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Tag: World Bank

  • World Bank approves $486m credit to Nigerian power grid work

    World Bank has approved a 486 million dollars credit facility to Nigeria for electricity grid improvements, the lender said on Friday.

    “The investments under the Nigeria Electricity Transmission Project will increase the power transfer capacity of the transmission network and enable distribution companies to supply consumers with additional power,” the World Bank said.

    Nigeria’s power sector is often criticised by economists for holding back the country’s economic growth.

    Businesses and households are subject to frequent blackouts, and many depend on their own generators that are expensive to run.

     

  • Nigeria’s economic growth will rise by 2.5 per cent in 2018 – World Bank

    The World Bank on Tuesday predicted that the country’s economic growth will raise to at least 2.5 per cent in 2018, as the country benefits from improved commodity prices, investments and trade.

    According to the World Bank’s January 2018 Global Economic Prospect report released on Tuesday in Washington DC, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow by 2.8 per cent in 2019 and 2020.

    The World Bank forecast that global economic growth will go up to 3.1 per cent in the year 2018.

    According to the bank, growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to continue to rise to 3.2 per cent in 2018 and to 3.5 per cent in 2019, on the back of firming commodity prices and gradually strengthening domestic demand.

    However, the report showed that growth would remain below pre-crisis averages, partly reflecting a struggle in larger economies to boost private investment.

    “South Africa is forecast to tick up to 1.1 per cent growth in 2018 from 0.8 per cent in 2017. The recovery is expected to solidify, as improving business sentiment supports a modest rise in investment.

    “However, policy uncertainty was likely to remain and could slow needed structural reforms.

    “Nigeria is anticipated to accelerate to a 2.5 per cent rate this year from one per cent growth in the year just ended. An upward revision to Nigeria’s forecast is based on expectation that oil production will continue to recover and that reforms will lift non-oil sector growth.

    “Growth in Angola is expected to increase to 1.6 per cent in 2018, as a successful political transition improves the possibility of reforms that ameliorate the business environment,” it stated.

    According to the report, Côte d’Ivoire is forecast to expand by 7.2 per cent in 2018, Senegal by 6.9 per cent; Ethiopia by 8.2 per cent, Tanzania by 6.8 per cent, and Kenya by 5.5 per cent as inflation eases.

    The World Bank said that the regional outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa was subject to external and domestic risks. It showed that any unexpected activity in the United States and Euro Zone could have a negative impact on the region.

    Also, an abrupt slowdown in China could generate adverse spillovers to the region through lower-than-expected commodity prices.

    “On the domestic front, excessive external borrowing without forward-looking budget management could worsen debt dynamics and hurt growth in many countries.

    “A steeper-than-anticipated tightening of global financing conditions could also lead to a reversal in capital flows to the region. Protracted political and policy uncertainty could further hurt confidence and deter investment in some countries.

    “Rising government debt levels highlight the importance of fiscal adjustment to contain fiscal deficits and maintain financial stability.

    “Structural policies including education, health, labour market, governance, and business climate reforms could help bolster potential growth,’’ it stated.

    The World Bank called on policy makers around the world to focus on human investments to increase their countries’ productivity, and move closer to the goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity.

  • World Bank to cease financing upstream oil and gas by 2019

    The World Bank said on Tuesday it would no longer finance upstream oil and gas projects after 2019, apart from certain gas projects in the poorest countries in exceptional circumstances.

    “As a global multilateral development institution, the World Bank Group is continuing to transform its own operations in recognition of a rapidly changing world,” the bank said in a statement.

    “The World Bank Group will no longer finance upstream oil and gas, after 2019,” it added.

     

    (Reuters/NAN0)

  • World Bank: ‘Buhari is a true elder statesman, his statement deliberately misconstrued’ – Oshiomhole

    World Bank: ‘Buhari is a true elder statesman, his statement deliberately misconstrued’ – Oshiomhole

    Immediate past governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s request asking the World Bank to divert developmental strides to the North-East was made in good fate to savage the raving conditions of the region as at the time the plea was made.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Managing Director of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim last Thursday said the president of specifically placing a request that the bank restricts its developmental grants to the northern part of the country.

    Jim Yong Kim was quoted as saying: “You know, in my very first meeting with President Buhari he said specifically that he would like us to shift our focus to the northern region of Nigeria and we’ve done that. Now, it has been very difficult. The work there has been very difficult”.

    However, in a reaction, the former governor said it was regrettable that a patriotic request made by the President and borne out of altruistic motivation was now being politicised.

    Oshiomhole, who made the clarifications in a statement in Abuja, said Buhari remains a statesman.

    The statement said: “It is a matter of fact that I was present at the meeting of President Muhammadu Buhari with the World Bank President Dr. Kim Jong on July 21, 2015 at the Blair House, Washington DC.

    “It is rather unfortunate that a patriotic request made by Mr. President and borne out of altruistic motivation is now being twisted, manipulated and politicised to suit certain political end.

    “Mr. President made the request against the backdrop of the devastation of the Northeast zone and the need for international organisations to rise in support of the efforts of the Nigeria government in arresting the humanitarian crisis in that part of the country.

    “The inhuman conditions of the Internally Displaced Persons were also discussed and Mr. President urged the World Bank to look into the best possible ways to address the crisis before it got out of hand.

    “In Edo State at that period, the government I headed was also buffeted with the challenge of dealing with internally displaced persons who came to settle in the outskirt of Benin City without the knowledge of the state government.

    “It took my personal intervention and the cooperation of Mr. President before we could offer our logistic assistance to make their location habitable to avert any humanitarian crisis.

    “For those who are familiar with the devastation of the North-East, where over 20,000 persons have reportedly been killed with over two million internally displaced persons, it smacks of political notoriety for any rational mind to question the request of Mr. President.”

    The ex-governor urged Nigerians to stop playing politics with the session between the President and the World Bank chief.

    The statement added: “President Buhari remains a statesman, who is not only patriotic and altruistic in his intentions, but one whose actions speak volume for our unity of purpose.

    “We should see the country as one indivisible entity driven by common objectives and goals.”

     

  • World Bank: Buhari’s request to divert developmental strides to North-East in order – Shettima

    Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s appeal to the World Bank was aimed at address economic rebuilding and humanitarian crisis in the North-East.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Managing Director of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim on Thursday said the president of specifically placing a request that the bank restricts its developmental grants to the northern part of the country.

    Jim Yong Kim was quoted as saying: “You know, in my very first meeting with President Buhari he said specifically that he would like us to shift our focus to the northern region of Nigeria and we’ve done that. Now, it has been very difficult. The work there has been very difficult”.

    However, Governor Shettima in a statement signed by Isa Gusau, the governor’s Special Adviser, Communication and Media Strategy on Friday in Maiduguri, the governor reiterated that the presidential appeal was aimed at addressing the destruction by the insurgency in the region.

    “The request was made by the President in the open and everyone thought it was the right thing. States in the northeast like Borno have been working with the World Bank, putting all the collaborative machinery in place.

    “We have series of follow ups and the media has been covering all the steps including my visit to the World Bank in Abuja few months ago.

    “The whole thing is in the open and we believe the objectives of the President will be actualised so as to go forward,” the statement quoted Shettima as saying.

    Shettima said that he and four other governors attended a meeting at Washington DC in July 2015, when the president called on the bank to support the rebuilding of the northeast region.

    The governor noted that the president categorically requested the bank to accord priority to North-East and not the entire northern region.

    “Sequel to the request, the World Bank in collaboration with the European Union (EU) and office of the Vice President, had in 2016 organized a Recovery and Peace Building Assessment (RPBA) report on the six states affected by the Boko Haram attack in North-East.

    “It was verifiably discovered that the Boko Haram insurgency destroyed public and private infrastructure worth 9 billion U.S. dollars in the region. In Borno State the destruction alone accounted for 6 billion U.S. dollars.

    “I do not speak for the President or the Federal Government, however, the controversy affects my state because the discussions with the World Bank focused on rebuilding the northeast and everyone knows that when the issue of rebuilding the northeast is the subject, Borno naturally comes into perspective.

    “The destruction inflicted by Boko Haram in the northeast, Borno alone suffered destruction worth 6 billion dollars and this figure was the product of President Muhammadu Buhari’s request from the World Bank.

    “The World Bank championed the RPBA report on the six states of the northeast with the participation of the European Union and the office of the Vice President.

    “The bank became involved after President Buhari made the request to support the rebuilding of the northeast.

    “The meeting between President Buhari and the bank in Washington DC which took place in July, 2015, few weeks after the President’s swearing-in, was attended by their Excellencies, Governors Adams Oshiomhole (former governor of Edo) from the South-South and Rochas Okorocha from the South-East.

    “Others are Abiola Ajimobi from the South-West, Tanko Al-Makura from the North- Central, myself from the northeast, the Late Prof. Adefuye and the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bulus Lolo”.

     

  • Scale up renewable energy, Nigeria tells World Bank, IMF

    Nigeria has asked the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to scale up the provision of and access to renewable energy in order to deliver development results and meet global climate goals.

    Nigeria’s position on renewable energy and regional integration was presented by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, during the G24 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Washington D.C., United States.

    Adeosun stated that scaling up renewable energy was a “win-win area” to deliver development results and contribute to the global climate goals.

    She said, “We have a major energy infrastructure gap to meet the needs of industrialization. Providing access to energy to all parts of Nigeria, both urban and rural, is a priority.

    “If we succeed, we estimate that this could unleash the development potentials of two-third of our population of 180 million.”

    The Minister added that generation of renewable energy was a financially attractive option for reaching rural populations.

    She further emphasized the need for business models from other countries to serve as a template in the provision of affordable energy.

    While canvassing the reinforcement of regional integration process by the World Bank and the IMF, Adeosun said the process would boost trade between countries and serve as a potential growth driver.

    “We believe that part of the solution must be regional, multi-country initiatives on infrastructure development. Though complex and often not easy to undertake, there are also successful cases of such projects.

    “For instance, a coastal super highway from Lagos to Dakar in West Africa would cut across 11 economic territories. Another Trans-Sahel highway from Northwest Nigeria to Mauritania would provide access and boost economic activities of land-lock countries like Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali,” stated Adeosun while speaking on behalf of Nigeria and 30 other countries during the G24 Ministers and Governors meeting.

    The IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, advised low-income countries to be very cautious in dealing with investors, noting that there was a huge surge yields on the path of investors.

    The Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank, Kristalina Georgieva, urged developing countries to look at other sources of finance rather than dependence on the Paris Club.

    Georgieva said, “It is imperative for us to maximize finance for development and also critical for us think of comparative strength for significant finance to flow into developing countries.”

    On energy deficiency, she counselled developing countries to identify what could be done to create favourable environment for renewable energy.

    In a communiqué at the end of its meeting, the G24 Ministers and Governors urged the World Bank Group and the IMF to continue strengthening their assistance in improving domestic resource mobilisation and enhancing its contribution to inclusive growth through progressive tax policies, as well as more efficient and better targeted public spending.

    The Body reiterated the importance of scaling up infrastructure investments to achieve sustainable development goals.

    “We welcome the support of the IMF, the World Bank and other international Financial Institutions in increasing the efficiency of public investments in infrastructure, as well as their impact in improving connectivity, including at the regional level, and addressing distributional and climate objectives,” it stated.

    The G24 Ministers and Governors also called on Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to deliver on their ‘Joint Declaration of Aspirations on Actions to Support Infrastructure Investments’, including through concrete and time-bound actions.

    This, it added, will help to develop new risk mitigation instruments and infrastructure investment as an asset class.

    “We support a quota-based, adequately-resourced IMF that is less dependent on borrowed resources. We call for at least maintaining the current lending capacity of the IMF,” the group said.

    The group also called for strengthening the efforts of the IMF and the World Bank towards greater representation of under-represented regions and countries in recruitment and career progression, including at the managerial levels

  • 18 states to benefit from $500m World Bank projects

    Mr Ularamu Ubandoma, the National Coordinator, Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP) says 18 more states will benefit from 500 million dollars World Bank assisted projects.

    The project is under the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP3).

    Ubandoma said this at the unveiling of selected participants in the 18 states under the RAAMP 3 project and Pre Appraisal Mission Wrap Up Meeting with the development partners in Abuja on Friday.

    ALSO READ: Buhari asked us to divert developmental strides to northern Nigeria – World Bank

    According to him, the selected states are able to meet the criteria set up by RAMP and the three development partners were involved in their selection.

    He said that 50 to 60 million dollars would be used to construct about 500 km roads in each of the 18 participating states across the country.

    “The whole essence of the project sponsored by the World Bank, French Development Bank and Africa Development Bank is to provide suitable road network for rural farmers to convey their farm produce to the market to avoid losses.

    “What we are doing here today is a meeting with new RAAMP states. New RAAMP is rural access and agricultural marketing and we have about 18 states that have been selected to participate in this new project all over the country.

    “In the North East, we have Borno, Bauchi and Taraba. In North Central, we have Plateau, Benue, Kogi and Kwara. In North West, we have Kano, Kastina, Sokoto and Kebbi.

    ALSO READ: World Bank: Buhari not placing north above other regions – Presidency

    “In South East, we have Abia and Anambra. In South South, we have Cross River and Akwa Ibom. In South West, we have Ogun, Oyo and Ondo States. These are states that emergence from the six geo-political zones.

    “The new RAAMP3 will be a little different from the usual RAMP1 and 2, and we have implemented projects in seven states and these projects are almost 100 per cent conclusion.

    “The only difference is that we are targeting RAAMP3 in line with president Buhari’s policy on agricultural transformation.

    “The policy is implemented through the Green Agricultural Alternative under the leadership of the Minister of Agriculture Chief Audu Ogbeh.

    “The thinking now is zero rejection of our agricultural produce at the international markets,” he said.

    Ubandoma said that the third phase of this project, RAAMP3 was to improve rural access and agricultural marketing in the selected participating states, whilst enhancing sustainability of the rural and state road network.

    “We are going to target markets and the value chains by adding value to our agricultural produce right from production level. We will be looking at storage and processes.

    “We want to know how these produce can access different level of markets. We are trying to shift away from the usual market not considering the rural people.

    “We are now considering the rural people because they form the bulk of our production level and they are predominantly farmers living in the rural areas.

    “We believe if we develop the rural farmers through the provision of markets, definitely the economy will improve and we will be earning foreign exchange through exportation, ” he added.

    Ubandoma, however appealed to state governors to show some level of seriousness in paying their counterparts fund which is just eight per cent of the total cost of the project in their states.

    Mr Tesfamichael Nahusenay, the World Bank Task Team Leader said from the result of study conducted in Nigeria, 60 percent of farm produce got wasted during transportation and lack of storage facilities.

    He said that World Bank hoped to add value to farmer’s income by giving them access to market after harvest, proper handling of farm produce after harvest and provide storage facilities to them.

    “World Bank has been providing assistance to Nigerian government for many years and we have the standard for procedure in execution of any project in the country.

    “The Federal Government will receive the fund they lent to states. We have the mechanism to process the procurement process to ensure that value for money is achieved and transparency in the transaction.

    “At the end of the day, money intended for any project is used correctly. We do the direct checking of the projects across all the states. The states bring back the money if they cannot achieve the set project.

    “We do field visit to ensure that the goods are delivered in appropriate time and ensure standard,” he said.

    Assessing the level of RAMP2 project, the Adamawa Project Coordination, Mr Abbas Adamu said about 201.4 km of roads had been completed in 13 locations under the first phase in the state.

    He added that about140 km was ongoing under the second phase which would be completed by December across the state.

    He said so far, farmers in the state had benefited from RAMP projects through easy access to market after harvest for better livelihood.

    The Project Coordinator however appreciated the support of the state governor on his intention to change the entire state with good and quality roads, adding that the governor did not deviate in payment of counterpart fund.

    Mr Gideon Akpan, the Project Coordinator, Akwa Ibom RAAMP3 said that the state decided to join in the project because of the state governor’s transformation agenda in agriculture.

    “Looking at the past resources we have in agriculture sector, we decided to express interest in joining the third phase of the project to bring development to our rural farmers.

    “Most of the challenges our farmers faced is the inability to access market after harvest due to bad road networks,’’ he said.

    NAN reports that RAMP is a Federal Government agency saddled with the responsibility of constructing rural roads to help farmers to access markets to avoid post harvest losses.

    RAMP is a co-sponsoring project of the World Bank, the French Development Agency, Africa Bank and the Federal Government.

  • World Bank: Buhari not placing north above other regions – Presidency

    The Presidency on Friday said President Muhammadu’s Buhari’s reported request from the World Bank to concentrate development strides to the north should not be seen as a deliberate attempt to malign other regions.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Managing Director of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim on Thursday accused the president of specifically placing a request that the bank restricts its developmental grants to the northern part of the country.

    In his words: “You know, in my very first meeting with President Buhari he said specifically that he would like us to shift our focus to the northern region of Nigeria and we’ve done that. Now, it has been very difficult. The work there has been very difficult.

    However, in a swift reaction to the report, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a statement said “ignorant and mischievous people” are making it seem that Buhari’s position was a calculated attempt to give the North an unfair advantage over other parts of Nigeria. the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina

    Adesina said the President, since his inauguration had been seeking international support for the rebuilding of the North East which was ravaged by years of insurgency.

    He said what Buhari did in calling attention to the plight of the people of the region was what a leader should do.

    The presidential spokesman said, “The truth of the matter is that President Buhari, right from his first week in office in June, 2015, had reached out to the G-7 in Germany that Nigeria needed help to rebuild the North-East, which had been terribly devastated by insurgency.

    “He said the country would prefer help in terms of rebuilding of infrastructure, rather than cash donation, which may end up being misappropriated. In concert with Governors of the region, a comprehensive list of needed repairs was sent to the G-7 leaders.

    “Also, during a trip to Washington in 2015, and many other engagements that followed, President Buhari sought the help of the World Bank in rebuilding the beleaguered North-East, which was then being wrestled from the stranglehold of a pernicious insurgency,” Adesina said.

  • Fani-Kayode lambast Buhari for urging World Bank to focus on Northern Nigeria

    Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has lashed out at President Muhammadu Buhari, after it emerged that he told the World Bank president, Kim Yong Jim, to concentrate on Northern Nigeria.

    Fani-Kayode, in a series of tweets on Friday morning, claimed Buhari sees Nigerians from the South and Middle Belt as “low-lifes, vassals and slaves”.

    He wrote: “President of the World Bank, Kim Yong Jim, has said that @MBuharitold him to concentrate their efforts on northern Nigeria.

    “Why am I not surprised? After all as far as@MBuhari is concerned southern Nigerians and Middle Belters are nothing but low-lifes, vassals and slaves.”

    Kim had said: “You know, in my very first meeting with President Buhari he said specifically that he would like us to shift our focus to the northern region of Nigeria and we’ve done that. Now, it has been very difficult. The work there has been very difficult.

  • Buhari asked us to divert developmental strides to northern Nigeria – World Bank

    The President of the World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim on Thursday said President Muhammadu Buhari specifically requested that the bank restricts its developmental grants to the northern part of the country.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the northern Nigeria has over the years been ravaged by the deadly insurgent group, Boko Haram.

    The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund however advised the Federal Government to invest in human capital development to fast track the development of the region and the nation at large.

    Jim Yong Kim and the Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, spoke at separate press conferences in Washington DC, United States on Thursday.

    Kim said, “You know, in my very first meeting with President Buhari he said specifically that he would like us to shift our focus to the northern region of Nigeria and we’ve done that. Now, it has been very difficult. The work there has been very difficult.

    “I think Nigeria, of course, has suffered from the dropping oil prices. I think things are just now getting better. But the conversation we need to have with Nigeria, I think, is in many ways related to the theme that I brought to the table just this past week, which is investment in human capital. The percentage of the Gross Domestic Product that Nigeria spends on healthcare is less than one percent.”

    He added, “Despite that, there is so much turbulence in the northern part of the country, and there is the hit that was taken from the drop in the oil prices. Nigeria has to think ahead and invest in its people. Investing in the things that will allow Nigeria to be a thriving, rapidly growing economy in the future is what the country has to focus on right now.”

    Kim also said, “Focusing on the northern part of Nigeria, we hope that as commodity prices stabilise and oil prices come back up, the economy will grow a bit more. But very, very much important is the need to focus on what the drivers of growth in the future will be.”

    According to the World Bank boss, the bank will invest in human capital in other parts of Africa in order to prepare the continent for the next phase of growth.

    Lagarde, in her remarks, said Sub-Saharan African countries, including Nigeria, had posted suboptimal growth in recent times.

    The growth figures, she said, were far too small considering the huge demographic potential of Nigeria and other countries in the region.

    As a result, she said the IMF would be engaging ministers of finance and central bank governors from the region attending the annual World Bank and IMF meetings on how they could boost and stabilise economic growth.

    Lagarde said, “The Sub-Saharan Africa is one region of the world where growth is suboptimal. Those countries grow at an average growth of 2.5 per cent. That is too low for the demographic expansion of the region.”