j42w6/index.html">acknowledged</a> that <a href="http://www.centreforurbaninnovations.com/sites/default/files/Integrated%20Solid%20Waste%20Management%20Plan%20for%20Nairobi%20City.pdf">with</a> 2,475 tons of waste being produced each day, it can’t manage. Addis Ababa Ethiopia has a <a href="http://populationof2017.com/population-of-addis-ababa-2017.html">similar</a> size population but only <a href="http://www.africanews.com/2017/11/25/ethiopia-marching-towards-africa-s-first-waste-to-energy-plant-unep//">generates</a> 1,680 tons per day.</p>
<p>Nairobi’s current waste disposal system is fraught with major problems. These range from the city’s failure to prioritise solid waste management to inadequate infrastructure and the fact that multiple actors are involved whose activities aren’t controlled. There are <a href="http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/11295/76278/Ondiek_Business%20opportunities%20and%20challenges%20for%20small%20and%20medium%20enterprises%20.pdf?sequence=3&amp;isAllowed=y">over</a> 150 private sector waste operators independently involved in various aspects of waste management. To top it all there’s no enforcement of laws and regulations.</p>
<p>Nairobi’s waste disposal problems go back a long way and there have been previous efforts to sort them out. For example in the early 1990s, private and civil society actors got involved, signing contractual arrangements with waste generators. They often did this without informing or partnering with the city authorities.</p>
<p>More recently other strategies were put in place, some of which left parts of the city clean. They worked for a period, but unfortunately they weren’t sustainable because no institutional changes were made.</p>
<p>But there’s hope on the horizon with a new Nairobi Governor – Mike Sonko Mbuvi. He should learn from the mistakes of the past and put a new regime in place that addresses the structural problems that have plagued the city. This would include an improved improved collection and transportation plan that incorporates the private sector.</p>
<h2>Learning from the past</h2>
<p>In 2005 John Gakuo took over the management of city affairs as the Town Clerk. During his tenure (2005-2009) he made a deliberate effort to introduce new approaches.</p>
<p>When he took over the city only had 13 refuse trucks. They were able to collect a <a href="http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/11295/76278/Ondiek_Business%20opportunities%20and%20challenges%20for%20small%20and%20medium%20enterprises%20.pdf?sequence=3&amp;isAllowed=y">paltry</a> 20% of the waste produced by the city. To overcome this, the authorities contracted private waste collection firms to collect, transport and dispose waste at Dandora dump site which is the biggest and the only designated site. This quickly <a href="https://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Letters/440806-2090792-1fr5wgz/index.html">boosted</a> the total waste collected with levels oscillating between 45%-60%.</p>
<p>Other changes included:</p>
<ul>
<li>The development of a proper waste collection and transportation schedule with market operators. This meant waste from open-air markets was brought to identified collection points on specific days.</li>
<li>A <a href="http://www.ecopost.co.ke/assets/pdf/nairobi_solid_waste.pdf">weighbridge</a> to measure amounts of waste disposed at Dandora was introduced. An important way to know disposal levels vis-a-vis collection and generation.</li>
<li>Enforcement officers were deployed to prevent dumping in parts of the city that were notorious for waste accumulation.</li>
<li>Over 2,000 arrests <a href="http://bankelele.co.ke/2007/10/john-gakuo-restoring-nairobis-glory.html">were made</a>, making residents aware that indiscriminate dumping was illegal and punishable under the city authority laws.</li>
</ul>
<p>All these efforts paid off – for parts of the city. For example, the heart of the city, the Central Business District, was cleaned up and waste was brought under control.</p>
<p>But crucial elements that would have ensured that the changes were sustainable were left out. For example, no new physical infrastructure, like the construction of waste transfer centres and proper landfills, were built, nor was new equipment bought.</p>
<p>After Gakuo’s regime, the next one worth a mention is Evans Kidero’s regime (2013 &#8211; 2017). It can be credited for trying to fast-track the implementation of the <a href="http://www.centreforurbaninnovations.com/sites/default/files/Integrated%20Solid%20Waste%20Management%20Plan%20for%20Nairobi%20City.pdf">Solid Waste Management Master Plan</a> which assessed the waste management problem of Nairobi and <a href="https://www.jica.go.jp/kenya/english/office/topics/150317.html">developed projects</a> that could be implemented to ensure a sustainable system was in place.</p>
<p>This ensured that while the private sector needed to help with waste collection and transportation, the government was key to institutionalising waste management services.</p>
<p>Thirty waste collection trucks were bought and serious investment was made into heavy equipment. And in an effort to streamline waste collection a franchise system of waste collection was rolled out. This involved dividing the city into nine zones to make it easier to manage waste.</p>
<p>The franchise arrangement gave private operators a monopoly over both waste and fee collections, but relied heavily on the public body for enforcement of the system.</p>
<p>The franchising system failed due to a lack of enforcement by the city. In addition, in-fighting broke out between the private waste collection firms that had individual contracts with waste generators and the appointed contractor.</p>
<p>But other changes introduced during this period were more successful and had longer lasting effect. For example new laws were introduced designed to create order in the sector. These included the <a href="http://nairobiassembly.go.ke/acts/Solid-waste.pdf">solid waste management act</a> in 2015. This classified waste and also created a collection scheme based on the sub-county system. It also put penalties in place.</p>
<p>In addition, in 2016, 17 environment officers <a href="http://www.nairobi.go.ke/home/news/kidero-attends-to-nairobi-residents-and-business-owners-grievances/">were appointed</a> and posted to the sub-counties to plan and supervise waste management operations alongside other environmental issues.</p>
<p>These changes planted the seeds of an efficient and working waste management system. But the regime fell down when it come to enforcement. This meant that the gains that had been made were soon lost.</p>
<h2>What needs to be done</h2>
<p>Expectations are high for the new regime that has taken over. It should look to fast-track the following programmes:</p>
<ul>
<li>Implement an improved collection and transportation plan that incorporates private sector and civil society groups;</li>
<li>Establish a disposal facility to reduce secondary pollution from the city’s dumps;</li>
<li>Decommission the Dandora dump site;</li>
<li>Implement the re-use, reduction, and recycling of waste;</li>
<li>Establish intermediate treatment facilities to reduce waste and its hazards;</li>
<li>Create an autonomous public corporation;</li>
<li>Put in place legal and institutional reforms to create accountability;</li>
<li>Implement a financial management plan, and</li>
<li>Implement private sector involvement.</li>
</ul>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92443/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />Nairobi can fix it’s waste disposal problems. All it needs is focused attention, good governance and the implementation of systems that ensure changes outlive just one administration.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/leah-oyake-ombis-385024">Leah Oyake-Ombis</a>, Part-time lecturer and Director of the Africa Livelihood Innovations for Sustainable Environment Consulting Group, <em><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-nairobi-1958">University of Nairobi</a></em></p>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-nairobi-can-fix-its-serious-waste-problem-92443">original article</a>.</p>


Africa has a serious waste issue, this is how Nairobi can fix its…

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<p>With just nine months left for Ghanaian banks to meet the minimum capital requirement set by the Bank of Ghana, Samuel Kofi-Ampah, Head of Research at Groupe Nduom joins CNBC Africa to give an update on how the process is going.</p>


Ghanaian banks under pressure to meet capital requirement as deadline looms

<p>Ghana may only produce around 700,000 tonnes of cocoa this season, well short of its initial forecast of 850,000 tonnes, due to poor rains during the main crop harvest, the head of the Cocobod marketing board told Reuters on Monday.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-43950 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/cocoa_wikipedia_2.jpg" alt="Nigeria says cocoa crop to rise after late rains reverse forecast" width="600" height="401" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="">The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) forecast a global cocoa surplus of 105,000 tonnes of beans for the 2017/18 season. But concerns about the harvest in neighbouring Ivory Coast, the world’s top producer, has sent global prices soaring in recent weeks.</p>
<p class="">Cocobod CEO Joseph Boahen Aidoo said in an interview with Reuters that output by No. 2 grower Ghana was also falling short.</p>
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<p class="">The country had registered purchases of around 650,000 tonnes by March 2.</p>
<p class="">“We have bought the bulk of our cocoa for the season,” Aidoo said.“We’re hoping to get something from the light crop &#8211; about 50,000 or a little above. That takes us to around 700,000 or a little above 700,000 tonnes.”</p>
<p class="">The ICCO estimates that Ghana produced around 950,000 tonnes of beans last season, though much of that is believed to have consisted of smuggled Ivorian beans.</p>
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<p class="">Despite a significantly higher farmer price in Ghana than in Ivory Coast this season, Aidoo said smuggling had been minimal.</p>
<p class="">Ghana maintained its producer price at 7,600 cedis ($1,717) per tonne at the start of the season in October despite a drop in world prices.</p>
<p class="">The high price has led to a 2 billion cedi deficit at Cocobod, and in January the government proposed cutting the price, pegging it to 70 percent of world market prices.</p>
<p class="">However that plan is subject to approval by President Nana Akufo-Addo.</p>
<p class="">“Personally, I see it as a very tall order and a tough call for the President because it hinges on sustainability of the industry,” Aidoo said.</p>
<p class="">Cocobod is issuing cocoa bills to fund the deficit via the central bank, which it already owes about 5.5 billion cedis. Aidoo said the sector regulator was negotiating to have that debt restructured.</p>
<p class="">Meanwhile, he said Cocobod planned to seek around $1.3 billion in September via its annual syndicated loan to cover purchases of an estimated 900,000 tonnes of cocoa next season.</p>
<p class="">However, Aidoo said it had put on hold plans to borrow around $500 million from China Eximbank, because it had received encouraging feedback from the African Development Bank (AfDB) for a loan that would cover much of the same expenditures.</p>
<p class="">Along with Ivory Coast, Ghana is seeking $1.2 billion from the AfDB to finance projects aimed at boosting processing capacity and creating storage facilities capable of housing buffer stocks.</p>
<p class="">“Our request has received a very positive response and we are confident of having the loan,” Aidoo said.</p>
<p class="">Ghana and Ivory Coast, which together account for 60-70 percent of global supply, opened negotiations amid last season’s cocoa slump, aiming to increase cooperation in order to have more influence over world prices.</p>
<p class="">Those talks are due to resume in Accra this week, and Aidoo said harmonising farmer prices between the two growers would be at the top of the agenda.</p>
<p class="">($= 4.4250 Ghanaian cedis)</p>
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<p class="content_27_rw">Editing by Joe Bavier and Susan Fenton</p>
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Ghana cocoa output likely be only around 700,000 T this season -Cocobod

<p><strong>By Kennedy Ntoso, Head of Cocoa Sustainability, Olam Cocoa Ghana</strong></p>
<p>This week, in light of International Women’s Day, journalists, campaigners and businesses alike unite in spotlighting gender equality across the globe, often within the context of our work environments. In Ghana, and many other countries at the root of global agricultural supply chains, the conversation is likely to be a muted one, however discussions around issues related to workplace equality are important. Whether that’s in an office in a capital city or on a cocoa farm in the countryside, this week offers an opportunity to champion the role women play in our societies and businesses.</p>
<p>As the world’s foremost focused supplier of cocoa beans and cocoa products, we engage with a network of millions of smallholder farmers, many of whom are women. The role of women farmers in our supply chains is fundamental, as they are often responsible for many of the daily farming processes and practices that support a farm’s success. So fundamental in fact, that the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) estimates that, across all agricultural sectors, women farmers produce more than half of all the food that is grown in the world, rising to 80 percent in Africa. However, in some of the most remote corners of the globe, which are often the very same places where Olam operates, women farmers may not commonly be found taking frontline roles and may feel that they are not able to participate in key training or decision-making processes. This is problematic for a number of reasons, not least because, on average, women farmers often reinvest a higher proportion of earnings into their families and communities when they have financial agency. Additionally, if there are agricultural practices which may be dangerous to the environment it is important that women understand what those dangers are and become involved in the process of halting them. Supporting women farmers, therefore, makes sense from a productivity, livelihood and environmental perspective.</p>
<p>According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation, just giving women farmers the same access as men to agricultural resources could increase production on women&#8217;s farms in developing countries by 20 to 30 percent. One way we are doing this for the cocoa sector specifically is through the Gender Sub Working Group (GSWG) of Ghana’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) programme championed by the Forestry Commission of Ghana and COCOBOD. Cocoa is seen as one of the major drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, and Olam Cocoa was chosen to be a partner in tackling this, based on its commitment to women’s empowerment and the leadership role it is taking in addressing forest degradation. Some of the training sessions that are being run under this programme focus on the impact of cocoa farming on the environment and the importance of reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The REDD+ GSWG was created specifically to spearhead gender mainstreaming and ensure both men and women are given equal opportunities to access, to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from various forestry policies, programs and funds.  Gender mainstreaming is supportive in reducing cultural challenges which inhibits active participation of women farmers in forest preservation and conservation.</p>
<p>When we began our training programmes, in every group discussion, the men would sit in the front seats and be the sole contributors to the discussion. Slowly, as we have been supporting women and building their confidence through education and financial empowerment, we are seeing them begin to contribute more. Recently, in one community that has particularly benefited from increased yields and improved livelihoods as a result of women farmers introducing REDD+ best practices, the men insisted that the women farmers join them in taking the front seats, a considerable shift in such a community.</p>
<p><strong>The story of Yaa Fosuah</strong></p>
<p>54-year-old Yaa Fosuah, from Punikrom, has been farming since she was 16 years old but it is only in the last ten years, since becoming involved with Olam Cocoa and REDD+, that she has been provided with agricultural and financial training to help her invest in her farm as a business, which has enabled her to better support her family.</p>
<p>A few years ago, Yaa was advised to rehabilitate her small cocoa farm and diversify her crops, an idea her husband was initially opposed to. Nonetheless, she persisted and now farms plantain, cassava and palm, as well as cocoa, and harvests more cocoa, up to 3 bags per harvest compared to 2 previously, as well as plantain to sell and to feed her family. Overall, the farm is healthy and very productive and has even been recognised with an award for the best plantain farm in the district. She is also benefiting from financial training and is the decision maker on how the proceeds of her work are spent. Yaa Fosuah’s husband, initially hesitant in allowing her to join the programme, has seen the benefits of it and now fully supports her continuing to adopt climate smart practices. Her advice to fellow female farmers is to keep learning from the resources that Olam Cocoa provides: “I am amazed by what I have seen in my farm and life since joining the programme. I know from my experience and others that there is more hope for future female farmers.”</p>


Why empowering women farmers is key to protecting our environment

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<p>The Republic of Ghana marked its sevent anniversary as a member state of the Africa Finance Corporation by becoming a sovereign shareholder in the Corporation, making an initial equity investment of 10 million dollars.</p>


Ghana becomes sovereign shareholder in AFC

<p>The International Monetary Fund is confident Ghana will implement outstanding measures needed for a successful review of its $918 million aid programme next month, the Fund’s Ghana chief said on Monday.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-43288 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/imf-headquarters.jpg" alt="Low oil out impacts Angola’s economic growth" width="600" height="340" /></p>
<p class="">The major commodities exporter is in the final year of the programme, signed in April 2015 to restore stability to an economy dogged by deficits, public debt and low growth with inflation consistently above target.</p>
<p class="">A confidential document seen by Reuters on Friday said the IMF wants Ghana to adopt new measures to boost revenues, slow the pace of borrowing and outline plans to clean up the financial sector.</p>
<p class="">“The ongoing macroeconomic stabilization is an opportunity to reduce the cost of debt, by reducing risk premia and refinancing it on more favourable terms, including by issuing a Eurobond,” Natalia Koliadina told reporters on Monday.</p>
<p class="">Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said last week the government planned to issue up to $2 billion of sovereign issuance by June to pay down debt that hit 68.7 percent of GDP last November and help finance the 2018 budget.</p>
<p class="">Koliadina said an IMF staff mission which left Accra on Thursday discussed options for revenue mobilization with the authorities, including by broadening the tax base and rationalising tax incentives.</p>
<p class="">The Fund expects the central bank to continue its disinflation policy to support exchange rate stability, she said. “This requires the Bank of Ghana to maintain focus on price stability.”</p>
<p class="">Koliadina said IMF staff expect to finalise discussions on the remaining issues to allow Ghana proceed with the proposed IMF board review in April.</p>
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<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw">Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Editing by Hugh Lawson</p>
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Ghana

Rwanda, Ghana sign air service agreement

Championing a united Africa

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IMF advises Ghana to check debt stock

Africa has a serious waste issue, this is how Nairobi can fix its…

Ghanaian banks under pressure to meet capital requirement as deadline looms

Ghana cocoa output likely be only around 700,000 T this season -Cocobod

Why empowering women farmers is key to protecting our environment

Ghana becomes sovereign shareholder in AFC

IMF says confident Ghana will meet April review requirements

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