Read all our coverage of the 51st AfDB Annual Meetings in Lusaka on one page
The African Development Bank (AfDB) held its 51st Annual Meetings and 42nd Annual Meetings of the African Development Fund in Lusaka, Zambia from May 23 to 27, 2016.
Ghanabusinessnews.com was privileged to cover the Meetings. We bring to you on one page all our reports from the Meetings.
Managing Editor.
The AfDB Annual Meetings: To look at energy and climate change in Africa
Every one of the African Development Bank’s Annual Meetings over the years has been a major market place for trading in ideas with the potential to stimulate development in Africa. At some of the Meetings, some aspirations have been concretized and eventually actualized to move the continent a step forward in the quest to attack poverty headlong.
Come May 23 to 27, 2016, the 51st edition would be held in Lusaka, Zambia under the theme: “Energy and Climate Change”, two major issues critical to Africa – either as potential dangers or factors that could trigger a paradigm shift in development discourse for the best.
Lusaka wakes up to AfDB Annual Meetings
It’s not often that Lusaka, the Zambian capital is in the news. It is probably one of the quiet cities on the continent, except for few incidents and occasions, including the successes of its national football team, not much is heard about the city.
Recently, though, the city shocked the world with incidents of xenophobic attacks. Lusaka? Yes. Xenophobia flared in Lusaka, and many people around the world were shocked! Zambians are not particularly known for violence.
Financial flows of $208b to Africa in 2015 lower than 2014 – African Economic Outlook
While net financial flows to Africa in 2015 amounted to $208 billion, the amount was 1.8 per cent lower than in 2014 due to a contraction in investment, according to the 2016 African Economic Outlook, launched today May 23, 2016 at the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Lusaka, Zambia.
The Report by the AfDB, the OECD Development Centre and the UNDP focuses on urbanization and how Africa could harness the potential of its cities for development.
AfDB to triple climate finance in Africa to $5b yearly
The African Development Bank (AfDB) says it will lead the way on green growth and triple its climate finance in Africa to $5 billion per year by 2020.
The lack of electricity has also been cited as the greatest hindrance to development in Africa. More than 645 million Africans – some two-thirds of the people on the continent – have no access to electricity and over 750 million do not have clean energy for cooking.
Africa must move faster like the leopard – Adesina
Africa cannot continue to act slowly, in addressing her development needs, the continent must move faster like the leopard, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has said.
Speaking at a press conference on the first day of the Annual Meetings of the Bank in Lusaka, Zambia, Monday May 23, 2016, he said “everything that’s good for Africa must not happen in the future,” adding that there are too many projects at pilot stage on the continent and there is the need to go beyond pilots “to flying planes,” he said.
Africa produces 75% of cocoa but gets 2% of $100b chocolate market revenue
For centuries, the economies of African countries have been made dependent on advanced economies, and despite the enormous amount of natural resources in Africa, over 500 million citizens continue to live in poverty.
A case in point is the cocoa and chocolate industries. Even though Africa produces 75 per cent of all the cocoa in the world, the continent gets only 2 per cent of the $100 billion revenue from the chocolate industry.
Obasanjo calls for coal plants in Africa to address energy deficit
Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo seems to have touched on a touchy matter when he defended the need for Africa to use coal to provide electricity for its 600 million citizens who are living without power.
“I am an environmentalist, but I wouldn’t mind to dirty the environment so I can provide power for the people,” he said. Adding, “Let’s use what we have. We have coal in Africa, let’s use it, when we pollute the environment a little, we will all clean it up,” he said.
600,000 Africans die every year from household air pollution
At the ongoing Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Lusaka, Zambia, which is discussing climate change and energy in Africa, the shocking information about the number of Africans dying every year from household cooking fuels has been repeated. And many who are hearing it for the first time can’t believe it, but it’s true.
An estimated 600,000 Africans – half of them children die every year from household cooking fuels air pollution.
African Risk Capacity, AfDB to cooperate on natural disasters
The African Risk Capacity has signed a memorandum of understanding with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets (CIMA) to collaborate in the areas of planning, preparation and response to extreme weather events and natural disasters.
The ARC, a specialized agency of the African Union for natural disaster planning and response established in 2012, said the MoU which is expected to benefit the Regional Member Countries of the AfDB, represents a major step towards its goal of providing $2 billion in annual climate disaster coverage to Africa’s most vulnerable populations and insure 150 million people across 30 countries on the continent by 2020.
Only seven African countries join Partnership on Illicit Finance, two years after formation
Two years after the formation of the Partnership on Illicit Finance, an initiative formed during the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in July 2014, only seven African countries, including the United States have joined.
Considering the fact that there are 54 countries in Africa, and collectively, they lose some $60 billion to illicit financial flows, it is curious that only seven countries have joined the initiative two years after it was started.
Ghana in line to host AfDB Annual Meetings, as India becomes venue for 2017 edition
On Friday May 27, 2016, the 51st Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) ended in Lusaka, Zambia. The city of Ahmedabad, in Gujurat state, India was announced as the next venue for the 2017 edition.
Ghana will be hosting the Meetings in five years.