Africa loses US$100 billion to illicit capital, illegal financial flows
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Africa has been open for investments for a while and mining in Africa has been going on for centuries but Africa’s openness has led to vulnerability resulting into capital and illicit financial flows which lead to Africa losing in excess of US$100billiuon annually.
This was revealed by Albert M. Muchanga, Commissioner for Trade and Industry at the African Union Commission when giving key note address at the Africa Mining Summit held in Gaborone this week. The summit was hosted by GRV Global, an event management company in partnership with the African Union Commission Department of Trade and Industry and the Government of Botswana.
Held under the theme, “The Advancement of the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) through technologies”, the event engaged on key matters affecting the lucrative mining industry which is the backbone of many African economies. It focused on key discussions such as how new explorations and junior mining companies can leverage on technology and innovation to better benefit from the mineral value chains.
However it emerged that in Africa developing its mining industries billions of dollars continue to fly of its boarders “Our openness has led to vulnerability resulting into capital and illicit financial flows stating that Africa loses a lot of money that could otherwise be used for the betterment of the lives of its citizens. It is our duty to put an end the illicit financial flows,” said Commissioner Muchanga.
He further said Africa has been having weak regulatory frameworks and poor compliance enforcement mechanisms for the lucrative mining sector which is worth trillions. Muchanga shared that the Africa Mining Summit was happening at a critical time when the African Union Assembly adopted and launched the most ambitious and biggest Free Trade Area in the world, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He emphasized that the establishment of the AfCFTA will bring concrete opportunities to market players in the African mining and related sectors as it will create an integrated market of 1.2 billion people supported by an aggregate economy of about US$3.4 trillion. The AU representative underscored the key role that can be played by the mineral resources in the social and economic structural transformation of Africa to lead into win-win situation and inclusive growth.
“We all know how the sector can create skilled and decent and non-skilled employment for the young people and wealth for countries”. Muchanga also pointed out that African Union Commission sees great scope in the summit mobilizing investments and providing solutions to the challenges facing the mining industry in Africa.
“Africa Mining Summit is as a vehicle in mobilizing the Private Sector to implement the Africa Mining Vision (AMV). We need to see value addition and downstream beneficiation taking place in our countries. We need to see upstream beneficiation along global and regional minerals supply and value chains”, he said.
Giving welcome remarks at the fully attended event staged at Gaborone Avani Hotel, Mr. Andrew Dowel, CEO of GRV Global, expressed his gratitude to the African Union Commission for the partnership and for steadfastly supporting GRV Globe’s efforts in producing the Africa Mining Summit.
He pointed out that mining companies operate in complex geographies where they face increasing challenges in responding to regulatory and compliance requirements. He emphasized the fact that mining companies are also required to adapt to changing market conditions while adopting new innovations as they seek to produce more for less cost.
Dowel said the Africa Mining Vision seeks to actively promote the integration of Africa’s mining sector into national economic and social activities. “We need to think outside the box in order to maximize the continent’s resources wealth”. Officially opening the summit Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security Eric Molale said Botswana was a preferred destination for investments that take the rule of law seriously and had robust financial regulatory oversight bodies.
“All our mineral resources are exploited for the benefit of our citizens. It is a win-win situation that encourages Foreign Direct Investment,” he stated. Molale underlined that Botswana has put in place the ease of doing business reforms which he said reduce bureaucracy and avoid corruption. “This enables investors to do business without fear and encourage growth,” he said.
Molale submitted that Africa must be determined to ensuring future export of fully beneficiated mineral resources onto world seaborne markets but admitted that this will continue to depend largely on the logistical infrastructure establishment through international and local investment in the continent. He stressed on the need to have Regional Value Chains giving an example of Botswana which is a Diamond processing Hub for the region not only for Botswana.
The Africa Mining Summit 2018 was attended by High Level Political Authorities from across Africa including the Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources of Sierra Leone, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources of Ghana, the Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development of Zimbabwe and the Permanent Secretariat of National Minerals Commission of the Ministry of Mines and Quarries of Burkina Faso.
The Summit comprises of a two-day conference which includes, Keynote presentations and panel discussions on all aspects related to the Continent’s ongoing mining and minerals efforts. The Event brings together suppliers around the world who are looking to sell to the mining corporates, mining corporates who seek investment, investors who want to strike deals and African Government Ministers and Private Sector who engage all groups to discuss new opportunities in their respective countries and Africa as a whole.
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ENVIRONMENT ISSUES: Masisi asks Virginia for help
President Mokgweetsi Masisi says the issue of sustainable natural resources management has always been an important part of Botswana’s national development agenda.
Masisi was speaking this week on the occasion of a public lecture at Virginia Polytechnic, under theme, “Merging Conservation, Democracy and Sustainable Development in Botswana.”
Botswana, according to Masisi, holds the view that the environment is fragile and as such, must be managed and given the utmost protection to enable the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“It is necessary that we engage one another in the interchange of ideas, perspectives, visualizations of social futures, and considerations of possible strategies and courses of action for sustainable development,” said Masisi.
On the other hand, dialogue, in the form of rigorous democratic discourse among stakeholders presents another basis for reconfiguring how people act on their environments, with a view to conserving its resources that “we require to meet our socio-economic development needs on a sustainable basis,” Masisi told attendees at the public lecture.
He said government has a keen interest in understanding the epidemiology and ecology of diseases of both domestic and wild animals. “It is our national interest to forestall the dire consequences of animal diseases on our communities livelihoods.”
President Masisi hoped that both Botswana and Virginia could help each other in curbing contagious diseases of wildlife.
“We believe that Virginia Tech can reasonably share their experiences, research insights and advances in veterinary sciences and medicines, to help us build capacity for knowledge creation and improve efforts of managing and containing contagious diseases of wildlife. The ground is fertile for entering into such a mutually beneficial partnership.”
When explaining environmental issues further, Masisi said efforts of conservation and sustainable development might at times be hampered by the emergence and recurrence of diseases when pathogens mutate and take host of more than one species.
“Water pollution also kills aquatic life, such as fish, which is one of humanity’s much deserved sources of food. In this regard, One Health Approach imposes ecological responsibility upon all of us to care for the environment and the bio-diversity therein.”
He said the production and use of animal vaccines is an important space and tool for conservation, particularly to deal with trans-border animal diseases.
“In Botswana, our 43-year-old national premier pharmaceutical institution called Botswana Vaccine Institute has played its role well. Through its successful production of highly efficacious Foot and Mouth vaccines, the country is able to contain this disease as well as supply vaccines to other countries in the sub-region.:
He has however declared that there is need for more help, saying “We need more capacitation to deal with and contain other types of microbial that affect both animals and human health.”
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Masisi saddened by deaths of elephant attacks
President Mokgweetsi Masisi has expressed a strong worry over elephants killing people in Botswana. When speaking in Virginia this week, Masisi said it is unfortunate that Batswana have paid a price with their own blood through being attacked by elephants.
“Communities also suffer unimaginable economic losses yearly when their crops are eaten by the elephants. In spite of such incidents of human-elephant conflict, our people embrace living together with the animals. They fully understand wildlife conservation and its economic benefits in tourism.”
In 2018, Nthobogang Samokwase’s father was attacked by an elephant when travelling from the fields, where he stayed during the cropping season.
It was reported that the man couldn’t run because of his age. He was found trampled by the elephant and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
In the same year, in Maun, a 57-year-old British woman was attacked by an elephant at Boro and died upon arrival at the hospital. The woman was with her Motswana partner, and were walking dogs in the evening.
Last month, a Durban woman named Carly Marshall survived an elephant attack while on holiday in the bush in Botswana. She was stabbed by one of the elephant’s tucks through the chest and was left with bruises. Marshall also suffered several fractured ribs from the ordeal.
President Masisi Botswana has the largest population of African elephants in the world, totaling more than 130 000. “This has been possible due to progressive conservation policies, partnerships with the communities, and investment in wildlife management programmes.”
In order to benefit further from wildlife, Masisi indicated that government has re-introduced controlled hunting in 2019 after a four-year pause. “The re-introduction of hunting was done in an open, transparent and democratic way, giving the communities an opportunity to air their views. The funds from the sale of hunting quota goes towards community development and elephant conservation.”
He stressed that for conservation to succeed, the local people must be involved and derive benefits from the natural resources within their localities.
“There must be open and transparent consultations which involve all sectors of the society. It is against this backdrop that as a country, we lead the continent on merging conservation, democracy and sustainable development.”
Masisi stated that Botswana is open to collaborative opportunities, “particularly with identifiable partners such as Virginia Tech, in other essential areas such as conservation, and the study of the interplay among the ecology of diseases of wild animals and plants, and their effects on human health and socio-economic development.”
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Gov’t commit to injecting more funds in fighting HIV
Minister for State President Kabo Morwaeng says government will continue to make resources available in terms of financial allocations and human capital to ensure that Botswana achieves the ideal of eradicating HIV and AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Morwaeng was speaking this morning in Gaborone at the High-Level Advocacy event to accelerate HIV Prevention in Botswana. He said the National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency (NAPHA), in partnership with UNAIDS, UN agencies, the Global Fund and PEPFAR, have started a process of developing transition readiness plan for sustainability of HIV prevention and treatment programmes.
“It is important for us, as a country that has had a fair share of donor support in the response to an epidemic such as HIV and AIDS, to look beyond the period when the level of assistance would have reduced, or ceased, thus calling for domestic financing for all areas which were on donor support.”
Morwaeng said this is important as the such a plan will guarantee that all the gains accrued from the response with donor support will be sustained until the end when “we reach the elimination of HIV and AIDS as a public health threat by 20230,” he said.
“I commit to continue support efforts towards strengthened HIV prevention, accentuating HIV primary prevention and treatment as prevention towards Zero New Infections, Zero Stigma, Discrimination and Zero AIDS related death, to end AIDS in Botswana.”
He reiterated that government commits to tackle legislative, policy and programming challenges that act as barriers to the achievement of the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat.
In the financial year 2022/2023, a total of 119 Civil Society Organizations, including Faith Based Organizations, were contracted with an amount of P100 million to implement HIV and NCDs prevention activities throughout the country, and the money was drawn from the Consolidated Fund.
Through an upcoming HIV Prevention Symposium, technical stakeholders will use outcomes to develop the Botswana HIV Prevention Acceleration Road Map for 2023-2025.
Morwaeng stated that government will support and ensure that Botswana plays its part achieving the road map. He said there is need to put hands on the deck to ensure that Botswana sustains progress made so far in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
“There are tremendous achievements thus far to, reach and surpass the UNAIDS fast track targets of 95%- 95%- 95% by the year 2025. As reflected by the BAIS preliminary results of 2021, we now stand at 95- 98- 98 against the set targets.”
“These achievements challenge us to now shift our gears and strive to know who are the remaining 5% for those aware of their HIV status, 2% of enrolment on treatment by those aware of their status and 2% of viral suppression by those on treatment.”
Explaining this further, Morwaeng said shift in gears should extend to coming up with robust strategies of determining where these remaining people are as well as how they will be reached with the necessary services.
“These are just some of the many variables that are required to ensure that as a country, we are well positioned to reaching the last mile of our country’s response to the HIV and AIDS pandemic.”