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Tag: ECA

  • ECA withdrawal: Fed Govt to refund N1tr to states

    ECA withdrawal: Fed Govt to refund N1tr to states

    States will soon start smiling to their banks as the Federal Government has agreed to pay them   N1 trillion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA).

    The sum represents about  25.6  percent of the N3.9 trillion drawn from the ECA by the  government without their(states) knowledge.

    The N1 trillion will, however, not be released to the states at once.

    It will be paid in tranches of N50 billion or N100 billion monthly until the whole sum is fully offset.  

    A top Federal Ministry of Finance source, who made this known to The Nation yesterday, said the states recently discovered the “illegal’ withdrawal from the ECA  and confronted the Federal Government over it.

    The source added that the government agreed to pay the N1 trillion which is the percentage that belongs to the states from the withdrawn N3.9 trillion. 

    Part of the Excess Crude Account withdrawal, said the Finance Ministry official,   was used to offset some of the nation’s debts.   

    He said: “recently, the states confronted us (Federal Government) that we made withdrawals from the ECA without recourse to them. 

    “We looked at their case and discovered that the share is about N3.9 trillion so we are committed to paying the states because it is their money. We should have consulted them.

    “We sat with a representative of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), their consultant and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF).

    “It was noted that N3.9 trillion was withdrawn by the Federal Government over time. 

    Read Also: Fed Govt begins verification of national social register in Lagos

    “However, we are already making efforts to not only pay them but reconcile the dates and withdrawals which we are committed to paying back. 

    “We will be paying them every month from our share of the monthly allocations, maybe N100 or N50 billion. The framework has not been worked out but we have agreed that they have N1 trillion. There is a committee to that effect.

    The ECA  is a fund established in 2004 by the Federal government to stabilise the country’s economy and lessen the impact of price volatility in oil exports.

    The account is funded with the difference(sum) between the market price of crude and the budgeted price of the product as contained in the government’s appropriation bill.

    Despite its good intentions, the ECA has been riddled with controversies, allegations of corruption, and uncertain performance.

    Although dormant at the moment, it has only about $473,754.57 left in it as of the last FAAC meeting.

    Asked to shed more light on the present status of the  ECA, the source said it would not be shut down.   

    His words:  “We will not close the ECA because as of today, there is an increase in production of oil but we have to make a request to the Organisation of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) to increase our quota.

    “That is what we are canvassing because any savings we make when we produce more will go to the ECA but because we do not have enough, that is why the ECA  is dormant for some time. 

    “As of today, whatever that is in the ECA belongs to the three tiers of government based on an approved formula.”

    He also revealed that the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) resolved to open a ledger in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) to track savings in the nation’s incomes.

    “At the last Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting, we agreed to open a ledger so that all our savings from June to date will be recorded so everybody can see it so that the states will be satisfied that we are prudent and they can see what they are saving,” said the source. 

    According to him, the essence of the saving is, “assuming we have a threshold of N650 billion, that means we should not disburse anything below N650 billion. So when our revenue goes down because of one reason or the other and we discover that it is below N650 billion, we go back to that saving to augment.”

  • ECA chief hails Mauritania for ratifying AfCFTA

    UNITED Nations Economic Commission for African ( ECA ) Executive Secretary Vera Songwe has congratulated Mauritania for ratifying the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

    She spoke yesterday during an audience with the President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in Nouakchott.

    “Mauritania is one of the first countries to sign the AfCFTA documents. This shows that its President and government are convinced of the importance of regional integration,” Songwe said.

    Discussions with Aziz included strategic choices for ECA’s work in Mauritania and its cooperation with the country as part of its role in supporting Africa’s growth.

    During her visit, the ECA Executive Secretary met several ministers, including the Prime Minister Mohamed Salem Ould El Bechir, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismaël Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the Minister of Economy and Finance Moctar Ould Diay and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Khadijetou Mbareck Fall.

    Topics discussed included the use of innovative financing investment mechanisms to strengthen key sectors like energy or mines; the use of ICTs to streamline administrative processes to improve the national Doing Business ranking, and improved public finances and debt analysis to consolidate the country’s macro-economic and fiscal policies.

    Other topics included employment, economic diversification, the building of a national, digital ID system for a better social inclusion and distribution of growth benefits in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals and the implementation of the African Women Leadership Fund initiated by ECA in 2018 in favor of Mauritanian women.

    These cooperation opportunities come in addition to ongoing ECA projects in Mauritania, which include the rebasing of the GDP in accordance with SCN 2008, support for the drafting of the first National Voluntary Review, and an upcoming competitiveness study to be carried out as part of ECA’s support for the implementation of the AfCFTA.

    Songwe also met the UN country team and discussed options for an improved coordination of UN projects in Mauritania.

  • World to enter 2019 with lowest poverty level, says ECA

    THE Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) believes there is reason to celebrate as the count down to 2019 begins: the world will enter the new year with the lowest level of extreme poverty at eight per cent.

    According to the ECA, “latest estimates by World Data Lab show that, for the first time in history, the world will enter the new year with the lowest level of extreme poverty, at 8%.”

    But, the United Nations (UN) organ also painted a gloomy picture for Africa, stating that “single digit numbers hide underlying differences, especially for African countries. Six hundred million people globally will start 2019 living in extreme poverty and only 20 million will come out of this situation by the end of the year. Africa still has much of its population living in poverty or vulnerable.”

    The ECA added that its “recently unveiled Africa Poverty Clock estimate that, in 2019, 70% of the world’s poor will live in Africa, up from 50% in 2015. By 2023, the share of Africa’s poor will increase to over 80% of global share. In other words, Africa will be adding more poor people to the world.”

    The African Poverty Clock, the ECA, said “provides real-time poverty estimates for every country on the continent, with forecasts until 2030”.

    “Current projections indicate that almost all of Africa is off track for ending extreme poverty by 2030. Thirteen countries are projected to see an increase in absolute numbers. Seven out of the top 10 countries in the world with the most poor people are in Africa. This is expected to rise to nine out of 10 by 2030. Four main factors drive Africa’s diverging progress with the rest of the world,” the UN organ said.

     

     

     

     

     

  • ECA to African leaders: honour your word

    AfricaN leaders should honour their commitment to allocate 10 percent of their budgets to agriculture if the continent is to improve food security, reduce poverty and spur economic growth, Batanai Chikwene of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has said.

    Speaking in Cairo, Egypt, Chikwene, a Programme Management Officer with African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC), an ECA organ, said more resources were needed to support agriculture and smallholder farmers as the continent is  thriving under the  African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

    “The AfCFTA will be of immense help to smallscale farmers and start-ups on the continent. In addition to providing them with 97 percent market access and a framework for trade facilitation, it will eliminate barriers inhibiting their growth. But then access to finance is important, which is why I believe the time is ripe for us to urge our leaders to recommit themselves and build that capacity for farmers to increase productivity,” he said.

    Chikwene said under  AfCFTA, African  farmers must be ready  to feed people in their own countries, on  the  continent and also to penetrate international markets.

    He said the private sector could help to finance the sector, adding that Africa’s small scale farming is key to the continent’s economic success.

    In 2003 African leaders agreed in Maputo, Mozambique to focus on building agriculture. In the Maputo Declaration, they agreed to vote at least 10 percent of their budgets on the improvement of food security.

    “So far, just a few of our countries have kept their promise. Our farmers need the support if the AfCFTA is to make the huge difference that we expect it to make on the continent,” Chikwene said.

    The Head of Private Sector and Trade Finance, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Khalid Ahmed, said: “Smallholder farmers and SMEs are critical to the overall development of Africa and must be encouraged to grow. They contribute significantly to the economies of African nations and provide the basic needs of the people.”

    He said access to funds was important for them, adding financial institutions should be mandated to develop specific products targeted at assisting smallholder farmers and SMEs on the continent.

    Ahmed Elmekass, coordinator, AU-SAFGRAD and Sherine Sherin El-Sabag, an Industrial Development Advisor in Egypt’s Planning, Monitoring and Administrative Reform Ministry, also supported the call for more resources to be allocated to  agriculture.

    The IATF is a platform designed to help African firms ease into the huge market that will be created by the AfCFTA.

    Over 50,000 prominent deal makers, businesses, industries, investors, countries and suppliers attended  the IATF where up to $25-billion business deals, contracts and investment transactions were expected to be sealed.

  • ECA holds memorial symposium on Adedeji’s ideas

    THE Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) will tomorrow hold a memorial symposium in Lagos on the notions of development of its former Executive Secretary, the late Prof. Adebayo Adedeji.

    The communication section of the commission said this in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in a statement posted on its website yesterday.

    It added that the symposium would also examine the relevance of his idea in contemporary Africa.

    It said Adedeji was acknowledged by many as one of the most towering intellectual figures and development practitioners in Africa in the late 20th century.

    The commission said Adedeji served as Executive Secretary of ECA for 16 years, from1975 to 1991, the longest tenure in that position by any executive secretary.

    It would also focus on the challenges, opportunities and prospects for the structural transformation of African economies and the continent.

    The commission said under Adedeji’s leadership, ECA assumed not only regional but global prominence, adding that the former executive secretary initiated and led several Pan-African projects.

    It said Adedeji worked closely with the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now African Union (AU) in promoting regional integration, social and economic development of the continent.

    He died on April 25 at 88 during brief illness.

     

  • ECA to African countries:Exploit waters for economic growth 

    The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has called on African countries to harness the potentials in their body of waters for economic growth and prosperity.

    Dr. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) made this call at the opening of the 12thRegional Nile Day Celebrations, held on the theme: ”The Nile: Shared River, Collective Action” in Addis Ababa Ethiopia  recently.

    According to her, ”Africa’s growth and continued prosperity depends on the proper management of our waters. The Nile does not only play a unique role in the cultural heritage of Africa but is also an important extension for achieving sustainable development and the realization of Agendas 2030 and 2063,” said Ms Songwe.

    She added that “the Nile is Africa’s strongest potential for transformational development and the most tangible metaphor for bringing together economic growth, environmental preservation and social inclusion,” she said.

    Songwe highlighted the economic and ecological importance of the Nile, in particular, and other major bodies of water in Africa in general as significantly impacting on human, socioeconomic and the wellbeing of African peoples.

    The Nike she said “gave birth to entire civilizations; and today feeds millions of people who continue to expect benefits from sustainable development and management of this shared crucial resource.”

    The Nile Basin covers ten counties with an area of about 3.1 million km2 and represents 10% of the African continent. Despite considerable variation in the distribution, the Basin receives annual average rainfall of about 650 mm.

  • $1b ECA fund and its critics

    $1b ECA fund and its critics

    I think the question as to whether President Buhari needs $1b approved by the governors’ forum for the purpose of ending the Boko-Haram insurgency is legitimate. The latest report of Global Terrorism Index has after-all only recently confirmed that terrorism in Nigeria has decreased by unprecedented 80% in two years compared to 40% in Iraq, 24% in Syria, 14 % in Afghanistan and 12% in Pakistan.  Some have called attention to other demands on government such as decayed infrastructure and unemployment. Some would rather have government go through the National Assembly (NASS) for appropriation if such huge amount is required while a few others believe the governors’ forum has no constitutional right to decide on how the LGA’s part of the excess crude fund is deployed. But as it is often said in this business, the medium is the news. The question is how credible and sincere are some of those now trying to pontificate on how Boko Haram war should be fought.

    Yari, the chairman of the governors forum has explained to Nigerians that   because the governors felt they ‘should not compromise the issue of security for the entire country’ they agreed to forfeit $1bn out of our (their) own share of excess crude ‘to purchase equipment for the military’. Such a decision, he added also happened during Jonathan’s era when they all agreed ‘to withdraw $2bn to procure equipment and logistics for the military’. Of the 32 governors in attendance when the decision was taken, there was, according to him ‘no single opposition’

    Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti has however dissociated himself from decision insisting ‘all accruals to the federation must be shared by the three tiers of government’. His argument is that Ekiti’s problem is not Boko Haram but Hunger-Haram. His trenchant cry has since become   “I want my Ekiti money”, asking, ‘Since they said they have defeated Boko Haram, what else do they need a whopping sum of $1bn (over N365bn) for, if not to fund the 2019 elections?’

    For Governor Dickson of Bayelsa however, Fayose was only up to his antics. According to him “Our duty is to collaborate among ourselves, collaborate with the federal government on two critical issues of national security and issues of the economy… and I think that we leaders must be circumspect in terms of creating controversies on issues of national security”.

    The new PDP, like Fayose, was however suspicious, such amount might be diverted to fighting the 2019 election. This is understandable. Both are not strangers to the use of funds budgeted for military hardware and soldiers welfare as war chests. Fayose according to EFCC and Senator Musliu Obanikoro who ferried N3 billion of $2.1 of arms funds from Dazuki Jonathan’s NSA in two aircrafts confirmed Fayose received the money. EFCC has since traced the said amount to personal accounts of Fayose and linked some of the funds to properties he acquired in Lagos and Abuja. Like Fayose, the current PDP leadership was also privy to the sharing of the said military hardware votes by PDP stalwarts and ministers as war chest.

    Unfortunately, since there is no evidence Fayose invested any part of this money in Ekiti, it is difficult to believe his current trenchant cry of “give me my Ekiti money’ is motivated by love for Ekiti. This is also a man who traded off Prof Adeniran, his fellow Ekiti compatriot and the best of all the PDP chairmanship contestants for a possible VP slot in 2019. Fayose, like his brother governors who took Obasanjo to court citing constitutional backing over the sharing of the excess crude oil funds, is driven by anything but the love of Ekiti people.

    And a man who cannot remember it was only yesterday  Obasanjo took him from Adedibu, the Ibadan garrison commander, and made him governor of Ekiti State but now publicly accused him “of opening his rotten mouth to criticize PDP that gave him an opportunity to be a two-term president” adding, “where is Obasanjo today? His era is gone. We are now in charge” cannot be taken seriously if he read motives to President Buhari’s actions.

    While it will be uncharitable to lump other critics together to clowning Fayose, I think three quick observations can be made in respects of the fears they expressed. First, our current federal arrangement is a fraud.  The umbilical cords that link the LGAs together with the states cannot be severed just because of an aberration that the former is funded with other peoples’ resources by a centre they are not answerable to. The governors can legitimately speak for their LGAs.

    The sincerity of those asking Buhari to put his fate in the hands of the current NASS is also questionable. We cannot pretend not to know that ‘the cloak does not make the monk”. There is no difference between David Mark/Ekweremadu’s 7th Senate and its offshoot, the 8th Saraki/Ekweremadu Senate. The former worked against the interest of Nigerians. While it was busy sharing our national patrimony with David Mark leading the way with his confiscation of the Senate President’s mansion, a national heritage, other PDP stalwarts and ministers looted the nation. The 7th Senate was also busy serving its members while Generals stole military hardware and soldiers’ welfare funds resulting in Boko Haram insurgents hoisting of caliphate flags in some conquered areas of the north-eastern Nigeria.

    The latter, Saraki/Ekweremadu 8th Senate has only improved on the baleful legacies of its forbears.  It has for the past two years despite public opinion, served none but its members. They have demonstrated their opposition to Buharis anti-corruption crusade.  Twice they rejected his nomination for the chair of EFCC for no other reasons than he had earlier investigated corruption cases against some of their members. President Bubari’s Special Anti-corruption Court bill named “Special Criminal Courts Act” has remained unattended to since last year. The Anti –money Laundry Bills have been in the Senate since 2015. And without the passage of this anti-corruption courts legislation, special anti-corruption courts cannot be created to speed up corruption trials. For now, the over N2trillion recovered looted funds cannot be used for the benefit of the people since the cases are still going to the Supreme Court.

    And lastly, with nothing but sabotage coming from  the legislature, the judiciary and even some segments of the media, we seem to have forgotten that Buhari as an elected sovereign in a democracy cannot cite these impediments  as excuses for not fulfilling his electoral promises at the end of four years.  As a democratically elected sovereign, he is allowed to employ blackmail, intimidation and stick and carrot approach and if needs be, only the stick for the greater good of the greatest number of people in society according to his interpretation. (This is currently going on in Trump America, the home of democracy).

    The problem with President Buhari is that he has been too timid to use the power of the sovereign. This was perhaps why exasperated Itse Sagay said not too long ago that the enemies of Nigeria in the National Assembly are lucky he was not the President. In a democracy, the tale does not wag the dog.

    And finally, I think it will be short-sighted to cite the near or total defeat of Boko Haram as excuses for not equipping our armed forces for future challenges. There must be something to learn from our recent history. Obasanjo and Yar’Adua saved for the raining day but probably paid less attention to our armed forces. And after Jonathan and PDP, like Epicureans ate everything kept in their care for our tomorrow,  all we had when Boko Haram struck, was an army that could not  defend its own barracks where Generals died while literarily protecting their families members under Boko Haram siege inside a church with their bare hands.

  • PDP: don’t divert attention on $1b ECA withdrawal

    PDP: don’t divert attention on $1b ECA withdrawal

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also challenged the Federal Government to address issues on the withdrawal of the $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account.

    It accused the federal government of trying raise fund for the partisan activities in 2019.

    Spokesman of the PDP Kola Ologbondiyan in a statement said:  the government had resorted to making unsubstantiated allegations against the PDP, stressing that this has only reinforced the government’s manipulative tendencies and arrogant spurn to the sensibilities of Nigerians.

    The party challenged Minister of Information Lai Mohammed  to substantiate his claims that the PDP was rebranding with stolen money.

    The statement said, “The Federal Government has failed to address issues raised by the PDP and majority of Nigerians, including APC members, who cannot fathom how this administration would want to expend N365billion on fighting insurgents it claimed had been technically defeated.

    “It is indeed appalling that rather than being remorseful, the APC Federal Government has renewed its wild allegations and cheap blackmail against the PDP.

    “It is clear to all that the PDP does not have access to public funds and cannot be rebranding with stolen money. Instead, we are rebranding on the grace of the general goodwill of Nigerians who have suffered untold hardships in close to three years of APC government.”

  • Infrastructure critical to Nigeria’s economic transformation, says ECA

    Nigeria’s economic transformation as well as that of other African countries depends on a strong infrastructure base.

    Speaking during an Economic Commission for Africa’s (ECA’s) sponsored session in Nigeria,  Sylvian Boko, the Principal Regional Advisor and Head of Development Planning and Statistics at the ECA, said it was imperative for the continent to create an enabling environment for investment in transboundary infrastructure projects that will change the lives of millions of ordinary people.

    He said the harmonisation of policies, laws, and regulations through the ECA’s Model Law on transboundary infrastructure projects, will go a long way in strengthening existing continental, regional, and national institutional capacity.

    He added that “there was also an urgent need for the ECA and its pan African partners to help develop the knowledge base of transboundary infrastructure projects and technical advisory capacity on such projects on the continent.”

    He said “private perception of risk and uncertainty in the past may have been exacerbated by the disparity and lack of harmonisation of the regulatory and legal frameworks governing transboundary infrastructure projects, even if such projects are otherwise profitable.”

    Boko advocated that adequate infrastructure can accelerate Africa’s growth, adding that “the continent can actually fund its development priorities, especially infrastructure projects, with domestic resources,” stating that although Africa was still faced with the arduous task of mobilizsing adequate resources to fund its own growth and transformation, it still has the potential to do so.

    He said infrastructure can trigger development on the continent and eradicate inequalities across borders.

    “It is critical for the continent to have a competitive industrial sector and transboundary infrastructure to advance its integration, thus promoting strong and sustained growth by reducing poverty; enhancing economic activity and competitiveness by reducing transportation cost; improving living standard by minimising transaction costs of business,” he stated.

    Mr. Boko said this would raise productivity and promote economic competiveness, and in the process assist governments in domestic resource mobilization.

    He however  cautioned that, “the continent still lacks adequate infrastructure such as roads, railways, waterways and ICT to support its growing economies.”

    Emmanuel Nnadozie, Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), said ”to accelerate regional integration in Africa, the Continent must develop efficient and effective institutions that will be in a position to do a number of important things beyond promoting trade and regional infrastructure programs.”

    These he said, “include enhancing leadership; informing, educating and changing mindsets to foster a spirit of Africanness; enabling the right decisions to be made and acted upon, the right laws and policies to be designed, implemented, monitored and evaluated.”

     

     

    Mr. Nnadozi added that ”visionary and effective leadership is an essential requirement for accelerating regional integration because, leaders must be able to provide inspiration, motivation and clear direction to ensure that decisions are implemented.”

    He said the spirit of Africanness is essential to ensure that “people from the continent would think of themselves first as Africans before thinking of themselves in terms of their respective nationalities.”

    Africa, he said, must allow for a solid financial mechanism and that will enable capacity to flourish through the development, employment, retention and full and optimum utilization of human capacity, in particular capacity for policy design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation.

    Mr. Nnadozie lamented that “establishing institutions which matter for regional integration in Africa was easier said than done.”

    “Building or strengthening these institutions could benefit from experience and best practices elsewhere.  However, there would be need for institutional design experimentation that recognizes the existing sociopolitical and economic circumstances,” he said.

    He stated that “it should not be expected that all private sector groupings will favor regional integration, as some sects will definitely take some protectionist stance in fear of competition. However, as has already been experienced in some countries, the disparities in economic weight that exist between members of some groupings require that we enforce those policy instruments that deal with fears of economic polarization.”

  • ECA: address infrastructure gap to boost intra-African trade

    The United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has reiterated the need to address limited connectivity within Africa to boost intra-African trade.

    The body said this position at the just-concluded Aid for Trade Global Review at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, according to ECA’s statement.

    ECA Capacity Development Division Director, Mr.  Stephen Karingi, emphasised the need to boost intra-African trade, which currently stands at a mere 13 percent of the continent’s total trade.

    Karinga  canvassed  the need for African governments to do more to grow intra-African trade stressing  that Africa’s relatively low intra-regional trade is as a result of barriers created by limited connectivity within the continent. He called on leaders in the continent to think of physical connectivity and infrastructure where the gaps remain significant.

    He said: “We should consider softer aspects of connectivity. Non-tariff and tariff costs both influence how African countries can link with each other. Boosting intra-African trade is the most effective channel for trade to deliver development on the African continent adding deeper trade integration is the surest way to speed up Africa’s economic transformation. Policies to enhance intra-regional trade on the continent are crucial; strategies to implement, enforce and monitor their progress and impact are also needed”.

    He maintained  that trade contributes towards industrialisation and structural transformation and regretted that  Intra-African trade currently stands at a mere 13 percent of the continent’s total trade, which is very low.

    Higher volumes of intra-African trade are essential so African countries can do business with each other more frequently and with wider margins, Karingi added.