By Lucy Ogalue

Growth rate of Nigeria and other West African countries is projected to rise from an estimated 3.6 per cent in 2023 to 4.2 and 4.4 per cent in 2024/2025.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Vice-President and Chief Economist, Kevin Urama, said this at Thursday’s highlight of the African Economic Outlook 2024.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the report was inaugurated on the sidelines of the bank’s ongoing 2024 Annual Meetings in Nairobi, Kenya.

The theme of the meeting is: ”Driving Africa’s Transformation: The Reform of the Global Financial Architecture.”

“Growth is projected to pick up in West Africa, rising from an estimated 3.6 per cent in 2023 to 4.2 per cent in 2024 and consolidating at 4.4 per cent the following year.

”This is an upgrade of 0.3 percentage points for 2024 over the January Macro Economic Outlook (MEO) projections, reflecting stronger growth upgrades in the region’s large economies (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal),” he said.

Urama said that African economies had continued to remain resilient amid multiple shocks, adding that their average growth was projected to stabilise at 4.0 per cent in 2024–25, against 3.1 per cent estimated in 2023.

He said that the average real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth was estimated to have slowed from 4.1 per cent in 2022 to 3.1 per cent in 2023.

He attributed the decline to various factors, including persistent high food and energy prices, which reflected the sustained impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He said that climate change, extreme weather events that affect agricultural productivity and power generation, and pockets of political instability and conflict in some African countries were also to blame.

According to him, the real GDP growth is projected to rise to 3.7 per cent in 2024 and 4.3 per cent in 2025, exceeding 4.1 per cent in 2022.

“This is as most of the effects of the above factors weighing on growth in 2023 fades away.

“The projected rebound in Africa’s average growth will be led by East Africa (up by 3.4 percentage points) and Southern Africa and West Africa (each rising by 0.6 percentage points).

“Critically, 40 countries will post higher growth in 2024 relative to 2023; 17 economies are projected to grow by more than five per cent in 2024 and may rise to 25 in 2025.

“This is remarkable, and Africa will retain its 2023 ranking as the second fastest growing region after Asia in 2024-25 with projected GDP growth exceeding the global average of 3.2 per cent in 2024,” he said.

According to Urama, average growth in oil-exporting countries is expected to decline from an estimated 3.7 per cent in 2023 to 3.5 per cent in 2024 but could pick up to four per cent in 2025.

“The projected slowdown in 2024 reflects lower oil production targets set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

“Also, the lower growth projections in South Sudan following the vandalising of an oil pipeline due to the ongoing conflict and uncertainty over new mechanisms for Angola’s oil exports following its exit from OPEC.

“Meanwhile, growth in other (non-oil) resource-intensive economies on the continent is estimated to improve strongly from 0.3 per cent in 2023 to 2.7 per cent and consolidate at 3.3 per cent projected for 2024 and 2025.

”The sharp increase in growth will be driven largely by a rebound in China’s demand for metals and minerals linked to expansions in smart grids and construction,” Urama said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Deborah Coker/Ese E. Eniola Williams

By Lucy Ogalue

Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, Group President, African Development Bank (AfDB), says infrastructure development remain critical for the effective transformation of Africa.

Adesina told newsmen on the sidelines of the ongoing AfDB Annual General Meeting 2024 on Tuesday in Nairobi that infrastructure were the backbone of Africa’s transformation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting marks the 60th anniversary and 59th Annual Assembly of the AfDB and the 50th meeting of the African Development Fund (ADF).

According to him, having ports, rail lines, power transmission lines, transport corridors and digital infrastructure, among other things, makes economies work.

The AfDB president reiterated the bank’s commitment to transformation, disclosing that it had invested about $50 billion in infrastructure on the continent.

“From rails to ports to airports, to digital infrastructure, the transport corridors, water and sanitation and all of that.

”And so, we will continue as the African Development Bank to push more for infrastructure.

“And that is why we inaugurated the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA).

“That alliance aims to mobilise 10 billion dollars of private sector financing for infrastructure because Africa is still developing its infrastructure,” he said.

Adesina said the continent’s transformation also depended on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“To turn the AfCFTA into reality, we need policies that allow industrial manufacturing and specialised value chains to gain comparative advantage in national, regional, and global markets.

“Energy is also critical for economic transformation on the continent, as you cannot industrialise in the dark.

“You cannot be competitive in the dark and grow economies when you have no power. Electricity is the lifeblood of the body.

“It is like the blood in your body or mind. If you do not have it, your economy dies. It is that simple, and there’s no two ways about it,” he said.

Adesina, who highlighted some of the bank’s investments in power, said AfDB and the World Bank recently agreed to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.

The AfDB president also reiterated the need for Africa to feed itself, adding that the AfDB, to drive this, invested about 1.5 billion dollars in a facility called Africa Emergency Food Production Facility.

He said beyond this was political will and the need for collaboration.

“Through collaboration, $72 billion was raised by the stakeholders globally to help boost Africa’s agricultural production,” he said.

NAN reports that the AfDB annual meeting, which started on Monday, would end on Friday. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ayodeji Alabi/Bashir Rabe Mani

By Lucy Ogalue

African stakeholders say human capital development is critical in accelerating growth of the continent.

They said this on Tuesday on the sidelines of the ongoing African Development Bank (AfDB) Group Annual Meetings in Nairobi.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the meeting is “Harnessing Human Capital for Sustainable Growth and Development in Africa: Demographic Dividend and Circular Movement of Skilled Labour”.

Prof. Victor Murinde, the Executive Director, African Research Consortium, said that quality education and harnessing technological development would enable the continent to reap the benefits of human capital development.

Murinde expressed the need for Africans to leverage the private sector in building funding for skills development, invest and leverage technology, and ensure skills development, especially for youth and women.

“We need to focus on investing in small enterprises, such as women enterprises, as that is where there is potential for growth.

“We will ensure we build necessary skills for young people and women, de-risk their investment, and handhold them by providing mentorship. These are ways of supporting human capital development.”

Murinde said the move was to focus on high-quality research by providing opportunities for researchers on the continent to investigate burning research issues using the African dimension.

According to him, this will build Africans’ capacity to lead research on the problems confronting the African continent.

“The ability for countries to research their issues, conduct actual training to boost the quality of people employed in government offices and do high-quality research is key,” he said.

For Mr Kwame Owino, the Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Economic Affairs, the importance of education in achieving human capital development needed to be reiterated.

“There are many ways of ensuring human capital, but public education is the most basic. That set of people and the progress the country has made are significant factors in what the country is going to look like.

“So we need to ensure human capital is fully developed,” he said.

Similarly, Mr Williams Asiko, the Vice-President African Regional Office of Rockefeller Foundation, said the foundation was engaging in various projects to ensure human capital development on the continent.

“Part of what we have done is to support institutions where this human capacity can make a difference. Look at areas where there are gaps and build capacity around those areas.

“And one of the areas we focused on is building a carbon market in Africa that is fit for the world,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Martha Phiri, the Director of Human Capital and Skills Development at the AfDB, said that this year was a year of education, and human capital was at the centre of social transformation for Africa.

“The bank recognises that a healthy, productive, and informative workforce will drive transformation, food security, power plants, improved care services and health education, among other things.

“We have taken some approach that is not just about agriculture, but that is all-encompassing to integrate this into all that we do.

“Having affordable healthcare for all is also crucial, as is learning from the experience of COVID-19 on the continent. We support digital health and skills and have provided 600 million dollars to support African countries.

“And as we build skills for young people, we cannot run away from climate impact, so we have to build the necessary skills that are climate-smart,” she said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

By Lucy Ogalue

Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, the President, African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, says Africa will drive global agenda on renewable energy and green transitions.

Adesina said this at a media conference in Nairobi, on the sidelines of the ongoing AfDB Annual Meetings 2024.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event marks the 59th Annual Assembly of the AfDB, the 50th meeting of the African Development Fund (ADF) and 60 years of AfDB’s existence

While articulating Africa’s inherent advantage in renewable energy, Adesina said the continent had abundant solar potential, and a catalyst for driving green energy initiatives on a global scale.

“Globally, we have been talking about global energy transitions. Everybody worries about continued CO2 emissions and the need to contain that through energy transitions and moving into more renewable energy.

“Africa will drive the global agenda on renewable and green energy transitions for two reasons. We have great sunshine, which has about 11 terawatts of solar potential.

“That is the highest solar potential you have anywhere in the world. And the level of solar radiation in Africa is the highest anywhere you will find in the world.

“So, therefore, as the world now transitions into renewable energy, Africa will be front and centre in terms of harnessing the power of renewable energy to drive our world,” he said.

According to Adesina, there is a lot of interest in green hydrogen, green ammonia, fertilisers, jet fuels and other things that require renewable energy, such as solar energy.

He said that Africa’s rich reservoir of natural resources, including platinum, copper, and lithium, positioned the continent as a key player in the burgeoning Electric Vehicle (EV) market.

He emphasised the importance for Africa to harness these resources strategically for its transformation and to assert its prominence in global value chains.

“And so Africa today has 90 per cent of all the platinum in the world. It has well over 60- 70 per cent of all the copper you have worldwide.

“Fifty per cent of all the other metals, whether nickel or lithium. Africa has a massive amount of these natural metals that will determine the future of electric vehicles in the world.

“And so how Africa harnesses that for its transformation will be critical, but also critical for how Africa positions itself globally in those value chains.

“So there are potential, opportunities, and positioning issues for Africa within the context of your global electric vehicles and battery energy storage systems.

On Agriculture, Adesina said it emerged as a linchpin in Africa’s transformation narrative.

According to him, with most of the world’s uncultivated arable land lying within its borders, Africa holds the key to global food security.

He, however, underscored the imperative for Africa to leverage its agricultural potential to meet the needs of a burgeoning global population.

Adesina said that the continent was poised to chart its course on the global stage and should ensure to shape the future of generations to come.

“So, what Africa does with agriculture will determine the future of food in the world. Africa’s transformation will have to happen not with what Africa does not have.

“It has to happen with what Africa has and how it harnesses those things, which will drive this fast-paced transformation. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Modupe Adeloye/Ese E. Eniola Williams

By Lucy Ogalue

The African Development Bank (AfDB) says its 209.17 Euros Kenol—Sagana—Marua Highway Project in Kenya will be completed in December.

Mr Richard Malinga, AfDB’s Transport Engineer and Desk Manager of the project said this when he briefed newsmen in Nairobi on Sunday shortly after inspecting various projects.

“The work started in October 2020 and has advanced, so essentially, by the end of this year, it will be completed.

“The project will ensure regional connectivity, reduce travel time and create wealth for people around the region,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the inspection was one of the activities planned for the AfDB Annual Meetings 2024.

The Kenol – Sagana – Marua Highway Project involves the reconstruction of an 84km road linking Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, with the commercial and agricultural towns of the Central and Upper Eastern regions.

The project aims to improve access to northern Kenya and connect neighbouring countries as part of the Great North Road/Trans African Highway.

The old road, a two-lane single-carriageway, posed a major challenge to traders and farmers through high vehicle operating costs and longer travel times.

Malinga said the road’s total length is about 9600km, with the section in Kenya, which runs between the Tanzanian and Ethiopian borders, being about 920km.

“This expansion project significantly complements the AfDB’s interventions along the corridor in Kenya, namely the construction of the Nairobi –Thika Highway and the Mombasa–Nairobi–Addis Ababa corridor development projects.

“The project corridor also connects, at Isiolo town, to one of the Horn of Africa corridors, Isiolo–Mandera, which connects Kenya to Somalia.

“The Kenya-Sagana-Marua project is being done in two lots, a total of 84 km; the first section, lot 1, is approximately 48km, and the second one, lot 2, is 36 km,” he said.

According to Malinga, the road, which is being upgraded to a two-lane dual carriageway, has other extensive supporting facilities along its route.

“These include the construction and equipping of a trauma centre in Sagana and the construction of additional facilities at an Autism Centre in Karatina.

“It also includes the construction of bus parks, a modern market and sheds for commuter motorcycles, popularly known as ‘Boda Boda’.

“The project is working with the Kenya Forest Service and local community forestry groups to plant trees at nearby hills. The target is to plant 75,000 trees,” he said.

On impact, Malinga said the project would improve the quality of life of people around the region, increase rural productivity, and expand the markets.

He said it would foster a conducive and enabling business environment and attract foreign direct investments for the countries in the region, among others.

Mr Ephraim Macharia, the Vice-Chairman 2NK Sacco Transport and Board Member of the National Transport Safety Authority in Kenya commended the efforts of the AfDB in dualising the road.

He said that since the construction of the road, travel time for road users and fuel consumption while plying the road have been drastically reduced.

He said the construction had improved road safety and increased national income.

Meanwhile, some traders who trade along the route expressed mixed feelings even as they commended the bank.

They said that in spite of the increased business and income the construction work brought to them, it also displaced some of them from their homes.

NAN reports that since the inauguration of the project, several indigent students were trained in building, electric welding fabrication, carpentry, while many others got jobs. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams