JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; KPMG South Africa said on Wednesday it was looking for a new chief executive from outside the company to restore the auditor’s reputation after a corruption scandal that saw it lose several major clients.
Current Chief Executive Nhlamulo Dlomu, was promoted from within the company after a clear out of management last year due to work done for a company owned by the Gupta family &#8211; friends of former president Jacob Zuma who were accused of influencing the award of government contracts..
During Dlomu’s tenure KPMG South Africa has cut hundreds of jobs and shut regional offices to cope with the loss of business after South Africa’s auditor general, in April, said it would terminate all government contracts with the firm.
The Guptas and Zuma have denied any wrongdoing and KPMG has said it found no evidence it had acted illegally.
“Given the scale of the reputational challenges facing both KPMG and the industry, the board has decided that a new chief executive from outside the firm, with strong industry experience, will optimise prospects of rebuilding trust,” KPMG said in a statement.
Dlomu will remain at the company, taking on a newly created global role focusing on ethical leadership and organisational culture change.
The new CEO will be recruited externally, KPMG said, adding that in the interim, its South Africa Chairman Wiseman Nkuhlu will serve as an executive chair.
More than a dozen private companies, including Barclays Africa, one of KPMG’s biggest clients, have dropped the auditor after a public backlash in South Africa over the role of the auditor in the high-profile Gupta saga.
Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Joe Brock and Elaine Hardcastle

KPMG South Africa looks for new CEO to restore reputation after corruption scandal

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/yohannes-gedamu-432503">Yohannes Gedamu</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/georgia-gwinnett-college-2416">Georgia Gwinnett College</a>
There’s no doubt that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s first five months in office have brought <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/ethiopia-releases-high-profile-political-prisoners/a-42590273">enormous change</a> to the country. He’s also been hailed for shepherding Ethiopia to a <a href="https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1396331/saudi-king-hosts-ethiopia-eritrea-peace-summit-jeddah">historic peace agreement</a> with neighbour Eritrea.
Thanks to Abiy’s astounding short-term gains, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/08/abiy-ahmed-meets-the-ethiopian-diaspora/566591/">Ethiopians both at home and abroad</a> are feeling hopeful.
But all is not well in Ethiopia. <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/ethiopia-talk-of-peace-fails-to-quell-ethnic-clashes/a-45620873">Ethnic tensions and violence</a> are on the rise. Ethnic conflicts <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ethiopia-the-anuaks-forgo_b_795330.html">are not new</a>, but the levels of violence being witnessed today are very disturbing.
Ethiopia has more than <a href="https://msu.edu/%7Ehudson/HECcensus.pdf">80 ethnic groups</a>. Despite recent improvements, it also has <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/publication/ethiopia-poverty-assessment">a weak economy</a> and an overwhelmingly poor citizenry. If Abiy wants to make a genuine attempt at real democracy he must do away with tribal politics and make stronger strides towards national unity.
<h2>Ethnic tension</h2>
The renewed ethnic tension is unfolding on several fronts.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/persecution-of-ethnic-amharas-will-harm-ethiopias-reform-agenda-98201">Ethnic Amharas</a> who were evicted and displaced from the Benshangul-Gumuz and Oromia regions are yet to receive government assistance. Most of the ethnic Oromos who were <a href="https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-12-15/hundreds-thousands-displaced-ethiopians-are-caught-between-ethnic-violence-and">evicted in their hundreds of thousands</a> from Ethiopia’s Somali region in 2017 remain displaced.
The ethnic Somalis who <a href="https://www.opride.com/2018/07/31/oromo-militias-killed-50-somalis-displaced-hundreds-as-tit-for-tat-violence-spiraled-out-of-control-in-moyale/">were evicted from Oromia</a> in retaliation are also still displaced. <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/iom-ethiopia-gedeo-guji-return-analysis-report-i-august-2018">Ethnic Gedeos</a> who were evicted from Oromia’s Guji areas are now living in <a href="http://www.africanews.com/2018/07/14/ethiopia-un-releases-15m-aid-package-towards-escalating-humanitarian-crisis//">appalling conditions</a> in schools, closed factories and temporary camps.
Hundreds of innocent Ethiopians have died in the southern cities of Awassa and Sodo because of <a href="https://ethsat.com/2018/06/ethiopia-over-200-killed-in-ethnic-violence-southern-ethiopia/">ethic violence</a>.
And in the past two weeks alone, dozens of Ethiopians from the Gamo, Ghuraghe, and Dorze groups around the capital city, Addis Ababa, were <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-violence/at-least-23-die-in-weekend-of-ethiopia-ethnic-violence-idUSKCN1LX0VK?il=0">targeted and killed</a> by unidentified assailants.
A rally that was organised in Addis Ababa to protest the killings was violently dispersed by police. The media reported that some residents were <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-violence/ethiopian-protesters-killed-for-singing-anti-government-songs-u-n-idUSKBN1FC2GC">killed by government security forces</a>.
To understand the latest events, it’s necessary to look to Ethiopia’s history. Ethnic tensions have simmered – and often boiled over – for decades. Some of the earliest signs can be traced back to 1991, when former president Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam’s regime was removed from power.
<h2>Causes of the violence</h2>
When his military regime was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/28/world/ethiopian-rebels-storm-the-capital-and-seize-control.html">overthrown in 1991</a>, a hastily organised coalition seized power in the capital.
The coalition, known as the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, was made up of four ethnic parties: the Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organisation, Amhara National Democratic Movement, Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement, and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front.
Soon after the coalition came together, it introduced an ethnic federal system of governance to try and address historic ethnic grievances by giving Ethiopia’s different regions the chance to administer themselves. This federal system allowed regions to organise along tribal lines. It also led to the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/managing-ethiopia-political-crisis-180205113035729.html">rise of ethno-nationalist movements</a>, which eventually weakened Ethiopia’s national unity.
Ethnic intolerance grew and gained momentum, and ethnic violence became a permanent fixture of Ethiopian politics.
Ethnic groups have, over the past few decades of coalition rule, staked claims to territories administered by other tribes. Ethnic Amharas, for instance, have <a href="https://www.opride.com/2018/02/23/amhara-protest-stalwarts-released-government-remains-mum-welkait-issue/">claimed ownership</a> of the Wolqait and Raya territories in northwestern Ethiopia, leading to tensions with the Tigray region, which currently administers these areas. Violence has often erupted over the claim.
Ethiopia’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41278618">Somali and Oromo</a> communities have also seen their fair share of violence over ownership of ancestral and pastoral land.
So, the issues of federal governance, negative ethnicity, and debates over land ownership have been a longstanding thorn in the Ethiopian leadership’s flesh. What remains to be seen is how Abiy’s administration will deal with it. Can the new premier resolve these issues and keep his reforms agenda on course?
<h2>Ahmed’s options</h2>
Despite Ethiopians’ optimism, the simple answer is no. And the reason is this: the ruling coalition is still a conglomeration of four ethno-nationalist parties. Despite Ahmed’s newly adopted reforms, which lean towards the rights of the individual and citizenship politics, the ruling coalition remains fixated on the group-rights agenda. This agenda has always privileged division over unity.
The Oromo Democratic Party, for instance, <a href="https://www.opride.com/2017/07/01/oromia-special-interest-law-owns-addis-ababa/">still advocates a controversial idea</a> known as Oromia’s Special Interest in Addis Ababa.
The organisation is the most powerful party in the ruling coalition today. Its members have made a political and constitutional claim to Addis Ababa because it is an enclave located in the State of Oromia. The city now doubles as the capital of Oromia despite the fact that less than 20% of its residents are ethnic Oromos.
This has led to tensions between ethnic Oromos, who are the minority in Addis, and other ethnic groups like the Amhara, who are the <a href="http://populationof2017.com/population-of-addis-ababa-2017.html">overwhelming majority</a> in the city.
Such <a href="https://www.acleddata.com/2018/04/12/10-hidden-conflicts-in-africa/">ethnic rivalries and conflicts</a> are common in Africa. However, Ethiopia can be singled out for the manner in which these rivalries have played out. The ethnic federal arrangement has given ethnic parties and their politics the legal foundation to flourish.
Unfortunately, when ethnic interests and ethnic politics become the modus operandi of the ruling coalition and opposition elites, the challenges to a country can quickly become insurmountable.
Prime Minister Abiy must now take measures to reduce such conflicts and address ethnic tensions. Creating a framework whereby cultural, religious, and social organisations could utilise the rich social capital at their disposal would be crucial. Moreover, Abiy should not shy away from the possibility of constitutional change. This would allow for the articles that have entrenched ethnic divisions to be amended. Finally, Abiy’s administration’s should focus on building much-needed democratic institutions because a functioning democracy will solve most of Ethiopia’s problems.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103928/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/yohannes-gedamu-432503">Yohannes Gedamu</a>, Lecturer of Political Science, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/georgia-gwinnett-college-2416">Georgia Gwinnett College</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-ethnic-violence-is-destabilising-ethiopias-reform-gains-103928">original article</a>.

Are ethnic tensions and violence in Ethiopia weakening reform gains?

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African engineering and construction firm Group Five will cut more jobs as it seeks to reduce the size of loss-making divisions, the company said on Tuesday.
The company posted a full-year loss of 1.3 billion rand ($90.76 million), 62 percent higher than a year previously, due to higher costs from the delayed Kpone power project in Ghana.
South African construction companies have been hit hard in recent years as stagnant growth has hobbled public infrastructure spending, prompting companies to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Group Five cut jobs last year when it began the restructuring process of its troubled Engineer, Procure and Construct (EPC) division.
The group, which also has a manufacturing arm, will further cut back its EPC and Turnkey Project Solutions businesses, it said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, there will be some additional retrenchments and we have started the relevant consultation processes,” the statement said.
In May, the company secured 650 million rand ($46.12 million) in short-term bridge funding from local banks in efforts to offset losses from the Kpone project and a lacklustre construction market at home.
Group Five reported a diluted headline loss of 1,380 cents per share, compared with a loss of 853 cents per share for the year ended June 2017.
Headline EPS is the most widely watched profit measure in South Africa which strips out certain one-off items.
($1 = 14.3235 rand)
Reporting by Patricia Aruo; Editing by Joe Brock

More job losses loom at SA’s Group Five firm as company posts year loss of $90.76 million

<figure><img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238156/original/file-20180926-48631-rvjpem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="File 20180926 48631 rvjpem.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1" /><figcaption>Nigeria needs to review existing structures to drive growth. 
xtock/Shutterstock
</figcaption></figure>
By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ohio-omiunu-514053">Ohio Omiunu</a>, Senior Lecturer in Law, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/de-montfort-university-1254">De Montfort University</a>
There have been sustained efforts to diversify Nigeria’s economy since the country returned to democratic civilian rule in 1999. Successive governments have made foreign direct investment a priority to achieve this aim.
Originally, the organised private sector was intended as the primary driver of investment-led economic reforms. But, in the process, the policy space was inadvertently opened up for state governments. Nigeria has three constitutionally recognised <a href="http://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/decentralization/march2003seminar/fiscalfedreport.pdf">levels of government</a>. These are the federal government, 36 state governments and 774 local governments. Each level of government has defined powers under the constitution. States are not meant to engage in foreign economic relations.
However, successive economic reforms have given impetus to Nigerian states to grow in stature as gatekeepers to foreign direct investment. It’s now common to hear of states introducing specialised agencies to facilitate and coordinate investment inflows. Examples include the <a href="http://kadipa.kdsg.gov.ng/">Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency</a>, the <a href="http://www.lagosglobal.org/">Lagos Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment</a> and the <a href="https://www.ansippa.ng/who-we-are/">Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency</a>.
Some states have also floated development focused corporate entities in which they have controlling stakes. A recent example is the <a href="http://dawncommission.org/whatWeAre.php">Development Agenda for Western Nigeria Commission</a>. This was set up by the six state governments in Nigeria’s South-West. They are pursuing a regional economic integration strategy.
All these initiatives invariably lead to foreign entities including diplomatic envoys, multinational companies and international organisations getting directly involved at state level.
The emerging practice is an interesting example of bottom-up economic development. However, the current state of affairs isn’t optimal. This is because having states all pursuing separate deals and arrangements makes central coordination problematic. If coordination is weak, there’s the potential for unnecessary duplication of processes and institutions. This in turn would have a knock-on effect on the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
There are also constitutional questions over the legality of agreements which Nigeria’s state governments have signed with foreign entities. If left unchecked, these could expose the Nigerian state to legal claims by foreign investors. And there’s a question mark over the constitutional status of states opening foreign offices, as <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201406271083.html">Bayelsa state</a> did in 2013. On the face of it, this was unconstitutional. States in Nigeria don’t have constitutional powers to operate quasi-diplomatic offices.
The trend of decentralised economic development has striking similarities with how things worked in the <a href="http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/68.htm">first Nigerian Republic</a>, from 1960 to 1966. Regional governments in this era had constitutional authority to participate in Nigeria’s foreign economic engagements.
An example was the control of commodity boards by states (then regions). Surplus from levies imposed on export commodities was a vital source of funds for economic development in the respective regions.
Given this history it’s not surprising that states today are keen to take control of foreign investment inflows to fund their economic development objectives.
<h2>Why action is needed</h2>
No constitutional disputes have been raised between the federal government and the states. This can be taken as tacit acceptance of these emerging practices by states. Alternatively, the federal government prefers to deal with any fall-out on an ad hoc basis. This would make sense, given the benefits that can accrue from the arrangements.
But those responsible for Nigeria’s economic development policy coordination need to wake up to the changing realities of the times. Other federal systems have been proactive in restructuring the cooperation mechanisms for foreign relations. These include the US, Canada, Belgium, Argentina, Austria, and Germany.
These countries have recognised the need to adjust their existing regime to catch up with an emerging reality about sub-national governments – like states. These groupings are critical stakeholders in the 21st-century global economy.
In Nigeria, meanwhile, there’s little evidence that states going abroad is viewed as a matter of urgency. It’s time it was.
<h2>Time to review</h2>
The emergence of states as gatekeepers of Nigeria’s investment-led economic reforms demonstrates the dynamic nature of federalism. States have already carved out the autonomy they need to determine the pace of their economic development. And they have done so with no formal constitutional changes.
Now the federal government must realise that it’s no longer the sole determinant of Nigeria’s foreign economic policy. It would be both impossible and undesirable to try and reverse the trend.
Instead, there’s an urgent need to review existing arrangements for cooperation. These reviews must happen at the constitutional and institutional levels. The aim should be to maximise the benefits of the drive and impetus that states are bringing to the Nigerian economic reform agenda.
Nigeria stands to benefit immensely if states drive economic development. But effective coordination is critical.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103269/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ohio-omiunu-514053">Ohio Omiunu</a>, Senior Lecturer in Law, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/de-montfort-university-1254">De Montfort University</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/nigeria-must-wake-up-to-the-changing-role-of-state-governments-103269">original article</a>.

Why Nigeria should evaluate existing structures in order to drive economic growth

By Beatrice Fihn is Executive Director of ICAN, the winner of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.
There’s an adage I keep hearing when discussing foreign policy and security issues, that ‘good fences make good neighbours’. In other words, clear and strong boundaries are essential for nations to maintain peaceful relationships, and if you keep your own affairs in order you can prevent your neighbour’s troubles spilling over. This argument loses all meaning in the event of a nuclear war. Nuclear weapons do not respect national boundaries, no matter where they fall.
Nuclear weapons used anywhere would have disastrous consequences that would quickly ripple across the world and undoubtedly hit the people of the African continent, even if that conflict was localised thousands of miles away.
Just a limited nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, for example, would cause a nuclear winter lasting 2-3 years, devastate food production and lead to the starvation of billions of people. Sound far-fetched? There are 15,000 nuclear weapons around the world, that scenario would result from the use of just 100 of them.
It’s not hard to see how Africa could suffer tremendously from a crisis in which they had no involvement. Africa’s food supply is intertwined with Asia’s. Nigeria, the biggest African nation, is now the third largest importer of rice in the world with <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-14/nigeria-rice-imports-seen-rising-12-on-demand-lower-output" data-target-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-14/nigeria-rice-imports-seen-rising-12-on-demand-lower-output">India being a key supplier</a>.
For decades a handful of nuclear-armed states locked the rest of the world out of their negotiations about our shared future. That changed last year at the United Nations where a vast majority of states adopted the groundbreaking Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear weapons
Put simply, the Treaty recognizes the grave humanitarian harm caused by these weapons and makes the possession of and threatening the use of nuclear weapons illegal. Once 50 nations ratify it, the ban on nuclear weapons will become international law. 69 have signed and 19 have ratified already.
But of those 19 states that have ratified, only one is from Africa. The Gambia became the first to deposit their official instruments of ratification this week. Many African states supported and voted for the Treaty at the UN, and 21 have signed, but they have not moved swiftly to ratify
Africa has been a leader on the nuclear weapons issue for decades. South Africa remains the only country to disarm after developing nuclear weapons. Most African states are part of the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty. If the 40 states who signed and ratified that Treaty hastened their pace to ratify the nuclear ban treaty it would quickly enter into legal force.
Doing so will give African leaders greater control over their countries’ futures and ultimately provide more security to their citizens. Africa may be free of nuclear weapons, but the continent is not free of their effects.
Rather than ending that threat, some African states are enabling nuclear weapons development in ways they may not even realize. Global banks are helping fund a new generation of nuclear weapons being built to keep the nuclear threat alive for decades to come. Banks like BNP Paribas operate across Africa, where the bank offers services in <a href="http://mea.bnpparibas.com/en/bnp-paribas-locations/" data-target-href="http://mea.bnpparibas.com/en/bnp-paribas-locations/">11 countries</a>. That bank alone provides USD$ <a href="https://www.dontbankonthebomb.com/2018_who-invests/" data-target-href="https://www.dontbankonthebomb.com/2018_who-invests/">8.6 billion </a>in financing to companies producing nuclear weapons.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons puts power back in the hands of these nations. It would obligate them to cease support for nuclear weapons development, including financing, among other steps that will make their people and environment safer.
No country is immune to the dangers posed by nuclear weapons. No far-flung corner of the world with offer adequate refuge from a nuclear war, no nation can claim immunity or neutrality from a conflict that involves nuclear-armed states.
So it is incumbent on each nation to seize control of their own destiny before it is taken from them due to geopolitical events that they had no part in. Each nation can do just that by joining the growing community of nations that are part of the Treaty that bans these horrifying weapons that have no military utility. Each nation can refuse to be passive hostage to the whims of a few men with their finger on the button; only a late night tweet or insult away from plunging us all into a nightmare of their making.
By ratifying the Treaty, African nations can reclaim their own destiny and make history on the side of reason and humanity.

Why we need African leadership to end the threat of nuclear weapons

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Marriott International plans to increase its hotels in Africa by 50 percent in the next five years, opening new facilities in markets where it already operates and venturing into new ones like Mozambique, the company said on Monday.
Global hotel chains have been increasing their investments in Africa in recent years to take advantage of fast expanding economies and improving transport links.
Marriott said it had signed deals with partners which will see it increase its hotels in Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, and mark its entry into Mozambique.
“The signings put Marriott International on track to increase its portfolio by 50 percent with over 200 hotels and 38,000 rooms by 2023 estimated to generate 12,000 new job opportunities,” the company said in a statement.
Other chains which have recently announced African expansion plans include AccorHotels, which has more than 100 hotels in Africa and has earmarked $1 billion for expansion on the continent.
The Bethesda, Maryland-based company has a portfolio of 6,700 properties in 130 countries, including 21 countries in Africa.
Reporting by Duncan Miriri; editing by Jason Neely

Marriott International plans to expand in Africa by 50 percent in the next five years

Press Release
African Development Bank seeks partnerships to lift 1 billion people out of hunger globally 
“We must not get carried away: we are not winning the war against global hunger” 
INDIANAPOLIS, United States of America, September 26, 2018/ &#8212; The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) called on global partners to join hands to lift one billion people worldwide out of hunger and said it was leading the way by investing US$24 billion in African agriculture over the next 10 years in the largest such effort ever.
“We are not winning the war against global hunger,” Bank President Akinwumi Adesina told an agriculture conference at Purdue University in Indianapolis on Tuesday, 25 September.
“We must not get carried away,” he added, referring to statistics showing a decline in the global population living on less than two dollars per day. In reality, the number of hungry people in the world had increased from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016, he said citing the latest World Food Security and Nutrition data.
Adesina told the audience that included researchers, implementing organizations, business leaders, policymakers and donors that simple technical and scientific methods were already making a whole difference to farm yields and income in Africa. While such technologies to deliver Africa’s green revolution exist, they are mostly just sitting on the shelves, he said.
“The release of water efficient maize varieties now allows farmers to harvest good yields in the face of moderate drought,” he noted. “Today, rice varieties exist that can give yields of 8 tonnes per ha. Cassava varieties exist with yields of up to 80 tonnes per ha. Heat tolerant and disease resistant livestock and technologies for ramping up aquaculture exist.”
Bank experts put current comparative yields at 1.5-2 tonnes per ha for rice and 10-15 tonnes per ha for cassava.
What was needed urgently was deployment of supportive policies to ensure technologies are cascaded down to millions of farmers. “All Africa needs to do is to harness the available technologies with the right policies and rapidly raise agricultural productivity and incomes for farmers and assure lower food prices for consumers.”
The Bank has launched its Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), a $1 billion initiative to extend the use of farm technologies. TAAT is currently engaging seed companies, public and private entities, and financial institutions in 27 countries to make technology available to a total of 40 million African farmers.
Combining targeted subsidies for farmers with a market-based system for rapidly expanding access to financing for farmers and agricultural value chains is the fastest way to get many people out of poverty to a sustained pathway for economic growth, Adesina added.
The conference on “ Scaling Up Agricultural Technologies for Transformation” (http://bit.ly/2NK3XL5) marked Adesina’s fond return to his alma mater.
“It was here, as a graduate student, that I began the journey of searching for ways to get technologies into the hands of millions of farmers,” he said. Adesina was to go on to make a huge impact on the transformation of agriculture in Africa, including implementing game-changing policies in his years as Nigeria’s Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development before taking up his post at the Bank in September 2015.
Adesina said the situation in Sub-Saharan Africa needed particularly urgent intervention due to the ravages of climate change. The International Food Policy Research Institute estimates that Africa will add 38 million to its number of hungry people by 2050 as a result of climate change. The Institute forecasts that Africa will experience major food shortages by 2020 and beyond, while malnutrition will be on the rise over the next 20 years.
The Bank’s ongoing initiatives had the objectives of growing income for farmers, stabilizing prices for staple crops, reducing losses and stimulating multiplier effects in local economies. With its Staple Crop Processing Zones and other initiatives, the Bank is demonstrating how this can be done.
“The African Development Bank put feeding Africa as one of its topmost priorities when it launched its Feed Africa strategy (http://bit.ly/2Q7A04c) in 2015 and is investing $ 24 billion in agriculture for Africa over 10 years – the largest ever such effort,” the Bank President said. Across Africa, the Feed Africa Strategy (http://bit.ly/2Q9GnUv) is supporting the development of policies, markets, infrastructure and institutions that will ensure that agricultural value chains are well developed and that technologies reach several millions of farmers.
Adesina called for global partnerships to establish Staple Crop Processing Zones across Africa.
“The SCPZs will provide several advantages for rural economies. They will create markets for farm produce. Raw materials will no longer be moved out of rural areas, but as finished value-added products. Post-harvest losses will be substantially reduced. Well integrated agricultural value chains will develop, with supportive logistics, especially warehousing and cold chains,” Adesina added.
The African Development Bank has already started investments to develop these SCPZs in a number of pioneering African countries, including Ethiopia, Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. It expects the processing zones to be active in about 15 countries in the near-term.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

AfDB seeks partnerships to lift 1 billion people out of hunger globally

LUSAKA (Reuters) &#8211; Zambia will abolish Value Added Tax (VAT) and replace it with a non-refundable sales tax in April, Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe said on Monday, a move likely to help the government boost revenue collection and bring down mounting debt.
Mwanakatwe said the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) would finalise audits of all outstanding VAT refund claims and collect any unpaid taxes before making the change.
“Sales tax is coming on April 1. We do not have a manufacturing base. There is no value addition,” Mwanakatwe said at a post-budget meeting with business people.
In her budget speech on Friday, Mwanakatwe said Zambia will introduce new mining duties and increase royalties to help tackle debt.
The International Monetary Fund has put on hold talk about an aid package due to Zambia’s debt levels which it describes as unsustainable.
ZRA said in July it had paid out 4.2 billion kwacha ($338.7 million) in VAT refunds, including 2.5 billion kwacha to the mining companies in Africa’s second-largest copper producer.
Analyst Chibamba Kanyama of the Economics Association of Zambia said the introduction of sales tax would boost revenue collection.
“The major thing is that it will stop the refunds. The government will also collect more revenue because there will be less cheating as tax will be on the final product,” Kanyama said.
Mwanakatwe said the government remained committed to settling the verified VAT refund claims accumulated before changing the law.
Zambia has been withholding some money owed to mining companies in tax refunds because the correct documentation has not been provided.
Mwanakatwe also said a study to determine the cost of providing electricity by state-owned Zesco Ltd, which was due to be completed this year, would finish in April next year.
“We are currently procuring somebody from the UK to come and do the study. We have said it must be done by April,” she said.
($1 = 12.4000 Zambian kwachas)
Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky

Zambia is planning to introduce sales tax, what you need to know

By Maitse Motsoane, Portfolio Manager at Prescient Investment Management.
Re-pricing of risk has proved to be a theme for 2018 as central banks gradually reverse conditions that underpinned the risk-seeking behaviour of the last decade. Cracks in the system became apparent in the US funding market in January with the widening of Libor-OIS spreads. This was followed by a volatility spike in February, that catalysed a sharp equity market sell-off and the complete meltdown of popular strategies that bet on low volatility. While these events might appear to bear little significance in the broader scheme of things, we believe they embody symptoms of less accommodative global financial conditions &#8211; which underscored the US Dollar’s resurgence in the second quarter of the year.
In hindsight, the widely held negative view on US Dollar during the first quarter of the year suggests there was an under-appreciation of the tightening of global financial conditions &#8211; precipitated by Fed’s balance sheet reduction at a time when policy rates have been creeping higher. To add a little perspective, the multi-year balance sheet shrinkage process that began in October 2017 will see total reduction for 2018 amount to around $300bn (or 15% of total shrinkage) if the Fed aims to cut back the size to $2.5trn (from $4.5trn). Admittedly, the optimal size of the Fed’s balance sheet may very well be higher than the $2.5trn indicated above, as changes in regulation has increased the demand for bank reserves. Meanwhile, the fed funds rate has been lifted by 125bps since the beginning of 2017. Indeed, this represents somewhat of a structural shift back to normality as the cheap money that fuelled animal spirits and the global search for yield during QE years dries up.
The unconventional monetary policy prescribed by policymakers to mitigate the risk of deflation in the aftermath of the 2007/2008 global financial crisis appears to have had a much more pronounced impact on financial asset prices as opposed to prices of goods and services. Central banks created money to finance the large-scale asset purchase programmes that were designed to curb long-term interest rates when short rates hit the zero-bound. This resulted in suppressed levels of asset price volatility as the system became awash with low-cost US Dollars, which in turn supported the risk-on sentiment that drove demand for risky assets such as emerging markets stocks and bonds.
But what does QE exit mean for broader global markets? Well, the answer lies in unpacking the distortions that years of QE has had on financial markets (low volatility, suppressed term-premium etc), and analysing the possible effects of a return to normality. For starters, since the crisis, term premium has explained large moves in the 10-year treasury well (with US yield curve exhibiting a tendency of bear-steepening and bull-flattening).
However, this could be a thing of the past. As such, the current increase in the 10-year bond yield has been led by the front-end of the curve, which signifies a breakdown in the regime of the past decade. The divergence between the 10-year yield and term-premium seen in the chart below highlights the insignificance of term-premium (as estimated by the Fed’s ACM model) in explaining the rise in US 10-year yield over the past 2 years. However, this is consistent with pre-QE tightening cycles. Inflation-targeting central banks adjust policy according their mandate and reading of economic conditions. Therefore, in a tightening cycle, yields on long-term bonds do not rise as much as short rates due to contained long-run inflation expectations – resulting in a flatter yield curve.
Consequently, the spread between 2- and 10-year US bonds has narrowed markedly (Current: 0.25% vs Dec 2015: 1.25%) since the Fed delivered the first post-crisis policy rate hike in December 2015. With the FOMC’s dotplots projecting two more hikes in 2018 and several more next year, it begs the question of whether Fed will continue raising rates even if it means inverting the yield curve. It is of concern for market participants as inversion of the US yield curve has proved to be an impressive indicator of imminent recession.
Additionally, easy monetary conditions in key currency countries have propagated themselves to the rest of the world – to emerging markets and small advanced economies alike. Past experiences show that emerging markets often find the lure of cheap US Dollar financing irresistible during periods of prolonged ultra-accommodative policy, thus causing a build-up of vulnerabilities to a sharp reversals of capital flows. And when the tide does eventually turn, rising volatility spurs flight to safety that engenders a rapid unwind of the carry trade. This leads to the kind of USD strength (or other low yielding hard currencies used to fund carry trades) that characterized the second quarter of 2018 – making it harder for emerging market countries with large USD borrowings to service debt with assets that generate local currency.
External vulnerabilities in Turkey have kept financial market participants on their toes over the past couple of months. Even though tremors felt in the Turkish economy might appear somewhat isolated from a trade and financial linkages point of view. Currencies from other countries that display similar vulnerabilities (wide external trade deficits, asset/liability mismatches, macro policy vacuum) such as the Argentinian Peso and South African Rand fell under pressure as risk-off trading took centre stage. The Reserve Bank of India governor, Urijt Patel, sounded the warning bells in his article published by the Financial Times in June. He outlined how the Fed’s balance sheet unwind, coupled with increased supply of treasuries (due to tax cuts) will drain dollar liquidity. This will present significant headwinds for the rest of the dollar bond markets and carries the possibility of plunging some of them into crisis.
While the need for policy normalisation is understandable given that economic recovery in the US has materialised, due care must be exercised by the FOMC members when assessing the spill-over effects of their decisions on the broader global financial system. In the Committee’s June summary of Economic Projections, estimates of the real neutral rate ranged from 0.25% to 1.5%. With effective fed funds rate currently trading at 1.9%, and core PCE (the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation) at 1.9%, it means that real fed funds rate is close to zero. So, despite the wide range of neutral rate estimates, policymakers can unanimously agree that current policy stance is still accommodative. But with two more hikes likely to be delivered this year, the committee might find it difficult reaching an agreement on appropriate policy actions going forward. This presents a degree of uncertainty in policy outlook for 2019. As we enter a period of a lot of unknowns and what-ifs, forward-guidance and policy predictability will absolutely be crucial for maintaining financial market stability and manageable levels of volatility.
&nbsp;
Implications for SA
SA has relatively small USD denominated debt compared to countries such as Turkey and Argentina. Therefore, asset/liability mismatches on the back of Dollar strength do not pose a key risk locally. However, non-residents own about 40% of SA’s government issued debt. The chart below illustrates how portfolio flows into SA have increased on the back of dwindling foreign direct investment since 2012. From this, we can infer that SA has increasingly become reliant on “hot money” to finance it twin deficits. And, with a rise in global risk aversion, the deficits will become increasingly harder to finance.
This, in turn, will translate into higher borrowing costs for the government as persistent selling by non-residents pushes bond market yields higher. Increasing borrowing costs may undermine the fiscal consolidation path outlined in the February Budget statement, and could re-introduce sovereign downgrade jitters going into Moody’s SA rating review in October. Furthermore, sustained weakness in the Rand might start feeding through to second round effects on inflation as retailers pass on higher import costs to consumers – a point at which the SARB’s MPC might hike the policy rate to contain price growth. Moreover, SA’s external vulnerabilities (as measured by current account plus budget balance as a percentage of GDP) are high relative to other countries in its emerging market peer group. And with several of these countries’ central banks having delivered policy rate hikes over the past couple of months, the SARB’s monetary policy committee will need to maintain elevated real yields to attract foreign capital flows – reducing the likelihood of a rate cut in the process.
Undeniably, the implications of tighter global financial conditions highlighted above are by no means exhaustive. We are in times of elevated uncertainty, and higher asset price volatility should be the name of the game in the foreseeable future.

OpEd: What will the end of quantitative easing mean for global markets?

By Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at NW Wealth
A new report from AfrAsia Bank and New World Wealth reviews the top spending habits of the wealthy in Africa.
Prime property trends:
Prime residential property is a popular asset class for Africa’s wealthy, especially luxury apartments, homes of residential estates and beachfront villas. The most expensive cities for prime residential property in Africa are ranked below.
City (ranked in US$ per square meter): 
• Cape Town (Bantry Bay and Clifton): $6 100 
• Durban (Lagoon Drive in Umhlanga): $2 900 
• Johannesburg (Central Sandton) : $2 800 
• Nairobi: $1 900 
• Marrakesh: $1 800 
• Tangier: $1 800 
• Mombasa: $1 700 
• Luanda: $1 700 
• Casablanca: $1 500 
• Accra: $1 200 
• Lagos: $1 100 
• Abidjan: $1 000 
• Alexandria: $1 000 
• Maputo: $900 
• Cairo: $900 
• Kampala: $800
Note: Figures for Dec 2017. Refers to the US$ price of a prime 200-400 square meter apartment/villa in best part of each city/town. For our purposes Durban includes Umhlanga.
As reflected, South African cities dominate the above list. It should, however, be noted that residential prices in South Africa are coming under strain as the threat of land redistribution begins to sink in. The ongoing drought in Cape Town has also had a negative impact on prices.
Luxury travel destinations:
The report also reviews the top travel destinations for the wealthy in Africa.
South Africa is the main luxury tourist destination in Africa. Major SA destinations for wealthy people include: Kruger Park area, Cape Town, Umhlanga and Franschhoek.
Major destinations for them in the rest of Africa include: Mauritius, Seychelles, Marrakech in Morocco, Casablanca in Morocco, Cairo in Egypt, the Serengeti in Tanzania, Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, the Masai Mara in Kenya, Livingstone in Zambia and the Okavango Swamps in Botswana. Gorilla safaris in the Virunga Mountains and the Bwindi Forest (Uganda) are also popular.
Popular hotels for wealthy people visiting Africa include: La Mamounia in Morocco, the Four Seasons in Seychelles and the 12 Apostles Hotel &amp; Spa in Cape Town.
Popular game lodges for them include: Ngorongoro Crater Lodge in Tanzania, the Royal Livingstone in Zambia, Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp in Kenya and Singita in South Africa.
Luxury clothing &amp; accessories:
Items commonly found in the wardrobe of a HNWI in Africa are listed below (ranked by average price in US$): 
• Patek Philippe watch: $25 000 
• Breguet watch: $20 000 
• Vacheron Constantin watch: $15 000 
• Ulysse Nardin watch: $13 000 
• Franck Muller watch: $11 000 
• Rolex watch: $10 000 
• Breitling watch: $6 000 
• Tag watch: $5 000 
• Louis Vuitton handbag: $3 000 
• Prada handbag: $2 200 
• Gucci handbag: $2 200 
• Dolce &amp; Gabbana dress: $2 000 
• Christian Louboutin shoes: $1 300 
• Zegna suit: $1 200 
• Canali suit: $1 200 
• Georgio Armani suit: $1 200 
• Burberry handbag: $1 000 
• Paul Smith suit: $900 
• Jimmy Choo shoes: $700 
• Hugo Boss suit: $700 
• Ferragamo shoes: $600 
• Prada shoes: $500 
• Gucci shoes: $500 
• Paul Smith shoes: $400 
• Gucci sunglasses: $300 
• Prada sunglasses: $300 
• Ray-Ban sunglasses: $200
Other interesting findings from the report: 
• Safest countries in Africa: Mauritius, Botswana and Namibia. 
• Top African country by average wealth per person: Mauritius at $32,700. 
• Top African country by total wealth: South Africa at $722 billion. 
• Top African city by total wealth: Johannesburg at $276 billion (includes Sandton).
All figures in US$ terms.

What are the top spending habits of the wealthy in Africa?

By Professor Landry Signé, David M. Rubenstein Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program and Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution, distinguished fellow at Stanford University’s Center for African Studies, World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and author of “Innovating Development Strategies in Africa: The Role of International, Regional and National Actors.”
How to unlock the manufacturing and industrialization potential in Africa? The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA III, 2016-2025) but the gap between the tremendous potential of the sector and the actual performance remains monumental. In order to help bridge the gap and offer business and policy leaders with Africa’s biggest opportunities and perspectives in the sector, the Brookings’s Africa Growth Initiative has just released a report entitled The potential of manufacturing and industrialization in Africa: Trends, opportunities, and strategies.
In fact, among policymakers and scholars alike, a robust manufacturing sector is broadly understood as a fundamental path to economic growth and development. The most recent illustration is the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in March 2018, a single market for goods and services in Africa that aims to unlock manufacturing potential and facilitate industrialization, driving sustainable growth and jobs among other objectives. The key boon of manufacturing is that it absorbs large swaths of workers and places them into productive and decent paying jobs. Throughout history, this exact recipe has transformed the United States, United Kingdom, France, Japan, and Germany into some of the world’s wealthiest nations. Most recently, a new age of industrialization has helped push China into one of the world’s fastest-growing economies boasting the largest middle class, with other Southeast Asian countries following closely behind. These are all examples of how industrialization can generate rapid structural change, drive development, and alleviate poverty and unemployment.
However, this narrative seems to exclude many African nations. Despite their manufacturing potential and promising trajectories, most African countries have remained relatively dearth of factories. This limited industrial development represents a missed opportunity for economic transformation and quality employment generation that alleviates poverty.
The silver lining is the potential. Business-to-business spending in manufacturing in Africa is projected to reach $666.3 billion by 2030, $201.28 billion more than that it did in 2015. Irene Yuan Sun, author and consultant, considers Africa to be “the world’s next great manufacturing center”, potentially capturing part of the 100 million labor-intensive manufacturing jobs that will leave China by 2030. This trend creates a huge opportunity for the continent, not only for countries such as South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria (all regional outperformers in the Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index), but also for newer players such as Ethiopia, Morocco, Rwanda, and others (all of whom have recently adopted policies enabling manufacturing and industrial development).
Today, leaders are increasingly realizing that manufacturing is a major factor in helping Africa achieve their goals of successfully reaching the next stage of economic development. The African Union has put the sector front and center in its Agenda 2063. African governments are seeking new and innovative ways to attract investment and nurture industry, implementing strategies that involve targeted investment in infrastructure, improved regional integration, and the establishment of special economic zones (SEZs) for priority subsectors.
However, in order to reach its manufacturing and industrial potential, much needs to be done by the public and private sectors to increase Africa’s economic complexity, diversity, competitiveness, and productivity. This report explores some of the key structural constraints that have prevented Africa’s manufacturing sector from maturing and from launching the same kind of economic modernization process witnessed in other developing regions. It also conducts a cross-national comparison of the manufacturing sector in Africa, providing illustrative examples of countries that are experiencing four unique trajectories of industrial development, and identifying specific opportunities in each country based on the size and level of competitiveness of their manufacturing markets. Finally, with special attention to current major transformations, the report draws conclusions about the future of the manufacturing sector in Africa.
The report ultimately offers business leaders an accessible overview of Africa’s biggest opportunities in the manufacturing sector, discussing trends and perspectives by 2030. It provides policymakers with some options likely to attract private investors, accelerate manufacturing and industrial development, and contribute to growth and poverty alleviation, facilitating the fulfillment of the SDGs and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. While policy solutions are likely to differ across countries, manufacturing will be central to Africa’s ability to meet its development goals.

OpEd: How to unlock the manufacturing and industrialization potential in Africa

PRETORIA (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s new mining charter will require holders of mining rights to raise the level of black ownership to at least 30 percent from 26 percent within five years, Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday.
The charter is part of an affirmative action drive that aims to reverse decades of black people’s exclusion from the mainstream economy under apartheid.
Agreeing a new version of the charter is crucial to securing further investment in the mining industry in the world’s top platinum producer and bolstering President Cyril Ramaphosa’s pledge to revitalise the economy.
The third version of the charter, which sets out required levels on black ownership and other targets for mining companies, has been delayed for years amid wrangling with the industry in decline.
Mantashe, speaking to journalists, said least 20 percent of the 30 percent stake of black ownership would be in the hands of businesspeople with the other 10 percent being granted free to communities and qualifying employees.
The 30 percent target was widely expected as it had been in drafts of the third charter but investors and the industry were waiting for the final breakdown.
Reporting by Patricia Aruo; Writing by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng, Richard Balmforth

Why South Africa’s new mining charter is keeping its 30 percent black ownership target

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa has signed an extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates, the justice minister said on Thursday, raising the prospect of the Gupta brothers, friends of former president Jacob Zuma, returning to face corruption charges.
The Indian-born brothers &#8211; Ajay, Atul and Rajesh &#8211; have been accused of using their ties with Zuma to siphon off billions of rand in state funds and of inappropriately influencing cabinet appointments.
The Guptas are believed to be in Dubai where they own property and businesses and police have issued an arrest warrant for Ajay Gupta over a corruption case.
The Guptas and Zuma, who have repeatedly denied wrongdoing, could not be reached for comment.
Justice Minister Michael Masutha told Reuters that treaties on extradition and legal assistance had been signed with his counterpart Sultan Saeed Al Badi on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.
“I will not at this stage comment on individual matters,” Masutha said when asked about the Guptas.
A long-awaited inquiry into allegations of inappropriately influencing government decisions, known locally as “state capture”, opened last month with witnesses testifying that the Gupta brothers tried to bribe or threaten them.
The Guptas left South Africa earlier this year around the time Zuma resigned under pressure from his own party.
Activists, opposition politicians and members of the ruling African National Congress have been calling for an extradition treaty to be agreed with the UAE so the Gupta brothers can be ordered to return to South Africa.
“This means the infamous Guptas are fast running out of places to hide as they can now face extradition to finally answer for state capture,” said Natasha Mazzone, Democratic Alliance shadow minister on state companies.
Reporting by Joe Brock and Ed Stoddard; Editing by Richard Balmforth

South Africa signs extradition treaty with UAE that could target Gupta brothers, what you need to know…

By Gavin Young, CEO, Bridgestone South Africa
If you can find the right approach, there are big opportunities in manufacturing, even in South Africa. To realise them, though, manufacturers will have to up their game.
On the face of it, the prospects for manufacturing in South Africa continue to look bleak. Absa’s Purchasing Managers Index, which measures sentiment in the manufacturing sector only, slumped again recently, and growth forecasts are being revised downwards. Eskom had to cut electricity supplies recently owing to strike action, but a stable power supply is one of the prerequisites for successful manufacturing.
Figures like these—and there are many others—spell out the brutal economic realities with which we must come to terms if any vestige of Ramaphoria is to survive. Getting our manufacturing sector growing again is clearly a priority if we are to begin pushing back the tide of joblessness that fundamentally threatens our social stability.
Bridgestone has been manufacturing tyres in South Africa for 90 years, so you could say we have earned our stripes. We have a large investment in plant in this country, and we need to find ways to keep it profitable, and even to expand it. Like everybody else, we want to participate in the growth shown by emerging markets, but we face the same challenges of an unreliable supply of skills from a failing educational sector, a volatile currency, and an investment climate that is uncertain at best.
For us the opportunity is particularly clear because mobility receives a higher share of wallet in emerging markets as compared to the First World, and is highly aspirational. 
We have been doing some hard thinking about how to work around these challenges, and some of our conclusions might be of value to manufacturers or would-be manufacturers in other sectors.
Understand your customers. Basic, but your success depends on how well you understand what customers want. Manufacturers tend to spend less time on this and more on streamlining their processes. We are devoting a lot of energy to understanding our customers and then how to respond to their needs. Holding stock is too expensive, so we have to be able to do shorter runs in order to get the right product to the right outlets at the right time.
Specialise. Our company is a case in point. We are one of two manufacturers of truck and bus tyres in Africa, and we also make tyres for the SUVs and luxury vehicles this market increasingly prefers. Close relationships with the relevant car manufacturers gives us a good baseload on which to build.
However, because we have a relatively large number of vehicle models and a small market, we have had to get very good at being able to change over our lines quickly. This is in contrast to the typical manufacturing strategy of long production runs and thus large economies of scale.
Our truck and bus business provides us with the capability to supply product to other African countries. As those consumers climb up the aspiration curve to their first BMW or SUV, we will be well-placed to go with them. As regards tyres (and vehicles) at least, we think South Africa is a good case study for how the rest of the continent will develop. In this sense, specialisation is the recipe for expansion. 
Build ecosystems. We are lucky enough to be part of a global company, and we have learned to use that to our advantage. Because of our small market and the need for relatively small runs, we find it’s better to source tyres for ordinary sedans from our facilities in Europe, where high volumes yield great economies of scale. In return, they tend to rely on us to make and supply tyres for the relatively small numbers of SUVs in those markets.
There is no reason why manufacturers that are not from the same group should not craft a similar kind of approach, playing to each other’s strengths. The trick is to identify these convergences.
We are also investigating practical but highly innovative ways of addressing the lack of the right skills, but our initiatives are not yet ready to be revealed.
Manufacturing in South Africa does have a potentially bright future, but to realise it will require us all to do some very hard thinking. Manufacturers need to invest in plant and keep on investing but these investments have to be highly focused or they will go nowhere.

OpEd: Finding the right approach to the big opportunities in manufacturing

By Oulie Keita, ONE campaign regional representative for Francophone Africa.
Africa has been blessed, not only with natural resources but also an abundance of youth, yet we fail to adequately invest in them. At least 60% of Africa’s young people are under the age of 30 but unemployment continues to rear its ugly head leaving frustrated youth so desperate that they are migrating in droves for better opportunities abroad despite the dangers of slavery and drowning in the Mediterranean sea.
The reality is that there has been a migration boom in recent years. Thousands of unemployed youth are leaving, yet they are Africa’s greatest resource. We need to tap into this resource and invest in them if we are to succeed in addressing developmental challenges facing the continent, particularly in the Sahel G5 countries, which consists of Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania.
With around 80% of people aged under 34 in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania, the Sahel is a contributor of the continent’s youth boom while being one of the poorest and most fragile regions of the world. The region is at the forefront of Africa’s opportunities and challenges. If the right investments in education, employment and empowerment of the young people are made today, the development of the region could see continental and global growth surge. Yet, despite efforts to improve conditions in the region, the situation continues to deteriorate. It faces extreme poverty, rapid population growth, fragile governance, corruption, extreme climate and insecurity.
While Africa’s population is set to increase to 2.5 billion by 2050, the Sahel Region is the driver of Africa’s youth boom yet it remains one of the poorest and most fragile areas in the world.
As we celebrate Africa Day, ONE campaign appeals for African Leaders to commit and act upon the African Union Demographic Dividend road map. Leaders should double down on efforts to create jobs, increase the quantity and quality of education spending and create opportunities at home by rooting out corruption, and investing in job-creating sectors, as echoed by the African Union and Nelson Mandela.
“The region is at the forefront of Africa’s opportunities and challenges. If the right investments in education, employment and empowerment of the young people are made today, the development of the region could see continental and global growth surge” &#8212; Mandela
We need to guide our youth through quality education and channel them in the right direction. Former South African president Nelson Mandela believed strongly in the power of young people and their role to harness positive change in Africa. We need to honour his legacy.
In recent years, the youth have been pushed to the edge as unemployment continues to escalate. Of Africa’s 420 million youth, aged between 15-35, one-third are unemployed and discouraged, another third are vulnerably employed, and only one in six has a steady paid job.
Despite efforts to improve conditions in the Sahel region, the situation continues to deteriorate as it faces extreme poverty coupled with a rapid population growth, a fragile leadership, corruption, extreme climatic conditions and insecurity.
Our leaders need to act and change its approach to the Sahel Region to ensure sustainable development. For many decades, tackling extreme poverty has been neglected, but now is the time to make it a priority. Countries need to come together and commit to policy reforms, while scaling up investment in youth and projects to deliver on the changes needed. This will in turn mean that Sahel G5 countries need to sit at the table and participate in finding solutions, while also committing to the objectives. Actionable long-term strategies will be vital for investing in our youth to eradicate poverty and curb migration. Joblessness is a headache affecting most of Africa.
For us to tackle these challenges, the Sahel G5 countries must be included in all stages of the decision-making and implementation processes, and create an equal partnership between all stakeholders. A true equal partnership between African and partner countries, with the Sahel G5 countries at the driver’s seat and their priorities placed at the forefront; because shared benefits mean shared responsibilities.
Tackling poverty in the Sahel and creating the conditions for inclusive, sustainable development will ensure the prosperity and the stability of the region and beyond.

OpEd: Investing in youth needs to be a priority for Africa

<a href="https://www.cta.int/en/about-cta">By Michael Hailu, CTA Director.</a>
As the impacts of climate change and conflicts threaten progress towards addressing global hunger, we need to apply new thinking in agriculture. Agricultural innovation can strengthen the resilience of agri-food systems and offer adaptation strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
At CTA, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation, we believe that investment in the right innovations in agriculture will help to catalyse development.
Youth, digitilisation and climate resilience are CTA’s priority intervention areas in its refreshed strategic plan, 2018-2020, which, are critical to driving progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. All three are in line with the The European Consensus on Development, based around the 5 Ps: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership.
African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries have identified youth employment as a key determinant factor for sustainable development. An empowered workforce starts with the engagement of youth and youth organisations. At CTA we have learned how to harness the vitality and spirit of youth. Through our ‘Agrihack’ contests we have offered many young entrepreneurs a step-up to becoming the next generation agribusiness leaders driving change in the agricultural revolution.
Many of these ‘agripreneurs’ bring ICT solutions to age-old problems. In the digitalisation of agriculture, we see smallholder farmers being offered new ways to improve their livelihoods. The implications for productivity, reduction of food waste and even gender equity are enormous and CTA is now considered a guiding force in this area.
Digitalisation is also at the heart of climate-smart agriculture. Many solutions that can help agricultural systems to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change have emerged. The challenge is in the delivery of these solutions to farmers that need them the most. CTA therefore focuses on the development of partnerships to guide the implementation of climate-smart agriculture.
We will achieve nothing without such partnerships, and so, I look forward to continuing our important work together with the support of the ACP Group of States and the European Union.

OpEd: How a focus on youth and women entrepreneurship can benefit agribusiness, livelihoods and create jobs

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s multi-billion dollar plan to turnaround the economy will do little to lift the country’s sluggish economic growth rate, ratings agency Fitch said on Tuesday.
“South Africa’s latest economic plan is unlikely to deliver a significant boost to economic growth,” said Fitch, which rates Pretoria’s foreign and local currency debt at subinvestment, adding that rand’s recent plunge would also hinder the plan.
“The plan does include measures that could support growth, but many relate to long-standing policy ideas that have been slow to implement,” Fitch said of the plan announced by Ramaphosa on Friday to pull the economy out of recession.
Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Ed Stoddard

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OpEd: What will the end of quantitative easing mean for global markets?

What are the top spending habits of the wealthy in Africa?

OpEd: How to unlock the manufacturing and industrialization potential in Africa

Why South Africa’s new mining charter is keeping its 30 percent black ownership target

South Africa signs extradition treaty with UAE that could target Gupta brothers, what you need to know…

OpEd: Finding the right approach to the big opportunities in manufacturing

OpEd: Investing in youth needs to be a priority for Africa

OpEd: How a focus on youth and women entrepreneurship can benefit agribusiness, livelihoods and create jobs

Why Fitch thinks South Africa’s #StimulusPackage is unlikely to boost growth in the country’s economy

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Special Report

KPMG South Africa looks for new CEO to restore reputation after corruption scandal

Are ethnic tensions and violence in Ethiopia weakening reform gains?

More job losses loom at SA’s Group Five firm as company posts year loss of $90.76 million

Why Nigeria should evaluate existing structures in order to drive economic growth

Why we need African leadership to end the threat of nuclear weapons

Marriott International plans to expand in Africa by 50 percent in the next five years

AfDB seeks partnerships to lift 1 billion people out of hunger globally

Zambia is planning to introduce sales tax, what you need to know

OpEd: What will the end of quantitative easing mean for global markets?

What are the top spending habits of the wealthy in Africa?

OpEd: How to unlock the manufacturing and industrialization potential in Africa

Why South Africa’s new mining charter is keeping its 30 percent black ownership target

South Africa signs extradition treaty with UAE that could target Gupta brothers, what you need to know…

OpEd: Finding the right approach to the big opportunities in manufacturing

OpEd: Investing in youth needs to be a priority for Africa

OpEd: How a focus on youth and women entrepreneurship can benefit agribusiness, livelihoods and create jobs

Why Fitch thinks South Africa’s #StimulusPackage is unlikely to boost growth in the country’s economy

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