New Weather forecasting Stations will make African Skies Safer. Experts Say

by Aaron Kaah Yancho

Climate change constitutes one of the greatest challenges of this century but it is also Africa greatest opportunity to tap deeper in to its inner potentials   and to widen the scoop of development across the continent.

Experts agree that appropriate adaptation strategist around climate change woes could have significant positive multiplier effects on people and their natural resources. The African development Bank has taken a giant step forward to launch a 33million Euros fund that will create Climate change policy centers in all region of the continent to build capacities on climate information gathering and data dissemination in order toovercome the challenges posed by the change in climate across. According to Mr. Johm B; Ken   the coordinated of this special fund at the African Development bank proper gathering of information and data statistics on weather changes will enhance meteorological knowledge of the continent and make the aviation sector quiet safer and attractive. “This will attract more foreign investors and employment opportunities in this sector“. Johm said.

Over the years the lack of weather forecasting information over the Africa space retarded not only agricultural production but had a negative effects on the Aviation industry. Flight delays and poor weather conditions shunned the prosperity of the industry. It is hoped that these enters will provide a solution to this economic sector that provided a gate way for African way in to the world.

The stimulation of the agric‑ sector and the natural resources management will beef up the development Agenda for the continent. Though the African development bank reports that the scoop of this new giant initiative may be limited in cost, Adaptation in Sub Sahara Africa will cost 14 to 15 billion annually and 70 billion by 2045 if no additional mitigation projects are nursed.

With these Weather forecasting center beefing Strategic adaptation projects a new opportunity of hope will emerge for youths especially in the Agricultural sector in terms of job creation and will also foster regional integration through the sharing and dissemination of climate information for the sake of a prosperous Africa.

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Regional Blocks: Assets for Africa Domestic Resources Mobilization.

by Aaron Kaah Yancho

Domestic Resource mobilization (DRM) provides a cornerstone for Africa development in the 21 century but the continent must embrace regional blocks to be able to maximize not only the gains in this domain but also regional and institutional cooperation. This was the concern raised by Braham Benjelloun Touimi Administrative Delegate General in the Moroccan Bank for external relations and foreign affairs during the plenary session that focused on the challenges and opportunities arising from DRM in Africa October 14 during the African Development forum.

Mr.Brahhim Benjelloun said regional blocks on DRM could help foster internal cooperation, increase market sizes and more trade. He elaborated like the rest of the keys speakers that cooperation could  reduce the multiple internal setbacks that arise within the 54 nations of the continentthrough the encouragement of the private sector and widening of the tax base for Africa. He called on governments to be accountable to interest the citizens of the continent to pay their taxes for the development.

Mr. Brahim added that Africa was growing in population, and there was need to finance the best infrastructure to meet the needs of its people. Though saving in Africa were low, all the  discussants during the session opined that the continent needed 93billion dollars annually for investment in human and infrastructural development; the session accepted that foreign aid came with strings attached to it nor dictated to suit the whims and caprices of the donor especially within the mining sector.

 The lack of human resources at all levels to push this sector ahead were some of the challenges pinpointed; theintroduction of valve added and sales tax systems were some of the new concepts that could boast the growth of Africa. Complex tax codes and high compliance burdens imposed by tax inefficient administrators werea challenge asroadblocks for the small enterprises to remain informal. 

As a solution, tax collection reforms linked to growth strategy and a general discussion about governance and transparency could eventually lead to increased public resources for the continent. The continent was also advice to do more to deliver on their pledges of public adherence by putting pressure on their external deals to strike decent and rewarding deals with the African nations

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MOROCCO: Africa Can Be its Own ‘Switzerland’

Africa Can Be its Own ‘Switzerland’

By Busani Bafana Reprint |      | Print | Send by email

A water kiosk in Blantyre, Malawi. A combination of including private equity investment and domestic resource mobilisation will help Africa unlock is financial resources to drive its development. Credit: Charles Mpaka/IPS

MARRAKECH, Oct 16 2014 (IPS) - Africa has the capacity to access at least 200 billion dollars for sustainable development investment but it will remain a slave to foreign aid unless it improves the climate for investment and trade and plugs illicit financial flows, development experts say.

“Africa is not poor financially but it needs to get its house in order,” Stephen Karingi, director of regional integration, infrastructure and trade at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), told IPS during the commission’s Ninth African Development Forum, which is being held in Morocco from Oct. 13 to 16.

“For too long we have allowed the narrative of Africa to be one about raw materials and natural resources coming out of Africa, yet Africa can take advantage of its own comparative advantages, including these natural resources, and become the leader in the value chains that require these raw materials.”

Research by the ECA shows that the total illicit financial outflows in Africa over the last 10 years, about 50 billion dollars a year, is equivalent to nearly all the official development assistance received by the continent.

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“Africa is ready for transformation and we have the continental frameworks [for it],” said Karingi.
A combination of luring private equity investment, remittances and domestic resource mobilisation will help Africa unlock is financial resources to drive its development.
Sub-saharan Africa has one of the highest number of hungry people and has a growing youth population in need of jobs.

According to the McKinsey Global Institute, GDP growth has averaged five percent in Africa in the last decade, consistently outperforming global economic trends. This growth has been boosted by, among other factors, improved governance and macroeconomic management, rapid urbanisation and expanding regional markets.

Currently Africa is estimated to have a 100-billion-dollar annual funding gap for infrastructure development with about 45 billion dollars of this set to come from domestic resources.

Carlos Lopes, ECA executive secretary, said developing countries must strive to mobilise additional financial resources, including through accessing financial markets. He added that at the same time developed countries must honour the financial commitments they have made in international forums.

“The continent must embark on reforms to capture currently unexplored or poorly-managed resources,” Lopez said.

This is the first time that the Africa Development Forum has focused on the continent’s development.
Discussions focused on enhancing Africa’s capacity to explore innovative financing mechanisms as real alternatives for financing transformative development in Africa.

It aims to forge linkages between the importance of mainstreaming resource mobilisation and the reduction of trade barriers into economic, institutional and policy frameworks, and advancing the post-2015 development goals.

Macroeconomic policy division head at ECA, Adama Elhiraika, told IPS that the new sustainable development goals present an opportunity for Africa to excel by prioritising its development issues.
Elhiraika said Africa has all the ingredients to be a financial hub and investment magnet along the lines of “Switzerland” if only it can improve its investment and trade climate, tackle corruption and raise money internally.

“We need to get our policies right and allow for the kind of investments that people [can make] in Switzerland,” Elhiraika said.

“Given the size of Africa, there is need to promote free movement of capital, which is as important as the free movement of goods and services in boosting trade and investment.”

According to the World Bank, of the 50 economies that recorded improved in their regulatory business environment in 2013, 17 are from Africa, with eight of those economies being ranked ahead of mainland China, 11 ahead of Russia and 16 ahead of Brazil.

Edited by: Nalisha Adams
source: http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/10/africa-can-be-its-own-switzerland/