The Nation Newspaper

Tag: world bank

  • World Bank votes $14.7b for Africa

    The World Bank Group has committed $14.7 billion in the fiscal year to support economic growth and better development prospects in Africa.

    In a statement it said the support came despite uncertain economic conditions in the rest of the global economy.

    “The region has shown remarkable resilience in the face of a global recession and continues to grow strongly. Africa is at the center of the World Bank Group 2030 goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity, in an environmentally, socially, and fiscally sustainable manner,” Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region said.

    He said the global lender continued its strong commitment to Africa approving $8.25 billion in new lending for nearly 100 projects this fiscal year. These commitments include a record $8.2 billion in zero-interest credits and grants from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries.

    The report said in the year, the World Bank Group increased its focus in Africa on regional drivers of fragility and conflict, especially regarding the Sahel and the Great Lakes regions.

    In May, this year, during an historic joint United Nations/World Bank Group mission to the Great Lakes, the bank announced a $1 billion development pledge to help countries in the region provide better health and education services, generate more cross-border trade, and fund hydroelectricity projects in support of the Great Lake’s peace agreement.

    The commitments sent strong message that peace and development are inseparable and must be addressed together and also emphasising the bank’s commitment to increase its work in states emerging from conflict and its determination to help lift fragile states out of fragility and back on a positive development track.

     

  • South Korean city is World Book Capital 2015

    South Korean City, Incheon, has been picked as UNESCO World Book Capital 2015.

    It will succeed Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, which is the World Book Capital 2014.

    Incheon’s tenure will begin following an official handover from Port Harcourt in April 2015. As World Book Capital, Port Harcourt will deliver on an exciting array of programmes primarily targeted at young people, to build on the knowledge economy of the city. The Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, has set up a special committee, chaired by his deputy, Tele Ikuru, to oversee a team of notable men and women to deliver a successful World Book Capital in 2014. In addition, various stakeholders are also teaming up with the Rainbow Book Club to ensure that the city’s tenure is a roaring success. As 2014 also happens to be Nigeria’s centenary, the milestone certainly presents a unique occasion for positive change.

    The World Book Capital title is accorded as ‘an exclusive symbolic acknowledgement of the best programme dedicated to books and reading’. According to the World Book Capital Selection Committee, Port Harcourt was selected, beating 10 other contenders, “…on account of the quality of its programme, in particular its focus on youth and the impact it would have on improving Nigeria’s culture of books, reading, writing and publishing to improve literacy rates”.

    Once again, congratulations to the people of Incheon, South Korea, on securing this nomination. We are certain that it would impact positively on the South Asian region, much as the Port Harcourt World Book Capital 2014 nomination is expected to have rippling effects on the Niger Delta, Nigeria, and indeed the continent of Africa.

  • 12 states to benefit from World Bank’s $350m

    12 states to benefit from World Bank’s $350m

    Twelve states have been earmarked to benefit from a World Bank’s $350million Water Fund designed to increase access to water supply and sanitation in the country,

    The states are Lagos, Bauchi, Kano, Gombe, Anambra, Ekiti, Plateau, Benue, Bayelsa, Rivers, Abia and Ondo.

    The Head, Water Sector Reform, Benson Ajisegiri, who made this known in Abuja at a workshop organised by the Ministry of Water Resources in collaboration with the World Bank, said two states were selected per geo-political zone based on the performance of the agencies in the states in terms of the quality of water supply.

    “We have on-going projects in five states, Lagos, Cross River, Kaduna, Enugu and Ogun with $520million from the World Bank. It has been going on since 2004.

    “We are trying to increase the number of states and we have selected 12 states out of which three are the upmost, and we are adding $350 million that we are processing with the World Bank which will become effective by January next year.

    He said the criteria for selection was based on the performance of the agencies in the states.

    “We looked at the water supply, population, regularity of service, recovery cost, and the quality of water given to the people. It is after the appraisal that we know the specific amount to be given to each states,” he added

  • World Bank offers recipe to end poverty in Africa

    World Bank offers recipe to end poverty in Africa

    WORRIED over the growing scourge of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, which is populated by nearly half of the world’s usable, uncultivated land of about 202 million hectares, the World Bank has impressed the need for the people and the continent to step up efforts aimed at harnessing the land potentials in the continent to dramatically reduce poverty and boost growth, jobs, and shared prosperity.

    The World Bank gave this charge over the weekend.

    In a report tagged: “Securing Africa’s Land for Shared Prosperity,” released on Friday, the Bank said African countries and their communities could effectively end ‘land grabs,’ grow significantly more food across the region, and transform their development prospects if they can modernise the complex governance procedures that govern land ownership and management over the next decade. Africa has the highest poverty rate in the world with 47.5 percent of the population living below US $1.25 a day.

    “Despite abundant land and mineral wealth, Africa remains poor,” declared Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice President for Africa. “Improving land governance is vital for achieving rapid economic growth and translating it into significantly less poverty and more opportunity for Africans, including women who make up 70 percent of Africa’s farmers yet are locked out of land ownership due to customary laws. The status quo is unacceptable and must change so that all Africans can benefit from their land.”

  • NHIS engages Accenture for scheme’s growth

    NHIS engages Accenture for scheme’s growth

    • Asks stakeholders to complement efforts

    The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank, has engaged Accenture to develop an effective and industry-wide platform for sustainable growth as well as financing plan for scaling up the scheme’s coverage.

    Acting Executive Secretary of NHIS, Dr. Abdulrahaman Sambo, disclosed this during a consultative forum with stakeholders in Abuja.

    According to Sambo, the objective of the consultancy services from Accenture is to enable the repositioning of the scheme towards effective implementation of its programmes to the benefit of the citizens, promising to adhere strictly to the findings and recommendations of the consultants.

    Sambo however charged stakeholders of the scheme to complement efforts of the NHIS towards the attainment of universal coverage through prompt service delivery.

    The NHIS boss called on healthcare facilities providers to brace up to the task ahead and ensure that the scheme’s mandate of universal coverage is achieved.

    In his presentation, the Programme Manager, Accenture, Mr. Martin Eigbike said the group’s task as providing services in four key areas, he identified as; reviewing the regulatory policy frame work, designing an IT system, reviewing current business practice and proposing new ones to ensure sustainability. It also include conducting a review of long term funding requirements and identifying other strategies and mechanisms for securing potential sources.

    He further explained that this assessment is aimed at identifying existing constraints to achieving universal health coverage and specific opportunities to improve the effectiveness of NHIS.

    “The assessment will also establish the foundational principle that will guide the design of a blue-print for scaling up the capabilities of the scheme.

    “Review of the legal frame work to make the scheme mandatory would go a long a way in accelerating the attainment of universal coverage,” he said.

    Meanwhile stakeholders, unanimously agreed to work with the NHIS, but stressed that existing lacuna in the system be addressed to enhance attainment of this lofty goal.

  • Private sector creates jobs, says World Bank

    Private sector creates jobs, says World Bank

    World Bank report has said an active private sector is key to creating jobs for the population. The bank has also outlined how jobs that do the most for development can spur a virtuous cycle.

    The report, contained in the World Development Report 2013, explained that poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empower women to invest more in their children. “Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do, as more productive jobs appear, and as less productive ones disappear. Societies flourish as jobs foster diversity and provide alternatives to conflict,” the bank said in an emailed report.

    World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said a good job can change a person’s life, and the right jobs can transform entire societies, adding that governments need to move jobs to center stage to promote prosperity and fight poverty.

    “It’s critical that governments work well with private sector, which accounts for 90 per cent of all jobs. Therefore, we need to find the best ways to help small firms and farms grow,” he said.

  • Nigerian mining: World Bank targets double digit contribution to GDP

    Nigerian mining: World Bank targets double digit contribution to GDP

    The World Bank yesterday lamented that the mining sector contributes 0.5% to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), saying it would see the possibility of increasing the contribution to double digit.

    Speaking at Stakeholders Workshop on the Australian and Canadian Externally Financed Output (EFO) Programme for Mining Sector Development in Nigeria, the World Bank Country Director, Marie Franciose Marie-Nell, said that in partnership with the Canada International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Australian Agency for International Development (Aid), the World Bank was launching a two-year mining sector intervention programme as a continuation of the Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Programme which ended last year.

    Represented by Mr. Michael Wong, he said that “it is a stepping stone for a further programme and a wider engagement in the mining sector. As we know, the contribution from the sector is 0.5% GDP, and it can be increased to double digit, if possible and we hope that contributions are needed and the Australian government will assist the ministry in developing the roadmap towards the development of the sector.”

    He said the programme is financing timely integrated infrastructural development, adding that the programme fits into the country’s new system framework for development partners such as DFID, the African Development Bank and others.

    In his remarks, the Australian High Commissioner, Jonathan Richardson, also said that the contribution from the mining sector to the GDP is very low.

    Continuing, he said: “Basically, what are we going to deliver? We want to deliver something that is alive and that is why with the contribution of Australia and Canada, we have broken down the programme into a number of tasks. I know that Nigeria has a very clear roadmap. And our contribution to this roadmap is to make it to have a continuous update, to ensure that with our continued support it is alive an implemented.”

  • Nigeria owes World Bank, AfDB, others $5.336b

    Nigeria owes World Bank, AfDB, others $5.336b

    EIGHTY per cent of Nigeria’s $6.67 billion external debt owed to multilateral institutions, The Nation has learnt.

    These global organisations are the World Bank Group, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (ABEDA), International Development Bank (IDB) and Economic Development Fund (EDF).

    Report from FSDH Securities Limited indicated that the Exim Bank of China, which constitutes 11.3 per cent of the debt stock, was the next biggest creditor to the country; 8.51 per cent of the debt is owed to other unnamed creditors.

    The debt statistics, which is for the first quarter of this year, represents an increase of 2.20 per cent from $6.54 billion in December 31, 2012, but constitutes about 2.49 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    Data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) shows that Nigeria’s total debt stock (addition of external and domestic debts) as at March 31, 2013 stood at N7.53 trillion, representing a decrease of 0.29 per cent from the December 31, 2012 figure of N7.55 trillion.

    A breakdown of the debt stock shows that external debt accounted for 13.79 per cent of the total debt stock at N1.03 trillion while domestic debt stock accounted for 86.21 per cent of the total debt stock at N6.49 trillion. The total public debt stock in the country is estimated at about 18.04 per cent of the GDP.

    FSDH Securities Limited’s forecast GDP and debt stock for Nigeria in the next three years shows that the debt position is sustainable. “Our revised debt-to-GDP forecast for 2013 is 18.79 per cent. The country’s economic managers need to ensure that all debts contracted are used for productive projects to improve the welfare of the citizenry,” it said.

    DMO puts the country’s domestic debt stock to GDP is estimated at 15.55 per cent. The breakdown of the total domestic debt stock by instrument type  shows that the Federal Government of Nigeria Bonds accounted for N3.82 trillion, representing 58.84 per cent; Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) accounted for N2.34 trillion, representing 36.01 per cent and Treasury Bonds (TBs) accounted for N334.56 billion, representing 5.15 per cent.

    FSDH also expects the Nigerian bond market to deepen further through fresh corporate and municipal issues and FGN bonds reopening. Consequently, it said there is a need to balance maturity, liquidity and market depth in order to maintain a robust bond market.

    The firm noted that the debt to GDP ratio is acceptable as it is below the applicable critical limit of 40 per cent for countries in Nigeria’s economic peer group. “This means that Nigeria’s debt portfolio has wide fiscal sustainability space. There is a commitment by the Federal Government to ensure that the total debt stock does not exceed 25 per cent of GDP,” it said.

    It however, said that the total debt analysed excludes the debt that arose from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) bond issues, which banks are supposed to contribute 0.5 per cent of their total assets for 10 years to redeem.

  • World Bank to support renewable energy schemes

    World Bank to support renewable energy schemes

    In a bid to boost the agric sector, the World Bank iwill finance the use of solar power and other sources of renewable energy on farms.

    Task Team Leader, Commercial Agriculture Development  Project of the World Bank, Dr Lucas Akapa said  this yesterday in Lagos at the 8th Joint  FGN/World Bank  Mission meeting .

    He said farmers are losing a lot of their products because of poor power supply.

    Akapa  said  the World Bank wants to  ensure a continuous supply of energy for  farmers  in the five states benefitting  from Commercial  Agriculture Development  Project. The states are Cross Rivers, Enugu , Kaduna , Kano  and Lagos States.

    He said the project will encourage farmers to diversify into renewable energy, adding that a proposal to include renewable energy support will be considered under the energy component  of the project.

    The World Bank official said  the bank  will work  to explore the possibility of using  palm oil production waste to produce energy in Cross River State.

  • World Bank forecasts promising economic outlook

    World Bank forecasts promising economic outlook

    THE turmoil which attended the global economy as a result of the lingering recession has eased and growth is firming up, despite ongoing contraction in the Euro Area, says the World Bank in the newly-released Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report.

    The Brentwood Institution, however, said the pick-up in developing countries will be modest because of capacity constraints in several middle income countries,

    According the world body, global GDP is expected to expand about 2.2 percent this year and strengthen to 3.0 percent and 3.3 percent in 2014 and 2015.

    Developing-country GDP is now projected to be around 5.1 percent in 2013, strengthening to 5.6 percent and 5.7 percent in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

    Growth in Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa and Turkey has been held back by supply bottlenecks. While external risks have eased, growth in these countries is unlikely to reach pre-crisis rates unless supply-side reforms are completed.

    In China also, growth has slowed as authorities seek to rebalance the economy. Looking at broader region-wide trends, the East Asia & Pacific region is expected to grow by 7.3 percent this year; Europe & Central Asia by 2.8 percent; Latin America & the Caribbean by 3.3 percent; Middle East & North Africa by 2.5 percent; South Asia by 5.2 percent; and Sub-Saharan Africa by 4.9 percent.