May 25,2016
VIOLET MENGO
Lusaka
IN THE words of African Development Bank (AfDB) president Akinwumi Ades ina: “Africa is simply tired of being in the dark. It is time to take decisive action and turn around this narrative: to light up and power Africa and accelerate the pace of economic transformation, unlock the potential of businesses, and drive much needed industrialisation to create jobs.”
The AfDB president has set out the direction that the bank ought to take in addressing challenges that the African continent is faced with.
In his inaugural address in September, 2015 following his election as the eighth president, Mr Adesina set down a new agenda for the AfDB group, building on its existing 2013-to- 2022 strategy.
With the five development primacies for the AfDB dubbed the ‘High Five’ – Light up and power Africa, feed Africa, industrialise Africa, Integrate Africa and Improve the life for the people – bank has taken African issues seriously and is working at making the continent the most comfortable place for all its inhabitants in one way or the other.
The High Five are essential in transforming the lives of the African
people and therefore consistent with the United Nations agenda on
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The annual meeting taking place in Lusaka under the theme “Energy and climate change” is premised on the fact that over 645 million Africans do not have access to electricity, while 700 million have no access to clean cooking energy, and 600,000 die each year from indoor pollution from over-reliance on biomass for cooking.
The AfDB is responding to the challenge of supporting inclusive growth and the transition to green growth by scaling up investment and implementation of the Africa’s transformation by focusing on five priority areas.
This is in response to ambitious SDGs agreed upon by world leaders to eliminate poverty from the planet by 2030.
The United Nations on Climate Change (COP21) held in Paris last year, also came up with an equally ambitious agreement on climate change.
Not only are the five priority areas central to Africa, they are also intrinsically linked to SDGs and global commitments on climate change.
The five priorities have also been highlighted as critical priorities in the Agenda 2063 for Africa, developed in partnership with the African Union.
In Lighting up and powering Africa, the AfDB launched a New Deal on Energy for Africa built on five inter-related and mutually reinforcing principles which are: raising aspirations to solve Africa’s energy challenges; establishing a transformative partnership on energy for Africa; mobilising domestic and international capital for innovative financing in Africa’s energy sector; supporting African governments in strengthening energy policy, regulation and sector governance; and increasing AfDB investments in energy and climate financing.
While renewable energy will be prioritised by the Bank, fossil fuels will remain an important part of the overall energy mix, as is the case with several developed economies. The AfDB will finance state of the art technology to minimise emissions.
The Bank’s energy strategy, central to implementing the New Deal, focuses on seven areas, which are: setting up an enabling policy environment; transforming utility companies for success; dramatically increasing the number of bankable energy projects; increasing the funding pool to deliver new projects; supporting ‘bottom of the pyramid’ energy access programmess, particularly for women; accelerating major regional projects to drive integration; and rolling out waves of country-wide energy ‘transformations’.
The Bank will implement these priorities through a series of flagship programmes such as: Independent Power Producers (IPP) procurement, power utility transformation, an early stage project support facility and related catalytic programmess, mobile payment initiatives, and a regional project acceleration program.
It is the Bank’s desire to help the continent achieve electricity access by 2025 with a strong focus on encouraging clean and renewable energy solutions.
This is through the provision of the 160 gigawatt (GW) of new capacity, 130 million new on-grid connections, 75 million new off-grid connections and providing 150 million households with access to clean cooking solutions at an estimated investment ranging between US$60 billion to 90 billion per year.
In the feeding Africa goal, the Bank is working at agricultural transformation where 150 million people across the continent are adequately fed; over a 100 million people lifted out of poverty and about 190 million hectares of land converted to productive use over a period of 10 years (2016-2025).
Although agriculture employs over 60 percent of the African workforce and accounts for roughly a third of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the region is the most food-insecure area in the world, with more than 232 million under-nourished people, or approximately one in every four.
The Bank has developed a strategy for long-term agricultural transformation in Africa.
This follows a high level Ministerial Conference on Feeding Africa- an action plan for transforming agriculture in Africa held in Dakar to map out how to unlock Africa’s agricultural potential and boost job creation in view of diversifying economies.
T h e Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) supports the realisation of key SDSs through the development of an inclusive and competitive African agribusiness sector.
Underpinning this vision are four specific goals: contribute to the end of poverty; end hunger and malnutrition; make Africa a net food exporter; and move Africa to the top of export-orientated value chains where it has comparative advantage.
Through its strategy, the AfDB will help unlock the potential of low-income countries using an approach where countries start treating the sector as a business and a starting point for industrialisation.
Through the Industrialise Africa priority, the Bank addresses a diversity of challenges and foster value creation, formal employment and positive commercial gains, including regional trade and enhanced balance of payments.
It supports productivity enhancement through automation, quality management, improved processes and training.
In l ine with the Bank Group’s Private Sector Development Strategy, the AfDB targets improving the capacity of Africa’s producers, particularly manufacturers and related industries, to compete with imported products in local markets, and help to link them to regional and international markets.
It will also support the development and expansion of small and medium entrepreneurs, industrial clusters and the establishment of private-public partnerships as a means to leverage resources for financing the industrialisation process.
Furthermore, the Bank’s Group Regional Integration Policy and Strategy, approved by the Board in 2014, acknowledges the opportunities provided by regional integration in boosting infrastructure, trade, industrialisation and the movement of people.
As part of its mandate, the Bank’s Group Regional Integration Policy and Strategy continues to lead in several continental wide initiatives targeting both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ infrastructure (trade and services facilitation policies and instruments).
These initiatives are, among others: the Continental Free Trade Area; comprehensive Africa agriculture Development Programme; Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa and the Boosting Intra- African Trade agenda.
In improving the quality of life for the people of Africa, the AfDB has continued to work at promoting an enabling human development policy environment and strengthening institutions that deliver basic services, particularly in health systems in countries most vulnerable to epidemics such as ebola and cholera.
Job creation has remained central to this initiative and the Bank has prepared a ‘Jobs for Youth in Africa’ strategy designed to increase direct and indirect employment, resulting in reduced poverty, inequality, and economic and conflict driven migration, and increased social cohesion and political stability.
VIOLET MENGO
Lusaka
IN THE words of African Development Bank (AfDB) president Akinwumi Ades ina: “Africa is simply tired of being in the dark. It is time to take decisive action and turn around this narrative: to light up and power Africa and accelerate the pace of economic transformation, unlock the potential of businesses, and drive much needed industrialisation to create jobs.”
The AfDB president has set out the direction that the bank ought to take in addressing challenges that the African continent is faced with.
In his inaugural address in September, 2015 following his election as the eighth president, Mr Adesina set down a new agenda for the AfDB group, building on its existing 2013-to- 2022 strategy.
With the five development primacies for the AfDB dubbed the ‘High Five’ – Light up and power Africa, feed Africa, industrialise Africa, Integrate Africa and Improve the life for the people – bank has taken African issues seriously and is working at making the continent the most comfortable place for all its inhabitants in one way or the other.
 | ||
| Dr Adesina addressing a crowd |
The annual meeting taking place in Lusaka under the theme “Energy and climate change” is premised on the fact that over 645 million Africans do not have access to electricity, while 700 million have no access to clean cooking energy, and 600,000 die each year from indoor pollution from over-reliance on biomass for cooking.
The AfDB is responding to the challenge of supporting inclusive growth and the transition to green growth by scaling up investment and implementation of the Africa’s transformation by focusing on five priority areas.
This is in response to ambitious SDGs agreed upon by world leaders to eliminate poverty from the planet by 2030.
The United Nations on Climate Change (COP21) held in Paris last year, also came up with an equally ambitious agreement on climate change.
Not only are the five priority areas central to Africa, they are also intrinsically linked to SDGs and global commitments on climate change.
The five priorities have also been highlighted as critical priorities in the Agenda 2063 for Africa, developed in partnership with the African Union.
In Lighting up and powering Africa, the AfDB launched a New Deal on Energy for Africa built on five inter-related and mutually reinforcing principles which are: raising aspirations to solve Africa’s energy challenges; establishing a transformative partnership on energy for Africa; mobilising domestic and international capital for innovative financing in Africa’s energy sector; supporting African governments in strengthening energy policy, regulation and sector governance; and increasing AfDB investments in energy and climate financing.
While renewable energy will be prioritised by the Bank, fossil fuels will remain an important part of the overall energy mix, as is the case with several developed economies. The AfDB will finance state of the art technology to minimise emissions.
The Bank’s energy strategy, central to implementing the New Deal, focuses on seven areas, which are: setting up an enabling policy environment; transforming utility companies for success; dramatically increasing the number of bankable energy projects; increasing the funding pool to deliver new projects; supporting ‘bottom of the pyramid’ energy access programmess, particularly for women; accelerating major regional projects to drive integration; and rolling out waves of country-wide energy ‘transformations’.
The Bank will implement these priorities through a series of flagship programmes such as: Independent Power Producers (IPP) procurement, power utility transformation, an early stage project support facility and related catalytic programmess, mobile payment initiatives, and a regional project acceleration program.
It is the Bank’s desire to help the continent achieve electricity access by 2025 with a strong focus on encouraging clean and renewable energy solutions.
This is through the provision of the 160 gigawatt (GW) of new capacity, 130 million new on-grid connections, 75 million new off-grid connections and providing 150 million households with access to clean cooking solutions at an estimated investment ranging between US$60 billion to 90 billion per year.
In the feeding Africa goal, the Bank is working at agricultural transformation where 150 million people across the continent are adequately fed; over a 100 million people lifted out of poverty and about 190 million hectares of land converted to productive use over a period of 10 years (2016-2025).
Although agriculture employs over 60 percent of the African workforce and accounts for roughly a third of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the region is the most food-insecure area in the world, with more than 232 million under-nourished people, or approximately one in every four.
The Bank has developed a strategy for long-term agricultural transformation in Africa.
This follows a high level Ministerial Conference on Feeding Africa- an action plan for transforming agriculture in Africa held in Dakar to map out how to unlock Africa’s agricultural potential and boost job creation in view of diversifying economies.
T h e Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) supports the realisation of key SDSs through the development of an inclusive and competitive African agribusiness sector.
Underpinning this vision are four specific goals: contribute to the end of poverty; end hunger and malnutrition; make Africa a net food exporter; and move Africa to the top of export-orientated value chains where it has comparative advantage.
Through its strategy, the AfDB will help unlock the potential of low-income countries using an approach where countries start treating the sector as a business and a starting point for industrialisation.
Through the Industrialise Africa priority, the Bank addresses a diversity of challenges and foster value creation, formal employment and positive commercial gains, including regional trade and enhanced balance of payments.
It supports productivity enhancement through automation, quality management, improved processes and training.
In l ine with the Bank Group’s Private Sector Development Strategy, the AfDB targets improving the capacity of Africa’s producers, particularly manufacturers and related industries, to compete with imported products in local markets, and help to link them to regional and international markets.
It will also support the development and expansion of small and medium entrepreneurs, industrial clusters and the establishment of private-public partnerships as a means to leverage resources for financing the industrialisation process.
Furthermore, the Bank’s Group Regional Integration Policy and Strategy, approved by the Board in 2014, acknowledges the opportunities provided by regional integration in boosting infrastructure, trade, industrialisation and the movement of people.
As part of its mandate, the Bank’s Group Regional Integration Policy and Strategy continues to lead in several continental wide initiatives targeting both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ infrastructure (trade and services facilitation policies and instruments).
These initiatives are, among others: the Continental Free Trade Area; comprehensive Africa agriculture Development Programme; Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa and the Boosting Intra- African Trade agenda.
In improving the quality of life for the people of Africa, the AfDB has continued to work at promoting an enabling human development policy environment and strengthening institutions that deliver basic services, particularly in health systems in countries most vulnerable to epidemics such as ebola and cholera.
Job creation has remained central to this initiative and the Bank has prepared a ‘Jobs for Youth in Africa’ strategy designed to increase direct and indirect employment, resulting in reduced poverty, inequality, and economic and conflict driven migration, and increased social cohesion and political stability.
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