NEPAD Today 03 July 2013

NEPAD Today

03 July 2013

Editor
Yinka Adeyemi
Assistant Editor
Meseret Arega
Editorial Board: Yinka Adeyemi (ECA), ADOU Jean Yves (AUC), Meseret Arega (ECA)

 

NEPAD and Egypt launch water project connecting North and East Africa

The Government of Egypt and the NEPAD Agency have launched a special water transportation route stretching from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea.
The project was launched in Egypt’s capital Cairo under the Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative (PICI), to interlink ten East and North African countries from Uganda via Lake Victoria to Egypt through the River Nile and the Mediterranean Sea.  
PICI is a continental infrastructure initiative coordinated by the NEPAD Agency with the aim to accelerate the efficient and speedy implementation of cross-border infrastructure projects, through political leadership.
The navigational line will run through Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Egypt connecting the Nile Basin countries with Egypt.
Speaking on behalf of NEPAD CEO, Dr Ibrahim Mayaki at the opening ceremony, Dr John Tambi, Transport Infrastructure Expert and Coordinator of PICI, said: “Our ability to effectively implement the PICI projects on a sustainable basis could in fact provide the blue print or model for effectively managing the Programme for Infrastructural Development in Africa, which is one of NEPAD and the African unions flagship projects.”
For full story: http://nepad.org/regionalintegrationandinfrastructure/news/3106/nepad-and-egypt-launch-significant-water-project-conn

Taraba pledges to implement NEPAD to foster development

The Taraba State Government in Nigeria has pledged to ensure full implementation of NEPAD to foster development in the state. The Secretary to the State Government (SSG),  Mr Emmanuel Njuwa, made the pledge at a forum of stakeholders, organized by NEPAD in Jalingo.

Njuwa described NEPAD as a home-grown solution to problems confronting various African countries. Represented by Dr Umar Bakari, Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs in the Office of the SSG, Njuwa said the initiative was meant to tackle poverty, insecurity, promote sustainable growth and development. “We must, therefore, look inward by fully implementing NEPAD in the state in order to find lasting solutions to our problems,” he said.
The state’s Coordinator of NEPAD, Mr John Mamman, challenged the participants to bring up ideas that would assist the organisation to realize its objectives. He called on Nigerians to develop positive attitudes towards government property in their domains for the property to serve the need for which they were provided.

The Deputy Director of NEPAD in the state, Mr Dauda Marafa, said the body’s major goal was to make political and social reforms that would entrench good governance in Africa.
Source: http://yankarireports.com/taraba-pledges-to-implement-nepad-to-foster-development/

NEPAD Yearbook is now available

The theme for the publication is Africa Rising. As Africa continues to lead the world in phenomenal economic growth rates, the signal for a new African age for prosperity is clear. The NEPAD Yearbook 2013 explores the opportunities to be realised and challenges to be faced. With its broad range of contributors - solutions and game-changing initiatives are outlined in great depth for the African economic and social investor.
To access a copy contact Watson Hamunakwadi on email watson.hamunakwadi@thenbf.co.za  
Source: http://nepadbusinessfoundation.org/index.php/research-and-knowledge/publications/265-nepad-yearbook-2013

Nigerian billionaire commits USD2.5 Billion to Obama’s Power Africa Initiative

As part of his commitment to deliver affordable and accessible power to the continent, African business leader Tony O. Elumelu is committing US$2.5 billion to the power sector in Africa. The investment is being made through his pan-African proprietary investment company Heirs Holdings – the single largest investor included in the White House statement announcing the Power Africa initiative.
 Power Africa is a multi-stakeholder partnership between the United States, the governments of Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Ethiopia, and the African private sector, with the shared objective of accelerating investment in Africa's power sector over the next five years. The initiative was launched in South Africa during Obama's town hall at the University of Cape Town.
Earlier this year, Elumelu’s holding company, through its investee company, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), purchased the Ughelli power plant, one of Nigeria’s largest power assets, which it plans to restore to its full generating capacity of 1000 megawatts.
 "The investment we are making demonstrates our intent to become a significant player in the power sector. It also shows in a clear and meaningful way that African capital can and should be part of the solution to Africa’s challenges. We need more African companies to step up and get involved in Africa’s development.”
Elumelu, who is Chairman of Heirs Holdings, went on to say, “Heirs Holdings’ investment in Power Africa is not just about creating value for shareholders. We want to conduct business in this strategic sector for the long term, in a way that links economic return to social benefits – a key component of what I call Africapitalism.  Access to affordable, uninterrupted power will have an immeasurable impact on the economic ecosystem. The cost of doing business will come down, entrepreneurs will expand and innovate, and jobs will be created as a result. That is a very tangible example of what Africapitalism is about: the private sector creating economic prosperity and social wealth.”
Source: Heirs Holdings

Upcoming events (some dates or venue may change)

  1. 48th NEPAD Steering Committee meeting – Dakar, End of August/Sept 2013
  2. Seminar on Advancing Regional Integration through NEPAD Implementation: Learning Event on Comparative Analysis of African-European Integration Studies September 2013 South Africa.
  3. Africa-NEPAD Week at 69th UN General Assembly (mid-October 2013)
  4. 21st Africa Partnership Forum – Dakar (tbc) November 2013
  5. High Level Summit and Business Conference on Africa’s Domestic Resource Mobilzation (DRM) November 2013)
  6. 5th GEO Health & Environment Community of Practice (CoP), 23-25 July 2013, Washington D.C., USA.

A production of the RCM-Africa Secretariat, AU and NEPAD Support Team, Capacity Development Division (CDD), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Director: Adeyemi Dipeolu
Email: ecanepad@uneca.org