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Post Covid19: Global Leaders at UBA Africa Day Conversations Seek Path To Economic Recovery

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4 years ago

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…Global co-operation needed to stem global depression

Global leaders at the second edition of United Bank for Africa (UBA) African Day Conversations, have emphasised the need for meaningful collaborations between governments and the private sector as a panacea for the quick recovery of the economy of the African continent post Covid-19.

The leaders which included the President of Liberia, H.E George Weah; United States Senator Chris Coons; the President & Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export–Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK), Professor Benedict Okey Oramah; President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer; President spoke on Monday at the virtual Leadership Panel which was moderated by the Chairman, UBA Plc, Tony Elumelu.

Other leading voices who made up the panel were the Founder, Africa CEO Forum, Amir Ben Yahmed; the Secretary-General of the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), H.E George Chikoti; Administrator, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Achim Steiner and Donald Kaberuka.

While moderating, Elumelu, who is also the Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, spoke on the need to mobilise everyone and explained the necessity to discover a more fundamental solution to Africa’s challenges through collaborative efforts.

“This is the time for us to deal with the situation we have and also forge a better situation for everyone, acting again collectively,” he said. “This is not the time for finger pointing but for collaborative effort by governments and organizations to fight the pandemic globally.”

Continuing, Elumelu pointed out that all hands must be on deck if the African continent is to have a quick recovery from the pandemic, adding “There is need to flatten the curve, we need global co-operation to stem global depression. Africa requires a large stimulus package, and we need long-term solutions to prevent a cycle of debt.”

In his submission, the Liberian President, George Weah, established how collaborations worked in his government in an attempt to stem the sufferings brought about the coronavirus pandemic.

“In Liberia we have taken measures to ease the financial burden on vulnerable business in the informal sector by providing small loan assistance to SMEs and traders. In addition, we are working with commercial banks to manage the repayment of loans as well as to create stimulus packages for citizens.”

On his part, US, Senator Chris Coons, said, “It is important to take a moment to look at how African leaders have reacted to the pandemic. In order for us to recover from this pandemic, we must develop a vaccine that is free and affordable and freely distributed so that full economic activities can return. There are ways we can invest in debt relief, invest in infrastructure and human development. This is no time to be looking backwards. We recognise the power of collective collaboration on the continent.

While pointing out that the pandemic poses an opportunity for Africa to be independent and promote its growth and development as a people without external help; Prof. Benedict Okey Oramah, on his part, said COVID 19 has taught Africa that there comes a time when every group of people will fend for themselves.

He called for the swift implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, adding, “The priority of government should be to make sure that the AfCFTA gets implemented without delay. If there was any doubt about the importance of that agreement, this pandemic has told us that this is the way to go.

Continuing, Oramah said, “The pandemic has shown so many weaknesses we have across our continent. We know that hunger is looming if we do not do anything. If we allow hunger to take over from the COVID 19 pandemic, we will begin to see political problems filling in. For Africa the problems go beyond health challenges to other areas such as food supply. Hunger is looming and if action is not taken, Africa will see political problem. Africa has become the epicenter of the economic devastation that this pandemic has unleashed upon us.”

While disclosing that Afrexim has made available $200million to supply fertilizers and grains amongst others across Africa, the Afrexim boss added that “If Africa allows hunger takeover the people, it will see an increase in insecurity, which will take a long time to overcome.”

George Chikoti of ACP, said that the huge task of economic recovery on the continent, rests on both the government and the private sector. “The responsibility of COVID-19 does not rest on the government alone, the private sector needs to play a big role in lifting the burden of the pandemic. African governments need to accept the support of the Private Sector in alleviating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa,” he said.

“We have been able to release $25m to all member states. One of the major challenges is to make sure that in all countries, we have agricultural activity and high productivity. What we should learn from the impact of this pandemic is that the international community can look at how well they can fund all these initiatives that come from our countries, Chikoti added.

Achim Steiner of the UNDP noted that Digital connectivity is very essential as it is a crucial opportunity to connect all schools across the continent, adding that emphasis on Healthcare is also very important. “Digital connectivity is very crucial to connect schools to the internet. We need to address inequality; also, the virus has put a spotlight on Africa’s healthcare system. Africa needs to look at intermediate strategies like micro-insurance to ramp up this sector. Healthcare has the ability to make a large percentage of the occupation fall into extreme poverty.

“What we need to look at is to find a way for government as a regulator and also as an investor, to leverage private sector investment into these areas” Steiner said.

Peter Maurer, President, ICRC, said there is the need to look at pandemics as part of a broader health system which needs stabilisation; A lot of vulnerable populations in Africa have been heavily infected by the pandemic. “We must do more than life-saving. This pandemic has illustrated the weakness of health, water, sanitation and social systems, and we have to heavily invest into the stabilization of these systems.

Throwing more light on this, Maurer said, “Two things need to follow after live saving during the pandemic. First, the pandemic has illustrated the weak situation of health, water and food systems and we need to heavily invest both by the public and private sectors to stabilize the health sector. Secondly, investment has always gone into the more developed parts of Africa and not the fragile parts. We need Private Public Partnerships and investments by multi-corporate institutions to develop these areas’ he noted.

Amir Yahmed said the crisis is going to be a super accelerator of already existing trends. “We have to get away from the commodity driven model which has failed in creating prosperity. Secondly, self-reliance should be one of the major objectives. The pandemic is wake up call for Africa – Creating new streams of revenue and self-reliance by the African continent”

“We need to use this crisis to take Africa to the next level. This crisis is going to be a super accelerator of already existing trends. I think it has to be a wake-up call for us to attain goals we haven’t reached. Create new revenues for the economy. We also need to attain self-reliance. Self reliance is an important goal. Africa manufactures [only] 2% of what it produces. We need to use this crisis to take Africa to the next level. Invest in digital infrastructure, digital education, agriculture is another opportunity we need to grab. We need to get the AFCTA working,” Yamed said.

Donald Kaberuka on his part opined that “What we need (for this crisis) is something unusual, it is not business as usual. It is not marginal action, it is radical action.”

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JUST IN: President Tinubu Orders Yahaya Bello To Submit Himself For EFCC Probe

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1 day ago

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April 18, 2024

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The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has called on the immediate-past governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to follow the path of decency and submit himself for probe.

Bello is being wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged corrupt practices while in office as governor of Kogi State

 

LEADERSHIP reports that in the last 24 hours, there have been dramas and hide and seek game between both parties over the move to arrest the former governor for arraignment this Thursday.

 

According to the AGF, in a statement he personally signed on Thursday, EFCC is empowered by law to invite any Nigerian for interrogation.

He also described the action of the incumbent governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Ododo, who used his immunity to prevent Bello’s arrest on Wednesday as ‘disquieting’, adding that embarking on a temporising self-help and escapism that can only put Nigeria in bad light before the rest of the world is not the way to go.

According to him, he stands for the rule of law and will ensure no right of any Nigerian is trampled upon.

 

 

The AGF said in the terse statement: “The bizarre drama confronting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the course of its efforts to perform its statutory duty has come to my notice (Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice) as a matter of very grave concern.

“It is now beyond doubt that the EFCC is given power by the law to invite any person of interest to interact with them in the course of their investigation into any matter regardless of status. Therefore, the least that we can all do when invited, is not to put any obstruction in the way of EFCC but to honourably answer their invitation.

“A situation where public officials who are themselves subject of protection by law enforcement agents will set up a stratagem of obstruction to the civil and commendable efforts of the EFCC to perform its duty is to say the least, insufferably disquieting. A flight

from the law does not resolve issues at stake but only exacerbates it.

 

“I state unequivocally that I stand for the rule of law and will promptly call EFCC and indeed any other agency to order when there is indication of any transgression of the fundamental rights of any Nigerian by any of the agencies but I also tenaciously hold the view that institutions of State should be allowed to function effectively and efficiently. Nigeria has a vibrant judicial system that is capable of protecting everyone who follows the rule of law in seeking protection.

 

“I therefore encourage anyone who has been invited by the EFCC or any other agency to immediately toe the path of decency and civility by honouring such invitation instead of embarking on a temporising self-help and escapism that can only put our country in bad light before the rest of the world.

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SHALINA CELEBRATES 40 YEARS OF TRUST, REITERATES COMMITMENT TO QUALITY HEALTHCARE DELIVERY IN AFRICA

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2 days ago

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April 17, 2024

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In celebration of its 40 years in Africa, a leading Afro-focused multinational company, Shalina Healthcare has reiterated its commitment to the delivery of quality healthcare in Africa. Declaring this in Lagos on Friday at the event to wrap up the company’s 2023/24 financial year and celebrate its 40 years of its existence, the Chief Commercial Officer, West Africa of the company, Arun Raj said the company “is determined to continually fulfill its corporate mission of making quality products available to every African at affordable prices.

 

According to him; ” It has been 40 years of trust in Africa and these 40 years, the people of the continent have also reciprocated the trust in our quality products and healthcare delivery.”

 

Also, in his corporate presentation as well as new financial year projection, the Head, Corporate Marketing of the Company, Folorunso Alaran said; “the Company is building on the trust Africans have in its products and services over the year and is committed to healthy Africa. It has been forty years of available, affordable and quality products for Africans.”

In the words of Mr. Nirmal Jain CEO Shalina consumer Global,

 

“At Shalina, we believe that every African must have access to good products. And for the last forty years, we have been trusted for our quality products. And more so, through our many initiatives and healthcare interventions, Shalina has continually raised the bar in healthcare delivery.”

 

Speaking further, Mr. Debajeet Mukherjee CEO Shalina Pharma Global, posited that; “despite the prevailing economic challenges, we do not waver in delivering our corporate purposes of available, affordable and quality health products. It is our belief that economic challenges should not hinder people’s access to quality healthcare. Either the economy is good or bad, it shouldn’t affect the lives of the people in an adverse way. Despite the fact that some companies are leaving Nigeria, we are expanding our team in the country. This is because we have trust and believe in Nigeria.”

 

In her own presentation at the event, the Company’s Managing Director, Nigeria , Opeyemi Akinyele said the company “is focused to become number one brand in Nigeria and continually promote the best of healthcare delivery in the country. ”

 

“Through our products, activities and interventions we have been doing greatly to ensure that quality healthcare is available and affordable for every citizen. And this is a promise that will remain unbroken ” She said.

 

Appreciating the members of staff of the company for their commitment and supporting roles in the company, Akinleye said “without you, your roles and efforts, we won’t be here and the successes recorded in the out gone year won’t be possible. We also rely on your continuous support and commitment in the new year. ”

 

Meanwhile as part of the company’s end of year activities, many staff members were given awards of excellence in different categories for 2023/24 financial year. Amongst them were Lasisi Abiodun, Best Pharma Delegate, Lawal Abubskar, Best Medical Delegate, Ruth Adesua Adewoye, Best Regional Manager Pharma, Ganiyu Lateef, Best CVD Delegate, Mercy Omoji, Best Regional Manager, Consumer, Uzuma Pascal, Best Zonal Manager, (Global) and Juliet Ngozi Edward, Best Consumer Delegate Global . Winners in other categories included Sandeep Sahu, Folorunso Alaran, Emeka Adimoha, Chiuba Nwaosu among others.

 

Shalina Healthcare which began its business in Africa in DR Congo in 1984 made entry to Nigeria 25years ago. It currently has about 2500 staffs globally out of whom 2000 are in Africa.

 

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Kano court affirms Ganduje’s suspension

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2 days ago

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April 17, 2024

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The Kano State High Court has granted an ex parte order restraining the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, from parading himself as a member of the party.

Subsequently, the court ordered that henceforth, Ganduje should desist from presiding over all affairs of the National Working Committee of the APC.

The application granted by Justice Usman Na’abba on Tuesday followed an ex parte motion filed by Dr. Ibrahim Sa’ad on behalf of two executive members of Ganduje’s ward, Dawakin-Tofa Local Government Area, the Assistant Secretary, Laminu Sani and Legal Adviser, Haladu Gwanjo (plaintiffs), who were part of the nine ward executives who suspended Ganduje on Monday.

The court directed the four parties (respondents) joined in the matter, including the APC, NWC, APC Kano State Working Committee, and Ganduje, to henceforth, maintain status quo ante belum as of April 15, 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit on April 30, 2024.

Justice Na’abba, also held as prayed, stopped State Working Committee APC Kano from interfering with the legally and validly considered decision of executives of Ganduje ward, essentially on action endorsed by a two-thirds majority of the executives as provided by the party constitution.

The ex parte order read,, “An order is hereby granted directing all parties in the suit APC (first), APC National Working Committee (second), Kano State Working Committee APC (third), Dr. Abdullah Umar Ganduje (fourth), to maintain status quo ante belum as of April 15, 2024.

”The order thereby restraining the first respondent (APC) from recognising the fourth respondent (Ganduje) as a member of APC and prohibiting the fourth respondent (Ganduje) from presiding over any affairs of the NWC and restraining the state Working Committee from interfering with the legally and validly decision of the ward executives of Ganduje ward.

“That the fourth respondent (Ganduje) is prohibited from parading himself as a member of APC or doing any act that may portray him or seem to be a member of APC pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”

Nine members of the Ganduje ward proclaimed the suspension of the National Chairman of the APC over the allegation of corruption slammed on him by the Kano State Government.

The nine APC executives said they were prompted to act following a petition written by one Ja’afaru Adamu, a member of the APC from the National Chairman’s polling unit.

In the petition, Adamu complained over allegations of corruption charges against the former governor just as he urged the ward leaders to investigate the matter to redeem the dented image of the party and the implication on President Bola Tinubu’s fight against corruption.

Although the chairman and secretary of the ward failed to act on the petition filed on April 8, 2024, nine members of the executives, led by the legal adviser, acted upon the petition, a decision that led to Ganduje’s suspension.

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