African Leadership Magazine

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OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2020

ERNEST BAI KOROMA FORMER PRESIDENT, REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE

AFRICA’S APOSTLE OF PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT Elections in Africa and the Youth Vote

Diversity, Inclusion and the Role of Business

Afric n Leadership VIRTUAL

INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON AFRICAN LEADERSHIP THEME:

Rethinking Global Partnerships and Africa’s Economic Resurgence

DATE:

04TH DECEMBER, 2020

CONTACTS T: +44 23 92 658 276 E: info@africanleadership.co.uk

To speak, sponsor or participate, visit: events@africanleadership.co.uk

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African Business Leadership Awards

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Liberia: When Perception Meets Reality

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What Government Did To Preserve Jobs Amidst Covid-19 Induced Economic Disruption

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Tourism Is Liberia's Sleeping Giant

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Africa’s Apostle of Peace and Development

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BUSINESS 29

How Mastercard plans to bring 50 million SMEs into the Digital Economy by 2025

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Regulatory Efficiency The Bank of Ghana Example

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Unique Floral - Adding Beauty to Life & Living

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The Secrets of AIRTEL's Exponential Growth

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FEATURES 42

Africa-China Ties Covid: A New Relationship Is Born?

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Elections In Africa: The Youth Vote and Implications for 2020

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Ecobank Transnational Appoints Alain Nkontchou As Its New Chairman.

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Ghana & Nigeria Jostle For West African Hegamony

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H.E. Lee Kinyanjui – Kenya's Business-minded Governor

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Diversity And Inclusion – The Role Of Business In What Happens Next

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Educational Attainment And Skills Mismatch In Africa

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Why The Insurgency in Northern Mozambique Has Got Worse

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Reviving Botswana’s Tourism Industry After COVID-19

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AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

...A Publication of African Leadership (UK) Limited

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Group Managing Editor - Kingsley Okeke editor@africanleadership.co.uk

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Ken Giami Founder & Executive Chairman

Associate Editor - Arvy Nahar aknahar@africanleadership.co.uk

Peter Burdin - Chair, Editorial Board

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Major Aku A Amboson FSS (Rtd) - Contributing Editor

Editor-At-Large - Martin Roche martin@africanleadership.co.uk Editor, International Affairs - Kenneth Nkemnacho nkemnacho@africanleadershp.co.uk Head of Creatives - Joseph Akuboh A.

Correspondents / Representatives David Lekpa - New York, USA Sabrenah Sumrah-Kelly - Atlanta, USA Saikou Jammeh - Banjul, The Gambia Erin Lewis - Washington DC, USA Kudzai Mtero - Pretoria, South Africa Nomia Machebe - Johannesburg, South Africa Lady Ngo Mang - Paris France Josephine Adageog - Accra Ghana Linda Kimenyi - Nairobi Kenya

Associate Editor - Paul Ella Abechi Staff Writer - Miracle Nwankwo

Contributors Matshona Dhilwayo, Chifuniro Kandaya Arthur Becker, Charles Peter Yomi Henry-Eyo, Barnabas Thondhlana

Furo Giami - Chief Operating Officer / Executive Director Boma Benjy Iwuoha - Group Head, Finance & Administration Ehis Ayere - Group Head, Sales & Business Development Jolayemi Mayowa - Manager, Client Relations Ekene Okolie - Manager, Office of the Chairman Samuel Moses Elaikwu - Manager, Sales & Business Developments Happy Benson - Director of Operations North America Christy Ebong - Head, Research and Admin - North America Sheba Nyam, Stanley Emeruem - Business Development Managers Oluwatoyin Oyekanmi - Head, South African Bureau Bernard Adeka - Head, Nigeria SS/SE CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS Portsmouth Technopole, Kingston Crescent, Portsmouth PO2 8FA, United Kingdom; +44 23 9265 8276 AFRICA HEAD OFFICE 13 Mambilla Street, Off Aso Drive, Abuja-Nigeria; +234 703 682 7724; +234 803 7920 639 e | info@africanleadership.co.uk f | +44 (0)23 9265 8201 w | www.africanleadership.co.uk ISSN 2006 - 9332 While great care has been taken in the receipt and handling of materials, production and accuracy of content in the magazine, the publishers will not take responsibility for views expressed by the writer

...Identifying, Celebrating & Enabling Excellence in Africa AFRICANLEADERSHIPMAGAZINE

FROM THE CHAIRMAN’S DESK

US - AFRICA RELATIONS: A NECESSARY REALIGNMENT 05

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Being opening remarks by Executive Chairman & Founder, African Leadership Magazine during the 5th US Africa Investment Forum & Policy Dialogue 2020

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am pleased to welcome you all to this Virtual US Africa Investment Forum and Policy Dialogue 2020.

No doubt, we live today in unprecedented times. Our world, as we use to know it is no more. Covid-19 happened, and all things are no more equal. Our humanity has never been this challenged but rise we must – despite the monumental challenges we all face. And rise we shall. For this is still Africa's time.

Africa is no doubt still the last trade frontier in today's world. Pre-COVID, the World Economic Forum identified that at least half of the world's fastestgrowing economies have been in Africa since 2000; and by 2030, Africa will be home to 1.7 billion people, whose combined consumer and business spending will total $6.7 trillion.

Furthermore, it is expected that 43% of Africans will belong to the middle or upper classes, up from 39.6% in 2013, implying considerably higher demand for goods and services; and by 2030, household consumption alone is expected to reach $2.5 trillion, up from $1.1 trillion in 2015, according to available statistics.

In a post-COVID world, however, Africa is still expected to represent exciting opportunities for global businesses

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seeking markets for expansion in the race for recovery. And as some experts have predicted, global growth will be 4%, as pent-up demand and new vaccines power a recovery from the 2020 global GDP slump. Global geopolitical arrangements also may have been considerably altered. Hence, we at African Leadership magazine believe that a post-COVID world offers opportunities for nations to reset relations in a way that has much more mutually beneficial outcomes and longterm impacts for parties.

A post-COVID Africa would need its partners more than ever before as it braces itself for what some expect to be arduous recovery from the battery of the coronavirus pandemic, including the US and other major world powers.

Pundits, however, have argued that the US hasn't engaged adequately and correctly on the continent of Africa, creating room for other interests gaining stronger foothold, in spite of the US haven been a preferred traditional partner.

The questions we are therefore trying to answer today is - Does the post-COVID world offer real opportunity for a necessary re-alignment in US Africa relations?

Our continent has never been as in need of solutions and leaders who will drive the process, and who sincerely care about the development and welfare of its people, as it does now. As the world continues to grapple with the

threats arising from COVID-19, experts have projected that Africa may lose nearly $200 billion according to a McKinsey report. Already, several small businesses have folded, or are on the verge of extinction, while others have lost about 60% of their revenue. Health systems have been overwhelmed, and most economies are already in the beginning of a free fall. These therefore calls for urgent attention. And we are counting on all of you – speakers and participants alike to make this happen.

The 5th US Africa Investment Forum & Policy Dialogue 2020 therefore brings together Policymakers, private sector leaders, Industry Titans, civil society Leaders, and all stakeholders in USAfrica matters to contribute to shaping a new future for our common good. Key highlights of the forum include keynotes, Plenary and panel sessions, the 10th African Business Leadership Awards presentations; an unveiling of the Top 100 African American Leaders 2020 List, etc In closing my remarks, may I add that by actively participating and engaging in these conversations – through your contributions, tweets, questions and personal commitments, you are indeed contributing your quota towards Africa's development.

i m a i G Ken AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

WHAT NOTABLE LEADERS ARE SAYING ABOUT

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H. E. JOHN MAHAMA FMR. PRESIDENT OF GHANA

H.E. MRS AMEEN GURIB-FAKIM FMR. PRESIDENT OF MAURITIUS

DR GOODLUCK JONATHAN FMR. PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA

“It is always an honour to be in the company of such distinguished fellow Africans, that the African Leadership Magazine events bring together - Africans who have committed their lives to changing the negative narrative about our continent.”

“It is very gratifying that we now have an organization like African Leadership Magazine, which endeavors to promote good governance and impactful leadership in Africa - bring the best of Africa to the global stages.”

“African Leadership Magazine has become a brand for Africa and I am pleased to be associated with it. especially because of the caliber of African Leaders on it’s board.”

H.E. JOHN KUFOUR FMR. PRESIDENT OF GHANA

H.E. JAMES A MICHEL FMR. PRESIDENT OF SEYCHELLES

“I believe people are more important than power and anything that promotes good people and leadership is what we need in Africa, and that is what African Leadership Magazine is doing.”

“I wish to express my sincere thanks and deep appreciation to the African Leadership Magazine for the work that it is doing on the continent, and especially in advancing the cause of small Islands Developing states, Any effort aimed at increasing the visibility of the good work being done by leadership in Africa does positively impact on the continent and that is what the African Leadership Magazine is doing.”

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DR MANU CHANDARIA CHAIRMAN, COMCRAFT GROUP, KENYA

“I am honored and deeply humbled to be with the African Leadership Magazine. The organization have been consistent in tracking Africa’s best and showcasing them to the world, which is quite commendable.”

AFRICANLEADERSHIPMAGAZINE

WHAT NOTABLE LEADERS ARE SAYING ABOUT

AFRICAN LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

MRS. ELLEN JOHNSON - SIRLEAF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER & FMR. PRESIDENT, REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA

H.E JAKAYA KIKWETE FMR. PRESIDENT OF TANZANIA

“I feel deeply honored to be associated with the African Leadership Magazine as it is a veritable platform to honor true service in Africa. I commend your efforts and assure you of my continued support and the support of the good people of Liberia.”

“African Leadership Magazine is doing a wonderful job of speaking for Africa and Africans. The magazine remain a good example of what young people in Africa can do in the world. Best wishes in keeping the African dream alive.”

H.E DAVID MABUZA DEPUTY PRESIDENT REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA “It is an honour to participate at this African Leadership Magazine's 2020 Ceremony, and I commend the magazine's focus to reshape positively, the dominant narratives about the African continent, especially towards the pu r s u it o f pea ce- bu ild in g a n d democracy on the continent”.

DR. MO IBRAHIM FOUNDER, MO IBRAHIM FOUNDATION

MO DEWJI TANZANIA BUSINESSMAN & PHILANTHROPIST

“The future of African people and improving the quality of Leadership on the African continent is my vision and I find in African Leadership Magazine - a true partner. I am also happy that the African Leadership Awards is doing at a lower level, what I intend to achieve at the Head of State level. That is why I flew to Paris just to be a part of what you are doing here at the African Leadership Magazine”.

“The African Leadership Awards truly captures the essence of my message which is that, success shouldn’t be solely defined by wealth. It should be about the positive impact and influence that one has had in his community.”

“I thank you so much, African Leadership Magazine for the great work that you are doing for the continent. Your tradition of awarding excellence as I have seen in the line up of African Leaders who have received the African Leadership Awards, is something very commendable”

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H.E. ERNEST BAI

KOROMA FORMER PRESIDENT, SIERRA LEONE

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Elected as the 4th President of Sierra Leone in 2007, after five years in the Parliament, His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma was faced with the arduous task of rebuilding a country devastated by ten years of war which had only ended in 2002. He met this new challenge with enthusiasm, and within weeks of being elected, he identified priority sectors that are capable of leapfrogging economic development and sought the support of the international community to activate these sectors. His approach paid off and generated the much-needed confidence and support, which contributed to the turnaround that the country experienced within a short period.

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o his credit, Sierra Leone was reported to represent one of the world's most successful cases of post-conflict recovery, peacekeeping and peace building, according to the then UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon. He not only transitioned his country of Sierra Leone from a fragile post-war state to the most peaceful country in West Africa, but the country was also ranked 4th in Africa as the most peaceful country in 2018.

Post presidency, he has remained one of the continent's frontline leaders, helping to foster peace, deepen democracy, and promote responsible environmental practices, among other noble ideals. In this exclusive interview with African Leadership Magazine, he talks about leadership in the continent; the Coup in Mali; life after the presidency, among other significant issues. Excerpts You were elected the 4th President of Sierra Leone in 2007, and you led the reconstruction of the country that was hitherto devastated by war. Your love for your people and strides in governance have remained lessons in leadership for other leaders across the continent. What factors would you say were responsible for the successes recorded under your administration?

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Let me, first of all, use this opportunity to once more thank the people of Sierra Leone for giving me the mandate to serve them for two consecutive terms. I remain incredibly grateful to my fellow citizens and God for that. I believe very many factors contributed to the successes recorded under my tenure as President of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

First among these was our decision to bridge the regional divide in our body politics. Regardless of which region or tribe, we believed that individuals had a role to play at any level they deemed suitable and competent.

The media, civil society, opposition supporters and leaders enjoyed the liberty to hold my Government accountable – we had no political prisoners or prisoners of conscience. It was such recognition of unity in diversity, public participation and freedoms that fostered the unprecedented national cohesion our nation enjoyed during my tenure,. We also emphasized openness and transparency in governance. The Open Government Initiative / Partnership (OGI/OGP) in the Office of the President created the platform for members of the public to contribute to policy formulation.

And to give feedback on government programs and project implementation. The Audit Service carried

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“Africa’s Apostle of Peace & Development”

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Critically, as soon as we came into Government, our first significant 10 action was to reform the anticorruption legislation, giving more autonomy to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). It now has the power not only to investigate but to prosecute as well: we created an institution to fight corruption and strengthen transparency. We designed and rolled out the 'Pay No Bribe Campaign', which brought tremendous results. The United Nations Commission against Corruption (UNCAC) undertook crucial actions to ensure compliance with the provisions of the statute. One of these was by facilitating two-country reviews on the implementation. In 2010 and 2012, as a result of the steps taken to address corruption, we were reviewed by Thailand and Benin. In essence, my reforms allowed the country's independent anticorruption agents to be one of the most efficient prosecutorial groups in Africa, with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) acting as a politically blind institution,

“We were so confident of our work that I subjected my government to the African Peer Review Mechanism, and President Obama said that 'Sierra Leone was among countries in Africa where democracy

prosecuting and convicting members of all political parties. This nonpartisan approach enhanced the credibility and transparency of the process in place as it safeguarded the human rights of all citizens.

We also enacted the Freedom of Information (FOI). Act and established the Access to Information Commission, ensuring that ordinary citizens could seek and obtain information which otherwise may be considered classified. In other words, during my tenure, there wasn't anything to hide in the course of public service.

had taken root'.�

We were so confident of our work that I subjected my government to the

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African Peer Review Mechanism, and we received important reviews from President Obama who, in his 'Address to the African People' (during his 2015 visit to Africa), said that 'Sierra Leone was among countries in Africa where democracy had taken root'. Also, Sierra Leone was recognized as the third most improved country in the region in terms of safety and the rule of law, participation and Human Rights as per the Ibrahim Index of African Governance Regarding peace, the former UN Secretary-General, Ban-Ki -Moon, once remarked that Sierra Leone was a storehouse of lessons in peacebuilding and peace consolidation in post-conflict countries. Our peace-

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COVER building and peacekeeping missions with the UN were so successful that Sierra Leone exported these missions to train other countries. We succeeded in ensuring that during my time of governance Sierra Leone was ranked the most peaceful in the region and third in Africa.

With such openness, good governance and peacefulness, we sent the right signals to the world that Sierra Leone was open for business. The result was unprecedented with the arrival of direct foreign investment, especially in the agriculture and extractive industry, where thousands of job opportunities were created for our youth.

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Let me talk a little bit about the youth. In Sierra Leone as in Africa, over 60% of our population is youth. They have the energy, but we have to provide them with skills and the enabling environment to realize their potentials and to thrive. During my tenure, I insisted on reforming the youth sector, initiated many youths development schemes and ensured they had opportunities to be in key decision-making positions in the cabinet, at directorate and managerial levels, and many have made me proud. I continue to have a strong passion for the youth, to tap on their resilience and desires towards the future of Africa. As I have always said, the present and future of the continent lie in their hands; it is up to us to be visionary, inclusive and to believe in upholding the democratic values.

I know that our youth have the potential to transform Africa into the powerful engine of our world.

Owing to all of those actions on good governance, inclusiveness, transparency and accountability, national unity and peace, unprecedented FDI inflow and the prudent public finance management of the revenues generated, we increased our GDP which by 2013 was projected by the IMF and World Bank to grow by 14% to the extent that we were rated one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

We then judiciously used the revenues to embark on a massive infrastructural development programme, and some of my flagship projects touched on every region and every district. Our access to electricity and pipe-borne water programmed brought power and clean water to several areas and communities, some for the first time in three decades.

We subsidized education at all levels, offered automatic university scholarships to females studying in the sciences and to persons with a disability; supported the establishment of three universities, and increased salaries for public sector workers.

In the health sector, we implemented a Free Health Care programme for pregnant women, lactating mothers and

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children under five years, (re)built peripheral health units, (regional) hospitals. In the western area alone, we created a hundred-bed capacity each in five communities. My wife, Sia, who is very passionate about women and girls embarked on a range of campaigns. Her programs are aimed at protecting their rights, especially 12 regarding early child marriage and expanding their access to health care services. Her advocacy greatly influenced the enactment of the Three Gender Laws, which were genuinely revolutionary in guaranteeing the rights of women in Sierra Leone.

These and other social interventions changed the dynamics and put us on a stable growth trajectory – en-route to attaining middle-income status.

The sheer scale and breadth of my Government's development programmes, and their national appeal along with the job opportunities created engendered peace and security - to give us a very desirable scorecard in the global peace index. Most people thought it was our greatest achievement, and that order must be maintained at all cost because a threat to our peace is a threat to our development. I am incredibly proud of the peace and the turnaround we achieved in the various sectors.

You contributed immensely towards the promotion of sustainable peace in Sierra Leone and by extension, the West African sub-region. How did you achieve this, and what lessons can other leaders learn from you, as they face significant threats to peace and security in various countries?

Peace is perhaps an essential ingredient for sustainable development – but it doesn't always come easy. It takes a lot of sacrifices, patience, courage and determination to achieve. Fortunately for us in Sierra Leone, there was already the realization that our eleven-year civil war only succeeded in reversing whatever gains we had made after independence. The cost to human lives was colossal, and because we suffered those atrocities that made our war the most atrocious in modern times, the penultimate decision was to say never again!! This consciousness resonated with every Sierra Leonean, my Government made conscious efforts to develop and empower those structures that were responsible for national peace and cohesion. Thus, it is safe to say that the order we enjoyed during my tenure as President was not due to my singular efforts but through the contributions and sacrifices made by every critical stakeholder in Sierra Leone, the sub-region and the

“Our economic diversification also saw us embarking on the most significant road infrastructure programme in the history of the country.”

international community. What other leaders who want to promote and consolidate peace in their respective countries can learn from us is the ability to consult and negotiate with both state and non-state actors genuinely. Also, as I said earlier, national cohesion and political tolerance are an existential relevance to anything we do to attain sustainable peace in Africa.

Major countries on the continent have remained mono-economies, with minimal success in economic diversification. However, under your leadership, Sierra Leone's Agenda for Prosperity was hinged on Economic Diversification – how were you able to achieve this?

One of my priorities was to run the country like a business. This essentially means leveraging upon every opportunity available to expand and grow our economy by first, marketing Sierra Leone as a favourable business destination. For decades, we had mostly depended on the extractive industry. Minerals like gold and diamonds cannot be in abundance forever. The agriculture sector, which use to account for about 45% of the GDP was mostly underdeveloped and subsistencebased. We immediately went into action by introducing agricultural commercialization through

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natural resources and use them for the benefit of all. The gaps we experience in the health and education sectors, for instance, are all down to the severe infrastructural deficit we face as a continent. For Africa to be able to take its rightful place on the global agenda, we must be able to tap into our God-given resources (both human and natural 13 resources) and judiciously utilize them for the benefit of all.

Establishing a pool of dependable professionals with a patriotic mindset can also help in this direction.

smallholder farmers' Scheme – intensifying production and promoting value addition of major crops like rice, cocoa, coffee and cassava. Despite the several challenges encountered, the programme yielded high dividend and was able to transform lives and boost the economy. Our economic diversification also saw us embarking on the most significant road infrastructure programme in the history of the country. All major cities were linked to the Capital by hundreds of kilometres of tarred roads and thousands of kilometres of feeder roads linking producing areas to big market centres. Our development plan – the Agenda for Prosperity - was encapsulated into eight pillars, namely; economic diversification, natural resources management, Human development, Competitiveness, Employment, Social Protection and Gender and Women's empowerment.

Infrastructure remains one of Africa's primary challenge. According to the

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“I will also highlight the inter-linkages between Peace-building, engineering and sustainable development.

Peace could be waged in a genuinely innovative, collaborative and sustainable way.”

African Development Bank, Africa needs about $130 to $170 billion per year to address her infrastructure gaps – what in your view can be done to leapfrog the development of critical infrastructure for economic growth and development in the continent?

There are several ways to address this, but one key parameter in my view is for us to be able to harness our

This brings me to an innovative initiative that I endorsed in 2019 at the Global Visions Community of Horasis in Portugal. We have been working to bring it into the African context and to develop it by Africans for Africa. I won't discuss this much, but it is the idea and concept of establishing an African Peace Engineering Corps. This initiative takes into account addressing the futures of our youth, women and military. It looks to enhance the African Peace Architecture by addressing many of the core issues of ongoing peace and security challenges. I will also highlight the inter-linkages between Peace-building, engineering and sustainable development. Peace could be waged in a genuinely innovative, collaborative and sustainable way.

With more engineering and peacebuilding training for our youth, women and military, we shall have the capacity to develop, in alignment with the UNSDG, an innovative capacitybuilding platform in the engineering sector and Peacebuilding efforts throughout Africa. The members of these Corps shall be recruited from militaries around Africa for skill acquisition and concrete operational training. We are presently learning more on the various existing models in the engineering corps in Africa, Europe, Asia and North America to devise the most appropriate model for this innovative initiative. As such, it shall also integrate the best practices based on practical experience gained

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Now more than ever before the continent needs to be united in rebuilding in all areas.

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In 2014 Sierra Leone was the hardest hit by the deadly Ebola disease, but, your leadership, helped in managing and taming the dreaded disease. What lessons 14 can leaders learn from your experience, as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic?

Ebola, like the current Coronavirus outbreak, was novel to Sierra Leone but that didn't dampen our resilience to tackle it head-on. In the initial days of the epidemic, as there was resistance from many people to accept the existence of the disease. Conspiracy theories also fueled mistrust between the Government and the citizenry. In effect, Ebola became a political tool effectively used by those who didn't mean well. These conspiracy theories became a severe challenge in our fight to break the chain in transmission.

In some communities, response workers were reportedly chased out by the inhabitants they were there to help. The consequences were grave! Ebola dealt a severe blow to our country – we lost about 4,000 of our compatriots, we had to close down schools, farmers ran away from their fields, foreign businesses shut down, and our country practically came to a halt. By the time we defeated Ebola, our economy had shrunk to -21%. You can imagine the devastating impact. But with the right policies ensuring peace, a friendly investment climate, the international support and the resilience of our people, my Government was able to dig up the economy from the depth of -21% to projected growth of 5% by the time I left office.

One major lesson we can learn from the Sierra Leone situation is that without adequate and cohesive social mobilization, especially at the grassroots level, combating outbreaks like Ebola or COVID-19 shall remain herculean. It also requires unqualified political will genuinely leading the fight in a truly inclusive way. In my case, I became the undisputed 'chief social mobilizer personally visiting affected communities, treatment centres, rallying around health care workers, Political, religious, traditional, secrete society and opinion other leaders to help demystify the myths and promote behavioral change in communities. In societies that are deep in cultural traditions and heavily polarised along ethnic and political lines, the involvement of every governmental entity and other interest groups must be prioritized. I also believe we must heavily invest in our health infrastructure. A weak health infrastructure represents a fertile ground for disease outbreaks to fester. As I have stated, it requires unqualified exemplary political leadership leading from the front and bringing on board all stakeholders.

There should be a streamlined, public information and communication structure capable of providing clear, precise

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and unambiguous public health messages.

There should be a united, cohesive social mobilization, and an effective contact tracing mechanism. There should be effective Isolation and treatment by qualified doctors and other health caregivers motivated with protective equipment and other essential medical supplies as well as financial incentives.

Psycho-social support to survivors and affected families is also vital in stemming new transmissions. It has been brought to my attention over these last two years that our actions and effort to fight Ebola are recognized globally and have been useful in fighting against COVID-19.

“Ebola, like the current Coronavirus outbreak, was novel to Sierra Leone but that didn't dampen our resilience to tackle it head-on.

In the initial days of the epidemic.”

Seventy-five years on and Africa has continued to push for a seat at United Nations Security Council. As Chairman of the Committee of ten Heads of States which were mandated by the African Union to articulate the common African position on the reform of the United Nations Security Council, what is your take on Africa's future at the UN? I think the world at large is beginning to see and appreciate why Africa must be treated with the seriousness it deserves. The African Union has been pushing hard on this, and we hope and insist that Africa gets its seat at the table. We aim to be fully involved in the decision-making process at the United Nations – with particular reference to the Security Council. We no longer want to be seen, but we want to be heard as well. At the moment, much progress has been made, and I am hopeful for a brighter future for Africa on the UN Security Council. Our continued absence at that level of global decision making is no longer justified. It's a grave injustice that must urgently be addressed. At the same time, All Africa must rally around on this call and present a definite unified position in a more direct and determined way. The UN must be made to understand that this is something we feel strongly about and on which the continent's continued participation in the UN is hinged upon.

You are a prominent member of the "Campaign for Nature's Global Steering Committee" with the overarching purpose of calling on world leaders to support a new global goal to protect at least 30 per cent of the planet's land and ocean by 2030. Tell us more about the workings of the group?

This is a fundamental question. Like you rightly said, our goal is to advocate for the protection of at least 30% of the land and water ecosystems of the earth. The campaign is based on the scientifically proven hypothesis that if we do not act now, there will be a monumental loss on global bio-diversity and life on earth will become under serious threat. The answer to this is a decrease in carbon emissions and a halt to other destructive activities on the environment. The initiative itself belongs to the Wyss Foundation in partnership with the National Geographic's, and Global Steering Committee is made up of mostly former leaders across the globe – from 16 countries and led by Former

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it is no longer the case to sit somewhere in your comfort zone and believing that the happenings in Africa will not impact on your lives.

A recent report by the African Union projects that the continent may lose about 20 Million jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What can be done to mitigate jobs and SME fails?

This is a tough one, but it is often said that out of difficulties, opportunities will arise. The COVID-19 pandemic may have brought untold loss to small scale enterprises. Still, I also believe a little bit of innovation and utilization of emerging markets in the IT industry can make a difference. SMEs across the world must utilize every opportunity the IT revolution provides to make a profit and change the dynamics. One doesn't have to be

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Post-presidency, what have you been up to? And what should we be expecting in the coming months?

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As a member of the Presidential team that negotiated the peace deal in the Gambia; what will be your view should be done to restore peace in Mali?

everything to prevent another conflict in Africa. Peace is what we need to be able to focus on our continent's development aspirations of harnessing the youth dividend because of the opportunities in ICTs, the cultivation of our vast expanse of arable land for agricultural productivity, transformation, commercialization and other job 15 creation opportunities.

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Throughout the world, and indeed across Africa, local communities around protected areas are suffering and need help. We are one world we are all so connected, and we can see it now with this global pandemic. We have shared interests in all of what we do,

an expert in IT, to appreciate that businesses flourish through the application of various software or platforms to conduct their activities.

Governments can also help with bailout packages to struggling companies so that their employees will not lose their jobs. Above all, a much more coordinated approach to stopping the disease is paramount.

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Senator Feingold. Currently, we have made bold statements – calling on world leaders to heed to this advice, and we are also working on several advocacy strategies in this direction.

We were hoping for the better in Mali, but regrettably, things have taken a different turn. All sides to the conflict must understand the need to negotiate a way out of this unacceptable turn of events. Such needless escalation in Mali has the propensity to destabilize the entire sub-region. Coups are no more the answer to our political or economic problems. I, therefore, believe that ECOWAS has risen well to the occasion. The imposition of economic sanctions on Mali deserves the support of all member states.

Constitutional order must be restored.

We h a v e to o m a n y s ecurity challenges on the continent to deal with, we including you in the media and civil society must all, therefore, do

Well, I have been enjoying my quiet and peaceful family life here in Sierra Leone, including being a grandfather. I will, however, be looking forward to implementing a few programmes I believe that can add value to the lives of my fellow citizens and other people across Africa and the world. We have to spread the message of peace, and sustainable development where everyone will have the moral responsibility to take part in the growth Africa has always yearned for. I did not retire from the presidency to sit back and look as the world revolves; I am on my feet to help erect those pillars to make the world especially Africa a better place for generations to come.

In light of this, I have availed myself to the AU, ECOWAS, the Commonwealth and to the UN to support our collective search for peace, good governance, democracy and sustainable development. I have joined the Global Steering Committee on the Campaign for Nature to lend my energy and voice to the global concern for better management of our environment. As an avid supporter of youth and women empowerment, I am also seeking partnerships to youth empowerment initiatives. As you can see, I intend to be a very active retiree.

AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

ABLA 2020 WINNERS

Winners Unveiled

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for the African Business Leadership Awards 2020

from September 29th – 30th, 2020. Special Commendation awards were presented to the most distinguished runners-up in the various categories.

Dr Ken Giami

The Winners emerged through a 3-step points-based selection process that included a call for nomination; a call for online voting for shortlisted nominees; and the editorial board's final review of the nominations and voting submissions – using supporting evidence and voting considerations in their final decisions to decide the African Business Leadership Awards 2020 winners. The online voting was responsible for sixty-five percentage points and supporting evidence responsible for 35% in the final selection process for the 2020 winners.

The winners were unveiled by the Publisher of the Magazine, Dr Ken Giami, at the UK Head Office of the group after the editorial board reviewed the collated online and offline votes. Also considered were submissions from the Magazine's over 1 million subscribers and online followers.

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he editorial board of the African Leadership Magazine has unveiled the winners in the 17 categories of the African Business Leadership Awards 2020. The keenly contested awards attracted over 220,000 entries on the website and across social media platforms, as well as submissions via email from Africans across the continent and in the diaspora.

All 17 winners of the African Business Leadership Awards 2020 were presented with an award trophy and formally decorated with their instruments of honour at the 5th US – Africa Investment Forum & Policy Dialogue 2020 (virtual), which held (Via Zoom) OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2020

The Publisher, Dr Giami, while unveiling the list of winners, maintained that "Africa depends on businesses and its leaders for sustenance, jobs and wealth creation." Continuing the Publisher stated that, "at this time when there are widespread disruptions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the role and place of the business community to not only serve their clients, but become strong positive references for society on how to thrive amidst uncertainties, and inspire hope in people's ability to aspire to solve more of the problems facing the African people today, is more important than ever."

"Our winners and all the nominees truly deserve to be recognized for the outstanding work they have done over the last year, and they continue to do for the development of our continent", Dr. Giami added.

AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

ABLA 2020

Africa CSR and Community Development Award Category Ecobank Transnational Group – Winner Trade Kings Zambia – 1st Runner-up African Female Business Leader of the Year Category Funke Opeke, Founder, MainOne, Nigeria – Winner Janine Kacou Diagou, Group Chief Executive Director, NSIA – 1st Runner –up African Inspirational Business Leadership Award Category Rebecca Miano, CEO, Kenya Electricity Generating Company - Winner Hassanein Hiridjee, CEO, Axian Group, Madagascar - 1st Runner-up African Business Leader of the Year Category Yasser Shaker, CEO, Orange Egypt – Winner Austin Avuru, Former CEO, Seplat – 1st Runner-up Central Bank Governor of the Year Category John Rwangombwa, National Bank of Rwanda Governor – Winner Ernest Addission, Bank of Ghana Governor – 1st Runner-up African CEO of the Year Category James Mwangi, CEO, Equity Bank Group, Kenya – Winner Mauricio Alarcon, former CEO, Nestle Nigeria Plc – 1st Runner

Young Business Leader of the Year Category Olugbenga Agboola, CEO, Flutterwave – Winner Darlene Menzies, CEO, Finfund South Africa- 1st Runner-up Trade & Investment Minister of the Year Alan Kyerematen, Ghana – Winner Melaku Alebel – Ethiopia – 1st Runner-up Lifetime Achievement Award Patrice Motsepe, Chairman, African Rainbow Minerals, South Africa- Winner Jim Ovia, Founder, Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria– 1st Runner-up The African Business Leadership Awards is a prestigious recognition event to reward exceptional corporate practices and outstanding achievers in Africa's business landscape and its private sector. The awards are in keeping with the African Leadership Magazine's tradition of presenting the sides of the continent's businesses and leaders, which hardly finds placement on global media platforms – celebrating exemplary business leadership on the continent. The 2020 edition especially recognizes business leaders, visionaries and innovators that continue to shape African economies; and drive today's leading businesses that are making outstanding contributions to Africa's economic development and postCOVID response and recovery, using business as a force for good, through their CSR and community development activities.

African Finance Minister of the Year Category Ahmed Shide, Minister of Finance, Ethiopia – Winner Romuald Wadagni, Minister of Finance, Benin – 1st Runner-up Industry Personality of the Year Category Segun Ogunsanya, CEO, Airtel Nigeria – Winner Joao Figueiredo, CEO, Moza Banco Mozambique- 1st Runner up African Regulator of the Year Category National Petroleum Authority Ghana – Winner Financial Regulatory Authority Egypt – 1st Runner-up

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African Brand of the Year Category Guaranty Trust Bank – Winner Mastercard Africa – 1st Runner-up

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COVID-19 Response Business Hero Award Category Econet Group Zimbabwe – Winner Standard Organization of Nigeria- 1st Runner up

African Company of the Year Category Safaricom Kenya – Winner Nestle Nigeria – 1st Runner-up

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Business-Friendly Governor of the Year Category Lee Kinyanjui, Kenya Nakuru County Governor – Winner David Makhura, South Africa Gauteng Province Premier– 1st Runner up

African Business Integrity Award Category Vodacom Tanzania – Winner Attijariwafa Bank Morocco – 1st Runner-up

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The final winners unveiled are therefore as follows:

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According to a recent report titled Liberia Economic Update, about 68.9 per cent of the population are at risk of falling into poverty due to COVID-19 disruptions.

What is the government doing to minimize this projected impact?

Piloting Liberia's Positive Economic Development Trajectory

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ocal politics have seemingly subsumed the Liberian government's effort to do more with less. In this exclusive interview with African Leadership Magazine UK, Liberia Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Honorable Samuel D. Tweah Jr., talks about the country's efforts towards building a sustainable economy, job creation and the fight against corruption. Excerpts:

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I think what the report is underscoring is the acute vulnerability of the Liberian economy because of the lack of economic diversification. Liberia, as a country, has been commodity-dependent for decades due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure constraints. When you look at agriculture which employs around 70% of the people, you would realize that much of it is still at the subsistent level. So, any shock, whether it is global driven or commodity price, will bring about a significant impact on the agriculture sector. We've not been able to develop that sector until this administration came into office. We are now focusing on and looking at the model we've used to grow Agriculture in the past. The President has said the model is unsatisfactory. The sector has a lot of resources in concessional financing and grants from the World Bank, African Development Bank, USAID, US government as well as several NGOs that have put money in the sector in the last decade. But then we've not seen a commensurate level of reduction in food insecurity in the country. So there is a missing link. If we don't move very fast, then it does seem that we're going to erode any gains we've made in the last decade and exacerbate the poverty situation. So the aim now is to change the way we deliver agriculture so as to move agriculture from subsistence to Agribusiness and to make it a commercially viable entity. So even if you are a smallholder in a village, you are not

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Recently, you launched some government project to fight corruption which is seen as a significant problem not just in Liberia but across Africa. Can you tell us a little bit more about the project?

So you've got five million that could have been used to do something else in the government that is now used exclusively for paying education expenses. You can also see significant kilometres of roads that have been constructed, with resources that also come from the government. We've also built community roads. A lot of projects are going on while the country is in a tight situation, which sometimes raises the question about how you are doing more with less, and the reason is simply discipline. So this year, the President has said we are no longer going to borrow from the Central bank. We're probably the only country that is not doing that. We have a no-Central-Bank

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borrowing policy. So usually this is what governments do; countries monetize their debt, and when they face fiscal constraint, they go to the central bank to bail them out. In the last fiscal year despite significant fiscal challenges with salaries, because of the reform process we were rolling out, the government of Liberia borrowed zero dollars from the central bank and still ended up with a 19 budget surplus. Our story is simply about prioritizing the fight against corruption. We're going to look at audit reports from the past administration.

We have to begin to implement them.

We want to help the population to understand corruption. There's a lot of wrong perception even though the government is doing more. Some people believe that monies are not being used for intended purposes, and we are asking for the evidence. And there's no evidence of that, but there is just this perception. So there's a conversation going on in the country about how we categorize corruption?

What is corruption? Does the government need to do more? Does the government need to fund integrity institutions such as the Liberian anticorruption commission? Is it more a matter of funding, or is it a matter of executing or implementing what is recommended in various reports? It is the debate that is going on, and you're going to see the whole discussion of A

resources that we have for productive activities. For example, the President has declared free public college education. These both cost around $3 million a year. So three million dollars a year is going to pay for college education for people who go to the University of Liberia and all the public colleges. This is money that was previously available to be used in other ways, but that is no longer available to be used discretionally but to be used for educating our youths. The President has also gone to pay the fees for the West African Examination of every eligible Liberian. This bill is around $ 2 million every year.

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just producing to eat; but you're producing to take advantage of value chains that exist. This is what is going on under the new plan in the post-COVID19 era. We are looking at crucial crops rice, cassava and other crops which should add value. We are looking at the possibility of even exporting some of these crops. It's a whole new model where we are reorganizing to address this problem. This is a very significant challenge in the way the country has developed its agriculture. We want to learn, for example from Nigeria, where in the last six years we have seen a massive turnaround in Nigeria's agriculture. I was in Nigeria, I ate rice, and I could not tell whether it came from Nigeria or China or Vietnam, and I think we can do the same in Liberia. So we're drawing on expertise from Nigeria. The Nigerian and Liberian government have reached a partnership, which was only disrupted

by COVID. And so the two countries are going to work together to help develop the infrastructure sector and the agriculture sector as well.

I think corruption is a significant thing in Africa, and the perception of corruption is also there.

Sometimes people perceive something is happening without evidence. The politicization of the debate on corruption can make people believe that there is more corruption when there may be no corrupt practices going on. Let me put this in the Liberian context; what we've had in the last two years is a significant reduction in physical resources. So you would see that even though resources have reduced, the government has done a little bit more with the smaller funds available. For example in this current budget year, the President has pushed a study tour along with a program to ensure that we don't spend money that we don't have and that we use

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corruption pushed up to a high level as we've done recently with the anti-rape movement. The President convened the entire government and Civil Society to discuss the question of rape. There's been a surge in the incidence of rape in Liberia, and we developed a two-year roadmap. We may have to move toward a two-year roadmap on 20 corruption also. I think we will allow the conference to play itself out. So we're looking for a game-changing way of dealing with all of these things. Still, our administration is committed to ensuring that every dime of public revenue that is spent, is on productive, transformative purposes.

I like that the general perception is different from reality on the ground.

What you say is remarkable; that the government has a zero borrowing policy from the Central Bank and doing more with less. I think one of the challenges may be communication.

What do you think about communicating this, especially outside of Liberia?

Most times public opinion is moulded outside of Liberia. In the last two years, as a new administration, one of the things that we probably didn't do well is to manage expectations by communicating effectively. So you've got the government, and you've got the

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previous administration that ran for 12 years, and they were voted out of power. A new administration has come in, and what is the expectation of the people? And so the expectation was humongous, that immediately upon the ascendancy, we were expected to switch things up - transform the economic space, agriculture, and jobs in six months; but, you know, that is not possible. But I think that what the government didn't do, was to set expectations that this is going to require time and we're about to do that expectation setting now. Following the market economic headwinds that just brushed on us, the exchange rate began to move in a volatile way. The Liberian dollar lost a lot of value because most of the United States dollars was leaving the country at the same time authorities were putting more Liberian dollars outside of the banking sector. So it looked like it was an explosive mix; decline in the US dollar and Liberian dollar going out, so definitely it's less US Dollars chasing or more Liberian dollars chasing fewer, and that's an inflationary combustible combination. And so that's what we saw, and people began to react to that, and the government had to respond using the available tools at the time through the Central Bank of Liberia.

All of that is what we went through in the last two years. So while we're deepdiving into these problems, trying to put together a super communication framework externally, then you had the politicization of what was happening in the country by the opposition who had campaigned against the President and didn't believe the President could win.

Now he won and then six months after, they were throwing everything around.

Then we had the propaganda around sixteen billion Liberian dollars missing, while absolutely no such amount of money was ever missing in Liberia. Still, the news went out, it was on the BBC, on CNN and the world was agog. It was like how can sixteen billion, which is about a hundred million US dollars or so disappear into thin air? That was the conversation that was happening externally and here in Liberia. With that kind of evolution of events, it wasn't

easy to control the narrative. However, we are in a position now where we are about to set the record straight. The public generally understands now that it's not possible to deliver transformation in two years when that transformation did not happen in 12 years. There is the politicization of everything, but the President needs to be given a chance.

Let's be clear; Liberia is on a positive trajectory. In the medium term, we are looking at three to four per cent of growth, and with all of the big things on investment climate reforms and the business climate, we're going to fight against corruption. We are looking at big transformative agriculture. So all of that is happening in the space of two years. The fundamentals have been solid; the market economy is excellent, and all of the parameters are changing in the direction of the positive. So I think that's the story that has to be told to the outside world. So this is the right time for communicating, and I think it's about timing. Sometimes you don't communicate at the wrong time; you speak at the right time. So this time is the right time for getting our messages out to the world.

There's also report that says that productivity-driven growth and diversification will be central to Liberia post-pandemic recovery. Can you share some of these plans with us?

I think productivity is a critical thing that is going to be happening and encouraged to happen. Liberian agriculture has two sectors; you have the food crop sector, and you have the cash crop sector. The cash crop side, which is cocoa, rubber, coffee, those are the traditional crops. Rubber has been the mainstay of the Liberian economy for generations. You already know Firestone was the highest producer of rubber. So we've got lots of rubber smallholders, and the challenge with that sector now is that the commodity price of rubber is lower than what it used to be ten years ago. So all of the farms are suffering. All of the farmers are struggling even to meet salary payments. The government had to

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But at least the cash crop sector is way ahead. We want the food crops sector to get to where the cash crop sector is.

We want rice agriculture to move up, so that means that the necessary investments, in making sure that the whole culture models change in enhancing productivity in the cultivation and the value chain are all happening in that sector. Our manufacturing sector is affected by electricity challenges. As you may be aware, Liberia has a dam, but that dam is hydro-powered. So in the rainy season for six months, it's okay, but in the dry season it runs down to around to 20 per cent - that means a significant power outage, and we don't have the relevant infrastructure to connect most of the households in the urban area. So in the last 12 years, we've been doing that, I can say in the next two months you will see a significant transformation in that space. The power lines that are running through Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are going to be completed by next year. They were delayed, It should have been this year, but because of COVID, we've extended.

So that means that you will have the opportunity or the ability to import cheap power from neighbouring countries, like Ivory Coast so that could potentially bring our electricity Tower down from 35 cents per kilowatt-hour to about 15 cents near the Regional average. This will have a significant impact on the cost of production and the cost of doing business in the

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both at the national and the regional level. You know we have Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Cote d'Ivoire. These are our neighbours, and we need to collaborate with them on big regional projects. Guinea is already a member of the 21 Asia Infrastructure Bank, and with Liberia now being a member, we can do joint projects at the regional level in electricity and on roads.

We can also do some significant projects here in agriculture. The bank is prepared to work with the country on doing some big things— we want to work with the bank in attracting private sector players. The real challenge Africa faces is the continent's ability to attract private capital from the West. Now, the analysis is that the Africa investment climate is not where it needs to be. So, you know, people don't want to come to Africa. Economically, we know that people wish to have good returns for their resources. There's some defect with the model we have. Still, I think that's what the conversation with the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation and all our multinational partners should be around. How do we get flows of pension funds, and of saving in the US and China and America and in Europe to come to Africa through PPPs ( Public-Private Partnerships)? The share of resources that Africa gets is minuscule.

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come in, so we're looking at the whole Firestone model itself.

Oil Palm has been hit as well. With some facing challenges of land with t h e O i l p a l m plantations. One of the biggest ones is sold out to a new company motto. So the fundamental plan is to make sure that we are paying attention to the challenges in the cash crop sector so they can export and so that the country can earn the foreign exchange needed.

country. All the hotels are charging high because they have to run on costly fuel.

So imagine if we reduce the cost of power generation, that could amount to more jobs for our people. So you're going to see in the next 18 months significant changes there. If an agribusiness is trying to move into Liberia, they will be looking at the cost of power, and I think that would be a game-changer once we do that. So it is just a matter of time that you're going to see all of these developments with growth moving in the positive direction, and with the infrastructure challenges electricity space being resolved. The infrastructure challenges in the roads space are also being resolved. All these small business economy issues, the regulatory topics, will also be determined. There's no doubt that the productive frontier in the Liberian economy is going to move outward.

Liberia was recently admitted as a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. What opportunities does this membership open to Liberia, and how has that relationship been nurtured?

It opens new possibilities to major transformative infrastructure projects

Inward investments are concentrated on just around five or six countries.

Uganda, Nigeria South Africa; those are the few countries that are taking the lion share while the rest of the 54 African countries don't get much. In countries like Liberia, I think the significant PPP we

We want rice agriculture to move up, so that means that investment in making sure that the whole culture models change in enhancing productivity in the cultivation, in the value chain are all happening in that sector.

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have is the port infrastructure, which is now managed by a concessionaire APM terminal. We have three other ports, and we want national investors to take over those as well in a way that develops and opens the economy. So I think that's the direction that we want to go to open up investments in Liberia. So to that extent, we want to work with 22 Asian infrastructure Bank to enhance regional integration in the region. We are looking at PPPs in agriculture where you can have many grades, and looking at establishing productive economic zones in the agricultural space within the area you have roads, agriculture, electricity, Such that it brings in value and provides jobs for people. It is also partially funded by an investor along with the government having a share.

Those are the models we want to explore with the new institution. I think it is quite an opportunity because sometimes you reach your limit within other multilateral institutions like world bank. And so if you have new opportunities, particularly in a way that is not driven by domestic debt or in the national debt, you take it. Even at a concessional level, you still are running up your dead numbers at a lower interest rate. I'll be looking forward to visiting the bank once we move beyond the post-recovery stage to present to the management of the bank.

about the roads infrastructure space, agriculture, governance and transparency, which is the talk around the whole business climate issues. We are also looking at the fight against Corruption, integrity and all of that.

We will also be looking at insecurities with the whole question about the fragility of the country; if Liberia continues to deepen its peace, we need to tell the story. , for the first time in the history of Liberia, there are no United Nations troops, no troops here anymore. And this is both physical security and independent market economic security because they were spending money in the country. We depended on some of that money, but now they are no longer here, and we are on our own. But physically, our police and our soldiers are the ones that are in charge of the country. We're embarking on an aggressive youth empowerment program where technical vocational training is a conduit to getting young

people to jobs. So I think it's about the data. The former Nigerian Finance Minister once told me about a year ago that it's all about the macro. If the macro is not right, you will struggle, and you can't get anything done. I advise countries and ministers to get your macroeconomics right, and other good things will follow it.

We are deep-diving into the other aspects - health and education. The critical challenge here is improving the reading skills of the people, reducing the number of girls who are dropping out of school and reducing the number of women who are dying because of childbirth. The ratio is pretty much higher right now, and we want to compare ourselves with Rwanda. So there are very targeted programs explicitly looking at these kinds of indicators—no under-five mortality in children. Starting, for example, we have statistics that say that about 35 per cent of the country's population is stunted

President Weah's Administration upon assumption of office promised to transform the lives of Liberians. For me, I think if what you say is what it is, I think he's doing good, but let me see asks, how have you fared?

The President Weah-led administration was hit hard by the macro shots, which is what we inherited in 2018. The PAPD was launched by September-October 2018. We were a bit ambitious at the beginning, but then we had the macroeconomic headwinds.

Remember Liberia came from Ebola to the macroeconomic shock, to then COVID. So all of these happenings in the space of four years, that's a lot. And so we are taking a more realistic picture in the post COVID period to ensure that the PAPD produces in the areas of the economy and jobs. We are talking

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“We were a bit ambitious at the beginning, but then we had macroeconomic headwinds. Remember Liberia came from Ebola to the macroeconomic shock, to then COVID. So all of these happening in the space of four years, that's a lot.�

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So one of the problems we are facing in Africa is the ability to use data to tell our story. I mean like in the employment space, for example, how do we know how many jobs we are creating every month? You don't see that statistics in West Africa, you hear that statistics only in the West, where you hear of job growth every year, labour statistics every month comes up jobs with the American economy. Yesterday, we had a significant discussion with all of the critical government stakeholders around just this aspect, on how do we measure jobs? For example, in the PAPD, how are we able to quantify the jobs that have been created? What infrastructure do we have in place to do that? The infrastructure is entirely inadequate to deliver that, and we're working on that.

You mentioned Ebola; I'm sure there are lessons learnt in helping Liberia with deal with COVID from the Ebola. What were those lessons so that others can work with and learn from your experience?

For Ebola, we had a lot of resources because you know, there were only three countries affected. The rest of the world was focused on those three countries. So it was a bit of a different story. Enormous flows of resources to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. It seemed like a lot of those monies was spent on the emergency aspect of the epidemic, rather than converted to

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It seems like development has focused on just specific sectors to the exclusion of the private sector. We are arguing that in a large informal economy such as Africa, you can't bring your classical paradigms here. You have to work in a way to help the private sector in supporting agriculture and manufacturing, and then after that, the government.

solving problems in long-to-medium term Healthcare strengthening. So, after Ebola subsided, then we returned to a typical situation where we had inadequate Health infrastructure. The lesson is that whatever resources we have, we also have to split it between the emergency management of COVID and long-to-medium term strengthening of the Health Care System. That's a vital lesson - that we all work together, to own and to apply, both the development partners and the government, as well as the NGOs. They are working to ensure that we don't forget about the hospitals, their capacity to manage cases, drug supply, all of that, now on the table, is critical lesson. And I think we've done well, Liberia is performing exceptionally well in COVID, and it is not just about the resources but about the coordination of the collaboration of what has happened and the ownership at the community level. I think we have brought the

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due to malnutrition. And how do you turn that number around? I think this is where we're working with all of our partners all over. One argument is that the private sector has been left in the Lurch in Africa since the end of the Second World War.

“It seems like development has focused on just specific sectors to the exclusion of the private sector. We take this for the fundamental market economic theory� community along and it does seem like that combination is working quite well, and we saw the same with Ebola. We have more recoveries; almost most people have recovered. So it's just a fantastic story yet. I think this is why the President has refused to shut the economy down, and it's more about a race to recover the revenue growth. The President is also more about solving problems.

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PERSONALITY PROFILE

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Hon. Samuel D. Tweah, Jr. Liberia Minister of Finance and Development Planning

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Samuel D. Tweah, Jr. is an economist and development practitioner totally wedded to the view that the world has reached the 'end of development' and that developing, emerging or transition countries are only aiming for what has already been achieved in the developed world, the only requirement being to adapt these achievements to country contexts. He brings this view and experience with the Liberian development space to his new job as Liberia's Minister of Finance and Development Planning.

Prior to becoming Minister, Mr Tweah served as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director representing The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia Sierra Leone and Sudan at the African Development Bank (AfDB). Before joining the AfDB in 2016, he worked as Chief Economist (2013-2016) of the National Millennium Compact Development Project of Liberia, an entity under the Ministry of Finance and Developing Planning (MFDP) charged with developing Liberia's present compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation of the United States. As Chief Economist, he led the drafting of Liberia's Constraints Analysis, which identified roads and power deficits as the binding constraints to sustained private investment and economic growth in Liberia. Prior to this, Mr. Tweah worked as a consultant at the MFDP, leading team of consultants to cost the Agenda for Transformation, the national development plan of the Government of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. As a UNESCO hired consultant, Mr Tweah developed and costed a national TVET implementation plan, which is guided by national TVET policy. He has also consulted for NGOs. Mr. Tweah holds a Bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Liberia (Magna Cum Laude) and a Master's degree from George Washington University.

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What Government Did To Preserve Jobs Amidst Covid-19 Induced Economic Disruption – Deputy Finance Minister for Fiscal Policy, Liberia Hon. Samora P. Z. Wolokolie

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pay withholding taxes on their salaries. 25 Those withholding taxes revolve right back into the economy. And then it keeps government moving to be able to take care of other social needs, including the use of goods and services for COVID related issues.

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iberia's deputy minister for fiscal policy, Hon. Samora P. Z. Wolokolie has said that the president Weahled administration in Liberia prioritized job preservation amidst COVID-19induced economic disruptions. He made this known in an exclusive interview with the African Leadership Magazine UK while highlighting the government's efforts towards minimizing the impact of the pandemic on Liberians. Excerpts.

The African Union recently projected about 20 million job losses due to the COVID-19-induced disruption. What is the government doing to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on jobs across the country?

Okay, so the problem of job losses across Africa is not unique to Liberia.

One of the immediate actions that the government of Liberia has taken is when countries around the world including Nigeria, Ghana and other West African nations, were laying off

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staff because of COVID, the Liberian government ensured that no one was laid off. So basically, no one was laid off in government. And you will agree with me, I don't know what happens in other African countries, but in Liberia, government accounts for more employment than any other sector. What the government did was that they had to categorize workers within the essential and non-essential staff category. The essential staff had to come to work every day, while those who are non-essential will stay home. The essential staff were less than the number of non-essential people.

The government had to ensure the payment of everyone, both the essentials and the non-essentials. So this, I believe, is a monumental step towards encouraging the private sector to ensure that employment losses become a no-go zone. For the national government, this development helped increased disposable income, with least minimum tax proceeds to the government, that should keep the government running.

Once people are working, they have to

It also makes funds available toward supporting security in enforcing COVID rules and regulations. So, I think the government acted well, to ensure that this happens; unfortunately, the private sector did not do precisely what the government did. Some private sector players, including law firms, accounting firms around the country sent staff home and reduced salaries by 50%. If you do a census today, you will find that some government staff are still at home, but are receiving their wages.

The President of the African Development Bank has maintained that Agriculture can transform countries and the continent at large. What is your government doing to boost the Agricultural value chain for jobs and wealth creation?

Liberia is a prime example of a country that has very viable agricultural sector already. Upon the ascendancy of President Dr George Manneh Weah to the presidency of this country, the primary focus was on infrastructure development, specifically in the rural areas. The President, after two years of service to the nation, has decided to add agriculture as a way of redirecting resources into this particular area. That was before COVID. He made that announcement at his second State of the Nation Address when he said just as we have prioritized infrastructure; Agriculture will be on the front burner. So the President has insisted that agriculture will be on the front end of the national development. So more resources are being put into the agricultural sector. The AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

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government also tried to empower small farm holders to be able to sustain production. As you are aware, the issue of agriculture is not a quick fix; it has to be done gradually. The efforts of the government are to ensure that Agriculture becomes a significant contributor to the country's national growth and development.

Economic diversification is also key to sustained economic growth and development. What is the country doing to boost other significant sectors like tourism, among others?

Yes. Liberia has done a lot in this regard. Lets us look at tourism, for instance, compared to countries like the Gambia, that have used tourism as a serious revenue boost. For us in Liberia, we have not focused very much more on the tourism sector. We have seen that tourism has a vast potential in the country. It is an untapped revenue market for the country. So, we are looking at developing this sector. We are also looking at infrastructure development around sectors that will unlock economic benefits - sectors like Agriculture, among others.

What should the average investor interested in investing in Liberia

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expect from the investment climate?

As a country, similar to what is obtainable in most of the countries in Africa and West Africa, we have a unique perspective as it relates to foreign investment. Our political conditions are very stable and calm and very reflective of a friendly investment climate. Our investors can move into infrastructure developments; they can move into the mining sector; we have affluent mining prospects in Liberia. They can also move into the agricultural industry. It is important to note that everyone is given equal opportunity to compete.

It does not matter if you are a Liberian or not. The President has maintained that everyone bringing funds into the country legally for investment is welcome. Liberia presents a better opportunity and has all it takes to become the beacon of hope for Africa.

“Our political conditions are very stable and calm and very reflective of a friendly investment climate. Our investors can move into infrastructure developments; they can move into the mining sector; we have affluent mining prospects in Liberia�.

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Liberia's deputy finance minister for economic management, Augustus J. Flomo has said that tourism is Liberia's sleeping giant. The deputy minister made this know during an exclusive interview with African Leadership Magazine UK. The deputy minister, while discussing the country's post-COVID-19 economic recovery, stated that "tourism will play a key role in the country's economic growth and development as we advance." He also talked about the country's efforts towards jobs and wealth creation. Excerpts.

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ow-Income growth rate; annual inflation of more than 20% and the depreciation of the Liberian dollar by more than 20% are some factors that have affected the country's domestic macroeconomic environment in 2019. How is the economy doing now?

Just like you mentioned, we had some issues since 2019, but if you look at our economic situation, it started way back from 2014. You remember, we had Ebola crises, which hit the economy very hard. And before Ebola, we had already begun facing some shocks. Liberia being a net exporter of rubber and iron ore, we were already facing a decline in their prices on the international market, and these were our most significant commodities of exports.

So, Ebola dragged on until the elections which held in 2017. The elections also took longer than planned and we had a run-off. So, as you know, investors and macroeconomic factors are moved by economic stability, and, also based on how the economy is functioning and working at particular periods.

Another factor that contributed to this problem was the draw-down of the United Nations Mission in Liberia, UNMIL, that provided to the economy over 500 million in inflows in terms of foreign currency. So, with the

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those shocks earlier was to point out the fact that we now have another surprise. The critical microeconomic decision we had to take was to look at payroll reform. We've got payroll that was more than 60% of government costs. So, we had to do that adjustment to allow the government to have some space, macroeconomic space, in terms of resource mobilization, to be able to keep the economy on its path still. Now, we are facing another pandemic - COVID19.

departure of UNMIL by the end of 2017, that gave us what we would typically call a double shock. We had our economy which was hit by Ebola in part, the departure of UNMIL, and then long elections. All of these factors affect macroeconomic stability. So between 2017 and 2018, the new government faced much pressure due to the performance of the economy.

The impact of these microeconomic factors was much visible by 2018 and 2019. We had some challenges. But we have done many reforms. And we are now set, according to our projections, to begin to go upwards in terms of our growth. In 2020 as we have all witnessed, we had the global pandemic, and it now created an even more depressing challenge for the economy. So, the reason I mentioned

So, this is having a significant impact on our domestic and external economy. As you know, from this part of the world, almost everything we consume is imported. There is more problem on our hands that we are trying to handle. There is a projection that the impact on the economy may be more severe towards the end of the year.

So recovery is going to be a factor.

A recent World Economic Forum Report stated that African countries must add value to its vast natural resources to experience rapid economic growth and development. Looking at Liberia's dependence on the export of raw materials, including rubber, what is the government doing to support domestic value addition?

So, our national development plan looks at investing in the domestic production sectors. As you know, Liberia has so much potential in agriculture. We have good land and an excellent climatic condition in growing rice and all the other Agri products. So we're looking at making more investment into the agriculture sector. We AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

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are also looking at value addition.

Overhauling the entire value chain along the agribusiness environment is what we're pursuing. As I mentioned, we have over $50 to $100 million markets for rice and tomato. We spend close to about $150 million to $200 million a year on rice, and this is our staple food. So we believe 28 agriculture should be our priority while working on the domestic economy. Agriculture is high on the agenda of the President. We are already taking deliberate steps to develop actionable agricultural programs and projects. These steps are designed to help improve the local production of rice and other cash crops, and also to revamp our rubber sector. Throughout the history of rubber production in our country, we have been exploiting liquid latex without any value addition. We believe that value addition should be the core of the rubber sector since we have extensive experience working with rubber. Another industry that I like to refer to as the giant is the tourism sector. Liberia has so much to show the world. We have everything.

We have the largest forest reserve in West Africa and the largest rain forest in Africa. We have historic places - like the shore where freed slaves landed in Africa. We have beautiful waterfalls; different species of animals; and parks. We also have one of the most extended stretches of beaches in West Africa. The tourism sector has so many untapped potentials in Liberia, and we believe that COVID-19, has taught us a lesson to be able to get at this industry. It might also interest you to know that we have one of the best waters for surfing. So those are resources that we think we want to capitalize so that they can contribute to the domestic economy.

I n d eed , we will be build in g infrastructure for the digital economy; those are the support line that needs to come along to those corridors; you will see that to do value addition, you need energy. So binding constraints in those industries, we would then be working very hard to continue to

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expand our electric grid, which we have had an issue with during the civil war. There has been massive work with the energy sector, working on getting that restored. We are working through the West African power pool, which means accessing power from other West African countries like Sierra Leone. Once that project is completed, we believe we'll have some stable power in the country. The energy can be used to power our industries, like manufacturing, and bring value addition to other products. Local production is very high on our agenda for recovery, and getting us more sustainable, and also for the factor of impacting our balance of trade. Because in that case, we then will have less import of things that we can produce locally. We can leverage on all these sectors to rebound our economy.

In 2018, the government launched the $3 Million pro-poor loan scheme for small businesses in the country. How has the scheme helped in the growth and development of small businesses?

The program has been ongoing. The loan was in response to the real challenging needs of the business environment. One of the challenges we have as an economy is the fact that we don't have a developed financial market. So even the small businesses would not have opportunities easily to assess loan through the formal financial system, because they are in the informal sector. These are real

challenges because the loans are short term, and they may not have the requirements to meet the demand of the commercial banks. These loans were made available so that small businesses will otherwise have access to facilities and take care of their financial needs. And be able to get them to keep going. From all the reports I gave earlier, when we had the civil war, many people lost their business and others lost their jobs. So investing in the small businesses in 2018 was the government's way of helping the business people and small businesses that indeed are the agent of any economic growth. So between 2018 and now, we have all these issues which make our intervention even more expedient.

The President has also announced support for the market women. So there's a $4 million facility which is split into two folds -$2 million in last year's budget and $2 million in the new budget. The fund is also meant to continue to support small businesses and market women and petty traders.

We are now working on other facilities which will be an addition to the numerous interventions of government.

“The tourism sector has so many untapped potentials in Liberia, and we believe that COVID-19, has taught us a lesson to be able to at this industry. It might also interest you to know that we have one of the best waters for surfing. So those are resources that we think we want to capitalize so that they can contribute to the domestic economy�

AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

How is Mastercard helping Africa deal with the COVID-19 pandemic?

We are doing this not only by ensuring our network remains secure, resilient and reliable, but also, by applying our technology, infrastructure and data science expertise to rebuild healthy communities and ensuring that the focus on doesn't waiver from inclusive economic growth.

Raghav Prasad, Division President, Sub-Sahara Africa

How Mastercard plans to bring 50 million SMEs into the Digital Economy by 2025

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astercard has set out an ambitious plan of bringing 1 billion people and 50 million SMEs into the digital economy by 2025. In this exclusive interview with African Leadership Magazine UK, the division president for SubSahara Africa shares the company's strategy towards

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Hence, for example, we are supporting small business owners and their employees around the world and in Africa by committing $250 million in financial, technology, product and insight assets over the next five years to support the financial security and vitality of businesses and their workers.

In the short term, in Tanzania for example, we have partnered with EYWA and NMB Bank to introduce a no-touch payment solution leveraging our QR technology.

This has made public transportation in the country even better organized and safer during this period, enabling consumers to get onto buses without the usual jostling and staying safe.

Similarly, we are working with one of our fintech partners, DPO, to enable businesses across Africa to quickly go online. As you can imagine, a number of business were not ready to deal with the sudden need for social distancing and urgently need support to become eCommerce enabled so they can serve their customers' need for no-contact purchases.

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Globally, we have committed up to $300 million to support COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. In addition, we are leading a response that offers value to Africa's consumers, businesses, merchants, financial institutions and governments.

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Mastercard's is responding to the COVID19 pandemic in multiple ways at multiple levels, in keeping with our position as both a global and a local technology leader. We are committing funds, technological expertise and thought leadership to address both immediate 29 and mid/long term problems that are emerging due to the pandemic.

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We are also mindful that consumers have had to suddenly shift their work habits to working from home.

We have also tied up with a number of merchant partners, ranging from Naira box in Lagos and Tuskys in Nairobi to Jumia across Africa to offer consumers value ranging from discounts to free delivery to make their 'working-from-home' lives a little easier Why is Mastercard committed to pursuing the agenda of a digital economy in Africa?

Mastercard has committed itself to the agenda of inclusive growth. We firmly believe that developing economies thrive, and that growth becomes sustainable only when it is widely spread.

As more people join the formal economy and begin to earn, spend and save, they collectively drive economic growth. It also ensures Governments are able to generate higher tax revenues which can deployed to generate economic growth.

And, of course, when the economy grows, we grow with it. This is all in line with our agenda of "doing well by doing good".

The digitization of transactions is a key enabler of this inclusive growth. It is the basis for putting the economy to work for everyone, everywhere, as digital provides a way to scale at low cost. It also supports the Government's agenda to reducing the inefficiencies in the distribution of services for citizens and to improve the collection of taxes and levies.

Critically, the digitization of transactions reduces the cost of cash in an economy.

Mastercard's research across

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multiple markets around the world indicates that the cost of cash – printing it, storing and transporting it safely and the government revenue leakage it causes – can be as much as 1.5% of the GDP of a country. At Mastercard we see the greatest opportunity in four areas: ? ·Creating pathways for people to become financially secure ? · P r o m o t in g in clus iv e economic development to help communities thrive ? ·Creating solutions to help workers navigate the changing nature of work ? ·Pioneering the use of "data for good" to tackle the world's most pressing issues.

Mastercard has pledged to bring a total of 1 billion people and 50 million SMEs into the digital economy by 2025.

How do you intend to achieve this goal and why is it important?

Five years ago, we made a commitment to bring 500M financially excluded individuals into the digital economy. Through 350 programs in over 80 countries from 2015 to 2020, we have achieved that goal. However, we are not content to sit on our laurels here – if anything, this has spurred us to dream even bigger. We're now focused on extending our commitment to taking this number to financially including 1 billion individuals by 2025.

The reason we're doing this is simple; it reflects our mission of "doing well by doing good", of harnessing our insights, technology and expertise to advance inclusive growth and make a substantive and enduring

social impact. In fact, we have extended this commitment beyond just 1 billion individuals – in addition, we will support 50 Million MSME/SMEs and 30Million women entrepreneurs in becoming financially included.

Bringing in another 500 million individuals into the digital economy will be achieved through a broad range of efforts including: ongoing work on government disbursement solutions, digitizing pay for private sector workers, expanding partnerships with mobile network operators, providing money management and payment solutions for gig workers, scaling up efforts with fintechs, digital platforms and digital wallets/apps as well as addressing needs of the financially vulnerable.

For micro and small businesses, the biggest hurdle to growth is not having access to working capital loans.

Mastercard's technology makes it possible for them to digitise their transactions – both sales & purchases – which provides financial institutions the means to evaluate them for credit. This includes a suite of solutions that reduce both the cost of and the barriers to accept payments digitally. This means reinventing the

infrastructure that small shops need to accept digital payments. For example, 'Tap on Phone' solutions that allow MSME to turn their mobile phone into a contactless payment acceptance device.

Or, new technologies like Mastercard QR that enable consumers even at the bottom of the pyramid to pay via their mobile devices, and, MSMEs to accept these payments digitally.

These types of payment solutions are cornerstones of our efforts to reduce the cost of acceptance. ·How is Mastercard involved in pushing their financial inclusion agenda in Africa and what are some of the achievements?

Over 90 percent of transactions in Africa are still done with cash. Here, we are committed to developing and implementing solutions that make it easier and more convenient for people to use alternative means of payment so that they can enjoy the dividends of being part of the financial ecosystem.We have been working hard for a number of years to push financial inclusion in Africa.

For example, in 2015, we committed to 'innovating in Africa for Africa' by launching the 'Mastercard Labs for Financial Inclusion' in Nairobi.

“Mastercard's technology makes it possible for them to digitise their transactions – both sales & purchases – which provides financial institutions the means to evaluate them for credit”.

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Kupaa is a solution we launched in Uganda in partnership with UNICEF Uganda and the Ministry of Education. It enables parents and caregivers to pay school fees and other school expenses with their mobile phones securely, easily, and even in small instalments, thus easing the burden on daily or seasonal wage earners.

Mastercard Farmer Network is a mobile platform that digitally connects small farmers in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania with buyers. It improves farmers' access to markets, increases price transparency and digitizes payments. This then can form the basis for micro-lending to farmers to fund farm inputs.

More recently, we signed a

In Nigeria, we partnered with NetPlusDotCom and to provide micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with digital payment tools to advance their business through their selfonboarding digital platform, Merchant Digital. So far, 1 million MSMEs have been onboarded on the platform that can be accessed online by all small businesses and micro merchants in Nigeria.

Are mobile money transfer services a threat to card services providers like Mastercard and what are the opportunities for collaboration?

Not at all - on the contrary, we see mobile money services provided by

various MNOs as a great platform to advance digital financial inclusion in Africa. We work very closely with mobile operators in multiple markets to build the domestic payments ecosystem, both for usage and for acceptance

Tanzania is a great case in point.

Through our partnerships with mobile network operators such as Airtel, Tigo & Vodacom, and, with our fintech partners like Selcom, we have enabled over 20 million users of Mastercard QR and VCNs (virtual card numbers) and over 50,000 merchants in Tanzania. This includes everything from Puma petrol stations to BodaBoda drivers as well as enabling mobile wallet holders to shop online for the first time!

We are of course extending this further. In 2019 for example, Mastercard entered a partnership with Airtel Africa to enable over 100 million mobile phone users across 14 African countries to access Mastercard's global network through VCNs and QR payments. We will be building similar alliances with other MNOs. Fintechs are vital for growth of a digital economy. How is Mastercard helping fintechs thrive?

Fintechs are crucial building blocks of the digital economy. We recognise their ability to innovate at speed, identify and solve local problems cheaply and scale at low cost. We have therefore focused on building deep strategic partnerships with fintechs across Africa , and indeed, across the world.

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The challenge in Africa is one of scaling efficiently at reasonable cost.

We have built technologies like Mastercard QR that allow us to partner with MNOs, leveraging their customer base and reach. This technology offers the advantage of ease of access, convenience and safety for consumers, while allowing merchants a low-cost solution and easy to implement way to accept digital payments.

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The Jaza Duka program has been developed in partnership with Unilever and Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and offers a digital platform that allows KCB to provide working capital loans to micro-merchants, based on their purchasing history with Unilever.

Memorandum of Understanding with the Ethiopian Ministry of Innovation and Technology to develop and implement strategic solutions and policies pertinent to delivering a digitized economy in the country.

Under the MOU agreement, Mastercard will bring to bear its global technology platforms and apply its insights and experience from working with governments around the world in supporting Ethiopia achieve its digital transformation objectives. These activities will directly support efforts towards driving financial inclusion, creating safe and accessible digitized payment solutions for small businesses and implementing digital identity projects.

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This innovation hub is committed to innovating digital payment solutions for millions of Africans, building locally relevant solutions underpinned by a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities that exist in Africa. Amongst a number of solutions built here, let me mention three - Jaza Duka, Kupaa and the Mastercard Farmer Network.

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Mastercard is the partner of choice for the top Fintech brands worldwide, and in 2019 we launched Mastercard Accelerate, a global initiative that simplifies the way that Mastercard works with fintechs. This offers a simple, single entry-point to Masteercard's wide portfolio of specialized programs, giving start-ups and emerging brands the support and assistance they need at every stage of their growth and transformation, right from market entry to global expansion.

For our financial institution partners and customers, Mastercard Accelerate provides access to the next generation of innovators, with a portfolio of start-up partners and fintechs ready to co-create and collaborate on new experiences. Accelerate is comprised of a range of awardwinning programs - Mastercard Fintech Express, Mastercard Engage (launched in Nairobi in April 2019 with hundreds of fintechs already signed to our platform), Mastercard Start Path (over five African fintech's have run through this programme including Kasha, Mfarmpay, Lidya and Lipa Later) and Mastercard Developers, which has helped participants from all over the world access and benefit from Mastercard's ecosystem, customers and innovations.

“Mastercard Farmer Network is a mobile platform that digitally connects small farmers in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania with buyers. It improves farmers' access to markets, increases price transparency and digitizes payments. This then can form the basis for micro-lending to farmers to fund farm inputs.�

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Regulatory Efficiency:

The Bank of Ghana Example

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Operational efficiency and excellent services delivery are the twin concepts that has defined the Bank of Ghana's operation in the past couple of years. Buoyed by the twin concept the Bank has continued to maintain financial and economic stability. In this exclusive interview with African Leadership Magazine UK, the Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison, spoke of the Bank's efforts towards maintaining financial systems stability and economic growth in Ghana. Excerpts:

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anking sector reforms have become recurring actions in emerging economies. One of the high points of your leadership at the Bank of Ghana is the comprehensive reforms that you instituted and have pursued over the last three years. Kindly tell us about the progress and impact of the reforms on the economy in real terms?

The comprehensive reforms have resulted in a complete turnaround in the banking sector.

Currently, we have stronger, and wellregulated and supervised banks that are playing active intermediary roles to support the economy of Ghana. We have seen tremendous growth in bank assets, deposits, and credit extension. The banking industry's solvency position has also improved significantly, with Capital Adequacy Ratio of the industry under the Basel II/III framework well-above the statutory minimum. Asset quality also improved significantly following Bank of Ghana's write-off policy, stronger loan recovery efforts, and the rebound in credit.

In addition to turning around the banking sector, salvaging depositors' funds, saving thousands of jobs, restoring confidence in the sector, and generally repositioning the sector to better support the economy, Bank of Ghana has worked hard on strengthening the overall resilience of the financial system. This was done through a number of mechanisms including, the recent launch of Ghana's first deposit

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“In the aftermath of the pandemic, we will have to carefully unwind some of the counter cyclical measures that we have implemented to return the macroeconomic environment to the pre-COVID path and allow the financial system to function without the regulatory forbearance put into place to support Ghana's beyond Aid Agenda.” insurance scheme, the recent launch of Ghana's first Sustainable Banking Principles, promoting financial inclusion through a dynamic approach to regulation including licensing of Fintechs and other new entrants into the payments system landscape, to support the rapid development of digital financial services.

The coronavirus pandemic, with the measures adopted by governments to curb its spread, occasioned unprecedented circumstances and a devastating impact on the economy.

The impact of the global development on Ghana has been a widened budget deficit and a residual financing gap, as well as a sharp rise in inflation. Kindly highlight some of the results of the apex bank's monetary and fiscal policy responses in leading the country's economic recovery.

to the banks. In response to the regulatory reliefs, the banks have also extended some reliefs, such as provision of moratoria for loan repayments and restructuring of existing credit facilities to customers to moderate the impact of the pandemic on businesses, households, and the economy at large.

On the fiscal side, the central bank activated section 46A of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612), as Amended and undertook an asset purchase program. The Bank committed GHC10.0 billion to support government's efforts at closing the widening financing gap arising from COVID-related expenditures and the slowdown in economic activity.

Without this injection, the financing of the deficit would have been difficult with adverse market conditions, and constrained government's social intervention programmes intended to address the dire consequences of the pandemic on businesses and households.

The Bank's responses between March and May 2020 to address the pandemic have so far been decisive and broad-based. In addition to the cut in its key interest rate by 150 basis points in a bid to lower the cost of borrowing by businesses, the Bank announced a number of regulatory reliefs, including reduction in the primary reserve requirement and capital conservation buffer, that were intended to increase liquidity for banks to continue lending to critical sectors of the economy.

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing many African countries to look inward, not only to contain the spread of the virus but for ways to grow their economies and drive the recovery process. How positioned is the banking sector in support of the "Ghana Beyond Aid" agenda to drive the country's economic progress post-COVID-19?

In all, it is estimated that the regulatory reliefs made available some GHC 8.0 billion extra resources

Currently, banks are liquid, solvent, and well-positioned to drive Ghana's post-COVID recovery efforts,

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following the widespread reforms and recent regulatory reliefs. Going forward, the Bank's objective is to pursue sound policy measures and strong regulatory oversight to preserve the confidence and stability in the banking sector. In the aftermath of the pandemic, we will have to carefully unwind some of the counter cyclical measures that we have implemented to return the macroeconomic environment to the pre-COVID path and allow the financial system to function without the regulatory forbearance put into place to support Ghana's beyond Aid Agenda.

Recognizing the potential challenges that could emerge in the prudential treatment of the COVID-19 related reliefs granted by financial institutions, the Bank has issued further regulatory guidance to the banking industry as follows: ?

Guidelines on prudential treatment of credit repayment relief and loan restructuring measures for banks and specialised deposit-taking institutions (SDIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. ?

Guidance notes for the application of IFRS 9 expected credit loss impairment model in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ? · Rules on credit data submission to the credit reference bureau in accordance with COVID-19 related reliefs to borrowers. ?

These are to ensure that the reliefs are accounted for in a transparent and standardized manner while recognizing the prudential treatment that Bank of Ghana will apply to such reliefs in its assessment of credit and liquidity risks and capital requirements.

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) returned to profitability after two years of losses, as it posted a net profit of GH¢1.8 billion, according to BoG's 2019 annual report, highlighting the improved operational efficiency and

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The Ghanaian economy ended 2019 with strong macroeconomic fundamentals, following the successful implementation of prudent macroeconomic policies with fiscal consolidation and stringent monetary and exchange rate policies for the past 3 years. At the close of 2019, headline inflation was within the medium-term target band of 8Âą2 percent, the exchange rate was relatively stable, the fiscal and current account deficits had improved significantly, and the Bank of Ghana had added more than US$1 billion to its foreign exchange reserve buffers.

These sound macroeconomic conditions provided the base for stability in the local currency.

Additionally, just before the COVID19 was declared a pandemic, the Country assessed the Eurobond market, raising some US$3 billion, which significantly improved foreign exchange liquidity and calmed pressures in the currency market. So, broadly, the sound management of the economy has supported the performance of the local currency through this COVID-period.

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Obviously, COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wedge in the move towards single currency project. Every member state of the West African Monetary Zone is currently faced with daunting challenges in dealing with the adverse effects of the pandemic on the economy and livelihoods. It has been recommended that Covid19 pandemic should be recognized and 2020 declared as an exceptional year under Article 19 of the Macroeconomic Convergence and Stability Pact among ECOWAS Member States. This implies a more gradual approach to the creation of the single currency and possible resetting of the road map for launching to a later date as we resolve all the outstanding issues.

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Ghana's currency, the cedi was ranked best-performing currency in the world against the U.S. dollar a few months ago. While many emerging market economies have seen sharp depreciation of their currencies against the US dollar, due to the economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, the cedi performed relatively better. How are you able to support the local currency and maintain stability in the foreign exchange market?

of the Eco, which was being planned to be introduced as the sub-region's common currency in July this year.

Considering the economic situation, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, do you think member states will reach an agreement on this common currency in the nearest future?

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excellence of the bank. How were you able to achieve this?

Just as you have alluded to, the return to profitability was attributed to improved efficiency and excellence in operations. Additionally, operating income in 2019 improved significantly on the back of price and exchange rate differences compared with 2018, giving rise to increased profitability.

You were recently nominated for the Central Bank Governor of the Year Award by the African Leadership Magazine. How do you feel about this award?

As the saying goes, 'you see far, when you stand on the shoulders of others', so, I don't take this as a personal achievement. It has always been a team effort with my two colleague Deputy Governors, Management, Board, and the entire staff of the Bank of Ghana who share in the vision of sustaining macroeconomic stability and building a strong financial sector for the growth and development of Ghana.

Earlier this year, you said West Africa was not ready for the formal adoption

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Mrs. Akua Sarpong AYISA

Unique Floral – adding beauty to life & living Driven by passion, the story of Unique Floral typifies why success is guaranteed when passion meets commitment. In this exclusive interview with African Leadership Magazine UK, MRS AKUA SARPONG AYISA shares her journey towards the formation of one of Africa’s leading floral companies. Excerpts

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It is my natural flair to give everything I touch a masterly detail and signature.

I therefore ensured that the flowers I sent out were unique and customised with no alternatives in the market.

Corporate bodies and government agencies joined the team of interested parties with interest in the flowers I sent out. This motivated me to pursue a full course in floral design to improve on my skills and knowledge in the sale of flowers. I also met friends who were florists anytime I went on flight. I took the opportunity to relax with them in each country I visited and learnt the rudiments of floristry and events designing. The passion I nurtured, developed into a business, given birth to Unique Floral Limited What are some of the hard lessons you have learnt in your entrepreneurial journey, that structured your work principles?

My journey as an entrepreneur has been a mixture of successes and challenges but I always looked at the bigger picture I want to achieve in the distant future. This inspires me to stay focused.

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Work balance has always been an issue for female entrepreneurs, is it so for you? How have you been able to create a balance?

What are the most important things to progressing as the owner/Director of a business?

These could be characteristics, values, skills, etc. A business owner should represent the brand of the company and be an innovative team player. You should be confident about your vision, prioritise your priorities, remain the number one customer service agent and sink these ideals you represent to every member of your business. Product knowledge should be your strength and inspire confidence. My style over the years

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The Business environment is highly dynamic and one little mistake can lead to the total collapse of a venture you may have used several years to build. I have learnt through the hard way to see the knocks in business as a clarion call to be innovative. My Unique products are therefore differentiated from the others in the industry, helping us to maintain our brand superiority and uniqueness.

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My presence in the floral business is pure passion that has been given a business face and perfected. The original motive for entry was to appreciate my loved ones with flowers and later, people's interest in my collections kept increasing. I decided to commercialise this interest just to satisfy the ever-increasing appetite of my friends, colleagues and relations who were original beneficiaries of my philanthropic floral collections for free. With time my husband encouraged me to monetize my hobby by opening a shop to earn some extra income, instead of given out freely.

has been a hands-on manager who trains every staff of the business to understand the details the brand represents and our social contract with our clients. My staff sees the business as their own. Customers feedback on our product service delivery help us to improve upon our systems vigorously to remain competitive in this vibrant industry. 37 See your performance through the expressions on the faces of your satisfied clients. Your clients are your reasons for existence. These are basic catalysts to make you progress in business.

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Some of these challenges have been internal and business related and others, external influences that nearly led to the collapse of my whole entrepreneurial journey. In all these, I have learnt to be resilient and innovative. Challenges in business strengthens you and provide you with an opportunity to learn from your mistakes. Lessons learnt have made me to be proactive and stay unique in-service delivery. It has also sharpened my creativity skills, forecasting and strategic planning abilities and even new product development.

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ike the name implies, you are in a unique business sector. The floral business is not so common. What informed this choice of

I am an African woman. In Africa, women are the managers of our homes and custodians of family values with direct responsibility to raise the children and ensure their upkeep. This calls for a very balanced lifestyle to avoid paying more attention to business, to the detriment of your home and family.

My career as an air hostess mostly took me away from my children.

However, I had a wonderful sister who together with my mother supported me to raise these lovely children. I am a mother and always want my children to feel my presence at home and not to neglect my immediate family to look like an absentee mum.

In times that I did not fly, I spent an exclusive quality time with my family.

The demands at work is very herculean and could make you work even in the night. Constant

“This calls for a very balanced lifestyle to avoid paying more attention to business, to the detriment of your home and family. My career as an air hostess mostly took me away from my children. However, I had a wonderful sister who together with my mother supported me to raise these lovely children�.

AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

ALM WOMAN

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communication with the family back home helps me to ensure that their needs are provided whiles mummy works harder to make life comfortable for society. I always ensure a strict balance between the times with the family and work so that I do not disadvantage the other.

Fortunately, currently all my children 38 are grown up and independent and I have a wonderful husband who supports my vision so I get more time to advance the bigger vision the company's board has outlined for myself and the team.

What one piece of advice would you give to aspiring female business leaders?

Woman are culturally disadvantaged with stereotype limitations in Africa.

However, I currently see the African woman breaking the jinx of marginalization and leading the marathon of a new wave of transformation.

It is always difficult to measure your contribution to society until an external force acknowledges your input. Naturally I see my works as a call to duty to exhibit my God-given talent. It is my contribution to society to help make this world a better place to live. Throughout my life, I have served humanity in every sector of human endeavour, either within my internal or external environment. It therefore becomes very humbling when your effort is recognised from afar and trumpeted. I see such awards as a direct reflection of my maker's endorsement because I always give out my best shot and passionately as service to God. These awards spur me to do more for society, inspire and empower me to go the extra mile to help, especially the vulnerable woman to get motivated and champion the course of societal change and national development.

Naturally women are good managers and excellent planners. To win as a leader in this turbulent business environment, one needs to have a clear vision and stay focused. A leader should have a good plan geared towards your vision and should ensure proper monitoring with checks and balances whiles working towards this vision. There will be a lot of distractions, but stay focused and work towards the dream you have set for yourself.

I have been modest in my career as a woman entrepreneur. Be guided by the principle of honesty. Be a good listener and learn from successful people. Read extensively on emerging trends in the industry and remain ambitious. Trust me, even if your dreams go beyond the sky, you can achieve them.

You have recently been endorsed by the Board of African Leadership Magazine to be conferred with the Africa Female Business Excellence Award. How do you feel about these honours?

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AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

INDUSTRY FOCUS

The Secrets of

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Airtel is Nigeria's second largest telecommunications company by revenue.

In this exclusive interview with African Leadership Magazine UK, the Chief Executive Officer, Segun Ogunsanya, shares some of the company's winning secrets. Excerpts:

Our strong financial performance is underpinned by a strong team, clear vision and enduring focus on customer satisfaction. We believe in designing simple, relevant and transparently priced products to satisfy the needs of our customers. We are also not shy of making investments in relevant areas of our business. Our 4G Network is the best in the Country. We have modernized our network to provide top in class service to our customers.

The COVID 19 pandemic, with the measures adopted by governments to flatten the curve, largely impacted economic activities and markets globally. What impact has the pandemic had on your company, as it relates to all stakeholders? And what are some of your efforts towards the fight against and recovery from the pandemic?

Segun Ogunsanya CEO, Airtel Nigeria

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The pandemic had an adverse effect on the local and global economy as economic activities almost came to a halt. Given that our business is predominantly prepaid and the fact that our economy is dominated by daily-paid workers, we suffered some headwinds in the early days of the lockdown. But we have recovered from the downturn. Our first reaction to any emergency is to provide succor to the most impacted. We supported individuals, national and states governments with some palliatives: N200m towards provision of an ?

Isolation/Treatment centre in one of the leading Teaching Hospitals in the Country.

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nder your watch as CEO, Airtel has been repositioned into becoming the second-largest telecommunications company by revenue. How are you able to consistently maintain and deliver strong financial performance at Airtel Nigeria, especially in the past year?

INDUSTRY FOCUS Donation of money to Lagos State ?

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Government to procure PPA equipment for Health Workers ·Donated a Covid Diagnostic ? center to Neighboring Ogun State ·Short Message Services (SMS) to ? customers across all networks worth over N1 billion as well as free data for customers to access educational and health sites worth about N500m. The sites include those of Federal Ministry of Health and Nigeria Center for Disease Control on COVID-19.

We also commenced a multi-millionnaira educational awareness campaign to sensitize Nigerians on steps to take to prevent spread of the virus and provision of toll-free lines to help in the fight.

Our employees are not left out. They also donated money to Lagos State Government for the provision of food items to needy families during this crisis One of the significant contributions of Airtel Nigeria that has impacted the lives of the people and transformed communities is your 'Airtel Touching Lives' initiative. Kindly share with us what inspired this journey, and some of the high points of your projects and outreaches in the lives of your customers and communities?

This community support program was inspired by our belief that every Great Company starts from being a good Company. We must build a society in which the strong supports the weak and the rich supports the strong. Poverty should never be a permanent feature of our communities. We have some truly engaging stories. A family whose 3 children were completely burnt down in a house. We built a new house for them and they have started life afresh.

The Nigerian subscribers have been experiencing poor network service in recent times. Experts have pinpointed willful damage and theft of telecommunications infrastructure, as well as the epileptic power supply in

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the country as the bane of quality of service in the industry. What is your response to this and how has Airtel Nigeria been rising to the challenges to deliver quality service and operational efficiency?

These are some of the major challenges the telecom sector has faced over the years. Recently, the President approved an executive order declaring telecom infrastructure as Critical. This should deter willful damage and unjustified shut downs of telecom infrastructure by unscrupulous people and bodies. To minimize impact on service, we have a network of multiple redundancies.

Your company recently acquired 10MHz of spectrum in the 900MHz band in Nigeria for a total consideration of USD94 million to boost call quality and data experience for your customers. Kindly tell us more about your other investments in telecommunications infrastructure in the country?

path to recovery?

The NCC leadership is always supportive of the industry. Very transparent and they have created a great framework for the development of the telecom industry The Central Bank has rolled out a number of palliatives to support Small businesses.

They include easy to assess loans with generous repayment terms. Consumer demand is strengthening again and I believe that our economy will bounce back.

You were recently named Industry Personality of the Year by the African Leadership Magazine. What does this award mean to you?

The award is for me and my team. I dedicate it to the men and women of Airtel who do small things in extraordinary manner to delight our over 50 million customers every day.

We have an unwavering commitment to grow our business in Nigeria and we continue to invest in Network – 4G, distribution infrastructure and customer service.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently announced that it has started working on a policy for the deployment of 5G in Nigeria. How prepared is Airtel Nigeria for 5G technology and what is its implication for the larger society?

We continue to work with our regulatory body to develop appropriate framework for the launch of 5G in the Country. We fully support the broadband agenda of the Government and will work with our regulator on relevant technologies to deepen broadband.

In commemorating your 10th anniversary in Nigeria, you commended the leadership of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). How supportive has been the regulatory environment been for big businesses like yours? What can be done to support small businesses on the

AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

PERSONALITY PROFILE

Dr. Engr. Silver

MUGISHA

Managing Director of National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), Uganda

At the time of his appointment, the Corporation was at cross roads with a good historical performance record, but increasing demand for services across the urban divide in Uganda. Under his strategic leadership, he changed the Corporation’s strategic focus and launched the first ever Five Year Strategic Direction (2013-2018), that provides the Corporations outlook and key strategic interventions taking into account the wider stakeholder expectations, policy directions and competitive environment.

The Strategic Direction aims at gearing the Corporation for transformational changes in its operational and geographical mandate and highlights the Corporation’s contribution towards the National Vision of transforming Uganda from a Peasant to a selfsustaining economy. Key among the strategic focus areas under the strategic direction is expanding the mandate of the Corporation to cover all major urban centres within Uganda in a bid to ensure accelerated service delivery and provide water for all.

In 2014, Dr. Engr. Silver Mugisha and his management team championed the launch of the NWSC water for all program as the operational framework for the strategic direction. The water for all program has been noted as an innovative and noble initiative given its; holistic approach, strong strategic focus, customer orientation, resource optimization, community connectivity and accountability, aggressive stakeholder engagement, and most importantly its focus on achieving 100% water

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Dr. Silver Mugisha (PhD), has over 20 years’ experience in water utility management, international policy, research and advisory services. He specializes in institutional development, policy analysis and utility transformation and change management processes.

He has published widely in peer reviewed journals. His recent (2019) book volume, published by IWA Publishing is on “Sustaining High Performing Public Enterprises: A Case of National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Uganda”. He also authored another book (published by IWA Publishing) titled, “Utility Bench marking and Regulation in Developing Countries: Practical Application of Performance Monitoring and Incentives”.

In addition to the professional achievements, Dr. Engr.

Silver Mugisha is also passionate about advancement of the water sector in Africa and the world as a whole. In 2014 during the prestigious International Water

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service coverage.

As a result of the good performance, the Corporation has won several regional and global awards in recognition of its efficiency improvements in revenue collection, excellence and innovation, infrastructure service delivery, and replicating good practices to other utilities through the external services wing of the Corporation. Among the recognitions awards received include the Global Water Leaders Awards received in Paris, the African Water Utility of the Year 2013/2014 award received in Cape Town South Africa, The Golden Europe Award for Quality and Customer Excellence received in Geneva, the most Compliant Public Entity in PPDA award received in Nairobi, The Best Digital Customer Service Award received in Kampala to mention but a few.

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n August 2013, Dr. Engr. Silver Mugisha was appointed the Managing Director of National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), Uganda – a public utility that is 100% owned by the government of Uganda providing water and sewerage services across the country on a commercial and financially viable basis.

SPECIAL REPORT

AFRICA-CHINA TIES POST COVID: A NEW RELATIONSHIP IS BORN? 42

The COVID-19 pandemic looks certain to radically change the world order, and the Africa-China dynamic is no exception.

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By Stephen Williams

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Over the following four decades, China increased per capita income 25-fold and lifted more than 800 million Chinese people out of poverty, according to the World Bank Today, China is aggressively seeking investments and contracts around the world, and perhaps nowhere is this more visible than Africa, where Chinese companies have won contracts to build dams, roads, stadiums, airports and railways.

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year after China launched its Belt and Road Initiative in 2014, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, speaking at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, promised that China would offer "innovative and pragmatic cooperation" to the continent. Li was essentially saying that his country would provide investment funding in a friendly, non-judgmental alternative to those of Western powers, free from the baggage of colonialism and Cold War machinations on the continent. The pitch, based on Chinese investment in infrastructure in an exchange for African commodities, was received enthusiastically by Africa.

According to research carried out at the Johns Hopkins University's China Africa Research Institute, Chinese FDI annual flows to Africa, also known as overseas FDI (OFDI) in (typically opaque) Chinese official reports, have been increasing steadily since 2003. From 2003 to 2018, the number has surged from $75m in 2003 to $5.4bn in 2018.

The flows peaked in 2008 at $5.5bn due to the purchase of 20% of the shares in Standard Bank of South Africa by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Chinese FDI flows to Africa have exceeded those from the US since 2014. FDI flows from the US have been declining since 2010.

The top five African destinations of Chinese FDI in 2018 were Angola, South Africa, DR Congo, Mozambique, Zambia, and Ethiopia. From 2001-2012, China's FDI in sub-Saharan Africa grew by 53% annually (compared to 16% annual growth for the EU, 29% for Japan and just 14% in the case of the US).

It is worth recalling what Henry Kissinger, the U.S. diplomat who helped open the US's diplomatic relationship with China, said after he first visited China in 1971. "There were practically no automobiles, very limited consumer goods, and no high-rise buildings. The technology was fairly backward."

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In country after country, governments have borrowed heavily from China to pay for these projects. China is Africa's largest trading partner and in the first quarter of 2020, China-bound exports from Africa slowed by 17.5%.

These trade figures were published in the South China Morning Post.

Even before the advent of the Corona Virus (Covid-19) pandemic, there were serious concerns about the amount of debt that Africa was taking on, fearing the continent was falling into a giant debt trap.

From 2010 to 2018, China lent over $150bn to African nations for projects mainly related to the Belt and Road Initiatives contributing to Africa's development in a much more concrete way than what developed countries have ever done in the past and by relying on world-class expertise in building infrastructure projects and on a strong financing apparatus that consists of the world's four biggest banks.

In its "Africa Pulse" report, the World Bank said those sub-Saharan countries' high levels of trade and

AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

SPECIAL REPORT presidential campaign}yet with only a superficial understanding of how China worked, and devoid of a specific goal in mind or a plan to achieve success in this trade war.

connectivity with China left them highly vulnerable to the impact of the global health crisis.

But Virag Forizs, an emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, said the first-quarter slump in China-Africa trade did not come as a surprise.

For its part China has indicated it will be dealing with this on a case-by-case bilateral basis, much in the same way it doled out the funds in the first place.

Now that Covid-19 has hit the global economy, the question is what the long-term impact will be on the AfroSino relationship? Further complicating this conundrum is the current trade war between China and the US. It had all seemed so positive a decade or so ago. Ties between the US and China were so promising that the two nations seemed wrapped in a permanent embrace. "Chimerica," academics called it. In Beijing, officials told Americans that their two nations were like an old married couple. They may bicker but they were essentially affectionate towards each other.

But countering that narrative is the fear that the two superpowers are heading inexorably towards a new Cold War As the noted writer and academic Deborah Brautigan observed, as early as 2009, as far as large-scale private sector manufacturing was concerned, scant Western involvement in Africa had left China the lone, dominant actor.

When two elephants fight…

If the trade war between Beijing and

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There have been calls for some form of debt relief such as debt repayment forbearance – but there is also an argument that, given China's role in the origin of the pandemic, all debt should be forgiven.

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“We expect further disruptions as lockdowns and other coronavirus containment measures across subSaharan Africa weigh on trade and supply chains," he said.

Hawks on both sides of the Pacific say the result of the trade battle will be a "decoupling" of the two economies, a kind of complete estrangement. If, as 43 the polls seem to suggest, Trump were to lose the November election, Joe Biden would inherit a world where the US has tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in imports from China and other nations, a powerful tool in the hands of the Democrat Party looking to force countries to adopt environmental and labour standards acceptable to the White House.

Washington should worsen and morph into a new Cold War {or even outright military conflict }the consequences for Africa would be profound.

The old African adage, that 'when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers', springs to mind. If the first Cold War is any precedent, (that between the old Soviet Union and the US) African countries will be bullied into choosing sides.

Could Angola, Nigeria or Sudan risk a decision that would endanger oil revenues, or Zimbabwe its platinum exports? Could Central Africa afford to lose its tropical timber revenues; Zambia its copper; or South Africa its coal and iron ore earnings? Probably not, but the converse is true – that China could not afford to lose its sources of primary commodities.

A new US development agency, the US International Development Finance Corp. (DFC) is now in place that has signaled the biggest change in US development finance since the introduction of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

AGOA has been at the core of US economic policy and commercial engagement with Africa since its enactment in 2000, but the DFC presents higher limits on loans and for the first time the facility to authorise equity investments.

Already, China's economy has contracted by nearly 7% in Q1.20, and its growth rate for the year is projected to be the lowest since the 1970s. While food demand – and therefore US agricultural exports – could recover to some degree, energy and important services exports are likely to lag.

In September, the DFC approved a loan of up to $200m to Central Térmica de Temane (CTT) and agreed to provide up to $1.5bn in political risk insurance to support the commercialisation of natural gas reserves in Area 4 of Mozambique's Rovuma Basin. DFC's loan to CTT will finance the development, construction, and operation of a 420megawatt power plant and 25km interconnection line, which will diversify the country's energy supply and reduce the cost of electricity.

But President Donald Trump had started the biggest trade war since the 1930s, quickly blocking imports of steel and aluminum {as he had pledged during the 2016 US

There remain questions on the DFC's relationship with USAID that need to be resolved and details will have to be ironed out, particularly about how the chief development officer – a new

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SPECIAL REPORT post created in the legislation – will work with the two.

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“The biggest worry is that the OPIC team will be under a lot of pressure to stand up some of the capabilities quickly and in haste and under pressure to disburse," said Elizabeth Littlefield, a former OPIC CEO. "I hope 44 it's not the case they move more quickly than is prudent."

In the eight months it has been operation, the DFC has approved about $2.3bn in new projects – not all for Africa but including $250m for political risk insurance to support blue bonds in Kenya.

Of the 33 projects that the DFC has approved, it classifies 72% as going to low-income or lower-middle-income countries surpassing its 60% target, though that includes some regional or global deals in which some funding might go to higher-income countries.

It is interesting to note that the DFC's own website says: "DFC supports an economically viable form of private sector-led investment, offering a robust alternative to state-directed investment which often leaves countries saddled with debt."

The site also confirms that the DFC does not replace grant-based foreign aid, but its work complements that of the US government aid programmes.

This would seem to suggest that the US is committed to providing the sort of finance to compete with what China has to offer, but the US still has some way to go to match the level of China's $58bn of bilateral official debt agreed with African borrowers.

Already, Africa's most industrialised economy, South Africa, has as its biggest trading partners China – despite an automotive sector that, thanks to AGOA, sees huge exports to the US of locally assembled vehicles (valued at around $700m in 2018).

The fact remains that the US-China conflict, along with the Covid-19 impact, will remain obstacles to global

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growth. Tariffs undermine corporate confidence in the future. That reduces business investment crucial for growth. With reduced investment comes reduced employment.

Laid-off workers, and those fortunate to still be in employment will find that the essential goods they need to buy are more expensive because of tariffs.

Africa stands to bear a considerable portion of the damage of the resulting global economic maelstrom – an economic depression that will be the equal of, if not significantly greater than, the Great Depression of the 1930s. The IMF now estimates that sub-Saharan African economies will shrink by nearly 3.2 % this year, the worst decline on record.

Wei Jianguo, China's former commerce vice minister, predicts that the US - China economic and trade war will last thirty years or even fifty years. "The essence of the trade war is that the US wants to destroy China," he says. "The US is unwilling to accept China as a rising power."

Africa's trump card This is a truly startling analysis, but Africa does have an economic 'trump' card – the introduction of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) that is set to be operational just as soon as the Covid-19 pandemic can be brought under control and African borders re-open.

The AfCFTA is confidently predicted, will create a defragmented market of 1.2 billion consumers with a combined GDP of $2.8 trillion. This initiative promises two major advantages for the continent. The first is that it will enable Africa to disentangle itself from exogenous global economic shocks (for example, commodity cycles) The second is that it will stimulate the development of Africa's long-overdue industrialisation.

The development of Africa's industrial base is of crucial importance as industrialisation and in particular manufacturing activities holds the most hope for realising the creation of

millions of good jobs. They are needed for a rapidly growing youth sector joining the labour pool each year.

Nevertheless, Africa is going to continue to need international partners, and both China and the US have attractive propositions. Noted African academic Stephen Chan, Professor of Politics and International Relations at the London School of Oriental and African Studies, has said that despite Africans living in China's city of Guangzhou amidst reports of xenophobic attacks, and subject to compulsory coronavirus testing and a mandatory 14-day quarantine – that he does not expect China to change its course in Africa.

"I do not believe that these incidents will damage the political relations between the two continents," Chan said, adding, "there are very few ructions at the official level.

"The current aid measures convey a clear image of China as an understanding and helpful partner on the continent," he believes. "Also, because the Chinese economy has suffered a setback due to the coronavirus crisis, the Chinese message to Africa is clear: 'We're all in the same boat'.”

“Africa's most industrialised economy, South Africa, has as its biggest trading partners China – despite an automotive sector that, thanks to AGOA, sees huge exports to the US of locally assembled vehicles (valued at around $700m in 2018).”

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FEATURE

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Elections In Africa: The Youth Vote and Implications for 2020

By Daniel Assamah & Shaoyu Yuan

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espite their growing numbers, African youths are under-represented in governance and their aspirational needs in areas like employment and education are often met with disappointments, as during the Arab Spring.

Consequently, the continent has suffered from "brain drain" as much of its talented youth migrated abroad. To most Africans, the escape route from deficient economic and political policies in their home country is migration. Within the past decade, countries like the United States, Israel, United Kingdom, Germany, and France, however, are closing their borders by enacting increasingly restrictive immigration policies.

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2020 is a critical year, as presidential and parliamentary elections will take place in a number of African countries. Coupled with the significant number of young people on the African continent, the ballot box remains a fundamental avenue for young Africans to elect leaders who will foster social change and generate economic opportunities on the continent.

According to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation "about 60% of Africans, and especially youth, think that their governments are doing a very bad or a fairly bad job at addressing the needs of young people."

Some argue that the situation is more so one of voter apathy, rather than political apathy. For instance, South Africa's 2019 presidential elections recorded the lowest number of youth voter turnout since 1999. Most of the youths chose to stay home on election day because they felt all the political parties were more or less the same.

Some young people, including political activists, even refrain from participating in electoral processes because they believe African elections are not free and fair. For instance, Ugandan youths, despite their large population, perceive their influence on presidential elections compared to local elections to be quite minimal. This might explain their low turnout rate during presidential elections. What makes this issue critical for Africa is that by 2050 one-third of youths in the world will be Africans.

A key challenge for young people vying for political positions is AFRICANLEADERSHIPMAGAZINE

FEATURE funding. To overcome this challenge, some young Africans have begun associating themselves with the old guard, employing rhetoric that parallels that of their godfathers. An issue that arises from this strategy, however, is that the older generation of politicians dictate their political messaging, leaving little to no chance for the younger politicians to make independent policy decisions.

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Kenya's model, on the other hand, engages the youth voter base through campaign and outreach programs.

Prior to its 2017 elections, Kenya started Youth Vote (YVOTE), a digital outreach initiative that educated and motivated young people to participate in the electoral process. The YVOTE campaign was a collaboration between the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). The campaign adopted a faceto-face and door-to-door strategy, including a digital campaign and voter educational games.

Globally, elections remain the primary mechanism for proving popular sovereignty. Thus, universal participation is a check to balance distortions and illegitimacy. According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), youth participation in elections affects overall turnout. In fact, it serves as a mechanism for ensuring early political socialization, strengthens democracy, and helps individuals exercise their political influence. A substantive vote from young Africans could affect the nature of representation in African politics and in public policy.

What could then be done to increase the turnout of young people during elections? An IDEA report indicates that at the institutional level, mandatory voting although controversial, will have a direct impact. Providing newly enfranchised young voters with a special rite of passage and/or other privileges could also incentivize them to come out to vote. Lastly, the voting system's structure and process should

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be reformed in order to be more appealing to young people.

As one-third of the youths on this planet will be located in Africa by 2050, the low turnout of young Africans during elections is a now global concern that we must address. In a globalized world, what affects Africa will have implications for the rest of the world. It is therefore imperative for the international community, regional organizations, and agencies to support campaigns to increase youth voter engagement on the African continent.

Notwithstanding, the role of transnational and local nongovernmental organizations is critical on this front, due to their perceived neutral position in local and national politics. By effectively designing programs for and educating young people about election process and logistics, as well as teaching them about the roles, rights, and responsibilities of young voters are just some of the ways NGOs could help empower the youth on the continent. Social media platforms will also play a role, with free live broadcasts possibly acting as an effective and efficient means of youth empowerment. With all these techniques, it is paramount to consider change at the behavioral mindset level so that African youth voters will always make meaningful choice at the poll.

Daniel Assamah is an expert on African Studies. His research area includes Sino-African relations, US-African relations, and African economic studies.

Assamah is currently a MS candidate at Rutgers University.

Shaoyu Yuan is the author of Panda Not Dragon: Why the Rise of China is Not a Threat. Yuan's works have appeared on multiple scholarly journals and conferences, with topics including the conflict between China and Japan over the Senkaku islands, South China Sea Arbitration, and others. He is currently completing his doctoral degree at Rutgers University.

AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

BUSINESS

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Nkontchou has been a non-executive director of Ecobank since 2015 and is Managing Partner of the Africanfocused, London and Johannesburg headquartered asset management company, Enko Capital Management.

It is a role that Alain Nkontchou has embraced with enthusiasm. While insisting that he is a non-executive Chairman, he defines his role as being in his own words, to "ensure that the board is effective in its task of setting and implementing the company's direction and providing strong strategic oversight, challenging management's thinking and proposals to ensure clear decisions are made and implemented".

Ecobank Transnational appoints

ALAIN NKONTCHOU as its new chairman Ecobank has a new chairman, Mr Alain Nkontchou.

He talked to ALM about the challenges of heading the leading pan-African bank.

Stephen Williams reports

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That statement makes clear that Nkontchou believes that his role as chairman is not simply titular but is active in promoting the highest standard of corporate governance. “Holding the global chief executive (Ade Ayeyemi) and the executive team accountable for the execution and delivery of agreed plans and key strategic goals [is a primary concern]," he says.

However, there are also other important roles for the chairman, including ensuring effective, regular communication with shareholders and that their views are communicated to the Board as a AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

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Nkontchou takes over the role and responsibilities of the Chairman of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of Ecobank, from Nigeria's Emmanuel Ikazoboh, whose six-year tenure as Chairman of Ecobank's holding company came to an end earlier this year.

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cobank Transnational Incorporated ("ETI"), the parent of the Ecobank Group (the leading panAfrican bank with banking operations in 33 countries), concluded its 32nd Annual General Meeting in Lagos at the end of last June by appointing Alain Nkontchou as its new non-executive 47 Chairman.

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There is also, of course, the need to foster high level regulatory and political relationships, thereby preserving ETI's influence and licence to operate.

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For Ecobank, that brings its own particular challenges as the bank 48 operates in 33 countries and jurisdictions.

When asked about this complexity, Nkontchou points to his reliance on the bank's long legacy of working with pan-African principles.

Yet a combination of circumstances has thrown up social and economic challenges unlike anything that has gone before. Not only does an increasingly vitriolic spat between China and the US threaten the structure of global trade, there is a continuing slump in. commodity prices.

There is also the fact that Africa is facing the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. But Nkontchou demonstrates a confidence in Africa and a determination that ETI will persevere with playing its part in overcoming these critical problems.

He says: "As a pan-African bank we have an absolute responsibility to support Africa's economic recovery post Covid-19 and will not shirk from this duty. Ecobank is well positioned to support the transition.

"Covid-19 has led to the realisation that a reliance upon a single supply chain is undesirable. This will boost national and regional supply chain diversification – playing to Africa's advantage and boosted by Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) – and Ecobank will be supporting the transition."

And on the subject of AfCFTA he says that the bank will be fostering the building of strategic partnerships to provide enhanced solutions, delivery and reach.

It is a continuation of Ecobank's current strategy of using data and digital technologies to better serve mass-market businesses. As Nkontchou puts it: "Broadband is as important as building roads".

It is clear that Ecobank's footprint puts the bank in a unique position. It can help sub-Saharan Africa seize the opportunities that AfCFTA will offer to trade and investment through its creation of a very large consumer market of over 1.3 billion people across the entire continent.

continent, its people, its businesses, its countries and for Ecobank."

AfCFTA will also provide a safety valve effectively providing Africa with intraAfrican trading opportunities that will shield it from exogenous global trade tensions.

It is obvious that he is fully behind Ecobank's determination to better lives in Africa. One of the bank's most recent major initiatives has been its "Zero Malaria Business Leadership" programme, launched with the collaboration of Speak Up Africa. The aim is, as its name suggests, eradicating malaria.

The programme, implemented in 30 African countries, will push decisionmakers to increase financing and take stronger and better-targeted actions to mobilize funds at the national level to sustainably finance malaria control.

Nkontchou is clearly anticipating a new era for Ecobank to take the continent forward, working closely with the group chief executive and the board of directors to meet current challenges and future opportunities.

Ecobank, with operations in 33 African countries has the ability to provide the financial ecosystem of AfCFTA. "The opportunities from AfCFTA are immense for Africa, in terms of productivity gains and further economic integration across the

"We have an intense focus on supporting MSMEs. The range of measures to support MSMEs demonstrates our intent, as they are the backbone of African economies; they generate employment and drive economic development. Our collaboration AUDA, the development agency of the African Union ,is key, co-ordinating and executing priority regional and continental development projects to promote regional integration towards the accelerated realisation of Agenda 2063 – Africa's vision and action plan.

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AFRICANLEADERSHIPMAGAZINE

SPECIAL REPORT

Jostle For West

African Hegamony By: Peter Burdin

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he daily bustle of shoppers on Accra's busy Oxford Street point to a country on the rise – but all that is about to dwarfed by the buzz of Africa's new free trade deal which launches in the Ghanaian capital in January.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will create a single market of more than a billion Africans across fifty-three countries and it will be headquartered in Accra. This will place Ghana at the heart of a panAfrican economy worth in excess of three trillion dollars.

In addition Ghana and its President Nana Akufo-Addo has just taken over the Chair of the West African economic community ECOWAS the fifteen member regional group of countries traditionally dominated by Nigeria.

So is Ghana poised to reinforce its role as a major actor on the continent?

When President Kwame Nkrumah led Ghana to be the first African state to gain independence in 1957 he declared at his inauguration:

unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa" Sixty-three years on the question now is Ghana about to fulfil his ambition and lead the continent into a new era of economic liberation?

The key lies in boosting intra-Africa trade. That currently stands at a low figure of around 16%. According to the UN Economic Commission for Africa this ought to grow to 52% within two years of the AfCFTA is implemented.

Ghana is certainly trying hard to play a pivotal role in this expansion. Its government has an aggressively probusiness agenda. It is currently spending heavily on infrastructure and seeking to industrialise its rural areas with the support of the Business Advisory and Resource Centre.

Ghana's main ports of Tema and Takoradi are being upgraded in a bid to make them the maritime hubs for West Africa, and the government insists that 70% of production in its Economic Free Zones have to be exported.

The AfCFTA has been delayed by six months due to the devastating impact

of the Covid-19 pandemic across Africa and through the rest of the globe. It will now be launched in Accra in January 2021.

Going into the global pandemic Ghana was in quite good economic shape. Last year by IMF predicted a GDP Growth Rate of 8.8%, making Ghana the fastest growing economy in the world.

The discovery of oil has helped but other sectors like agriculture, manufacturing and services have also been on the rise as Ghana has sought to diversify. The National Employment Innovation Plan has supported 7,000 start-ups and SMEs. Agriculture, where cocoa and cocoarelated products still make up 50% of Ghana's exports, remains a key sector.

It has benefited enormously by embracing modern farming techniques. With government support, some 200,000 farmers received improved seeds and fertilisers and this has boosted yields.

But if Ghana is to be considered an African success story then education has to be at the heart of that success.

The Free Senior High School

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SPECIAL REPORT Education policy has ensured that some 54% of young people receive secondary school education. The country spends 8.2% of its GDP on education, more than the East and West Africa giants Kenya and Nigeria.

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At university level South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria still lead the way with several institutions in the Top 500 of Global rankings but new universities like Patrick Awuah's Ashesi University are starting to make an impact.

Ashesi was founded just over twenty years ago and is fast establishing a reputation as a leading African institution. Interestingly it prides itself on having achieved a 50:50 gender balance of students in a traditionally male-dominated tertiary education sector.

In a similar way the Ghanaian entrepreneur Tom Ilube founded the African Science Academy, Africa's first school for girls who want to learn the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Tom is the CEO of the leading technology company Crossword Cybersecurity and he set up the Academy to recognise the importance of getting young women into technology.

In 2017 he was named the UK's most influential person of Afro-Caribbean descent and is part of a growing diaspora dedicated to sharing their

“From her base in London she organised investment tours and trade missions to take potential UK investors to Ghana.

Meanwhile her Tech in Ghana became an annual showcase to bring together investors and entrepreneurs�

knowledge and skills to re-engage with Africa and re-energize sectors of the economy like education and technology.

Ghana members say they intend to relocate to Ghana at some point in their lives. Akosua is a prime example of this desire.

Charlette N'Guessan is another young African who's blazing a trail for this tech revolution. Charlette recently won the Royal Academy for Engineering Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. She's an Ivorian who now works in Accra where she's a co-founder of the BACE Group.

When she launched AB2020 she designed it as a platform to bring together companies seeking to invest in Ghana with Ghanaian start-ups and entrepreneurs. From her base in London she organised investment tours and trade missions to take potential UK investors to Ghana.

Meanwhile her Tech In Ghana became an annual showcase to bring together investors and entrepreneurs.

She has a degree in Electronic and Software Engineering and is now studying Data Science and Machine learning. She won for designing a facial recognition tech system to verify identities and to protect people from financial and online identity fraud. This year she co-authored a book on Artificial Intelligence entitled the AI Book.

This Tech revolution is endorsed by Ghanaian innovators like Akosua Annobil who is the founder of AB2020 which promotes and connects African entrepreneurs and investment communities. Akosua is also the founder of the annual Tech In Ghana forum for which she was named one of the top 100 most influential leaders in the UK Tech sector by the Financial Times.

Akosua is typical of so-called "second generation" Ghanaians who are born outside Ghana but are committed to the land of their parents. Akosua was born and raised in London and graduated from the University of the Arts in London before entering her chosen career as a journalist and communications and public relations specialist.

She was part of a Ghanaian diaspora in the UK that, in the words of Future Of Ghana chair Arnold SarfoKantankia, "seeks to galvanise support from the second generation to harness our collective skills, talents and resources to move to Ghana".

Some 84% of Arnold's Future Of

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Akosua finally realised that she couldn't do this work from the UK. If she was going to keep on top of all the innovations taking place in Ghana she realised that would have to relocate her business onto the African continent. Now she is living in Accra where she's running a vibrant business and playing a central role of supporting Ghana's Tech Incubators.

Globally the Africa diaspora delivers some $2 billion a year in remittances.

Now it seems sending money home is not enough. Young people want to engage with the continent more fully.

People like the US journalist John Fountain who has just won a Roosevelt Scholarship to teach at the University of Ghana while conducting research into his academic project entitled "Africa Calling: Portraits of Black Americans Drawn To The Motherland".

Fountain, a former New York Times correspondent and staff writer at the Washington Post and Chicago Tribune, intends to explore the reasons for the recent increased migration of African Americans to West Africa and Ghana in particular: "This is an absolutely incredible opportunity to teach and also learn from the African-American black folk who now call this West African nation home, while being fully immersed in the culture of Ghana to which I feel a deep ancestral connection".

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SPECIAL REPORT

Young people like Francisca OtengMensah is often cited as a symbol of this new generation. She's now 27 years old and was first elected to Ghana's Parliament at the age of 23.

She's also Chair of the National Youth Authority which attempts to tackle youth unemployment with training programmes ranging from farming and digital marketing to beauty products and dress-making.

According to the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Ignatius Baffor Awuah, unemployment in Ghana has actually fallen by some 3.5% during the Covid19 pandemic. For those workers who do lose their jobs, a scheme is under discussion to provide direct income support. The National Unemployment Insurance Scheme will also offer opportunities for retraining and the provision of apprenticeships and internships.

So does this lively tech sector, low youth unemployment along with ECOWAS leadership with Accra the designated HQ for the AfCTFA make Ghana a challenger to Nigeria for regional leadership?

There's always been a traditional rivalry between Ghana and Nigeria to claim that title. Recently this has spilled over into battles over trade and claims that Nigerians living in

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Relations were not improved when it a Ghanaian food company decided to settle a long standing argument regarding which country cooked the better Jollof rice. After an extensive tasting session all three judges ruled unanimously in favour of Ghana's Jollof rice, much to Nigeria's despair.

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Nigeria's Information Minister Lai Mohammed claimed that Nigerians in Ghana were being treated as "objects of ridicule", and the matter was so serious that the Speaker of Nigeria's parliament travelled to Accra for four days of crisis talks. He concluded that the issue was a misunderstanding, but it underlined the tensions between both countries.

Come January and the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement both Ghana and Nigeria 51 are going to need all their tongues to speak together about Africa's new opportunities and all their teeth to chew the expected economic growth that the continent expects.

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According to the Ghanaian Times last month more than fifty shops owned

by Nigerians and other nationalities were closed down for operating without the necessary permissions.

"The feeling is may be we should learn to do without these cousins of ours, but we are yet to learn how the tongue learns to do without the teeth".

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Youth unemployment in Ghana is under ten per cent at 9.1% as opposed to 14% in Nigeria and a massive 55% in South Africa. Undoubtedly the Covid-19 has had a negative impact on all three economies in common with the rest of the world, but it's equally clear that those countries with a better educated youth population stand a better chance of rebuilding their countries' economies.

Ghana have been harassed and had their shops forcibly closed.

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Like Akosua he's part of this growing return that can only bring new skills and opportunities to Africa. There's also, as in Akosua's case, the lure of being part of a vibrant young economy.

Peter Burdin is a veteran journalist, with over 3 decades industry experience working with some of the world's leading media groups, including the BBC. He is the Chairman of African Leadership Magazine Editorial Board

Jollof rice is known to be a matter of great pride in West Africa but for all of Ghana's culinary successes the fact remains that Nigeria owns the biggest share of the African pie.

Nigeria has a population of 206 million as opposed to Ghana's 31 million. By 2050 the UN estimates that there will be 400 million Nigerians and it will overtake the US as the third most populous country in the world after China and India.

Already Nigeria accounts for around 17% of Africa's total GDP. Its economy is at least ten times bigger than Ghana's economy. Ghana may be attracting a lot of interest but Nigeria is still the biggest star in the West Africa sky.

The final word is perhaps best articulated by the legendary Ghanaian writer and BBC journalist Elizabeth Ohene. She relates how she grew up in Ghana alongside lots of Nigerians and is fully aware of these rivalries. However she concludes:

For those workers who do lose their jobs, a scheme is under discussion to provide direct income support. The National Unemployment Insurance Scheme will also offer opportunities for re-training and the provision of apprenticeships and internships.

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BUSINESS & ECONOMY

H.E. LEE KINYANJUI – GOVERNOR OF NAKURU COUNTY

Kenya's Business-Minded Governor

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Governance is serious business, but, not very many politicians understand this maxim. His Excellency Lee Kiyanjui, the Governor of Nakuru County, in Kenya, is however different. He has approached governance with the same gusto as business leaders. And the county has won admiration from people within and outside the continent. In this exclusive interview with African Leadership Magazine, he talks about the business of governance, i n f r a s t r u c t u r e development, job and wealth creation, among other issues. Excerpts.

Since your inauguration on August 21, 2017, three years in office as Governor of Nakuru Country, your administration has won the admiration of many as a result of your developmental strides in the cosmopolitan county of Nakuru. How have you been able to achieve this?

I want to, first of all, give a background. Before the elections, I worked briefly as a Member of Parliament for one of the constituencies within my county. And after that, I also worked in the government as Deputy Minister for roads. And later on, I also worked in the National Transports Safety Authority of Kenya. So I have a track record in public service, but more importantly, available service must also be defined with the same parameters that we define private life or business. And I think one of the things we tried to do since we got to the office is just to put business-like thinking in the running of public affairs. If I may give a quick example, you will find that in our public hospitals, public schools, public markets, a lot of times, we provide the excuse that it's a public school.

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public school are somehow acceptable if they are less than what we receive for a private school—the same way for a hospital.

Consequently, as a result of that sort of thinking, we have gradually reduced our outlook. One of the things we have been trying to do, when I got to the office, is to revamp the public service, because these are the people who do the work; and then one of the things we have done is to introduce contracts. The tradition in the past has been employed and pensionable people, whether you perform or do not perform, you will remain there till your retirement age. So we have introduced what you call, contracts staffs; so you are there for three years. You will be there for a three-year term, and you can come to defend your position, and if you performed, you could be given a renewal. And that has changed the public service outlook. And as a result of that you know that if you want to work for the next three years, you must deliver. We have also introduced targets. If you are heading a market, we want to see some growth every year. So, we review your progress. We look at cleanliness. We look at how you relate with the public, and so on. So, in general, that may be called revamping of public servants by reorienting their minds to look at service in a different way. This is the first thing.

The second thing is looking at the current legal framework and finding ways in which it can be realigned to help public service to interact or to work with its citizens. And then, as you can imagine when it comes to the provision of services in a place like a county, there are specific areas where the county is supposed to have its markets, roads, public health, all those areas. But the

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BUSINESS & ECONOMY truth is that you would not be able to work alone, you need to create an environment where even the private stakeholders have input and also to realize that if you are thinking of healthcare, there is no private or public patient. We need good healthcare across the board.

You said you were the Deputy Minister for Road and Transport.

Could that be the reason why one of the primary focus of your administration has been in the area of infrastructural development, which includes the 'Boresha Barabara' program, which you initiated to

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So, we have come up with a legislation that seeks to harness and bring investors on board and come up with partnerships that will eventually help citizens and also make money as a business person. Creating that environment has been very critical.

And in line with that, we have the tourism bill, for example, that seeks to develop tourism opportunities for hotels and other tour operators. We also have the cooperative bill, because, again, you know rural people are mostly poor. They are farmers, but they have no systems for collective marketing. So, they end up being exploited by middlemen and big companies. So, we are trying to put them into cooperatives where they can come together, they can learn together, they can access credit and also market their produce. The platform provides them with the opportunity to negotiate and get sales. And also within the cooperative and the agricultural subsector, we have introduced even new crops, because we are looking at the traditional maize beans that are grown here and realizing that what we are can get out of it is limited. So, we are asking, for the same land, what more can you grow that makes you a better person and more. We have introduced avocado, cash crops that can change the wellbeing of the people. So, in short, working with the cooperative to bring economic empowerment to the people, especially at the grassroots.

“They are farmers, but they have no systems for collective marketing. So, they end up being exploited by middlemen and big companies. So, we are trying to put them into cooperatives where they can come together, they can learn together, they can access credit and also market their produce. “

rehabilitate and construct rural access roads in Nakuru County?

My background certainly has helped me.

I must say that when I worked for the state, one of the critical areas that we found that had a severe economic multiplier effect was the issue of roads, because, with good roads, the farmers can sell that produce at reasonable prices. When the roads are terrible, we find that half of the value of the crops goes towards transport. So, it encourages poverty and all those other issues.

There is a concept we use, called value-capture, which means if you go to an area with low infrastructure, when you build infrastructure, you raise the value of that area, and because we also collect what we call, land rate, the cost also goes up. So, it is a win-win for the government, especially the local governments and sub-national governments, that we develop infrastructure so that we can raise our income. More importantly, because of planning lag, especially in our third-world countries, you find out a lot of times, it is the private sector that proceeds to develop an area, and the government follows up late. And that has been a significant problem even in our country, where

We are also mainly a tourism county, and as you can imagine, the tourists want to access every part of your county, so that they can experience the good things that are happening there. So, I think roads have a significant impact on the economy.

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“...if you are a surgeon, you must perform a minimum of eight surgeries in a week. It has also reduced our downtime. So, some of those key parameter indicators have also brought more patients to our hospitals, and we have about a 42% increase in patients flows to our public health facilities.� have performance evaluation, if you are a surgeon, you must perform a minimum of eight surgeries in a week. It has also reduced our downtime. So, some of those key indicators have also brought more patients to our hospitals, and we have about a 42% increase in patients flows to our public health facilities.

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we have to tell people to demolish, and you are now building a road because it was not initially planned. So, the process of planning and infrastructure becomes inseparable, and those are the things we are trying to bring about because we believe that adequate infrastructure is not accidental. It is deliberate, and it must be planned for.

You did not just focus on road construction. Residents of your county also tell us of your strides in the area of healthcare infrastructure. The development of rural healthcare facilities has also been a major priority for your administration. Why is this a priority for you?

When we got elected in 2017, we commissioned a team, led by one of the reputable professors from our university here. The terms of reference for that team was to look at our healthcare status, look at the challenges we are having,

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and make recommendations.

I want to say that was probably the most crucial report because the team came up with a roadmap to the healthcare recovery program. We are merely trying to look at key areas: Firstly, reducing your downtime; when a person is sick and is supposed to go to work or the farm, and they cannot get quick medication or support, then it means that we have a labour force that is no longer working. So we want to reduce that downtime. Secondly, we were also looking at enhancing primary healthcare, meaning that we do not want to wait for people to get very sick before they can get help. So, we are also working with community health volunteers who are grassroots sort of doctors. We are very proud of this program because it has brought excellent results. And as at the time we initiated it, we did not have this corona problem.

So, the outbreak of coronavirus has probably just made it even more necessary.

Still, it was a programme that started much earlier to increase infrastructure, to increase healthcare workers, and also to make sure that they are motivated. I am also happy to note that they are on contracts. This means that their performance and delivery have improved. We found it quite interesting, that some of our surgeons before we asked them to come to do one or two surgeries a week, and what happened are that sometimes when patients will come, they are told if you come to the government hospital, the earliest you can have your surgery appointment is two weeks.

However, if you have resources, I can refer you to a private hospital, and you can have it performed tomorrow.

So naturally, people preferred to go to private centres.

But since we introduced the current system, where we

At the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, you were one of the leaders that called for a total lockdown instead of the partial curfew, one of the measures that were adopted by African governments to curb the spread of the virus but left a devastating impact on the lives of Africans. Looking at the effects of the lockdown on the economies, businesses, investments, jobs, would you still have advocated for a total lockdown if given a second chance?

The corona problem is a global new thing. Nobody can claim to have full knowledge of it. But nearly what happened was that at the early stage of the disease, or any pandemic for that matter, an initial lockdown, even if it's for three weeks or one month, would help future curfews or any other thing that can be very protracted. So the question is, do you want to lock your house when the thief is already inside, or would you instead lock when they are outside. So when we look at some of the experiences from countries across the world, the countries that were fast to AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

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Is there anything you are doing or you have done to help your residents cope with the disruptions occasioned by the pandemic?

Yes. We have several measures. Some of them are direct, and some are a bit indirect. Within the direct category, we have had social mitigation programs, including giving food, water, and other necessary materials, especially to the informal, urban poor,

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PPEs and masks and all those associated with COVID-19. The thing is working with business people to turn the pandemic into an opportunity so that we can continue with the numbers already employed.

And we also have other secondary measures, including helping companies, especially SMEs to restructure, because when COVID-19 came, certain realities came into consideration and many of them also have difficulty to move without restructuring. So we have what you may call business advisory programs to help people cope and ensure that during the COVID-19 era, their companies are not entirely kicked off.

We also have been advocating for buying from local companies and then we have several companies that were previously export-oriented but have since restructured to produce

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You mentioned agriculture earlier. In a recent conversation with the newlyelected president of the African 55 Development Bank (AfDB), his talking points have been that agriculture is the future of the continent. What is the number of jobs, agriculture is capable of creating for your county in the short and long term? And would this be you looking and seeing that this is the future and that's why you are making a massive investment in the development of agriculture currently?

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As you can see, we are probably now into six months, and many countries are still grappling with this.

Nevertheless, our view that time, remain the same, giving the nature of the disease, given the heart of our health sicken behaviour, and also the slum nature of African urban centres and settlements. If you got to the slum areas where forty people share one tap, one bathroom, all these would complicate social distancing.

and also the socially vulnerable groups. This was done at the cost of about US$3milion. We also have another category where we are talking to business people, and what they required is a relief. Some of them pay licenses and other fees due to the counties, which in some cases we reduced and others we extended the period within which they should have paid.

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impose had better outcomes than those that waited and has short term sort of measures.

Geographically, Nakuru is actually within the central region of Kenya and is one of the food baskets. Much of the food from wheat to maize and avocado can grow here. Globally, we also are the biggest exporters of cut flowers. So, within Nakuru, we can say

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that about 42% of the people earn their living through agriculture, directly and indirectly. And in particular for the flowers, as you know currently, Kenya is leading in the world, and what we want to do is to work with more investors because when it comes to farming, a lot of the decisions are purely judgmental. So you may not be able to choose the right flower using a machine or robot, so it has tended to employ very many people. So we are also working towards the expansion of our export market. We are also exporting vegetables to Europe and other places. One of the biggest challenges has been the issue of air freight if you want to send your fruits, your flowers, and vegetables to Europe, the cost of shipment has been very high.

We are also working closely with Kenyan Airways. We are also working with other players because we believe if you can bring the cost of freight to a reasonable level, we can be able to supply more than half of what Europe gets. Even as a producer of our foods, because we also need money to do other things, we are also trying to reorient our market towards exports.

The export market is very vibrant and one of the things that have come out clearly; if you look at the export to Europe, you find that the biggest suppliers of sear avocado are from South America. If you look at South America and its connection to the Gulf region, and link to Europe, the distance is like 3 to 4 times from where Kenya or Africa is, in relation to Europe.

that unveiled an ultra-modern animal feeds manufacturing plant at the Town's Industrial Area. What are some of the factors that have made Nakuru County a significant attraction for both local and international companies?

I think the first thing is creating an enabling environment, and that comes from road infrastructure, legal infrastructure. Maybe, more importantly, the best ambassador for what you are doing is your already existing investors. Sometimes, we want to go and get people from far and wide, and yet, those who are within our place are not happy. So the first thing is to work with people who are there already because they have demonstrated confidence in your economy. Then, use them as your ambassadors also to get others to come on board. So the issue of the word of mouth or recommendation

has been very crucial. Then, working with the national government, and other federal infrastructure agencies, we have had a significant infrastructure boost, including the setting up of the Industrial Park that is also connected to the railway. As you can imagine, if people are looking for where to go, they first look at the road network, the rail network, and I think most importantly for us, we are the biggest producers of geothermal energy. So alongside the industrial park, we are also able to offer a package for the power to the company that would set up there, and the price is sometimes low as 40 – 50% of what it would be elsewhere. So the issue of one-stop-shop, the case of low-cost energy and infrastructure network to support distribution or inflow of materials and I think all that works. I must say in 2018, we also had an investor's conference, and we invited many of our embassies from

So I think all you are trying to say is that if we can revamp our agricultural sector, we can be able to feed a lot of these regions and we can work to make our youths a part of the economic boom.

Over the past three years, particularly within the last one year, your administration has recorded successes in attracting both local and foreign direct investment to your county, including BIDCO Africa Group, a consumer goods producer

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I think the issue of good governance and transparency and the framework with which the public can be managed are very critical. And I am saying this because sometimes if a company wants to set up base, and they have to answer a thousand and one questions, steps that are not necessary and are just bureaucratic, then you end up having people

You have recently been named Africa's Business-Friendly Governor of the Year 2020 by the African Leadership magazine. What does this recognition mean to you?

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I must say I am very honoured. This is not just for myself, but for the residents of Nakuru and the bigger country. As I said, I have had a lot of 57 calls and all that. But beyond that, it also allows me to ask some questions, such as the ones you have started with, including some of the things we can do to make Africa better. I do watch a lot of international news, and I also feel very embarrassed that whenever there is a story on Africa, it is a story on conflict; it is a story on poverty; it is a story on FGM and that kind of thing. The reports about Africa are never about progress, never about stability and innovation, and never about good governance and so on. We are proud of our achievements and would like to thank your magazine, and your Editorial team for coming up with this to enable Africans to tell their own story, because if you don't tell your own story, then you must be ready to have your account told by others.

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The critical elements of good governance are accountability, transparency, combating corruption, citizen participation, and an enabling legal/judicial framework. What you have in your county is an exhibition of good governance. How do we reciprocate the same across Africa, using the Nakuru example?

looking at probably where they will get ease. Over and above that, I think it's the issue of having a vibrant anticorruption policy, where you allow civil society which is a vital member of any governance structure also to have free access to information and also an opportunity to interrogate whatever activities and decisions that are made.

Besides that, our constitution is also robust on public participation, which essentially means that before any public decision is made, there is adequate consultation and the public is informed. They also have the opportunity to question. If you say you have done this, using this kind of money, they have the chance to ask, and that has a way of putting people on the check. Even when that is one good cause, we will agree that you will still find one or two people to go against it. In this case, you must say the law must take its cause.

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across Europe and Africa and many of those places, and they said quite some interesting things about our area.

I have had a lot of calls and all that. But beyond that, it also allows me to ask some questions, such as the ones you have started with, including some of the things we can do to make Africa better.

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DIVERSITY WATCH

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o many of us have been deeply affected and saddened by the senseless actions that have impacted our nation, including the killing of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and Breonna Taylor, to name just a few. Society must recognize that discrimination is real and toxic. Given these recent events, we have seen an outpouring of support for diversity and inclusion and condemnation of discrimination, prejudice and injustice in all forms. It is heartening to see communities coming together and listening to those voices that have so often been silenced, but this is just a first step.

Aside from the recent instances of brutal and excessive use of police force that we are all too aware of and that must be directly addressed, our society still fails to provide all citizens with core underlying rights such as equal access to health care, a good education and economic opportunities. This lack of access leads to disproportionate gaps in living standards. The path forward is to break down these barriers and open the doors wider for all underrepresented people. The investment management industry must lead by example and hold ourselves accountable to the concrete goal of attracting and retaining a highquality, diverse workforce that actively promotes and upholds all of our core values and the unique perspectives

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that we hold true. We must always do our best to find ways to help provide equal access to health care, education and economic opportunities, and we are committed to doing so in any constructive way that we can. Society will be better if everyone receives full and fair consideration.

Now more than ever, companies need to make proactive efforts to promote diverse pools of candidates in the hiring, recruiting, retention and promotion processes. For those companies that are already striving to do this, it is crucial to show others how to begin this process themselves. At Advent, 55% of the team is diverse or female and we have achieved this by successfully recruiting from Sponsors for Educational Opportunities and other minority- or women-focused staffing agencies, which recruit and train accomplished African American, Hispanic and Native American individuals for important summer internships or permanent full-time jobs.

Firms can also look to their own networks to see how the institutions they are already connected to, such as colleges and schools, can help expand that network to recruit minority students as well as actively engaging with vendors that have diverse teams and perspectives. As a society we must provide equal access to all in order to encourage and allow for greater diversity. This access is critical in paving the way for a more diverse workforce and a more inclusive society.

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Diversity And Inclusion – The Role Of Business In What Happens Next

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Tracy Maitland

For us to succeed, we must be committed to building an environment where employees of all races, genders, sexual orientations, religions and ages feel encouraged to share their unique insights. Teamwork has to be part of the basic fabric of any company as the more perspectives we apply to any solution, the better it will be and the less groupthink will occur. The varying 59 backgrounds of a team contributes to diversity of thought and a deeper understanding of the wider world, as well as our direct environments such as our clients and of the companies in which we invest. This in turn leads to greater insight, more creative thinking, better informed decision-making, and more differentiated and productive investment results.

For investment companies to encourage diversity of thought, we must emphasize the goal of fostering collaboration and diverse thinking on all investment decisions and ultimately eliminating key person risk — the adoption of a coportfolio manager structure is one solution. Investment processes should deliberately be built around a collaborative team dynamic, as opposed to one centered on any individual, to invite multiple perspectives and ideas that will result in higher quality solutions.

We must all remain committed to celebrating diversity and inclusion and strive to make a change that positively impacts our society. As an industry with immense reach and influence, we must pledge to consistently evolve our own practices, be open to new dialogue and to be leaders of positive change in the world at large.

Tracy Maitland is president and CIO of Advent Capital Management LLC. New York. This content represents the views of the author. It was submitted and edited under Pensions & Investments guidelines, but is not a product of P&I's editorial team.

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EDUCATION AFRICA

Educational Attainment And Skills Mismatch In Africa

As featured in the report, Figure 1 shows that far more Africans are completing primary, secondary, and tertiary school now than in 1950, but there still remains a large number who have not attended school.

Furthermore, says the report, Africa has not yet achieved the global "ideal" structure of educational attainment, which occurs when the majority of a population has completed secondary school and attained foundational skills for the workforce. Instead, the large numbers of Africans who have completed only primary or no school means that the continent continues to have a wide base of low-educated adults.

Source: World Bank. 2019. The Skills Balancing Act in Sub-Saharan Africa: Investing in Skills for Productivity, Inclusivity, and Adaptability.

In addition to the challenge of low levels of education, Africa faces the issue of a mismatch between the skills of more highly educated adults joining the workforce and the needs of employers. As Figure 2 shows, many tertiary students pursue degrees with limited labor market prospects, particularly in the fields of humanities and social sciences.

Conversely, enrollment in science, health, engineering, information and communication technology (ICT), and agriculture is 29 percent, on average, in the region, 10 percentage points lower than in middle-income countries outside of Africa. The report argues that developing a workforce with skills in these fields will be critical to Africa's ability to develop knowledge-intensive industries and compete in the global market.

Notably, as Figure 3 shows, current public education spending in Africa is commensurate with non-African developing countries and falls within internationally recommended targets of 4 to 6 percent of GDP. At the same time, according to the report, skills attainment falls below the global standard. Countries must thus seek to make the most of current spending to ensure that skills attainment, and not just spending, is on par with global targets. Specifically, the report recommends that countries improve the targeting of resources to foundational skills and families in need, establish stronger accountability mechanisms to improve financial and education management systems, and tackle the issue of teacher absenteeism.

“Conversely, enrollment in science, health, engineering, information and communication technology (ICT), and agriculture is 29 percent, on average, in the region, 10 percentage points lower than in middle-income countries outside of Africa”.

Figure 1: Evolution of educational pyramid in sub-Saharan Africa OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2020

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Note: The graphs show the percentage of the adult population (ages 25–65) reaching each level of education (incomplete or complete).

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espite significant gains in educational attainment, Africa's students are not acquiring the foundational skills they need to succeed in the modern workforce, according to the new World Bank report, "The Skills Balancing Act in Sub-Saharan Africa: Investing in Skills for Productivity, Inclusivity, and Adaptability.”

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The report states that achieving significant progress in skills building is possible, but will require systemwide change that improves coordination between levels of governance and strengthens the abilities of stakeholders to implement new skills- and education-related policies. The report recommends that countries improve the efficiency of 61 public spending and encourage more private investment to supplement public spending.

EDUCATION AFRICA Figure 2: Enrollment in tertiary education by field of study, 2010-2015 average

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Source: World Bank. 2019. The Skills Balancing Act in Sub-Saharan Africa: Investing in Skills for Productivity, Inclusivity, and Adaptability.

Figure 3: Public education spending as a percent of GDP

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AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

DEFENCE, PEACE & SECURITY

Why The Insurgency in Northern Mozambique Has Got Worse Dr Alex Vines OBE

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centre of Mocimboa da Praia in Cabo Delgado province was occupied by up to 40 "jihadists", who targeted government facilities, including a barracks, and brandished banners of affiliation to the so-called Islamic State.

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DEFENCE, PEACE & SECURITY

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n March 25, suspected jihadists raided the town of Quissanga and destroyed the district police headquarters.

They too carried an Islamic State flag. Twenty to 30 64 members of Mozambique's security forces were killed in both attacks.

drawing upon local and regional grievances and networks but increasingly also attracting some limited encouragement and advice from further afield.

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Nyusi will need to build-up trusted relationships in the military in the way he has successfully done with parts of the intelligence community. The Mozambican government has already reached out to international expertise — though not necessarily the right kind. The founder of the Blackwater private military company, Erik Prince, supplied two helicopters and support crew for the Mozambican military in mid-2019, before being replaced by some 170 Russian privateers linked to the Wagner Group.

Mocimboa da Praia is just south of the Afungi Peninsula, the location of gas projects worth $60- billion. Mocimboa was briefly occupied in late 2017, during attacks claimed by a group known as Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama (or alSunnah) that marked the start of a brutal low-intensity conflict, with widespread human rights abuses and attacks on civilians.Up to 1,000 people have now been killed and 100,000 displaced. More recently, The Islamic State Central Africa Province (Iscap), affiliated with the Islamic State group, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Video and photos of these most recent events, along with the testimony of frightened residents and overstretched government officials, suggest a shift of strategy by the insurgents.

There seems to have been an effort to avoid harming civilians, to win hearts and minds by redistributing stolen food, medicine and fuel to "loyal" residents, and to direct attacks on the state and its symbols, such as police stations and military barracks.

It is difficult from a distance to assess if there was any genuine pleasure over these attacks among local people; while residents in both towns that did not flee seemed to welcome the attackers, this may well have been out of fear that the government is OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2020

currently unable to guarantee their security. These attacks also indicate that the jihadistlinked insurgents are growing in confidence. They are confronting government security forces with little appetite for fighting. The Mozambican government has been expecting setbacks like those of Mocimboa and Quissanga — its forces are demoralised and many commanders exhausted or corrupted by an emerging war economy. Jihadists are also taking tactical advantage before a reformed and more effective government counterinsurgency effort is introduced in response.

President Filipe Nyusi, inaugurated in January for his second term, has made this crisis his prime focus and has become the de-facto minister of defence.

Military reform and the role of private military companies But there is no quick fix. Most importantly, the Mozambican military and security forces need to be restructured. They were unable to win the Mozambican civil war (19771992), even with international support, and have not improved in capacity or conduct since. They now face a complex, multilayered and asymmetrical conflict, mostly

“These attacks also indicate that the jihadist-linked insurgents are growing in confidence. They are confronting government security forces with little appetite for fighting.”

The Wagner contingent arrived in September 2019 at Nacala airport with trucks, drones and a Mi-17 helicopter gunship, then deployed into the combat zone of northern Cabo Delgado. Setbacks, including at least two dead Russians, forced a tactical fallback to Nacala, though a new effort is reported to have been underway since late February 2020.

The Mozambican government is also considering a number of proposals from other private military companies. Maputo needs to consider these carefully; Israeli or Gulf State involvement in any form might exasperate rather than alleviate this crisis.

The Tanzanian connection But market-led security and military providers will not end this insurgency. Nor will the engagement of states such as the United States, France, the

AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

DEFENCE, PEACE & SECURITY United Kingdom or Angola, all of which have made their own offers of support. What would significantly make a difference is much closer to home: serious Tanzanian engagement.

This insurgency is concentrated in districts bordering Tanzania and there is clear-cut intelligence of connections into Tanzania and beyond. Swahili is also a lingua franca for the jihadists, connecting them up the East African coast, and into eastern Congo and elsewhere.

coming months.

But the Mozambican government can still contain and prevail if it seriously reforms its military, builds strong alliances with its regional neighbours (especially Tanzania), chooses its private security contractors and international partnerships wisely, and backs military efforts with better intelligence and developmental interventions that offer alternative pathways to potential recruits.

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But despite Maputo's hope that significant progress will be made over the coming year, and the setting up of a presidential task force to evaluate progress and intelligence, it is likely that Mozambique and its partners will need to prepare themselves for a drawn-out struggle.

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It is puzzling, given the deep shared history between Tanzania and Mozambique, that the bilateral relationship is as patchy as it is today: during the liberation struggle (1965-1974) against the Portuguese, Mozambique's ruling party Frelimo maintained rear bases in Tanzania, and Nyusi was educated there.

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Conspiracy theories circulate that Tanzania has encouraged the Cabo Delgado insurgency to weaken its neighbour, or at least displace radicalised individuals from Tanzanian soil into Mozambique.

President John Magufuli of Tanzania did not attend the January inauguration of Nyusi. It has become urgent that Magufuli (who is also the current chair of the regional body, the Southern African Development Community) and Nyusi meet face-to-face to map out improved intelligence sharing and a joint strategy to respond to an emerging regional threat.

Southern Africa is locking down because of Covid-19, which will distract the government's ability to focus fully on this crisis and create a perfect moment for the infant insurgency in Cabo Delgado to grow. More military setbacks should be expected in

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It has become urgent that Magufuli (who is also the current chair of the regional body, the Southern African Development Community) and Nyusi meet face -to-face to map out improved intelligence sharing and a joint strategy to respond to an emerging regional threat.

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TOURISM

Reviving

Botswana’s

Tourism Industry After COVID-19

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he Botswana tourism sector cannot avoid the threats posed by the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Considering that tourism relies on physical interaction between people, it does not come as a surprise that the sector has borne the brunt of the global pandemic. In May 2020, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) anticipated a 58 to 78 percent decline in tourist arrivals.

UNWTO further observed that Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) will be particularly impacted. The SMMEs make up around 80 percent of the tourism sector globally. In southern Africa, the sector has seen a dip in website traffic and business on airlines, travel agents, hotels, and tourist destinations.

Botswana recorded its first three confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 30, 2020. As of June 22, there have been eighty nine confirmed cases. Even though the disease spread in Botswana is low compared to other countries, the economic repercussions have been far reaching within the tourism sector. This is worrisome considering that the sector is the second largest revenue earner in the country. Dependence on the international market has made the sector vulnerable to the effects of the disease outbreak, as the main countries from which tourists come were among the most affected by the global pandemic.

Of the 1.8 million tourist arrivals recorded in 2017 in Botswana, 84 percent were from Africa while the remaining 16 percent were from OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2020

countries such as the United States, Germany and the UK. However, revenues from overseas far outweigh those from the African continent due to the country's high value/low impact tourism strategy—with the goal of minimizing environmental impacts and at the same time maximizing socioeconomic benefits.

Due to the fact that travel and tourism go hand in hand, the sector started feeling the pinch as soon as international travel restrictions began and countries around the globe started imposing entry bans, especially for citizens of or recent travellers to the most affected areas. According to a snap survey conducted by the Botswanan Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) covering 382 SMMEs, the tourism sector suffered a 72 percent revenue loss AFRICANLEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

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financed through prepaid bookings.

Consequently, as clients cancelled their bookings, they demanded refunds which companies could not afford.

Furthermore, most tourism businesses operate on bank loans which need to be serviced monthly in addition to other expenses such as staff salaries and other bills. Therefore, loss of revenue resulted in some operators not being able to 67 honor their contractual obligations toward their financiers. Some travel and tourism SMMEs operate from rented facilities and lack of income has resulted in some being unable to pay their rent.

Some companies have had to release their staff due to lack of business. While some sectors may easily convert to working from home, this is not plausible in the tourism sector because of the nature of the business which requires physical interaction with clients.

Botswana's Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) program brings together community stakeholders to establish sustainable economic development, which takes into account biodiversity conservation.

The 2014 hunting ban resulted in a loss of income for communities involved in CBNRM.

in March 2020. Furthermore, of the 382 SMMEs surveyed, 209 had loans and the tourism sector accounted for 61 percent of the loan balance. This paints a bleak future for the companies should they not prove resilient enough to bounce back from COVID-19.

Specifically, the industry has suffered a loss of revenue and a failure to service bank loans, finance operational costs such as wages and rent payments, and a loss of opportunities aimed at community development. It is therefore evident that the underlying driver of these problems is loss of income by the travel and tourism operators.

The SMMEs are mostly hard hit because their working capital is largely OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2020

In 2019, however, the government made a research-based and informed decision to lift the hunting ban, creating new opportunities for community development. Safari hunting forms part of tourism and communities had already made agreements with international safari hunting operators to take advantage of this year's hunting quota.

However, this supposed boon to tourism has failed to materialize given global travel bans. In an April 27 press statement, the CEO of the Botswana Tourism Organisation noted that hunting may only take place toward the end of the year, or even next year.

Only then will Community Trusts, which manage community-based resources and tourism services, and their clients be able to honor their agreements. This has dealt a significant blow to tourismdependent communities in northern Botswana, especially in areas where photographic safari has proven

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TOURISM unprofitable. Their livelihoods had already dwindled following the 2014 hunting ban.

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As countries begin to open their economies, there is a delicate balance between saving lives and rebooting the economy. The UNWTO perceives tourism as a key sector that will support 68 livelihoods and create opportunities for millions of people around the globe in the post-COVID-19 world, and is in line with the UN's global sustainability agenda. Not only is COVID-19 a health challenge, it is also a social and economic emergency.

Therefore, there is a need for tourismdependent countries to put in place mitigation measures to curb the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic. The UNWTO encourages countries to prepare to recover from the effects of the pandemic by focusing on the following areas: managing the crisis and mitigating the pandemic's impact; providing stimulus and accelerating recovery; and preparing for the future.

The government of Botswana has already laid the groundwork along these mitigation areas.

Botswanan leaders have introduced some economic and fiscal relief initiatives in response to COVID-19. The tourism sector is eligible to benefit from this assistance as part of managing the crisis and mitigating its impact. Among other things, the initiatives aim to support workers and stabilize businesses.

Immediate measures i n c l u d e t h e establishment of the COVID-19 Relief Fund. The funds will provide wage subsidies for companies that have been affected by the pandemic. The wage subsidy covers 50 percent of the basic salary of employees between BWP 1,000 and BWP 2,500 ($84

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and $208 respectively) per month from April to June. The goal is to retain as many jobs as possible considering the already high unemployment rate in the country, which, prior to COVID-19, stood at 20.7 percent.

As part of managing the crisis, the government also introduced a "do not cancel but postpone strategy," where pre-booked clients were encouraged to postpone their trips instead of cancelling them altogether. In order to provide stimulus and accelerate recovery, the government introduced a loan guarantee scheme for 24 months, up to a maximum of BWP 25 million ($2 million) per business. Post-COVID-19 plans include an economic stimulus package to boost the economy from which the tourism sector will also benefit.

Despite these efforts, estimates show that some subsectors of the tourism sector may take a year or more to recover. There are some lessons to be learned as the industry prepares for the future. These include the importance of insurance that covers business interruptions caused by public health crises. Clearly, a dialogue is needed between the tourism industry and the insurance sector which currently concentrates on insurance that only covers physical damage caused by disasters, such as floods and fires, and not the effects of pandemics.

In conclusion, it has become apparent that not only is it necessary to put in place mechanisms that will enable tourism SMMES to bounce back from the effects of COVID-19, a transformational agenda with implementation timelines is also necessary to protect the industry against future pandemics. This includes investing in domestic tourism which has, up to now, not received the attention it deserves due to the exclusive nature of the "High Value-Low Impact" tourism policy adopted in Botswana. These changes will come with diversification of the tourism product away from wildlifebased tourism to include other products that will be more appealing and affordable to the domestic market.

This article was written as part of the Addressing Global Crisis Project (AGC), which is run by the University of Central Florida's Office of Global Perspectives & International Initiatives (GPII). AGC examines how governments, individually and collectively, deal with pandemics, natural disasters, ecological challenges, and climate change. AGC is organized around five primary pillars: (1) delivery of services and infrastructure; (2) water-energy-food security; (2) governance and politics; (4) economic development; and, (5) national security.

Through its global network, AGC facilitates expert discussion and features articles, publications and online content.

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