₦airaland Forum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9aiY1K5k6I

As negotiators at the Paris Conference of the Parties inch towards a deal on carbon emissions and prevent further catastrophic global warming, parts of Sub-Saharan find themselves on climate change’s front lines.

Across the region, previously predictable weather cycles have broken down, causing major damage to societies and economies. Fears that decades of hard-won economic progress could be undone are countered by the debate — on full show in Paris — over who should foot the bill to help low income countries adapt to the changing climate. In this context, there is a growing realization within the international community of the need for innovative financing mechanisms that can help countries to manage their risk.

Speaking in Paris on December 1, the US president Barack Obama announced $30 million in funding for climate insurance schemes in the Pacific, Central America and Africa. That latter scheme — the African Risk Capacity program, an African Union initiative backed by the World Food Program and several bilateral development agencies — has gathered pace over the past year, making its first payout in January to Niger, Senegal and Mauritania when all three were struck by a crippling drought.

The chair of ARC’s board of governors is the former minister of finance and economic planning of Nigeria, and former managing director of the World Bank, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She says that the program was motivated by a desire to find proactive solutions to the impending crises in Africa.

“The idea was, let’s find a solution, rather than just wait. We’re used to a picture of African children starving, with flies all over, waiting for aid. There’s an appeal, it takes several months for the money to get there, and in the meantime lives are lost and livelihoods are lost,” Okonjo-Iweala says.

Getting money out of the door quickly in emergencies is vital not only to save lives and livelihoods, but also to limit the cost of the response.

“We think that a small farmer and family can survive for about four months before they have to start slaughtering their cows and goats,” says Lars Thunell, the former CEO of the International Finance Corporation, and now the chairman of the ARC’s Insurance company.

“If we can get the money out there within that four month period, the efficiency of the money is about four and a half times that of the normal route, which was to … wait for the TV camera to show up, and to have a donor conference, and a pledging conference and then wait a year and a half to get the money there.”

The ARC announced an effective doubling of its capacity earlier this month, backed by the WFP. The support that the scheme is attracting from governments and international agencies is a sign, Thunell says, that: “People are starting to think proactively rather than reactively. And when it comes to climate risk adaptation, it’s very often much cheaper to think about prevention.”

Hopes remain that a binding deal on emissions in Paris will avert further catastrophic climate change, but many countries in Africa are already feeling the effects.

“I think the awareness is increasing, because people are seeing the consequences of climate change. There is no doubt that the issues of drought and flood have… manifested in a way that people are now beginning to take notice,” Okonjo-Iweala says, adding that ARC is now looking at finding other market mechanisms, such as ‘disaster bonds’ to fund national adaptation plans.

“We are all searching for ways to finance the solutions to these problems.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/peteguest/2015/12/09/insuring-africa-against-climate-catastrophe/2/

For your information, this is the full text of a letter which was leaked last week and SELECTIVELY quoted by some online news sites.

As the COP 21 climate change conference in Paris comes to a close, global leaders have made significant progress in building a framework to tackle issues related to climate change. However, sourcing funding to combat the effects of global warming remains the biggest issue as leaders from around the world try to find ways to avoid the devastating impacts of climate change on the planet. Developed countries have pledged to reach $100 billion-dollar per year in funding by the 2020 to aid the mitigation of the phenomenon in poor countries, as well as to provide solutions to the impact on agriculture and health that are already being felt in their parts of the world, but developing country governments and NGOs have stated that the funding commitments do not go far enough. African countries are asking for special funding interventions, as their environments are highly susceptible to the consequences of climate change and their economies will be most affected by the issue.

Ventures Africa spoke to Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who since leaving office has become prominent global voice advocating economic solutions for dealing with the impacts of climate Change.

Ventures Africa (VA): Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, analysts posit that it is quite difficult to ascertain the long-term economic costs of climate change. Do you agree? If so, is it possible for you to give us a short-term projection?

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (NOI): There have been many studies, including by Lord Nick Stern, that have shown that climate change is real and costly, and that if we do not manage to keep the world, not even at 2 degrees, but at 1.5 – because this was the chant in Paris, “1.5 to stay alive” – some of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Pacific rim would sink.

So, the issue the costs have become very prominent, in terms of pollution, which causes a lot of diseases and ill health. Even today in Beijing, the pollution is so high that they have given the highest level of alert. A large number of deaths are caused by pollution and other forms of diseases caused by climate change, loss of productivity of crops and lands, flooding, storms… it’s catastrophic, and many estimates have been given. Therefore, giving an estimation is a very scientific affair, not something someone gets up and projects.

Many years have been spent trying to study this phenomenon and trying to estimate the damage, and if you look at the work done by the new climate economy, you can get various estimates. I’ve just given you one, about how degraded land leads to more damage to the climate, and it’s going to cost $250 billion a year to restore. That’s one kind of estimate that you can get. It’s a very costly phenomenon.

But I think that the essential thing is there are solutions which are being discussed in Paris. First, you have $650 billion a year being spent in fuel subsidies, and fossil fuels contribute to carbon dioxide emission, very heavily. If you were to stop subsidising, it would then help to reduce the amount of carbon emission, and you could even take the $650 billion and invest it in alternative sources of energy, such as renewables, which are friendlier to the climate, and dramatically reduce carbon emission.

In fact, the IMF has estimated that if you take the additional indirect costs of subsidies, that figure of $650 per year becomes $5.4 trillion. So, can you imagine such huge an amount of money that is lost due to this fossil fuels subsidy. I think that this is one area where the world can really make a big difference; phase it out; direct the resources to other alternatives that would actually help to manage climate change, and make the world a safer place to live.

VA: You recently made the opening remarks at the Global Landscapes Forum in Paris at the COP21 in which you emphasized the need for public funding and investments in landscape restoration and conservation. Urbanisation has been named a major source of land degradation, but economists agree that there is a positive connection between urbanisation and economic growth, especially for developing countries. What is your take on the topic? Does this conflict with the agreement that you wish to come to on funding?

NOI: Urbanisation is not necessarily a form of land degradation. I don’t agree with that. I think that if you have a properly planned urbanisation, you can do it without degrading land. The issue is that, very often people migrate to urban land without adequate services, without adequate housing. And then they sometimes convert areas that should not really be used for building housing, into housing and other uses. That is when you begin to get problems with flood, like for example when they settle on the slopes of hills, or on sewer lines, and other areas where they should not.

To avoid that form of land degradation, you have to plan ahead. But urbanisation does not have to necessarily result in land degradation, if there’s good planning. However, we know that there is a large amount of land degradation going on now, and the New Climate Economy, the Global Commission on Climate and Economy, has estimated that it would cost around $250 billion per year to restore degraded land, and we know we’re only spending one tenth of that ($25 billion).

Restoration of these degraded land can also contribute to helping with the issue of climate change, while at the same time trying to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions. As you restore, you can also take action that would enable storage and mitigation of emission. The same thing with forestation. If you can reforest, you can help with carbon capture with these forests.

With regards to the funding, it would take a combination of what we call a structured partnership — not just public sector funds, but you have the public sector coming in to give the governance and the policy cover that is needed to do this, while at the same time putting in some of its money. Also the donor community comes in to put in money and take some risks, so that the private sector can come in and invest because some of these restorations can also be beneficial in a private sector sense. Then, you can have civil society joining in to make sure that this is done in an accountable way.

VA: Developing agriculture is one of the biggest concerns of the Nigerian Federal Government, and the governments of other African countries. Are there any peculiar immediate impacts that farmers and agriculturists in general likely suffer, in the event of an intolerable level of climate change?

NOI: Climate change is already evident, and you can see it in abnormal cycle of floods and droughts. Farmers suffer a lot of damage to their crops and livestock. Remember that even Nigeria had abnormal floods two years ago, which caused a displacement of up to two million families at the time, as well as tremendous damage of billions of dollars in terms of crops and livestock. You can measure these damages that are already occurring.

Climate change is already here. There are people in the Pacific Islands, such as in Tuvalu and Vanuatu whose islands are going to sink beneath the ocean, completely disappearing due to the impact of climate change, if we go beyond the 2 degrees Celsius that the world is aiming at, and they are even asking the world to look at 1.5 degrees Celsius. We don’t have to wait to see the impact of climate change to agriculture and livelihood.

Now, there are several solutions that have been coming forward, and one of the best ones was by African countries themselves, in the form of the African Risk Capacity (ARC). So, rather than waiting for other countries to come when there is a flood or a drought, African countries started this organisation to insure countries against damage that comes from weather based events and climate change. There is a model that has been developed where the countries have an insurance premium, and when there is an event, if the model triggers in that country, then money is paid out –that is if the event is caused by an abnormal phenomenon such as climate change or extreme weather.

For instance, last year, Mauritania, Senegal, and Niger received pay outs of $26 million from the ARC when they had severe droughts. We need to start thinking of solutions like this. The G7 has said that this is a good approach, and have agreed to scale up the work of the ARC, as well as that of the Pacific and Caribbean Risk Insurance agencies by $100 million. I think that this is a very important development.

We are focusing a lot on the problems, but we need to start focusing on solutions. We’ve talked about other solutions the world can take, such as mitigation measures, and every country has put forward their intended national development commitments. What are they going to do in order to make sure that the world stays at a 2 degrees Celsius? What are they voluntarily committing to? These must be considered for development without damaging the climate.

I want to say one thing on the solution front, and that is that Africa provides the greatest opportunities for the solutions. Therefore, beyond looking at Africa as a victim of climate change, also seeing as it suffering from damage caused by others, we need to look at the solutions the continent can proffer, and they are tremendous. Especially if the world really wants to be serious about managing climate change, and mitigating the impact, and adapting to it.

Africa presents a clear opportunity where you can build infrastructure, such as power (renewables), and also roads and rails, in a manner that is more environmentally and climate friendly.

VA: According to a World Bank report from 2013, even a 1.5 Degrees Celsius warming would put Sub-Saharan Africa at risk of massive food insecurity. Can you explain to us why a lower target could not have been put forward?

NOI: Because the world is already on a course [towards greater than 2 degrees] due to the way we have used the planet with our activities, we aimed for 1.5 [degrees] to minimise the damage and suffering, mainly in the areas that I have previously mentioned. If the world has the will, they can even try to stick at 2 degrees, not above, and even better, aim at 1.5 [degrees]. I don’t know that anybody is talking about going lower at the moment.

VA: How far would investments made in climate change solutions go in saving Africa? And what are the general plans for such investments?

NOI: Each country has committed to a certain level of action that it would take to mitigate climate change, but what African countries are saying is, since the impact of climate change is caused primarily by the developed countries, they are asking that of the $100 billion per year that has been pledged, a significant amount should go to them [Africa] to help to mitigate the damage. The developed world should stick to its promise and deliver. I believe that, from what we have heard in Paris, the $100 billion commitment by 2020 is becoming real.

But I think that African countries need to find other solutions that would draw in and trigger private sector investments — because I’m not sure that the $100 billion per year would be adequate. That is why we advocate solutions like the ARC to help source additional funding. What can we do ourselves? We shouldn’t wait for the $100 billion, even though it is a promise that must be delivered. We definitely should push for it, but we need to find alternative solutions to make sure that keep climate change in check.

VA: Thank you, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala.

NOI: Thank you very much.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aen6ubFLSmo

The Race to Save Humanity


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dLFCPblfmg

With Mary Robinson, first female President of Ireland and former United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights, and others at the Climate Change Conference Paris.

by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

The prop on petrol prices was hurting the national budget, writes Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Globally, government support for fossil-fuel subsidies will amount to almost $650bn this year. The cost of these subsidies far outweighs the benefits and burdens the middle classes. Reforming the system can make energy infrastructure more efficient, shore up public finances and allow more targeted spending on public services.

The idea is not a new one. In 2009, the G20 countries and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum committed themselves to cutting inefficient subsidies but progress has been limited. But in the context of the decline in oil prices, which benefits consumers, we have a golden opportunity to deliver reform.

About 30 countries, including my own, Nigeria, have already made efforts to phase out fossil-fuel subsidies. In spite of the difficulties, it is well worth the effort.

In 2012 in Nigeria we reformed petrol subsidies. Conscious that the public might be concerned, we ran an information campaign to explain how the savings would be used to help everyone. Political pressure, however, led to the policy being introduced earlier than planned and, as a result, the changescame as a shock to many. This led to protests and the reform had to be partially rolled back.

Despite this, we were right to act. Even phasing out half of the subsidies was a substantial achievement. Some $13bn worth of petrol subsidies, including many fraudulent claims, had burdened the national budget, and we were able to redirect some of those funds. Within a year, our programme to reinvest the savings meant we could finish the renovation of a north-south national railway, as well as introduce improved maternal and childcare services in 500 primary healthcare centres.

Using lessons learnt from Nigeria and other countries we can put together a set of best practices to follow. These include co-ordinated communication, implementation and redistribution efforts. Reform should also create a broad sense of political ownership, especially in fiscally decentralised countries.

One of the most common concerns about removing subsidies is that it will hurt the poor. But in reality the subsidies benefit high-income populations and industry much more than low-income households.

The International Monetary Fund has estimated that more than 40 per cent of fuel price subsidies in developing countries accrue to the richest 20 per cent of households, while 7 per cent of the benefits go to the poorest 20 per cent.

It makes more sense to remove subsidies and redirect cash into investments that go directly to those who need it most. That was the aim of Nigeria’s programme and it is being tried elsewhere. In Germany and Poland, for example, coal subsidy reforms were supported by cash assistance for workers affected by mine closures.

Governments attempting reform should tell the public well in advance of fuel price rises, and clearly explain measures that will be taken to support those affected. Ghana, for example, successfully used radio broadcasts to publicise an independent poverty and social impact analysis of subsidies.

Most of the best reform attempts have been staggered over time, rather than applied at once. Angola, India and Peru, for example, are first reducing subsidies for petrol, used mainly by wealthier people, before reducing those for diesel and kerosene, which are used by lower-income groups.

The benefits extend beyond the economic. Done correctly, phasing out subsidies will have the added bonus of lowering greenhouse gas emissions and reducing air pollution. In the context of the current effort to secure a global agreement of measures to combat climate change, that is great opportunity. Governments should seize it.

The writer is a former finance minister of Nigeria and is a member of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate

CREDIT: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e1b80824-9cd3-11e5-8ce1-f6219b685d74.html#axzz3tjI4Wgfm

At the Climate Change Conference in Paris with @RichardBranson and other business leaders

With Justine Greening, UK Secretary for International Development, at G7 support meeting for the African Risk Capacity during Paris Climate Change conference.

Shaping Global and National Economies to Better Respond to Climate Challenges in Landscapes

Remarks by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
At the High-Level Opening Plenary, Global Landscapes Forum
Palais des Congres, Paris

Saturday, December 5, 2015, 14.00-15.00

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very happy to address this Forum of special importance to developing countries. Their rural areas still include 70% of the world’s poorest people. Growth that attacks poverty and food insecurity is a dominant concern here. And agriculture accounts for most of employment—more than 2/3 in Africa—and a substantial share of GDP in most countries.

Developing countries are not only aware of climate change, but many of them are already living with the consequences. They worry about the most recent predictions from IPCC that food production per capita in their countries will be sharply lower in the coming decades. Most have put increasing food productivity and increasing the resilience of rural livelihoods at the top of the policy agenda.

Yet land use is also vital to addressing climate change. The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, of which I am a member, has featured land use issues in its New Climate Economy project. It finds that land use interventions can produce from 15% to 35% of the needed mitigation to get the world back to a 2 degree Celsius climate pathway by 2030. It also shows this path to be unlikely without a big contribution from these interventions in developing countries.

This Forum addresses the main need for going forward, a stronger consensus that landscape restoration is critical to achieving a vital “triple win” for development and climate: increasing rural productivity, resilience, and mitigation simultaneously.

According to FAO, a staggering third of all agricultural landscapes are now degraded, mostly in developing countries. Worse, 12 million ha net are being added each year to that total. Degraded landscapes threaten the ability of countries to provide stable livelihoods to rural people.

Solutions need to come from those most directly involved. India for example has led on forest restoration. By 2030, additional forest and tree cover is expected to absorb at least 2.5 Gt CO2e. Prime Minister Modi put it very nicely in the Financial Times last Sunday: “The instinct of our culture is to take a sustainable path to development. When a child is born, we plant a tree.”
The massive restoration of China’s Loess Plateau from the mid-1990s onwards is another. Annual household incomes grew from US$70 to US$200 per person over the first decade, through agricultural productivity gains and diversification. Soil losses were reduced by 100 million tonnes per year, and massive amounts of new biomass and soil carbon sequestered.

In Niger a change in the Forest Code in the 1990s encouraged farmers in the center-south to increase trees within their fields 10- to 20-fold. Five million ha of affected cropped land now produce 20% more grain per ha. Gross annual income in the region has more than doubled in real terms for one million households. And an additional 3-4 Mt CO2e per year are being sequestered, according to work by ICRAF. Over 1 million ha have already been restored by similar means in northern Ethiopia.

Commitment for change is growing. Thirty-five African countries submitted INDCs that mention land use interventions. Most of these expect benefits such as higher yields, reduced erosion, and less loss of productive land. Thirteen have detailed quantitative targets for emissions reduction through land use interventions that would lead to 1.2 Gt CO2e in reduced emissions over the next 10 years, an amount equivalent to more than one-third of Africa’s current total annual emissions.

But developing countries will need help from others to deliver. A Working Paper released today by the New Climate Economy project finds that US$250 billion per year is needed for funding landscape conservation and restoration in developing countries. In fact, only US$25 billion a year are invested this way; 60% of this is from domestic budgets. The balance of US$10 billion from external sources is public foreign assistance, offsets, and philanthropy.

How can this need be met where most of the land in question is densely occupied, often by very poor people? Public funding needs to play a large role. Communities typically need to stop planting or grazing on steep slopes, which have to be reforested. Terracing or other forms of land and water management for agriculture are often necessary. Property rights and responsibilities of those on the land need to be formalized. Yet total annual expenditures by Ministries of Agriculture and of the Environment combined in developing countries do not exceed $50 billion from domestic sources, and total ODA in agriculture has been of the order of US$3-4 billion per year, with perhaps another US$1 billion plus for forests.

Part of the answer has to be to leverage more private investment. Where public and private work together, the agricultural and forestry incomes generated can go a long way towards paying for required investments in the resilience of agriculture and forest landscapes. Most importantly, local populations become part of the solution.

The good news is that there is more than US$100 trillion in private investment capital, and interest rates are very low. The bad news is that landscape investments in developing countries are inherently risky, especially where smallholders and poor forest communities are involved. There are institutional and infrastructure deficiencies, missing skills, market risks, political risks, and weather variability. These all keep bond investors away. A recent review by the Climate Bonds Initiative found that while there were US$ half-a-trillion in Green-themed bonds being held globally in 2013, less than 1% of these were for land use investments.

The NCE Working Paper being released today suggests a way forward through structured capital partnerships put together by “Impact Investors.” Such investments in land use in developing countries have been of the order of US$1 billion per year to 2013. But the amount is expected to continue to double every 4-5 years going forward.

In a typical partnership, host governments provide leadership, governance, and basic infrastructure; debt investors provide low cost capital; equity investors provide further capital seeking higher returns but also accepting some risk; international donors fund start-up costs and take first-loss risks; and civil society helps increase transparency. The partnership does together what its individual parts cannot do separately. This Forum will soon hear from its organizers about the striking successes of the new “20 X 20 Initiative” for restoration in Latin America launched by 8 countries from the region at Lima last December, a case in point.

In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen, we know that investments in landscapes in developing countries are important to both climate and development objectives. The challenge is how to do them. The evidence to be presented will clearly show the advantage of working in partnership across different kinds of public and private actors. This Forum provides a perfect opportunity to seal and scale these efforts so that action on landscape restoration can contribute to our most important endeavors.

At the ONE and (RED)’s celebration of World's AIDS Day at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday, December 1, in New York City.

OKONJO–IWEALA, BILL GATES, MO IBRAHIM, BLOOMBERG RECEIVE INTERNATIONAL HONOR FOR SERVICE TO HUMANITY, FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY

Former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was one of the distinguished recipients honoured at an all-star event in New York on December 1 for services to humanity and the fight against poverty and HIV/AIDS.

She received the award from two respected international advocacy groups, ONE and RED, alongside Bill & Melinda Gates, philanthropist Mo Ibrahim and former New York Mayor and media mogul, Michael Bloomberg.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala and her co-honorees were recognized at a grand event marking the tenth anniversary of the advocacy groups.

Former US President Bill Clinton and current Vice President Joe Biden were in attendance.

Top comedian and CNN presenter, Trevor Noah host the event.

In her response to the honor, Okonjo-Iweala said “I thank ONE and (RED) for this recognition. It is an inspiration to work harder on the issues of social and economic development that have always been my passion. I’m also grateful to my country for the opportunities to serve. I will always be proud to be a Nigerian.”

ONE is an international campaigning and advocacy organization of more than 7 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.

It was co-founded by Bono, to raise public awareness and work with political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency so governments are accountable to their citizens.

ONE works closely with African activists and policymakers as they fight corruption, promote poverty-fighting priorities, monitor the use of aid, and help build civil society and economic development. ONE’s work is strictly politically non-partisan.

(RED) was founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver to make it easy for people and businesses to join the fight against the deadly virus.

Throughout the past decade, (RED) has raised more than $320 million with the help of companies like Apple and Coca Cola towards the fight against HIV.


Paul C Nwabuikwu
Media Adviser to Dr Okonjo-Iweala

OKONJO-IWEALA REQUESTS FG TO CALL RECKLESS GOVERNOR OSHIOMHOLE TO ORDER

- FORMER MINISTER HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH $2.1BILLION ARMS ISSUE

Former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has requested the Federal Government to call Edo State Governor, Mr Adams Oshiomhole to order over the Governor’s recent efforts to link her name to the alleged $2.1 billion arms issue.

The Minister stressed that she has absolutely nothing to do with the issue.

She stated that it is an abuse of public office, the judicial process and her human rights for Governor Oshiomhole whom she stopped from taking a highly suspicious N15 billion loan to make false allegations against her while hiding behind the constitutional immunity granted state governors.

As recently confirmed by the Debt Management Office, professional analysis showed that Oshiomhole’s loan request which was based on using low interest World Bank loan to offset high interest commercial loans would have left Edo state with a heavy debt burden and the the state would have found it very difficult to pay back.

She said that it is unconscionable for the Governor to embark on a campaign of lies against her because she thwarted his dubious loan request.

She described the Governor’s unsubstantiated allegations as a cynical personalization of the anti-corruption campaign to achieve ignoble objectives.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala therefore put Oshiomhole and his ilk on notice that she has briefed her lawyers and that she is ready to explore all legal means, local and international, to defend her name against corrupt and compromised persons.

It has become a pattern of behavior that each time Dr. Ngozi OKonjo-Iweala is internationally recognized, Governor Oshiomole and his cohorts embark on a cynical and devious ploy of trying to pull her down locally. Just last night, December 1st, Dr Okonjo-Iweala was honored at a high profile event attended by Vice President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton. Dr Okonjo Iweala was honored alongside Michael Bloomberg, Bill and Melinda Gates and Mo Ibrahim for their contributions to global development and humanity.

Gov Oshiomole and his cohorts should realize that their ill-motivated attempts to taint Dr Okonjo Iweala's reputation will never succeed!


Paul Nwabuikwu
Media Adviser to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala

OKONJO-IWEALA: A FORCE FOR GOOD IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS

A Response to the False Allegations of SERAP on Abacha Loot

The statement by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) demanding the probe of former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala over the management of the Abacha loot is a politically sponsored action by a compromised civil society organization.

It is curious that SERAP, ignoring more worthy issues, decided to embark on this fishing expedition of a 10 year old process that was handled in an exemplary and transparent fashion. This shows that neither the organization nor its charges should be taken seriously.

The Okonjo-Iweala name is impregnable because it is built on impeccable personal and professional integrity. The facts show that as Finance Minister under the Obasanjo and Jonathan administrations, she was was a force for good who managed the country’s finances transparently and with great competence.

Even though SERAP says its allegations were based on a World Bank statement, it neglected to tell the world that the same World Bank actively collaborated with the Federal Ministry of Finance on a 2006 field report which analyzed how the repatriated funds were used.

It will be recalled that, as part of the repatriation process, the Swiss government requested and the Nigerian government under President Obasanjo agreed that the World Bank should monitor the use of the repatriated Abacha funds.

The field survey, released in 2006, is titled “Utilization of Repatriated Abacha loot: Results of the Field Monitoring Exercise”. It shows that specific funds were indeed transparently programmed and used to boost the budgets of specific target ministries in 2004 and 2005.

The document also confirms that these funds were properly appropriated and channeled into roads, electricity, education, water and health across all six geo-political zones of Nigeria. The survey shows that as at 2006 when the report was issued, these projects were in place. The report also shows that credible civil society groups were part of the survey and that “all sampled projects exist and can be located on the ground”.

These facts put paid to the lies of SERAP and its political sponsors.

Against this background, the call by SERAP that Okonjo-Iweala be personally probed for a transparently conducted and publicly implemented decision of the Obasanjo government that she served under underscores the very political agenda of SERAP.

To say the obvious, civil society groups play a very important role in putting positive pressure on government to remain focused on good governance in order to ensure that clear and measurable results are achieved. No country can manage governance to global standards without civil society groups. And Nigeria is no exception. Nigeria has many credible advocacy groups doing important work in many areas.

It is therefore sad that SERAP which has made other false allegations against Okonjo-Iweala is hiding under the hallowed umbrella of civil society while acting as a tool for reprehensible, corrupt vested interests.

No amount of sponsored propaganda can conceal the fact that the implementation of the agreement with the Swiss government was done transparently and the report was publicly issued. The entire process was properly managed and reviewed with the help of reputable international organizations.

We advise SERAP to change its ways and stop wasting the time of Nigerians with fruitless and sponsored campaigns against innocent individuals.


Paul C Nwabuikwu
Media Adviser to Dr Okonjo-Iweala

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExG6wNe1okQ

2015 is a critical year for development. Leaders from around the world adopted a global 2030 development agenda at a UN Summit in September 2015. The new global goals, called the Sustainable Development Goals, are ambitious and demand equal ambition in using the “billions” in Official Development Assistance to channel and crowd-in “trillions” in investments of all kinds: public and private, national and international.

What exactly is financing for development? How can the new global development agenda be financed? Learn more by signing up for this free online course on Financing for Development. The four-week course launches November 16. To find out more and sign up,visit:https://www.coursera.org/course/fin4devmooc

This online course will familiarize participants with public and private solutions--including innovative instruments--to finance the new global development agenda. Participants will hear from prominent government, international organization and private sector leaders. Each has considerable first-hand experience in preparing and implementing development projects and forging public-private collaborations. If you successfully complete the course requirements, you will receive a certificate.

The course is launched under the sponsorship of the Open Learning Campus, dedicated to development learning to build the leadership and technical capabilities of partners, practitioners, policy makers, World Bank Group staff and the public.

We would appreciate your support in sharing this invitation with your networks!

https://www.coursera.org/course/fin4devmooc

China a Positive for Africa

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-11-05/nigeria-s-ex-finance-minister-china-a-positive-for-africa

10/27/15 | Nancy Birdsall

It’s been almost 10 years since I sat down for coffee with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Davos. A former World Bank VP and then Nigeria’s finance minister, she was looking for assistance in what became, 15 months later, a $30 billion debt reduction deal with Nigeria’s bilateral creditors. I’m proud that CGD played a role in securing a deal; forgiving the debt of an oil-rich country burdened by corruption was controversial and complicated (see Todd Moss’s April 2006 blog post here). A first step was more political than financial: persuading Nigeria’s creditors in Europe that Nigeria was eligible for IDA status. At that and every subsequent step during two rounds as finance minister (including managing a reduction in Nigeria’s regressive fuel subsidies), Minister Okonjo-Iweala’s contribution has been fundamental in her own country’s struggle to become a better economy and democracy.

In the meantime, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has served as vice president and then managing director under the last three presidents of the World Bank, and in 2012 was a candidate for the presidency at the World Bank.

So it is a thrill for me that Ngozi is now joining CGD as a distinguished visiting fellow. In the immediate future she will be working on the challenge of deepening and broadening financial services (credit, savings, insurance) for the world’s small farmers, bringing her own extraordinary experience and economic savvy to that tough issue.

Welcome Ngozi!

http://www.cgdev.org/blog/ngozi-okonjo-iweala-joins-cgd

The #IMF & #WorldBank focused on #SDGs at #Lima2015. @ARCapacity tackles the effects of #climatechange in #Africa.

Businesses Crucial For Sustainability
A Transcript of Richard Quest’s Chat with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: The sustainable development goals, which were adopted by global leaders a week ago at the UN to underpin the world development going forward until 2030, are so critical that if businesses are not involved all over the world to deliver these goals, we would never get there.

Richard Quest: As I look at those goals, when we are talking about, particularly the sustainable goal number 17; one that talks about economic growth, sustainability and corporate involvement. How are you convincing incorporations? What will your role be?

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: I think the role of this team of top businesses that Richard Brandson put together is really to try and get a business plan that brings a convincing case to businesses. That this is good for them, good for the world and good for eradication of poverty and for sustainability and fight for climate change.

Richard Quest: Is it not difficult to convince people when you go to emerging markets, and you know that better than anybody now. The emerging market is facing the worst problems they’ve had, since maybe 1998.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Well, that is true. But by the same token, it is often when things are very difficult, you know in terms of your economic environment that you are able to make the types of decisions that are needed for sustainability of development. So, this is actually a good time.

Richard Quest: How worried are you about emerging market? Now you’ve just come out of office, so you know how bad things are?

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Well, Richard, I’m worried, but not that worried. I mean, we’ve had these business cycle before. When you know commodities plunge, countries go through a down cycle, and they come up again. But of course this time, we’ve got the issue with China; we’ve got the issue with possible interest rate increases by the Fed. We’ve got the over-supply of some products, commodities on the market. So we have all these things. Nevertheless, I think emerging markets have really learned their lessons. Many of them have enough reserves to cushion them over this period of time.

Richard Quest: If they did the good work of re-structuring, and what Christene Lagarde was saying at the press conference and what the president of the World Bank is going to say, that the window for emerging markets has closed or is narrowing?

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Well, I strongly agree with them that what we need to focus on now is the re-structuring needed to truly diversify these emerging markets and strengthen them. And we have to act quickly. I am not sure about the window closing but I know that if we don’t act, we would not be able to withstand the next set of blows.

Every $1 spent on @ARCapacity climate risk insurance saves $4.40 in humanitarian aid

At the Premiere of my son's 'Beast of No Nation'
Beverly Hills, West Hollywood.

By Lars Thunell & Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

When world leaders gather for critical climate negotiations in Paris later this year, they must not overlook the major injustice that means Africa – responsible for only a tiny proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions (pdf) – will suffer disproportionately from rising temperatures.

The most vulnerable populations with the least capacity to cope will shoulder the burden.

Across the continent, the agricultural sector still employs about 65% of the labour force, and most of the rural poor. The majority are dependent on rain-fed agriculture and rangeland, which are subject to the vagaries of the weather. So an increase in the frequency or severity of extreme weather events driven by climate change will result in increased risk of hunger and malnutrition in Africa’s most vulnerable populations.

At the moment, the system for responding to natural disasters is not as timely or equitable as it could be. Funding is secured on a largely ad hoc basis after disaster strikes: only then can relief be mobilised toward the people who need it most. In the meantime, lives are lost, assets are depleted and development gains reversed – forcing more people into chronic hunger, malnutrition and destitution. While developed countries use sophisticated risk-management systems, Africa relies on cost-ineffective charity for each disaster.

However, the continent is taking charge and breaking out of this cycle. We now have data about the adverse effects of weather shocks, the cost savings of well-timed responses, early warning technology, and basic social protection systems in many countries.

Together with modern financial tools, we are transferring the burden of climate risk away from governments – and the farmers and pastoralists they protect – to the international financial markets that can handle the risk much better.

In 2012, 26 African Union member countries came together to establish the African Risk Capacity (ARC) agency and its financial affiliate, a mutual insurer capitalised at $200m (£131m) by the UK and German governments with interest-free loans. With the $350m in insurance premiums paid by African member countries up to 2020, it provides members with rapid funds in the event of a natural disaster. We are already seeing results.

In September last year, as satellites detected a significant rainfall deficit in the Sahel, Senegal, Mauritania and Niger – three of the countries that formed ARC’s inaugural risk pool – were able to use ARC’s Africa RiskView software to determine the areas and communities that would be worst affected. Knowing that their insurance policies, for which the countries paid a combined premium of $8m, would probably pay out, they updated their drought contingency plans and prepared to assist vulnerable populations as soon as possible.

By the end of the west African agricultural season in January this year, ARC Insurance Company Ltd had paid out more than $26m, while a UN aid appeal was still being formulated. The money, used to buy livestock fodder and staples – primarily from local producers – benefited roughly 1.3 million people who might have otherwise been forced to cut down on meals, take children out of school or leave their land.

By 2020, the ARC aims to reach 30 countries with nearly $1.5bn of coverage against drought, flood and cyclones. The agency will indirectly insure 160 million Africans – almost half of the G7 global target of 400 million vulnerable people to be insured – and radically transform the way weather risks are managed across the continent by embedding disaster preparedness and financing in our African-owned sovereign risk-management systems.

The ARC also aims to provide the infrastructure to ensure these risk management investments are sustainable and resilient to future climate shifts. This will be achieved using climate adaptation financing, the extreme climate facility (XCF), which intends to issue climate change catastrophe bonds in 2017.

To do this, we are seeking the help of donors, such as the G7, to maximise the benefits of the premium payments from African governments.

The ARC is also using its expertise to extend the protection that global insurers and reinsurers can offer Africa. The industry is increasingly focused on disaster risk, anticipating more frequent and severe losses over the coming decades.

At the end of September, the ARC and its partner Willis unveiled plans to license Africa RiskView software to support agricultural development at scale on the continent. This will not only protect investments in the sector, but also provide an additional revenue stream to ensure the ARC’s long-term financial viability.

We have the opportunity to “leapfrog” carbon-intensive phases of development to cleaner, greener, more advanced land-use solutions. Yet climate change threatens both our pace of progress and the assets we have accumulated over the past decades of growth.

The ARC goes a long way towards ensuring the availability of adequate financial resources, which are critical for development progress in Africa. We are ready to face the challenges of climate change adaptation head on, and with our partners are looking forward to moving from managing crises to cost-effective risk management.

Former Nigerian finance minister delivers Holt Lecture on illicit financial flows

October 05, 2015

By Kathy Zhang C’17

On September 30, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a world renowned economist recently named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune, delivered the 2015 Leon C. & June W. Holt Lecture in International Law at Penn Law. Okonjo-Iweala is the former Minister of Finance of Nigeria and Coordinating Minister for the Economy. She has also served as Managing Director of the World Bank.

Dean of Penn Law Ted Ruger introduced Okonjo-Iweala to a nearly full audience of both students and faculty alike. “The goal of this Holt Lecture series is to bring in distinguished speakers who broaden our own understanding of the world,” said Ruger. “We could have no better speaker today than our eminent visitor Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.”

To begin her lecture, “Licit and Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: Are Lawyers Heroes or Villains?” Okonjo-Iweala talked about the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As the Millennium Development Goals are expiring in 2015, SDGs will be the new framework for international development, beginning in 2016.

“With 17 proposed goals, the Sustainable Development Goals this time are universal,” declared Okonjo-Iweala. “We all have problems. There is no country today that can say that they don’t have a problem with gender parity. There is no country today that can say that they have no poor people.”

The former Finance Minister of Nigeria went on to address the current problems developing countries faced in achieving the new SDGs.

“Studies by multilateral development banks and global consulting firms have shown that significant resources can be mobilized by developing countries for Sustainable Development Goals,” she said. According to Okonjo-Iweala, however, significant obstacles still stood in the way.

“Illicit flows are curtailing natural resources available to infrastructure investment, are preventing the establishment of schools and hospitals, are causing fewer jobs to be created, and ultimately preventing poverty eradication,” she said. “Under these circumstances, illicit flows are a great injustice.”

Not only that, but according to Okonjo-Iweala, lawyers played a key role as well — mainly in helping clients find opportune loopholes in developing countries’ weaker economic institutions or even by facilitating or defending clients engaged in illicit financial flows.

“Are the lawyers just doing their professional job? Or has something gone awry? Is there a moral dilemma here? Or is this just the worries of ignorant economists and financial analysts?” she asked. “I don’t have the answers. But I won’t pass on the opportunity to share with you this that has really been worrying me throughout both the years I served in the World Bank and the time I spent as Finance Minister.”

Okonjo-Iweala ended her lecture with an emphasis on the importance of lawyers in helping to attain the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in developing countries.

Africa is taking charge...

With Charlize Theron; WSJ's B Mackay; Unilever's Paul Polman; SwissRe's Michel Lies @ClintonGlobal #futureofimpact

At the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York on September 27, 2015.

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

NOI Speaks

Global Fund Welcomes Appointment of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Gavi Chair

The Global Fund congratulates Gavi and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the renowned development economist, on her appointment as Board Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala served until recently as the Nigerian Finance Minister, one of many positions in her distinguished career. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala brings more than 30 years’ experience in fiscal management to her new post with Gavi, including experience as managing director of the World Bank from 2007 to 2011.

As a key partner, the Global Fund looks forward to a productive working relationship with Dr. Okonjo-Iweala.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala brings deep experience and insight in global health issues to her new role at Gavi. The Global Fund anticipates close collaboration, particularly in our joint work around systems for health, women’s and girls’ health.

The Global Fund also recognizes the important global health contribution of Dagfinn Høybråten, Gavi’s outgoing chair and former Norwegian health minister. During Mr. Høybråten’s tenure, Gavi made strong progress towards its five-year target of immunizing nearly a quarter of a billion children between 2011 and 2015.

http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/blog/2015-09-22_Global_Fund_Welcomes_Appointment_of_Ngozi_Okonjo_Iweala_as_Gavi_Chair/