Monday, September 19, 2016

XYZ Africa News Bulletin@8 | 19 Sept'16 | FOCUS: IMF Co-Hosts Regional Conference to Promote Access to Financial Services in West Africa

XYZ AFRICA NEWS BULLETIN@8

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         @xyzafricanew8 | xyzafricanewsbulletinat8.blogspot.com
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19 September, 2016  
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FOCUS: IMF Co-Hosts Regional Conference to Promote Access to Financial Services in West Africa
EAST AFRICA: Kenya urged to allow African Court receive cases from NGOs
CENTRAL AFRICA: Regional threats require a global response says INTERPOL Chief in Central Africa
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FOCUS:
  • Only an average of 34 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s adult population has access to financial services – less than 18 percent in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WEAMU).
  • The Dakar conference will explore avenues to improve financial inclusion in West Africa.
The Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will co-host a conference on September 20, 2016 in Dakar, Senegal, to examine the prospects and policy options for promoting financial inclusion in West Africa.

While access to financial services is crucial for pro-poor growth, capital accumulation, and productivity growth, only an average of 34 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s adult population has access to those services – less than 18 percent in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) region, whose countries will be represented at the conference. Access to financial services has increased in most WAEMU countries but remains lower than in some other regions.

The Dakar conference will aim at discussing the impact of financial inclusion on growth and poverty reduction. It will bring together policy makers; international experts; bankers and central bankers; and representatives from the civil society and the private sector. The conference will specifically explore avenues to improve financial inclusion in West Africa. Participants will focus on the policy challenges facing the countries of the WAEMU as they seek to increasing access to financial services for all while also managing related policy challenges and supervisory risks.

IMF Deputy Managing Director Mitsuhiro Furusawa will attend the conference and give a keynote address. He also will meet with Senegalese authorities. Ahead of his visit to Senegal, Mr. Furusawa will travel to Conakry, Guinea for meetings with the authorities.

“We are very much looking forward to listening to all our partners in the WAEMU and other experts as we discuss the challenges and opportunities of regional financial inclusion,” said Mr. Furusawa. “The IMF has had a constructive dialogue with the BCEAO on the topic, and the Dakar conference allows us to broaden this dialogue with government officials and other stakeholders. This is a concrete way for the Fund to help improve the quality of life of West African citizens.”

Discussions are expected to focus on identifying barriers to financial services for households and small and medium size enterprises; the challenge of retail banking; the role of microfinance institutions and mobile banking; and the management of supervisory risks stemming from non-traditional financial actors. The conference also will feature speakers from East Africa, where efforts to spur financial inclusion have shown considerable results.
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EAST AFRICA

Kenya has been urged to allow the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) to receive cases from NGOs and individuals.

The Arusha-based court is currently handling a case where the Ogiek community has sued the Kenyan government for evicting them from their ancestral land under the auspices of a notice to conserve the forest as a ’reserved water catchment zone’.

The Ogiek argue that their eviction will have far reaching consequences on their political, social and economic survival.

The case was referred to the ACHPR by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 2012 as Kenya has not made the declaration to allow individuals and NGOs access it.

Only eight countries have made the declaration recognizing the competence of the Court to receive cases from NGOs and individuals. However Rwanda has asked to withdraw its declaration, a process that would take a year.

Kenya is among 30 countries that have ratified the protocol establishing ACHPR.

ACHPR Vice-President Ben Kioko says the fears by countries that allowing NGOs and individuals access the court would lead to plethora of cases were unfounded.

A team from the court, he said in an interview with the Nation in Arusha, met top government officials in Nairobi in 2013 to push for Kenya to file the declaration.

“We are urging Kenya to consider filing the declaration to improve Kenyans access and jurisprudence of the court. Ghana has filed the declaration but there’s no case from Ghana,” Justice Kioko said.

Seventy of the 126 cases filed at the ACHPR are from Tanzania as it hosts the court.

Judge Kioko who took over as VP last week and Mr Justice Sylvain Ore from Ivory Coast (President) said they had identified things that could be done in next 90 days to improve the institution.

Their website is to have regular updates; the court opened up for more transparency and communication with stakeholders heightened.

“I was among a team of three together with the President (judge Ore) who went to Singapore for benchmarking. Another team went to Turkey. We want to see how to improve the court so that the cases could be filed online and take less time to conclude,” he said.

It currently takes about 24 months for a case to end.

Judge Kioko who attributed his election to working well with other judges, having clear understanding of his responsibility and the vision and energy to improve the court said 38 cases had been disposed while 88 are pending.

The court which is supposed to protect and promote human rights is celebrating 10 years of existence.

Judge Kioko said the court has mandate to handle unconstitutional change of government, piracy, high level corruption, illegal exploitation of resources and crimes that threaten stability of a country.

He decried lack of cooperation by some states.

The move by the court judges to work on part-time, plethora of cases against Tanzania, inadequate funding, lack of political will, lack of awareness, bureaucracy and complex ratification procedures by some of AU member states are other challenges facing ACHPR. The court complements and reinforces the functions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

The protocol establishing the court was adopted by Member States of the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in June 1998.

It came into force on January 25, 2004 after it was ratified by more than 15 countries and is composed of 11 judges, nationals of AU member states.

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CENTRAL AFRICA

INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock has said that regional law enforcement cooperation in Central Africa is interconnected with security efforts across Africa and beyond.

Speaking at a meeting of security ministers from countries of the Central African Police Chiefs Committee (CAPCCO) which was officially opened by Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Francisco Pascual Obama Asue, the Head of INTERPOL said crimes in one region can affect other parts of Africa and outside the continent, and vice versa.

“In the face of global threats, Central Africa is impacted like other regions on the continent or around the world. INTERPOL’s unique global presence and reach are crucial to help link investigations outside the region and continent. For policing to be effective, we must look to provide a global response to regional threats,” said Secretary General Stock.

INTERPOL’s recently opened Special Representative Office to the African Union in Addis Ababa marks a further step in its engagement with Africa and its security needs.

Established in 2009, its Regional Bureau in Yaoundé, Cameroon, also acts as a focal point for international police cooperation across Central Africa and with each of the Organization’s 190 member countries, further underlining INTERPOL’s long-term commitment to the region.

“No country or region can deal with the challenges of transnational crime alone. We must work closely together. Africa is committed to fighting terrorism and organized crime, and it is for this very reason that collaboration with INTERPOL is crucial for the national security of African countries,” said Equatorial Guinea’s General Director of National Security, and incoming CAPCCO Chair, José Ondo Ondo Nchama.   
                                                                                              
Underpinned by INTERPOL’s global programmes on terrorism, organized and emerging crime, and cybercrime, INTERPOL’s global policing capabilities further bolster the global policing architecture – whether in sharing and accessing vital information, or meeting the training and operational needs of frontline officers – to address serious threats.

In 2015 alone, terror attacks by Boko Haram claimed the lives of some 5,700 people in Chad, Nigeria and Cameroon. INTERPOL’s efforts to counter terrorism include the collection and analysis of intelligence on  suspected terrorists and groups, and facilitating the exchange of data amongst member countries and other international organizations.

With acts of maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea representing some 20 per cent of all global piracy attacks in 2015, INTERPOL is currently implementing Project Agwe in Central and West Africa to enhance the capacity of police to investigate maritime crimes.

Other challenges in Central Africa include the exploitation of natural resources and the illicit trafficking of cannabis, minerals, timber and wildlife.

Elsewhere in Africa, earlier this year drugs, criminals, guns and gold were intercepted in Operation Adwenpa, an INTERPOL border operation in West Africa, with security checks conducted against its databases.

While African countries have also experienced rapid cyber transition, criminal networks in the region have exploited this evolution to commit a range of crimes.

In this respect, enhancing the ability of law enforcement to investigate cyber-enabled human trafficking was the focus of a recent regional training exercise in Kigali organized by the Rwanda National Police and INTERPOL.

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Ends

Produced by Emmanuel.K.Bensah Jr (@ekbensah);
presented by Joshua Quodjo-Mensah

Sunday, September 18, 2016

XYZ AFRICA NEWS BULLETIN@8 | 18 Sept'16 | FOCUS: Revisiting AfroDemocracy: Reflections for Democracy Day 16

XYZ AFRICA NEWS BULLETIN@8

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         @xyzafricanew8 | xyzafricanewsbulletinat8.blogspot.com
                                         Light version for mobile & PDAs
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18 September, 2016  
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FOCUS: Revisiting AfroDemocracy: Reflections for Democracy Day 16
WEST AFRICA:  
  • Presidential campaign suspended in Cape Verde
  • UNODC, ECOWAS and partners to address challenges, responses to transnational organized crime and illicit drugs in West Africa
EAST AFRICA: With 68%, Dr. Kaberuka Keeps A Lead In AU Top Post

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FOCUS:

The whole of last week, we helped listeners understand aspects of democracy. Even after the celebration of Democracy Day, we believe a highlight of some of the best stories in the “AfroDemocracy” series of the “Africa in Focus” Show on Wednesdays remains important.

The series is the Show’s attempts to help listeners understand and appreciate the fact that, as Africa’s democratic dispensation deepens, it remains important that Africans unpack for themselves the elements that help inform democracy as practised by Africans.

Today, we revisit the significance the Ugandan elections that was held in  this year.

#UgandaDecides
Governance Expert, Mark Amaliya, believes “the elections [that have] taken place in Uganda...is an example of how not to conduct elections.”

Speaking to E.K.Bensah Jr on the “Africa in Focus Show”, which reprised AfroDemocracy for the last time in Season 3 in the month of March, Amaliya added that, the take-away for Ghana is that “there are certain basic freedoms that we take for granted – the liberal media waves that we have; the dearth of critical reflections that go on in platforms such as social media; the alternative mindsets and perspectives that groups and individuals who are willing to discuss issues of the nation bring to bear – inform how we approach and hold our leaders accountable.”

He believes these are the things “we must guard jealously, because these have now proven, as in the case of Uganda, to be real constraints for rulers.” He feels were these freedoms to be raised as a national security concern, “then it means that countries that have the opportunity and citizens that have the opportunity...should use these platforms for the right purposes, while remembering the potential of these platforms exerting influence on governments.”

In Amaliya’s view, “it is significant to understand” that the Ugandan election “was not just an election, but a contest against the status quo.” He avers it was difficult to imagine change “without strong resistance.”

Quizzed by Bensah as to whether it was not expected that Museveni would win – for the mere fact he had been in power for so long – Amaliya tried to situate his response in the context of the region, by explaining that, East Africa is a region where good governance is “unique” in the sense that, apart from the fragile states, such as Somalia, that are part of the region, one even has countries, such as Kenya, which legitimacy was tested back in 2007; Rwanda’s Kagame who is a “known, historical ally of Museveni”. In short: powerful states, such as Kenya and Rwanda have all helped shape the uniqueness of the region, and probably negated any decision for them to condemn the elections in Uganda!

Worrying for Amaliya is his view that “East Africa still has to deal a lot with questions regarding how the political will in the region – the gap between elite rulers and legitimate concerns of citizens in those countries, plus the fact that influencing decision-making at the top in East Africa – considerably has to do with compromises among the elites.”

He lamented how the fact that “independent-minded bodies like the UN, and even the African Union, would really only have to come second and third-place to these elite networks raises very serious concerns about democracy in East Africa.”


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WEST AFRICA:
Campaigning for the October 2 presidential election in the tiny Atlantic island state of Cape Verde was suspended Friday due to the death of its first democratically-elected president.

The authorities declared two days of mourning in memory of president Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro, 72, who ruled the country between 1991 and 2001 with the liberal Movement for Democracy (MPD).

All public events are cancelled during the mourning period and the campaign, which kicked off on Thursday, will resume Monday.

Following Cape Verde's independence from Portugal in 1975, the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) ruled unopposed until the introduction of multi-party democracy in 1990.

Incumbent Jorge Carlos Fonseca, 66, had toured markets in the capital, Praia, on Thursday as his campaign kicked off, bolstered by landslide victories in municipal elections held two weeks ago and a general election in March.

Fonseca also represents the MPD and is hoping to return to power for a second term.

He announced his "profound regret and sadness" over the death of "a very important figure in the history of Cape Verde, and above all, a friend" on his Facebook page on Friday afternoon.

In Cape Verde, home to 500,000 people and considered one of the most democratic countries in the world, executive power lies mainly with the prime minister, who is chosen by the largest party in parliament.

Fonseca faces two independent candidates: veteran political campaigner Joaquim Monteiro, 75, a key player in the country's fight for independence from Portugal in the 1970s; and university rector Albertino Graca, 57.

The PAICV has yet to recover from its recent twin defeats and will not field a presidential candidate after rejecting ouvertures from Graca and following the resignation submitted by leader Janira Hopffer Almada.

The archipelago of 10 islands elected Fonseca for the first time in 2011, and he is campaigning on a record of stability and a promise to "confront the challenges of economic growth, reducing unemployment and the need to give our young people more hope."

Cape Verde's strategic position in the Atlantic and its temperate climate mean tourism, commerce and fishing are its main industries.

Still in West Africa…

Journalists are invited to cover the Joint Launch of the UN Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) Regional Programme for West Africa and ECOWAS Plan of Action to Address Illicit Drug Trafficking, Organized Crime and Drug Abuse in West Africa, 2016-2020, TOMORROW 19 September 2016, at UN Headquarters in New York.

UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov, ECOWAS Commission President, Marcel A. de Souza, and Head of UN Office for West Africa & Sahel(UNOWAS) Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas.

He will address challenges and responses to transnational organized crime and health consequences of drugs in West Africa.

Transnational organized crime in all its forms, illicit trafficking, terrorism, corruption, the laundering of criminal assets and terrorism financing, as well as weaknesses in the criminal justice system, HIV and drug abuse are increasing threats to development, peace and stability in West Africa. These constantly-evolving threats gradually erode the foundations of the State, by challenging the progress towards good governance and the implementation of the Rule of Law, ultimately compromising economic and human development in the sub-region.

The global nature of these challenges and their undeniable national and interregional ramifications, require our full attention. Regional and international cooperation should be at the core of the responses to be provided to successfully face the transnational threats that affect the whole of West Africa and impact the world at large.

The new UNODC Regional Programme and the ECOWAS Regional Action Plan to Address Illicit Drug Trafficking, Organized Crimes and Drug Abuse in West Africa, both covering the period 2016-2020, aim at mobilising joint efforts in order to successfully face current and future threats in West Africa.

The pillars of the two documents are aligned and strategically complementary with the purpose of supporting a framework of national, regional and inter-regional collective action, to strengthen the capacities of States in the areas of governance, security and health-promotion, linking national, regional and international actors.

While the primary responsibility for addressing the challenges that threaten peace and security in the region pertains to Governments, the role and the strong will of ECOWAS and the United Nations is to support Member States in addressing the scourges that often extend beyond West Africa.

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EAST AFRICA

Dr. Donald Kaberuka, former African Development Bank President is leading a 15 bigshot politician list as a hot favorite for the African Union Commission chief’s post according to readers’ opinion poll by Africapedia news site.

The survey indicated that the Rwandan national who turned AFDB for better in two consecutive terms topped the list garnering 68 per cent. His compatriot and Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo, comes second with 13 per cent.

On the list of polled African prominent politicians featured  also Thabo Mbeki, former South African President, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala ,  former Nigeria’s Finance Minister,  Makhtar Diop , Senegale’s World Bank’s vice president, Pravin Gordhan,  South African politician and current Minister of Finance,  Amina J. Mohammed,  Nigeria’s Minister of Environment; Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International, among others.

At the 27th Assembly of the African Union heads of state held July in Rwanda’s capital Kigali, African countries failed to choose among three candidates Foreign Minister of Botswana, Dr. Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi and Foreign Minister of Equatorial Guinea, former Vice President of Uganda Dr. Speciosa Kazibwe and Agapito Mba Mokuy.

In a closed-door exercise, seven rounds of voting marred by high abstentions were conducted and none of three contenders garnered required votes for the post.

The most contested election was postponed to 30-31 January 2017 during the 28th AU summit of heads of state set to take place at AU headquarters in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia.

Member states were notified of nomination process as from early August and the submission of candidatures for chairperson and deputy chairperson posts is due to be done before 30th September 2016.

Dr. Kaberuka is an economist who in immediate post-Genocide joined hands with others to turn around Rwanda’s flattered economy. After a successful political career, he was voted for the President of the AfDB where he served it from 2005-2015.
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Ends

Produced by Emmanuel.K.Bensah Jr (@ekbensah);
presented by Joshua Quodjo-Mensah