African Union and FIFA commit to build on positive results and to accelerate collaboration

Two years to the day of signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations, African Union (AU) Chairperson Félix Tshisekedi and FIFA President Gianni Infantino (www.FIFA.com) have discussed an action plan that will accelerate several aspects of the agreement aimed at contributing for the benefit of African society, and, in particular, younger generations.

“I was delighted to speak with AU Chairperson who is a passionate football fan, and as FIFA and the AU have been working together for some time now, I am sure that under Félix Tshisekedi’s leadership our organisations will find ways to reinforce our joint efforts in many areas such as our ‘Football for Schools’ education project, the fight against match manipulation and any form of corruption, as well as safety and security at football matches across the continent,” the FIFA President said.

 “We are encouraged by FIFA’s willingness to engage with Africa, and to use football as a force for good across the continent, and by working as close partners with the AU to ensure that we are playing our part in the continued development of the sport across the African continent,” the AU Chairperson and President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said.

Speaking by videoconference prior to the FIFA Club World Cup final, the two leaders discussed a range of initiatives from the role that football through education can play in developing life skills for children, be that respecting rules and showing respect to match officials, or by encouraging teamwork and cooperation in order to succeed. It was agreed that both AU and FIFA shared a mutual vision for education through football, and further discussions to identify opportunities are now being planned for a face-to-face meeting between both leaders in Kinshasa in the near future. 

The call provided the FIFA President with the opportunity to follow-up on previous discussions with H.E. Félix Tshisekedi’s predecessor, H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, and to assure the new AU Chairperson that FIFA and football remain totally committed to maintaining the close cooperation and teamwork that has been built up between both organisations in the past two years.  

The FIFA President also outlined the FIFA COVID-19 Relief Plan, while also stressing the important investment made to support the 54 African member associations through FIFA Forward, which has already delivered close to 300 projects across the continent since Gianni Infantino’s first election in 2016.

Sudan at critical juncture in path towards democratic transition, Security Council hears

International support for Sudan is critical as the country continues on the path to democratic transition, amid challenges that include political disagreements, economic decline, and the COVID-19 pandemic, UN political affairs chief, Rosemary DiCarlo told a virtual meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday.

Ambassadors were updated on developments since the signing in October of a milestone peace agreement between the authorities and two armed movements from Darfur, and on the potential drawdown of the UN-African Union force in the province, known as UNAMID. 

“Sudan is at a critical juncture. It can move forward decisively in its transition, but that progress can still be derailed by the many challenges it faces. It is incumbent on all of us to support Sudan in its efforts to achieve democratic governance, economic prosperity and an inclusive society for all Sudanese”, said Ms. DiCarlo.  

This month will mark two years since the Sudanese Revolution, which led to the overthrow of longstanding leader, Omar Al-Bashir, in April 2019.  A joint military-civilian body, known as the Sovereign Council, is ruling the country until elections can be held. 

Despite progress, Ms. DiCarlo reported political forces in Sudan are increasingly fragmented.  Disagreements have surfaced following the recent establishment of a new body, the Council of Partners for the Transitional Period, while formation of the Transitional Legislative Council has been postponed until 31 December. 

Sudan has also experienced severe economic decline, partly due to a five-month shutdown to prevent coronavirus spread.  As a result, public revenues dropped while spending on emergency health programmes increased, contributing to a growing budget deficit of roughly $250 million each month.  

“The COVID-19 pandemic has further aggravated the humanitarian needs, also driven by severe flooding, intercommunal violence and prolonged displacement”, she continued.    

“In recent weeks, over 48,000 people have fled the Ethiopian conflict in the Tigray region and have sought refuge in Sudan. This has put an additional strain on the Sudanese authorities.” 

The UN Political Affairs chief again welcomed the intention by the  United States to rescind Sudan’s designation as a State sponsor of terrorism, which will open up access to critical international financial assistance. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the urgency for African countries to optimise public revenues from their natural resources

Africa will not meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030. This slow progress derives from resource leakages and increasing poverty rates, as 64.3% of sub-Saharan Africa is still living in multidimensional poverty. While other regions of the world are experiencing rapid poverty reduction, the decline is much slower for sub-Saharan Africa. Human Development Report – 2019.

Because COVID-19 has overstretched the resources needed to fund essential services like education and health in Africa, the increased continental debt burden and limited inflows of aid and foreign development investment, there is pressure, more than ever to raise revenue locally. Africa should be able to raise the needed funds if the duct allowing capital flight and illicit financial flows (IFFs) could be closed. The lost funds mainly come from Africa’s extractive sector, while Africa remains the poorest continent in the world. The 2020 UNCTAD report on Economic Development in Africa shows that the extractive sectors lose about $ 50 billion annually. ‘’The extractive sector presented the largest source of IFF from Africa. In view of the pressure on governments to mobilize financial resources to mitigate the adverse impact of COVID-19, the extractive sector presents strategic potential to generated to raise the required resources.” says Alvin Mosioma, the Executive Director, Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA).

There is need to reimagine public policy and deploy strategies that address Africa’s vulnerabilities which were made more visible by Covid-19. Oil, gas and minerals are finite resources. The more they get extracted, the lost the opportunity to develop based on them. The Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in the extractive sector unfortunately, do not pay their fair share, and Africa’s development based on its natural resources remains an unattainable dream. In this regard, the Africa Mining Vision (AMV), and the report of the High-Level Panel (HLP) on IFFs have provided recommendations to optimise domestic resource mobilisation and leverage on the extractive sector to drive inclusive and sustainable growth.

TJNA calls for African governments to improve transparency and accountability of MNCs, to end secretive jurisdiction and tax havens, and to promote the automatic exchange of information, citizen participation in extractive revenue management. Additionally, countries should review policies that allow overly generous tax incentives and publicly report the revenue forgone to subsidise the MNCs.

To provide a forum to discuss these issues, the Pan African Conference on Illicit Financial Flows and Taxation (PAC) will bring together members of parliament, policymakers, researchers, academia, government representatives, media, international development partners, and civil society representatives from across the continent. PAC 2020 will be a week-long virtual event and will focus on leakages of domestic resource mobilisation in the extractive sector. 

African Development Bank approves $27.33 million to ramp up the African Union’s COVID-19 Response Initiative

The African Development Bank’s Board of Directors (www.AfDB.org) on Wednesday approved $27.33 million in grants to boost the African Union’s (AU) efforts to mobilize a continental response to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

The approval follows a meeting of the extended Bureau of the Conference of Heads of State and Government with Africa’s private sector on 22 April 2020, chaired by H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa and chairperson of the AU, at which the Bank’s President, Akinwumi Adesina, pledged strong support for the AU’s COVID-19 initiative. 

The AU Bureau meeting called for contributions to the African Union’s COVID-19 Response Fund established by the AU Commission chairperson, Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, in March 2020.

Speaking after the Board approval of this operation, President Adesina said: “with this financing package, we are reaffirming our strong commitment to a coordinated African response in the face of COVID-19. Most importantly, we are sending a strong signal that collectively, the continent can address the pandemic, which is straining health systems and causing unprecedented socio-economic impacts on the continent.”

The Bank’s grant financing will support the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in providing technical assistance and building capacity for 37 African Development Fund (ADF) eligible countries, particularly the Transition States, to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its impact. The ADF is the Bank’s concessional window.

Sourced from the ADF’s Regional Operations/Regional Public Goods envelope and the Transition Support Facility, these two grants will support the implementation of Africa CDC’s COVID-19 Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan through strengthening surveillance at various points of entry (air, sea, and land) in African countries; building sub-regional and national capacity for epidemiological surveillance; and ensuring the availability of testing materials and personal protective equipment for frontline workers deployed in hotspots. The operation will also facilitate collection of gender-disaggregated data and adequate staffing for Africa CDC’s emergency operations center. 

At the beginning of February 2020, only two reference laboratories—in Senegal and in South Africa—could run tests for COVID-19 on the continent. The Africa CDC, working with governments, the World Health Organization, and several development partners and public health institutes, have increased this capacity to 44 countries currently. Despite this progress, Africa’s testing capacity remains low, with the 37 ADF-eligible countries accounting for only 40% of completed COVID-19 tests to date.

“Our response today and support to the African Union is timely and will play a crucial role in helping Africa look inward for solutions to build resilience to this pandemic and future outbreaks,” said Ms. Wambui Gichuri, Ag. Vice President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development.

This support will complement various national and sub-regional operations financed by the African Development Bank under its COVID-19 Response Facility to support African countries to contain and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.

Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe ex-president, dies aged 95

Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has died aged 95.

Mr Mugabe had been receiving treatment in a hospital in Singapore since April. He was ousted in a military coup in 2017 after 37 years in power.

The former president was praised for broadening access to health and education for the black majority.

But later years were marked by violent repression of his political opponents and Zimbabwe’s economic ruin.

Credit: BBC News

AU calls for further financial input for the NEPAD-IPPF

The African Union Commission has called for further financial input for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF) Special Fund.

The African Development Bank approved in June 2019 the allocation of UA 3 million from its 2018 Net Income to NEPAD-IPPF

The 29th Oversight Committee (OC) meeting of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF) Special Fund held at the headquarters of the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, ended with calls for increased investments to accelerate the closure of Africa’s infrastructure gap.

The meeting, held on 28 June 2019, was hosted by the AUC and chaired by KfW Development Bank (Germany). Topics discussed included the NEPAD-IPPF Independent Review report, the introduction of reimbursable grants as part of the new business model, the mid-year progress report, updates on continental infrastructure initiatives, and adoption of a proposed joint AUC/AUDA/AfDB Domestic Resource Mobilization Strategy.

Michael Andres, the Oversight Committee Chairman, commended the achievements of NEPAD-IPPF and noted that more resources are required given the increasing demands being made on the fund.

“The NEPAD-IPPF Special Fund must continue to focus on key priorities, such as PIDA Projects to support the African 2063 Agenda.” Andres said.

While speaking on the Fund’s progress in the first semester of 2019, African Development Bank Director for Infrastructure and Urban Development Amadou Oumarou urged participants to consider the continent’s enormous infrastructure needs.

“New contributions from Spain (Euro 3 million) and the African Development Bank (UA 3 million) are indications of confidence in the Fund’s ability to successfully fulfil its mandate, and also recognition that the NEPAD-IPPF is playing a critical role in infrastructure development in Africa. It is therefore expedient for (the Fund) to be further strengthened with the necessary resources to enable it to meet its objectives and mandate,” Oumarou said.

The meeting convened over 30 participants including donors providing financial support to the NEPAD-IPPF Special Fund, representatives from the African Development Bank, the African Union Commission, the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Regional Economic Communities (RECs), River Basin organizations and regional corridors authorities.

For AUC Director for Infrastructure and Energy, Cheikh Bedda, “The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), and Africa’s infrastructure priorities cannot be implemented without adequate resources committed to the NEPAD-IPPF, a critical instrument to prepare high quality bankable regional infrastructure projects across Africa”.

Providing updates on the Fund’s operational performance NEPAD-IPPF Fund Manager Mike Salawou, stated that cumulative contributions by donor partners including the African Development Bank amounted to $102 million, out of which $96.1 million had been committed to approve 91 projects. As at June 2019, 60 studies have been completed, 9 cancelled and 22 are on-going, he noted.

The African Development Bank approved in June 2019 the allocation of UA 3 million from its 2018 Net Income to NEPAD-IPPF. In addition, the Spanish Government announced a new contribution of EUR 3 million to NEPAD-IPPF in May 2019.

Among the studies completed by the Facility, 30 have so far reached financial close and attracted financing of $24.2 billion for physical implementation of power plants, bridges, ports, roads, hydropower schemes, and ICT projects. Of these successful projects, 17 have been constructed, 11 are under construction and two are yet to commence.

“While disbursements of committed funds on supported projects have reached a record, beyond that and without any new contributions to the Fund, NEPAD-IPPF will not be in position to support additional project preparation activities, therefore, there is a need for urgent replenishment of the Special Fund,”  Salawou stressed.

Sudan suspended from African Union over military crackdown

The African Union (AU) has suspended Sudan’s membership after the military launched a brutal crackdown on protesters that killed dozens of people.

The AU’s Peace and Security Department said in a post on Twitter on Thursday that Sudan’s participation in all AU activities would be suspended with immediate effect – “until the effective establishment of a civilian-led transitional authority,” which it described as the only way to “exit from the current crisis”. 

Sierra Leone representative to the AU, Dr-Patrick Kapuwa, noted “Under our Chairmanship of the Peace and Security Council, Sudan has been suspended from ALL AU activities consistent with Article 7(g) of our Protocol. We urge the military to allow a civilian led transitional Authority.”

The announcement followed an emergency meeting by the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after the violent dispersal of a protest camp in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, began on Monday.

Sudanese forces are deployed around Khartoum’s army headquarters on June 3, 2019 as they try to disperse Khartoum’s sit-in. (Photo by ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP) (Photo credit should read ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images)

At least 108 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD), while a health ministry official was quoted as saying the death toll stood at 61.

According to Al Jazeera, Sudan’s pro-democracy leaders have vowed to continue their campaign of civil disobedience until the Transitional Military Council (TMC) – which has ruled Sudan since longtime leader Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in a coup in April – is removed and killers of protesters are brought to justice.

The Sudanese Professionals Association on Thursday asked people to block main roads and bridges to “paralyse public life” across the country in retaliation for the military crackdown.