NEPAD Today 08 May 2013

08 May 2013

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

“Sustainable Energy access for all is priority!” – say energy experts

African Energy Stakeholders have been urged to double their efforts in making energy available, affordable and accessible to the bulk of the African Population.  The call was made by the Head of NEPAD’s Energy Division, Professor Mosad Elmissiry, at the first of three crucial high level meetings on Energy, in Gaborone, Botswana.
The back-to-back workshops from April 22 to 26, aim to develop strategies and action plans that will enable African Countries to provide modern energy resources to their citizens.
“Africa is blessed with massive and varied energy resources, from vast coal reserves in the southern part of Africa, huge hydro resources in central and north Africa, to massive gas resources in eastern and west Africa.  We need to drastically change our approach to the way we use these resources so as to make energy accessible and affordable to all our people. The business as usual approach is no longer workable” said Professor Elmissiry.
Source: www.nepad.org

Africa Experts establish special Energy Hub to ensure access to sustainable energy

A meeting of Energy stakeholders and experts in the Botswana capital Gaborone has been addressing the key issues of how to provide guidance for African states so that that energy is made accessible and affordable to the bulk of the population on the Continent.
The meeting attended  by experts from the NEPAD Agency, international organisations, Academia and civil society, is the last in a series of three, which having been discussing  new projects and concrete plans to expedite the sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative pioneered by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon
Delegates at the meeting have agreed on the establishment of an African Energy ‘Hub’ to facilitate coordination and implementation of this SE4All initiative and to link important players on the global and national level.  
In order to ensure the realization of the SE4ALL initiative, a Guidelines document outlining the elements of national action plans for African implementation Programmes has been developed.  “The Guidelines for developing Sustainable Energy for All National Action Plans in Africa” offer direction to African Countries on how to realize their national energy programmes by making use of this global initiative and the opportunities it opens.
 The approval and endorsement of the Guidelines document is planned to be secured during the Heads of States and Government meeting at the AU Summit in January 2014
Source: www.nepad.org

African Financial Markets Initiative launches website on African local currency bond markets

The African Financial Markets Initiative (AFMI) launched its website www.africanbondmarkets.org on May 6, 2013. The AFMI website is designed to be a knowledge management and information dissemination tool to raise awareness and understanding of African local currency bond markets.
There are three types of data and information to be disseminated through the website: (i) dynamic high frequency data from Thomson Reuters; (ii) macroeconomic debt and governance indicators, updated on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis; and (iii) data and information on the bond market environment of each country, updated annually.
Not only will the website provide data and information, but will also provide a platform for AFMI stakeholders and development partners to engage in debates on a range of bond market development issues.
The website will first be available in English to users; while development work on the French version is expected to be operational by the end of the second semester of 2013.

Source: AfDB

Remittances into Africa soar to $40 billion, study shows

Remittances represent a rising source of finance for the continent and hold immense potential as drivers of economic growth and development. A recent study, Leveraging Migration for Africa: Remittances, Skills, and Investments, conducted by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in collaboration with the World Bank shows that remittance flows into Africa reached US $40 billion in 2010 and have quadrupled since 1990. African remittances currently account for 2.6 per cent of GDP, a figure that in some countries equals or even exceeds both foreign direct investment and aid.
Remittance-receiving households are usually associated with reductions in poverty, increased household consumption, greater investment in human and physical capital, and less vulnerability from economic and natural shocks. Reducing the costs of remittances and maximizing their impact on development is a key objective for the AfDB.
The AfDB, through its Migration and Development Fund, also supports support local initiatives and those from the diasporas aimed at improving knowledge of remittances, reducing the costs of transfers, optimizing the use of the resources transferred, and supporting local development in migrant home countries.
The Africa Remittances and Money Transfer Forum will take place from June 6-7, 2013 at the Palace of the National Assembly, in Praia, Cape Verde. The forum aims at developing new strategies and policies to use remittances as drivers for economic growth and poverty reduction.
Source: AfDB

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