The Nation Newspaper

Tag: world bank

  • IMF, World Bank obsolete, says Okonjo-Iweala

    IMF, World Bank obsolete, says Okonjo-Iweala

    Nigeria’s two-time Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,  yesterday said the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were no longer ‘fit for purpose’.

    Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, on the theme: Who can lead a Multipolar world?, she called on the Bretton Woods institutions to adapt to the new world and prepare for the realities of the future.

    She said: “Coming on to the economic institution, I think if we didn’t have them, the global institutions will need to invent them; we still need those institutions, but the problem is that now they are not fit for purpose.

    “They are not following the changes that are  happening faster. One, on the different economic shares, two, one the fast move of knowledge and technolog; the fact that the world and the workplace is changing very fast.

    “We need a global covenant system that would help  developing countries also adapt faster. So it is anomalous not only in terms of the leadership  of the institution, but also in terms of the shares of different countries in these institutions.

    “You cannot have a situation where smaller European countries have a greater share in, say, the World Bank or the IMF than China or India.”

    The former vice-president of the World Bank was joined by the Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore, Kishore Mahbubani,.

    Mahbubani, who spoke before Okonjo-Iweala, called on the United Nations (UN) to evolve and change its structure, which was built 70 years ago.

    He said: “The West believes it can continue to dominate. My favourite example, Ngozi, hope you don’t mind me saying this, is that the Europeans believe that the head of the IMF must be European, and the head of the World Bank must be American. Excuse me, those rules were made in 1945, in a different world.

    “You still haven’t had a single Asian or African run these places, clearly these rules are out of date…and that is the core of the problem we face.

    “The composition of the UN Security Council: One of the most provocative things I say is that the United Kingdom (UK) and France are only member of the Security Council only because they won World War II in 1945. Surely it is time for UK and France to make way for India, or Brazil or Nigeria.”

    When it was her turn to speak, Okonjo-Iweala said: “Just to follow up on what Kishore just talked about. If you look at the fact, in terms of contribution to economic growth, emerging countries are contributing more than 50 per cent to global growth.

    “President Xi said it, China alone is contributing 30 percent. The global south is playing a very important role already, the frustration is that these role is not being recognised.

    “There has been evolution of systems to move us from a system of the G-7 to G-20, but even the G-20 leaves out significant important countries. We need a global covenant system that recognises the contribution of developing countries in a much more robust way.”

    She said the systems needed to be adjusted, so that countries could feel an ownership of these institutions. She also said the institutions themselves needed to be adjusted to recognise that knowledge is moving really very fast.

  • Nigeria’s GDP ‘ll grow by 1%, says World Bank

    Nigeria’s GDP ‘ll grow by 1%, says World Bank

    After plunging into its worst recession in over two decades, the World Bank projects that Nigeria will get out of recession, and grow its gross domestic product (GDP) by one per cent this year.

    The global financial institution also said the global economy will accelerate moderately to 2.7 per cent this year.

    “Sub-Saharan African growth is expected to pick up modestly to 2.9 per cent in 2017 as the region continues to adjust to lower commodity prices.

    “Growth in South Africa and oil exporters is expected to be weaker, while growth in economies that are not natural-resource intensive should remain robust.

    “Growth in South Africa is expected to edge up to a 1.1 per cent pace this year. Nigeria is forecast to rebound from recession and grow at a 1 percent pace. Angola is projected to expand at a 1.2 per cent pace,” the global lender said in a statement.

    Fiscal stimulus in major economies—particularly in the United States—could generate faster domestic and global growth than projected, although rising trade protection could have adverse effects.

    Growth in emerging market and developing economies as a whole should pick up to 4.2 per cent this year from 3.4 per cent in the year just ended amid modestly rising commodity prices.

    Nevertheless, the outlook is clouded by uncertainty about policy direction in major economies.

    “After years of disappointing global growth, we are encouraged to see stronger economic prospects on the horizon,” Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Group president said.

    “Now is the time to take advantage of this momentum and increase investments in infrastructure and people. This is vital to accelerating the sustainable and inclusive economic growth required to end extreme poverty.”

    The report analyses the worrisome recent weakening of investment growth in emerging market and developing economies, which account for one-third of global GDP and about three-quarters of the world’s population and the world’s poor.

    Investment growth fell to 3.4 per cent in 2015 from 10 per cent on average and likely declined another half percentage point last year.

  • Kwara, World Bank earmark N850m for rural development

    Kwara, World Bank earmark N850m for rural development

    •Ahmed empowers women cooperatives with N20m

    To ensure infrastructural development of rural areas, the Kwara State government in partnership with the World Bank has embarked on N850 million ward-based community development programme.

    The aim of the programme is to ensure that all 193 wards across the senatorial districts of the state have improved access to infrastructural services that will bring about sustainable development.

    Governor Ahmed said this in Ilorin, the state capital, during the project launch/cheque presentation ceremony organised by the Kwara State Community and Social Development Agency (KWCSDA).

    His words “The money disbursed is the first tranche of the programmeunder which the state government is responsible for about N165 million released, while the 58 participating communities are responsible for about N18.4 million.

    According to Governor Ahmed, 58 communities are beneficiaries of the project, but 41 communities

    will be the first beneficiaries as they will be given various sums for community projects, Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has said. He added that the remaining communities will receive their funds in coming months.

    In order to facilitate the continuity of community development projects in the state, the administration he pointed out has injected the sum of N50 million last year and an additional budgetary provision of

    N200 million in 2016 into CSDP as additional funding to consolidate government’s commitment to the project.

    “The presence of the counterpart fund of N200 million as contained in the 2016 appropriation allowed for further draw-down of over N670m to scale up the implementation of projects across the state.

    Governor Ahmed therefore urged all communities participating in the programme to spend the money allocated to them solely for community projects that will have a positive impact on the lives of the people.

    “The judicious use of the first tranche and proper retirement of receipts will facilitate the release of the second and third tranches accordingly,” said Ahmed He hinted that community driven development approaches and actions are important elements of a sustainable development strategy.

    Similarly, the governor also recently disbursed a sum of N20 millionfor women cooperatives in the state.

    He said that the money was the first tranche of the programme under which a total of N41 million will be provided for women cooperativesin the state.

    He added that the remaining N21 million will be released to other qualifying women in the coming months.

    Theprogramme, the governor said, is designed to assist women who are the powerful majority of the electorate and are in dire need of financial assistance to do their businesses.

    His words: “As you may be aware, the empowerment scheme is part of the government’s efforts to enhance the livelihoods of women by supporting them to expand existing businesses and create new ones. To ensure spread, the first sets of beneficiaries are drawn from the three senatorial districts of the state: Kwara Central, Kwara South and Kwara North.

    “For this reason, the state government believes that women, being the largest component of our population, are critical to achieving our shared goals of prosperity.”In view of this, this government has put in place various programmesto educate, and empower women and young girls with the tools,

    resources and skills necessary to build productive lives for the benefit of the society.”

    Ahmed said that his administration has, from inception, prioritized the informal sector as a major driver of economic activities and as the area in which majority of our people make a living.

    “Our approach to strengthening the sector has been the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) scheme under which micro-credit funds are disbursed via micro finance banks to qualifying cooperative

    groups.

    “Indeed, the MSME scheme also offers a reliable, efficient and measurable means of empowering and creating jobs for important but disadvantaged segments of our population such as youths and women.

    “An example of this is the MSME scheme for small and medium scale businesses in the state which prioritizes women and young business owners.

    “I am pleased to note that the scheme has so far recorded a 75 per cent repayment rate and is certain to record even higher returns with today’s disbursement.

    He encouraged the beneficiaries to judiciously apply the funds for businesses and ventures for which they are intended.

    “I urge you all to join hands with the government to foster economic empowerment for all, as well as work towards ensuring the entrenchment of good governance by playing a complementary role such as paying taxes and keeping the peace,” he said.

  • I was removed in 1985 for ignoring IMF, World Bank advice- Buhari

    I was removed in 1985 for ignoring IMF, World Bank advice- Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday recalled reasons for his removal as military Head of State in 1985.

    According to him, his refusal to adhere to an advice from the IMF, World Bank to devalue the naira and increase prices of fuel and flour, led to the coup against him.

    Buhari spoke on Friday night when he was hosted in Abuja by the Army at the Guards Brigade Regimental Dinner and presented with the captured Boko Haram flag.

    ” I refused and gave my reasons and the next thing I knew I was removed and detained for three and half years.

    “As a civilian president I will do my best and I’m telling you all these because you are part of the leadership of this great country and God willing we will remain great.”

    President Buhari, who narrated his early military life in Abeokuta and subsequent redeployment to Zaire (now Congo), said he was almost killed while on duty even before getting his first salary as an officer.

    He said stated he was conversant with the problems of the military having spent over 25 years in the service.

    President Buhari has challenged the Nigerian Army to ensure the unity of the country despite what he described as “political madness in the North East, the Niger Delta or in the East” of the country.

  • World Bank, EU to engage 880 youths in Delta

    The World Bank and European Union (EU) says they will engage 880 youths under a public works programme, tagged State Employment and Expenditure for Result (SEEFOR), in collaboration with Delta Government.

    The Delta Coordinator of SEEFOR, Mr Benson Ojoko, disclosed this on Thursday at a one-day orientation programme organised for the first batch of 299 selected youths who are going to participate in the public works projects in Asaba.

    The state coordinator said that the beneficiaries would work in 12 locations of the state where the public works programme would be implemented.

    He explained that the state government in collaboration with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the state Ministry of Works had identified 12 locations in the three senatorial districts of the state where the project would be implemented.

    Ojoko also said that out of the 880 youths to be engaged by SEEFOR, the first batch of 299 beneficiaries would work in four locations in Asaba.

    “Prior to this time, we carried out sensitisation of the traditional institutions, stakeholders in churches that this is the intervention that is coming into the state.

    “The CSOs which we are going to use for this project have also interacted with the community members who are living in the respective locations where the programme is going to be executed.

    And these community members also worked hand in hand with the CSOs in the registration of the youths who registered on the days that were agreed for the exercise.

    “The 299 beneficiaries are going to work in Asaba axis,” he said.

    Ojoko said the beneficiaries would be involved in various road maintenance activities in the 12 locations of the state.

    “Some of the roads need rehabilitation and construction of drains, while some others, it will just be the rehabilitation of an existing roads where you have failed portions,” he added.

  • $200m World Bank grant stimulates agric

    $200m World Bank grant stimulates agric

    he World Bank is set to boost women and youth involvement in farming with  a $200 million grant.

    The new project, according to the Commercial Agriculture Development Project (CADP) Task Team leader, World Bank, Dr Sheu Salau, has been submitted to the bank’s  board for approval.

    Salau, who disclosed this on the sidelines of the Project’s 13th implementation support mission held in Lagos, said the  project was  part of the bank’s work towards reducing the cost of food by helping to boost agricultural output through increased participation of women and men.

    He stressed that women and youths were a priority for the bank, and that the new project would bolster youth entrepreneurship in agriculture and agri-business.

    The initiative will see the bank working with  State Agriculture Development Programmes  to train the next generation of agriculture entrepreneurs, also referred to as ‘agri-preneurs’, and provide them with seed money through banks to finance their bankable business plans.

    He  stressed the importance of  women and youths in all aspects of agriculture, ranging from the inputs, to the agricultural value chain including production, processing, marketing and transport, and reiterated the commitment of the World Bank to  improve the farming  systems; to deliver innovation and information; and to provide better tools for farmers.

    He said the remaining phase of the CADP project should be devoted to support youths and women  to  unlock the potential of agriculture.

    Salau reiterated that supporting micro and small-sized companies in the agricultural sector is a cornerstone of the bank’s strategy.

    On the CADP, he said 73 percent of the activities covered under the $150 million project has been executed. This covers rice, aquaculture and poultry value chain. Through the project, Salau  said states such as Lagos, Enugu, Cross River, and Kaduna  have had access to  inputs, financial services and skills in agri-business, efficient machinery for processing produce, market information, new technology, among others.

    He said the World Bank Group will continue to support the Federal Government in addressing its developmental challenges and emerging priorities.

    In the agribusiness sector alone, through CADP, the  Project Operations Officer, Dr. Salisu Garba  said the bank has committed S$ 150 million in projects involving rice, poultry  and aquaculture across Enugu,Cross Rivers, Lagos, Kano and Kaduna States since 2010.

    As of June this year, the project reached 36,332 small to medium commercial farmers through 33, 391 commodity interest groups (CIGs). The project funded 1,432 business plans under its matching grants mechanism and completed 307 km of link roads, to facilitate farmers access to technologies, services and markets.

    As a result, beneficiaries have increased significantly their production, productivity and volumes of sales.

    Garba said the project is back on track towards attainment of its development objectives which are to strengthen agricultural production systems and facilitate market access for targeted value chains among small and medium commercial farmers in the five participating states.

    Enugu State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mike Eneh reiterated the importance of the project to boosting food production.

    He informed the gathering that the main purpose of the mission was to gather inputs from the participating states for enhanced performance and the required impact.

    He urged participating states to take action to invest in agriculture  to be competitive and take advantage of the business opportunities, and appealed to participants to embrace and invest in technologies that would help transform the sector into a more efficient production that can allow the sector to tap into wider markets.

    Eneh highlighted some of the benefits of focusing on value-adding operations and the opportunities presented for the national economy to include increased national food security, social development in rural areas, job creation, and  improved tax and duty generation.

    He stressed the importance of developing and strengthening local capacity, calling on the private and public sectors to come together and invest for a successful agriculture and agro-processing sector focused on value-addition.

    The state Project Coordinator, Kehinde Ogunyinka,  said the  Commercial Agricultural Development Project, has moved fish farming in Lagos State to a new and unparalleled dimension with farmers exporting smoked fish  abroad.

    According to him, CADP activities in Lagos is one of the project’s success stories  with efforts to  invest heavily in cropping, livestock and processing  as well as skills development equipping small-scale farmers involved in the value-addition chain.According to him, steps are being taken to upgrade subsistence agriculture to commercial ventures focusing on small and medium scale commercial farmers and agro-processors.

    The CADP programme operates in five states: Cross River, Enugu, Kaduna, Kano and Lagos focusing on palm oil, cocoa, fruit trees, poultry, aquaculture, dairy and staples such as maize and rice.

    The US$150 million World Bank Project, which began in 2009, may end in  May, next year.

  • Agriculture is the biggest employer of labour in Nigeria –World Bank

    Agriculture is the biggest employer of labour in Nigeria –World Bank

    A General Household Survey by the World Bank shows that the agriculture sector is the largest employer of labour and income-generating activity in Nigeria. The study, which contains information on household socioeconomics in the country, was launched by the World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Dr Amparo Polacios-Lopez, an Economist of the World Bank, giving highlights of the study, said work in a household non-farm enterprises and external wage employment account for the rest kind of employment in Nigeria.

    “Findings show that in the education sector, school enrollment among children aged five to 14 increased from 78.3 percent in 2013 to 81.2 percent in 2016.“Access to electricity has gone up with 59.3 per cent of households having electricity in their dwellings with an average availability of 35.8 hours per week.

    “Access to electricity has gone up with 59.3 per cent of households having electricity in their dwellings with an average availability of 35.8 hours per week. Also, 88.9 percent of Nigerians from the age of 10 have mobile phones while only 17.4 per cent have access to the internet.

    According to the report, the most commonly consumed food in many Nigerian homes are vegetables, grains and flours, and fat and oil, followed by meat, fish and other animal products.

    Also, for non-food items, the survey shows that Nigerians spend a lot of funerals, marriage ceremony, dowry payments and mattresses.

    The World Bank Nigeria Country Director, Mr Rachid Benmessaoud, said the survey would give the Federal Government an opportunity to see how its policies affected families.Benmessaoud, represented by the Bank’s Country Programme Coordinator, Mrs Indira Konjhodzic, also urged the government to monitor the execution of the Sustainable Development Goals in the country.

    Meanwhile, the Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr Yemi Kale, said that the survey would be extremely useful to the present administration in its planning.

     

    ” For us at NBS, we are pleased that all our hard work is finally being taken notice of and more importantly, is being put to use,” he said.

  • World Bank rolls out $50m to aid North-East agricultural needs

    World Bank rolls out $50m to aid North-East agricultural needs

    The World Bank, under the FADAMA III Additional Financing (AF11), has set aside $50 million (N15.25billion) to rehabilitate the agricultural needs of the North East in 2017.

    The National Coordinator of the project, Mr Tayo Adewumi, disclosed the plan in Abuja on Thursday when members of the Agriculture Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ACAN) visited him.

    Adewumi listed the six benefiting states as Borno, Yobe, Taraba, Adamawa, Bauchi and Gombe.

    He said the support which would be 100 per cent World Bank-funded, would help the beneficiaries to make a decent living.

    The coordinator said the support would include certified improved seeds, foodstuff and other inputs, depending on the Communities’ Action Plan (CAP).

    “ We are putting in a lot of safeguards, caution in moving into the region but we are convinced with the package we have in our hands.

    “ We will be working with households and from the theoretical point of view, we are targeting more than 24,000 households.

    “ There will be some elements of infrastructure that would support agricultural activities and restore livelihoods in some communities,’’ he said.

    The programme which officially started on March 1, 2016, was presented to the Board of Trustees of the World Bank in June for approval and inaugurated in October in Adamawa and Kebbi States.

    Adewunmi said that the selection of communities was done through Community Action Plan (CAP) and the project was working in line with the communities’ needs.

    The coordinator explained that the support would be aimed at ensuring food security and a better livelihood for citizens in the affected areas.

    Adewumi said the support project would run for between 15 months to 19 months.

    He assured that Nigeria could be self-sufficient in food production and export to other countries when citizens began to see agriculture as a business.

    Earlier, Mr John Oba, President of ACAN, said that the association had been working with the Ministry of Agriculture and other agencies to promote agriculture in the country.

    “ Our mission is to work cordially with every agency under agriculture to help the Federal Government’s mission in the diversification of the economy.

    “We are here to introduce ourselves and know more about the activities of the Fadama and we are ready to collaborate with the programme.

    “ Fadama activities need to be well known to all Nigerians and our partnership will go a long way to showcase this,’’ he said.

    Fadama support clusters of farmers in selected states with comparative advantage, high potential to increase production and productivity of cassava, rice, sorghum and the horticulture value chain.

  • World Bank to support Nigeria’s maritime sector with $40m

    World Bank to support Nigeria’s maritime sector with $40m

    The Nigerian Shippers Council said  the World Bank has indicated its willingness to support Nigeria’s maritime sector with $40million.

    The fund is expected to be used to clear the traffic gridlock along ports access roads in Apapa, Lagos.

    The Executive Secretary of the Council, Mr. Hassan Bello, who spoke in Abuja yesterday at a press briefing, said the move was aimed at making the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) more efficient.

    He also said it will also ensure that oil pipelines were used to transport petroleum products rather than using tankers.

    He said: “No matter how efficient the terminal is, if you don’t have the road to evacuate cargo, how will you move your goods out of the ports? So there must be an intervention and in that regard, the NSC has introduced NAFITH to NPA.

    “Now NAFITH, an international finance corporation which is an arm of the World Bank, is bringing $40million to put an end to the traffic situation in Apapa.

    “The fund is meant to improve logistics around the Apapa, Tin Can and Orile areas where every time, there are over 5,000 trucks on that axis. But what are they doing there? What we need is about 1,500 trucks in Apapa vicinity logistically, but you find about 5,000. So what are the other 3,500 trucks doing? They are doing nothing.

    “So, the idea is to have an electronic passage where a truck is in Apapa only when  it is needed to pick or drop cargo. The tankers too don’t need to be there for the pipelines will do the transportation of products. The moment we have the pipelines pumping to Mosimi and other flow stations, then we don’t need the tankers in Apapa. So all these things are what the World Bank is coming to do in order to solve, once and for all, the gridlock in Apapa.”

    Bello also urged the Federal Government to support agencies in the sector in making the ports more efficient in their various operations, adding that one major way to achieve this was by automating the facilities.

  • Fed Govt invites World Bank, others for power supply

    To boost power supply, the Federal Government has invited World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), African Development Bank (AfDB), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and others, which have huge portfolios and interests, to invest in energy.

    The government is seeking investment in power generation, distribution and transmission.

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, made this known during a panel discussion at the 5th European Union- Nigeria Business Forum at the Eko Hotel, Lagos.

    He said the funding gap in the sector was wide and required investments to improve electricity supply and the economy.

    In his keynote address entitled Financing the power sector, Fashola said the sector has huge investible propositions, which only bigger corporations have the capacity to meet, adding that the sector has the capacity to provide returns on investment for any company that invests in it.

    He said the government was striving to provide an enabling environment through its policies to guarantee adequate returns on investment.

    Fashola said: “Without doubt, bad environment is a problem, which the government is trying to address. It is obvious that the power sector has huge potential, which can only be realised with the right environment.

    “When one considers that the sector is broken into 11 power distribution companies (DisCos) and six power generation companies (GenCos), one would see that there is huge potential in the industry. This is the reason the Federal Government is asking investors, especially global financial institutions, to invest in the sector.”

    The Head, Economic Cooperation and Energy Section, European Union, Mr. Juan Casla, said power sector was crucial to the growth of any nation, urging the Federal Government to put in place measures that would foster its growth.