The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Africa

  • How YALI will bring change to Africa

    Recently, I was among the 122 youths selected to attend the Young Africa Leadership Initiative (YALI) Regional Leadership Centre West Africa Accra Ghana for a leadership training initiated by the President of the United States (U.S.) Barack Obama to help young Africans to be exemplary leaders.

    The initiative is to promote collaboration among the African countries towards bringing a transformation on the continent. Obama believes in the zeal of the youth to drive change in a continent plagued by leadership crisis. He believes if the youth are given the necessary support, they would change the condition of their countries.

    The training brought together nine African countries, which include Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Togo, Cameroun, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire. Participants were made to stay together in the same place, so that they could engage in cross-cultural discussion to appreciate their diversity.

    The training focused on specific issues that could help to bring transformation to Africa, ranging from leadership, entrepreneurship, public policy, agriculture, Information Technology and cultural diversities. We had experienced facilitators, both from Africa and the U.S., who enlightened us deeply on these different aspects.

    The two most important aspects that were emphasised are leadership and entrepreneurship. This was so, because the common problem most countries in Africa face is leadership. Attention was particularly focused on leadership, because the organisers wanted the participants to know the true meaning of leadership. To make them entrepreneurs, the participants were mentored on how to start successful business to reduce unemployment. After the training, take-off grant was given to participants who presented best entrepreneurship idea.

    It has been said that the major problem hindering development of Africa is leadership. Africa is blessed with amazing resources and climate suitable for its growth. Other continents rely on our natural resources for development. But, its leaders have cornered and converted these natural resources to personal resources.

    In the course of the training, the participants were made to understand that leadership is not about taking dominion over others. Rather, it is about helping others to become the best in the society. Leadership is about service. We were made to understand that it is not until you get to a post that you become a leader; you become a leader from the point you take responsibility for your actions and decisions to make society worth living for the people.

    Youths must understand this, because a lot of attention is now focused on them. The older generation has failed us by handing over a bad system to our generation. We need to change African story bring about transformation. But if the youth don’t have a changed and renewed mindset about leadership, how will they bring the desired change to a continent plagued by corrupt leadership? This is what YALI focused on.

    A herd of sheep being led by a lion can make a change, compared to group of lions being led by a sheep. The youth need to brace up for the challenges ahead. If the youth want a corruption-free system, it starts from their individual activities. You can’t expect a new result when you adopt old ways of doing things. If we want new results, we must be ready to adopt a new system and mechanism. The change we desire will be achieved when we change our mindset and our perspective about things.

    Leadership is about character and character is about what you are doing when nobody is looking at you. A good leader is someone who has a positive character. The corrupt leadership plaguing the continent is as a result of character of people in the position of authority. Focus of the youth must be on how to bring transformation to Africa.

    Entrepreneurship is a panacea to youth unemployment. Youths need to start thinking beyond white-collar jobs. We need to acquire relevant skills, knowledge and expertise that will help us to be problem solvers and not part of the problems. To put African economy on the right track, we need those who can think solutions to problems and not those who will only complain about the problems and do nothing about it.

    Entrepreneurs are those who think solutions to problems. They are innovators who bring new technology, infrastructures and channels that will help to make life easy. Entrepreneurs are employers of labour and the more employers of labour we have among the youths, the less youth unemployment we will have in Africa. Africa needs more entrepreneurs and this can only be done when African youths are enlightened and encouraged to go into entrepreneurship.

    Africa is an important continent and that is the reason why foreign countries believe so much in the continent. There are lots of opportunities for growth and development that can bring about paradigm shift in leadership in Africa. Soon, institutions and new innovations will be emanating from Africa as a result of YALI training. This will go a long way in bringing the needed transformation to Africa.

  • Emancipation Day: Aregbesola calls for African unity

    Emancipation Day: Aregbesola calls for African unity

    The Emancipation Day Celebration was recently held in  Ghana. Participants for the annual event converged on different parts of the world, especially from America and the Caribbeans .

    The activities were held in the cities of Accra and Cape Coast. This year’s programme highlights included wreath-laying ceremonies at  the Du Bois Centre for Pan African Culture,  George Padmore Library and Kwame Nkrumah Park in the heart of Accra.

    These three venues are the final resting places of three illustrious sons of Africa and Pan Africanists who lived, dreamt and worked together in Ghana to consolidate and solidify the emancipation, liberation and decolonization of Africa and the black race.

    The event was held under the auspices the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Tourism Culture and Creative Arts. The Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,  was the special guest and guest speaker for this year’s edition.

    Aregbesola, who arrived Ghana for the event, visited the Nigerian embassy. He later laid a wreath at the George Padmore Library and Kwame Nkrumah Park.

    At  the George Padmore Library, Aregbesola  was welcomed by the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs. Elizabeth Agyari, and other Ghanian government officials. He later  lit the flame of freedom.

    Aregbesola also visited the  Nkrumah Park where he gave a short speech.  The Osun State Governor said it was  time for Africa to wake up early because it was getting too late,.

    According to him,  Africa lags behind other continents in development. Here, his main focus was on the African youths who engaged in drama and dance rich in  the African culture. After this, the governor and other participants walked into the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s mausoleum.

    The mausoleum is one of the top tourist sites in Accra. The interior was made of gold and fine marble befitting the first President of the Republic of Ghana.

    There are two statues in the park, the new one made of pure gold is a few metres away from the old one destroyed by soldiers as a result of Ghana’s first  coup d’état.  The destroyed Nkrumah statue broken into two has a story to tell. The bullet marks on the body speak volumes about the violent past of the country.

    The second day of the programme was at the former capital of Ghana called Cape Coast, a major tourist destination in Africa, blessed with one of the finest and best beaches around in Africa. It is the home of the famous Elmina Castle. Cape Coast attracts thousands of foreign tourists annually.

    At Cape Coast, Aregbesola delivered  an inspiring paper. Decked in all white  agbada attire , he delivered his paper in an auditorium filled to the brim with Africans and African-American audience.

    Among them were  Prof. Hamlet Maulana , an  African-American historian; Rabbi- kohain Halevi , the Executive Secretary of Panafest Intternational;  Mama Imahkus Njinga Okofu, CEO of One African Resort and Restaurant and Nana Kobina Nkatsia V, paramount chief of Essikodo.

    Mr. Kehinde Oluwafusho, who along with his twin brother, are Panafest representatives in Nigeria, took the stage to introduce the governor of Osun State to the audience, in his words. Kehinde described Ogbeni as a leader of leaders who drives the vision of others, a man of robust ideology, a strong and formidable Pan- Africanist , a strong advocate of the people’s culture who talks Africa, eats Africa  dreams Africa.

    Aregbesola, in his paper, took the audience through popular African proverbs, traditional songs, properly interpreted, interjected at intervals. Bob Marley’s freedom song; was interjected into his address.

  • ‘MTN is Africa’s largest music distributor’

    MTN said it has become the largest music distributor in Africa.

    Its General Manager Consumer Marketing, Richard Iweanoge said through its Caller Ring Back Tunes (CRBT), the telco is now the largest music distributor in Africa.

    Iweanoge who spoke against the backdrop of the announcement of the telco’s brand ambassadors for this year and next year said:

    “Through the platform, we ensured that Nigerian musicians would no longer suffer the scourge of piracy. They are able to make good money as a result of their hard work.

    “Also, as Nigeria’s most innovative telecoms company, we have been able to deploy music as a platform to give other value added services to our teeming subscribers, which have also proved to be a significant source of revenue for the artistes such as the MTN Music+ app and a host of other platforms.”

    He said it is in line with its commitment to supporting Nigerian musicians by providing alternative platforms through which they can receive lucrative value for their intellectual property, .

    According to him, this is designed to enable the company continue to support the development of the entertainment industry by financially empowering artistes and musicians through the promotion and monetisation of content on its various digital platforms – MTN Music+, Caller Ring Back Tunes (CRBT) and Value Added Services (VAS).

    Music ambassadors for 2016-2017 are: Praiz (Praise Adejo); Iyanya (IyanyaMbuk); Chidinma (ChidinmaEkile); Falz(Folarin Falana); Tekno Miles(Augustine Kelechi) and Skales(Raoul Njeng-Njeng)

    Four other ambassadors are – Saka, (Hafiz Oyetoro); Nedu (Steve Onu); Osuofia (NkemOwoh) and AdamuZango.

    Iweanoge again said: “With the significant investment made so far in Nigeria’s music industry, MTN remains and will continue to be one of the biggest supporters of the music industry. We have a track record of consistently providing the stage for some of Nigeria’s biggest artistes to shine and express themselves.

    “For MTN, we see the growth of the music industry as a continuum and not a destination. That is why we will continue to engage and support our local artistes so that they can find full expression for their talent. We will also continue to explore other areas of collaboration with all artistes through these platforms and many more, as we work to fulfil our vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world.”

    Iweanoge, however, posited that for the purpose of keeping alive the original concept of music brand ambassadorship, MTN decided to retain the services of past winners and participants of its Project Fame music reality TV show, which include Inyanya, Chidinma and Praiz. “MTN is particularly proud of these musicians because we not only gave them the platform to express their talent through Project FAME, we have consistently supported them over the years by making them our ambassadors.

  • ‘Africa has no reason to be poor’

    ‘Africa has no reason to be poor’

    Dr Brylyne Chitsunge is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Elpasso Farms, Pretoria, South Africa. A philanthropist and an advocate of sound education for women, Chitsunge, who was the guest speaker at the third convocation of the Landmark University (LMU), Omu-Aran, Kwara State, spoke with ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA on why Africa has no excuse to be hungry.  She urged governments to ensure that women are more educated to attain their full potential.

    Given her  expanse of land and  enormous deposits, do you think Africa has reasons to suffer hunger?

    There is no reason for Africa to suffer in the 21st century. We now have agricultural technologies that make operation much better than in the old days.  I’ve always believed that if you can’t engage in commercial farming, at least you can have a small garden at your backyard. It is about time we, as Africans, looked into our own resources and leverage in making agriculture a priority.

    You said Nigeria stands to gain a lot from South Africa in terms of the latter’s policies on agriculture. Can you shed more light on this?

    South Africa has got systems and policies in place, and we have gone a step ahead in agriculture in terms of process facilities, marketing, and all that. To start  with, infrastructure in Nigeria are not in very good condition. We need the right facilities to access the market, and get the project on time. The branding side of it is also important to get the product to its destination in a fresh manner. Nigeria and South Africa are two key players on the continent, and Nigeria, being the power house, there is no reason she cannot feed the world. We would like Nigerians to come to South Africa where they can learn more about our agricultural model and replicate that in their country.

    You are an advocate of equal right for the womenfolk. Unfortunately, in many African countries, women are still relegated to the background, with many still struggling to break the odds in a male-dominated society like ours.

    All that has to change now! Education for women is a priority. I love what Landmark (University) is doing in terms of revolutionising agriculture and also encouraging more females to go into it. Generally, the university is also incorporating the youth as tomorrow’s future in this campaign. This is quite commendable.

    With institutions like this (LMU), people are going to start looking at agriculture in a very different way and not as pure charity, or that the woman’s business is staying at home and looking after the children.  We need empowerment of more women in education. If you look around, most of the women are actually the ones on the field. Interestingly, it is the skills that they need for them to grow the food sustainably in and make their modest contributions in the added value chain.

    You contended that African countries should borrow a leaf from how some societies utilise grants  and aids given to them for certain purpose, especially agriculture.

    Truth is, when policies and agreement are being signed, people have to be mindful of what the money is coming in for. What happens is that most time when the donor countries come, they tell you the need for the assistance which may not tally with the specific needs of that country they are assisting, and this creates more problems. But let me put it this way, if the donor countries have an assistance, say agriculture for instance, and choose to involve the farmers, involve the hectors on ground, then we can all combat poverty on the continent which is very important. There has to be policies which can be looked at and best managed to benefit farmers.

    I have always said, ‘bring it (funding) to the farmers’ because they know what to do with it. If you take it to politicians. They will use it for political mileage. Take it to the institutions; they will use it as their bank balance. But take it to the farmer and he will grow food for everybody to eat and also feed a whole tomorrow.

    Despite the rate of unemployment, many youths still frown at the idea of returning to the farm despite the opportunities therein. What advice do you have for them?

    I am sorry I have to revisit Landmark University again. Every year, this university releases graduates in different areas of agriculture. What this university is saying is that be it on individual or corporate body, you can make food production a business.

    Beyond that, I also strongly feel we need to evolve educational policies for children less than five years because we are talking about 2050. Africa runs into this predicament today because the past had never prepared us; so why are we being selfish by not educating our five year olds? If there is a proper structure in place, I believe by 2050, the consciousness that they have to feed themselves would have been nurtured. There is need for better infrastructure and nutritional value. It is a whole process which encompasses a lot of things. People need to realise that it is not an easy sector; yet with education and determination, a lot can be learned from it.

    You are an advocate of equal opportunities for both men and women. But recently, the National Assembly in Nigeria struck out a bill that seeks equality status for women.

    Really, I think we are beginning to witness a shift. Today, UK is having her second female Prime Minister in the person of Theresa May. In the US, a female in the person of Mrs Hillary Clinton is gunning for American presidency. If she won, that simply means US will be having her first female President in its political history. Besides, we will have two countries that are world superpowers being led by women. So the world has been moving along greater female representation even in political circles.

    And what does this say about the perceptions of various authorities in Africa towards women emancipation?

    I am appealing to various governments across Africa to be careful when deliberating on any bill that borders on gender equality? We really need more powers for women.

    In almost all populations, if you look at the number of women that are actually on the farm, it is much more. Seventy per cent of women are actually on the field; so why not focus on them, and then we now discourage importation of food into African countries. So, it is very important that governments look upon and energise women to drive this sector. I can assure you that tomorrow, we will not have reasons to regret.

  • UNAIDS partners StarTimes on anti-AIDS programmes in Africa

    UNAIDS and StarTimes are discussing a roadmap targeted at delivering anti-HIV/AIDS TV content for increased awareness and positive reorientation to Africans through the StarTimes network on the continent.

    UNAIDS Executive Director and Under Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Michel Sidibé, said UNAIDS may establish  a deal with StarTimes to build a new bridge between Africa and China during a meeting with China-Africa Business Council in Beijing.

    Sidibé said: “I can just confess that all the interventions were so pertinent and relevant. Collaborating with StarTimes is also for me very important because what we are going to project is a new vision, which is to reach more people and create social reorientation, which will also ensure that everybody can benefit from the digital revolution. StarTimes technologies, innovations, creativity and international stature can help expand access to information and aid Africans to live healthier.”

    He continued: “For me, this is the only way to build a new bridge between Africa and China, through our partnership for the future to come.”

    UNAIDS Director  for Communications and Global Advocacy, Annemarie Hou said UNAIDS and StarTimes could work together to deliver anti-HIV/AIDS TV content to Africans.

    “We are working with OAFLA (the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS) and First Ladies and we are doing an excellent work on content, and they are also asking for more TV content. So, if we can work together, let’s think about things that will really help their message to be delivered to everyone in Africa.”

    “At a high-level meeting in New York in June, global leaders committed through a Political Declaration to double the efforts to end AIDS by 2030,” said GuoZiqi, Vice President of StarTimes Group, adding that StarTimes is ready to join the campaign of anti-HIV/AIDS and StarTimes would contribute its efforts to help achieve the goal of zero-AIDS in 2030.’’

    StarTimes is the leading digital-TV network operator and content provider in Africa, covering 90 per cent of the continent’s population and having 8 million subscribers in Africa. As a responsible media group, StarTimes has made great efforts through various initiatives to support the African people in areas including management of epidemics and deadly diseases like Ebola Virus in 2014.

  • Our enterprise centre is best in Africa, says PAU VC

    Our enterprise centre is best in Africa, says PAU VC

    Institutions usually boast about the veracity of their entrepreneurship programmes.  But Prof Juan Elegido, says the one run by the Pan-Atlantic University (PAU), Lagos, is in a class of its own.

    In an interview, Elegido, vice chancellor of the institution, said the PAU established its Enterprise Development Centre in 2003, three years before the National Universities Commission (NUC) made it mandatory for universities to do so.

    He said students are actually given loans to start real businesses as part of the training and are graded for the effort.

    Elegido said: “At the beginning of the academic year, all the second year undergraduate students, from every course of study, were divided into groups and loaned an amount of money to start up a business of their choice. This entailed going through all the processes involved in starting a real business, from coming up with a business plan for whatever business the group agreed upon, pitching this plan to potential investors, raising more funds to run the business, advertising, marketing, engaging in sales towards making a profit and then returning the money that the school loaned them initially. They had a whole semester to accomplish this task. Throughout the process of the course, the students came in contact with various successful entrepreneurs who led various interactive class sessions and mentored them.”

    The students set up various businesses that provided branding services, product merchandizing, fruit juice production, fitness and wellness programme, and catering, and the like.

    At the end of the semester, the University held an entrepreneurship expo where the various groups exhibited their products and services. As part of their course work, their efforts were assessed by a lecturer and various small and medium scale business owners, who also purchased products and shared ideas with the students.

    The Vice Chancellor said the mistakes they made formed part of the learning process, which they would learn to avoid in future.

    “It was much safer for them to make their mistakes now rather than making those same mistakes six years later when they start their real business and then go bankrupt,” he said.

    He added that the opportunity for practical learning could not compare with what other universities offer.

    “All the people who have participated in this exercise, which by the way is an annual activity for year 2 students, will tell you they have learnt a lot about real hands-on entrepreneurship. They have made lots of contacts in the programme with real entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Honestly, I think that right now there is no university in Nigeria which is teaching entrepreneurship in this way. I was very excited to see them positively engaged for the whole period; you had all sorts of groups of students going all over the campus. It was not possible to go from point A to B without somebody trying to sell something to you,” he said.

    Though more popular for its postgraduate education, PAU began offering undergraduate progammes in Mass Communication, Business Administration and Accounting in 2014.

    Elegido said the institution is scheduled to begin programmes in Economics and Information Science and Media Studies in the 2016/2017 session.

  • Lafarge Africa tantalises professionals with $2m contest

    Lafarge Africa Plc, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, is mobilising professionals in Nigeria’s building and construction sector, as well as students to participate in the 5th International LafargeHolcim Awards. The programme is aimed at seeking smart solutions for cities and the built environment.

    The Group Managing Director/CEO, Lafarge Africa Plc, Michel Puchercos, said for the first time after the firm’s global merger, and as a demonstration of its belief in the country’s professionals’ competence and ability to compete with their counterparts across the globe, the company would be showcasing Nigeria’s professionals and students in the $2 million competition, adding that the competition is also in furtherance of the company’s vision to build a stronger Nigeria, safely, ethically and sustainably through innovative construction solutions.

    He enjoined all eligible engineers, architects, builders, planners, construction firms, project owners, students and non governmental organisations (NGOs) to avail themselves of the opportunity to make a mark in the global construction space, while assuring that there will be more engagements with the target audience in the next few weeks.

    The competition, organised by the LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, identifies the ideas with the highest potential to tackle today’s challenges, to increasing urbanisation and improve quality of life. Projects and concepts from the fields of architecture, landscape, architecture, urban design, planning, technology, and civil and materials engineering are eligible to be featured.

    The main category is for professionals, construction firms and NGOs that showcase sustainable responses to technological, environmental, socio-economic and cultural issues within contemporary building and construction. Besides, participants up to the age of 30 can also submit visionary concepts and bold ideas in the competition, irrespective of the probability of actual implementation of the project: ‘the Next Generation category specifically seeks “blue-sky” solutions by students and young professionals’.

    The competition holds in the five geographic regions where LafargeHolcim operates – Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Middle East Afica –The winners will be announced in the second half of 2017. Winners automatically qualify for the global Awards competition in 2018.

    Entry for the competition, which opened on Monday July 4 closes for submissions in March next year.

  • Nickelodeon’s same-sex cartoon will not air in Africa

    Nickelodeon’s same-sex cartoon will not air in Africa

    Kiddies channel, Nickelodeon, has confirmed that the episodes of Loud House featuring a same sex couple will not air on its channels in sub-Saharan Africa.

    As a global brand entertaining audiences around the world, Nickelodeon strives to ensure that content respects the varying traditions and the cultural sensitivity in each market.

    The Loud House is an animated series about the comedy and chaos of family life in all its forms. It is rooted in the creative team’s own experiences from childhood and their observations today as parents themselves.  Its stories and characters are all grounded in the realities of many modern families today, as seen from the perspective of the 11-year old main character.

  • SABMiller sales hurt by economic volatility in Africa

    Brewer SABMiller, to be bought by Anheuser-Busch InBev, has reported lower quarterly revenue, hurt by tough conditions in some African markets.

    The maker of beers, such as Castle Lager, Peroni and Grolsch, said the group net revenue fell four percent in its first quarter, ended June 30, with volume flat.

    Excluding the impact of acquisitions, disposals and currency fluctuations, revenue rose two percent as gains in Europe, South Africa and Latin America offset more challenging conditions in other African markets, where volume was hurt by economic volatility and tough conditions.

    In its trading statement on Thursday, which comes ahead of its annual general meeting, (AGM) SABMiller did not mention its pending $107 billion takeover by Anheuser-Busch InBev, which received approval by the United States.

    The takeover of the London-listed brewer has come under scrutiny in recent weeks as a drop in the British currency has reduced the relative attractiveness of the all-cash offer aimed at most SAB shareholders.

    Two activist hedge funds, TCI and Elliott Advisors, have taken small stakes in the brewer, raising the possibility that shareholders may push to try to get improved terms.

  • African leaders must address poverty, inequality- Osinbajo

    Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday challenged African leaders on the need to urgently address the problems of poverty and inequality in their countries.

    He spoke at a side event hosted by the President of Ghana, Mr. John Mahama on Africa and Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) at the ongoing African Union meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.

    Leading the Nigerian delegation to the continent-wide meeting, Osinbajo told the breakfast event attended by a number of presidents and several heads of delegations to the AU meeting that the whole idea of the SDGs is about addressing inequality and poverty.

    In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, the Vice President said something has to be done urgently concerning the problems.

    In this regard, he cited the example of the N500 billion social investment programme of the Muhammadu Buhari presidency.

    He said: “In Nigeria, in the current budget cycle we have the largest social protection programme in the history of the country. It’s a N500B programme-(worth over $2.5B as at the time budget was signed.)

    “Basically we are looking at lifting many out of poverty, of course many are farmiliar with the size of the Nigerian state and we have close to hundred and ten million people who are poor and about two-tenth are in extreme poverty.

    “So it is a very huge problem and part of what we are trying to do is to look at how not just to empower people but also to ensure that what they are given is sustainable.

    “For the women, we are doing a programme, micro-credit programme for a million market women and artisans.

    “All would be given facilities, training facilities as well to enable them to be able to do some work for themselves and to continue to be able to live.

    “And we think that giving this micro-credit loan to women is to make sure that they handle money better and do a much better work on the whole.

    “So l think that with what we ve’ done already, we have seen that they are certainly going to work,” he added.

    On the Conditional Cash Transfer, he said: “Again we are handing these to women. We are giving (this to) another million, to the poorest of the poor.

    “In determining who the poorest is, we had problems on that, but we have very good assistance from the World Bank and the Bill Gates Foundation. They helped in trying to map the really poor.

    “We had to get inside the communities looking for the poorest of the poor with the small sum of money which is about N5000 (which is roughly about $25 dollars or there about) which is a sum of money that would be given to the poorest every month, which may enable them feed themselves and find something that they may do and on the condition that they send their children to school and participate in immunisation.

    “So we are really excited about some of the works we are trying to do around the SDGs and we are hopeful that we’ll be able to get the Social Protection Programme working.” He said

    According to him, the Nigerian government recently appointed a Senior Special Assistant on SDGs with a full SDG Implementation office, which is fully equipped.

    “And we hope to be able to carry out all of the proposals we made and effect them within the shortest possible time,” he said.

    The main summit meeting of the AU holds on Sunday, July 17, when over 30 African leaders at the level of presidents, vice presidents, and prime ministers are expected, besides foreign minister-level representations.

    Other events on Saturday included a close-door retreat of the AU leaders discussing the financing options for the union going forward.