AFRICA IN FOCUS >> Coming up on 21 October, 2014: Review of CCDA4 and Ninth African Development Forum in Context of UN@69

Review of CCDA4 and Ninth African Development Forum in Context of UN@69

Two significant UN conferences are over.

The first, which was the Fourth edition of the Conference (CCDA-IV) was convened in Marrakesh, Morocco from 8-10 October 2014 on the theme: "Africa Can Feed Africa Now: Translating Climate Knowledge into Action". The theme selection was in recognition of 2014 as the year of agriculture. For this reason, the spotlight was on climate knowledge opportunities that can transform agricultural production systems to feed Africa sustainably.

Considered a policy-influencing space organized each year under the auspices of the Climate for Development in Africa (ClimDev-Africa) Programme,  ClimDev-Africa is a consortium of three leading pan-African institutions i.e. the African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The second, which was the Ninth African Development Forum, was held in Marrakech, Morocco, from 12 to 16 October 2014 on the theme “Innovative financing for Africa’s transformation”. The Forum offered a platform for prominent African stakeholders to share key information and participate in more focused and in-depth discussions on issues relating to innovative financing mechanisms in the following four thematic areas:

·         Domestic resource mobilization

·         Illicit financial flows

·         Private equity

·         New forms of partnership

 

The Forum further sought to enhance Africa’s capacity to explore innovative financing mechanisms as real alternatives for financing transformative development in Africa.

 

In addition, the Forum was seeking to build on best practices, innovative policies and strategies, and institutional and governance frameworks. It also aimed to be guided by evidence-based knowledge and information on the range of options and their scope for leveraging opportunities for financing Africa’s sustainable development.

 

The ADF is convened in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and other key partners with a view to establishing an African-driven development agenda that reflects consensus and leads to specific programmes for implementation.

 

These are two conferences that seem to have made little impact in countries like Ghana. Unlike in Morocco, where it made headline news, Ghana papers barely got a look-in – save for one journalist from Kumasi covering the CCDA-IV.

While we complain about yet-two more UN conferences at a time the UN is turning 69 on 24 October, have we not arrived at a point where the Global South accepts that the UN is probably still only the international Forum that continually seeks to allow the African voice to be heard? So even as there were few African lawyers; policy-makers; and African negotiators at the Fourth Conference on Climate and Development in Africa (CCDA-IV), and represented at the Ninth African Development Forum, can we surmise that the UN continues to be the sole space where a semblance of advocacy for equity around global concerns can be expressed?

In this 20^th edition of AIF, we want to look at diplomatic relations between non-Ghanaian countries and Ghana, with a special focus on Morocco, and ask whether it is still important for African countries to create synergy with North Africans. What about experiences of intra-African travel? If CCDA-IV is anything to go by, it made a nonsense of continental African solidarity on entry into African countries. Interestingly, however, it showed in unique cases that African diplomats were ready to pull the envelope to help their citizens out of trouble – something that is very refreshing. Finally, we will be speaking to two African journalists to get a sense of how they experienced the two conferences, and leave the show with a clear sense of the way forward on tackling Africa’s existential threat of climate, and better-mobilising resources for the Africa’s development.

 

Guiding Questions to be answered:

·         How difficult was it getting a visa/visa-on-arrival to Morocco from respective countries (Cameroon; Kenya; Ghana)?

·         What does the treatment by Moroccan officials at Ghana’s Embassy say about Ghana-Morocco relations; and Morocco’s relationship with other African countries?

·         Is synergy with North Africa still a good idea in Africa’s development?

·         After CCDA-IV and ADF9, is the UN still a great idea for African countries?

·         Is the so-called international development community finally getting it right on Africa’s development by involving more sectors, including private?

·         Are journalists and media practitioners better-communicating conferences, such as the CCDA-IV and 9^th African Development Forum, better than before – or is the jury still out?

·          

On the line

Ø  Ellen, ABANTU, Civil Society activist, Ghana  @13h50

Ø  Mkhu Ncube, ex-UNECA/Business leader, Zimbabwe @ 14h05

Ø  Peter da Costa,Ph.D, ex-UNECA/Former Journalist/Development Consultant, Kenya @ 14h20

Ø  Aaron Kaah, Journalist, Cameroon  @14h35

Ø  Busani Bafana, Journalist, Zimbabwe @ 14h45

Covering Climate Change for Development in Africa (CCDA-IV): INTERVIEW of Board Member Mpanu-Mpanu of African Risk Capacity

From Emmanuel K: "Dear friends, Please find embedded within the podcast of the interview Emmanuel conducted with African Risk Capacity Board Member on 7 October, 2014 here at Marrakech, Morocco. Comments appreciated!" Click here to view (Emmanuel K shared these files using Dropbox. Enjoy!) © 2014 Dropbox

The African Union as a ‘Game-changer’ in combating climate Change

Emmanuel is currently in Morocco as part of the live-reporting team of the UN Economic Commission for Africa/African Union Commission/African Development Bank-sponsored Fourth Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA), which is underway till 10 October ; and where he will also file stories for the African Development Forum from 12-16th October.

The African Union as a ‘Game-changer’ in combating climate Change

By Emmanuel.K.Bensah Jr  Marakkech, Morocco

At a time when the African Union has come under considerable criticism for doing little to address pertinent development issues on the continent, along comes the African Risk Capacity to help combat climate change. If Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, Board Member of the ARC Agency Governing Board, is to be believed, the ARC is a real “game-changer” in helping address climate change in Africa.

Mr.Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, Board Member,
ARC Agency Governing Board

Established in 2012, the ARC is a specialized agency of the AU, established by a Conference of Plenipotentiaries, to help AU Member States improve their capacities to better plan, prepare and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters.

According to Mpanu-Mpanu, it functions as an insurance scheme that helps African countries pool resources together. He believes a system like this “makes perfect economic sense as countries deal with drought”. It further helps countries insure themselves against risk.

Once a request for assistance is approved by the Board, it takes around one hundred days for the money to be disbursed. This contrasts sharply with the donor agencies, which often take between four and six months. Against this backdrop is the idea that action must be taken quickly.

Pressed on why the idea of the insurance sector helping address Africa’s problems at a time one barely hears of that sector, Mpanu-Mpanu explained that one of the reasons why the ARC is a game-changer is because it is about “changing the narrative” of African countries. It is also about understanding the risk-profile associated with climate change in the sense that when disaster strikes, a country will be well-covered.

According to their website, the ARC comprises two entities: the Specialized Agency and a financial affiliate, ARC Insurance Company Limited (the Company).  The Agency provides general oversight and supervising development of ARC capacity and services. The Company is the financial affiliate that carries out commercial insurance functions of risk pooling and risk transfer in accordance with national regulations for parametric weather insurance in Bermuda, the Caribbean, where it is located until such time that an equally favourable legal and regulatory regime exists in an AU Member State.

Mpanu-Mpanu explained that had Mauritania known of ARC when it experienced its severe drought last year, it would not have spent an excess of around one million dollars to address it. He further elaborated on the dynamics of the mechanism by explaining that, given that disaster cannot hit countries all at once, when countries pay a premium, the pot will get larger than the-over $100m that donors have helped capitalize as the ARC was established.

The ARC is supported by DFID; SIDA; KFW(German Development Bank) and Rockefeller Foundation, among others.

Mpanu-Mpanu looks forward to the day when all fifty-four member countries will be covered by the ARC.

ENDs