AfDB Loan to Alleviate African Food Crisis

The African Development Bank (AfDB) will give an additional 1 billion dollars towards helping address the food crisis in African countries, Reuters reported. This extra funding would raise the bank’s portfolio of agricultural loans to 4.8 billion dollars. In late March, the UN World Food Program had appealed to donors to help it offset a 500 million dollars increase in aid costs to maintain deliveries already scheduled for this year. The bank stated that it would also consider providing countries in difficulty with support for state budget spending and would help fund the provision of more fertilizers to increase farming production.

Illegal Fishing Depletes Fish Stocks

A study by the Institute for Security Studies reports that the scale of fishing across Africa is now so serious that it is in danger of decimating fish stocks across the continent, the Nation stated. The report represents the first detailed quantitative analysis of the problem on a global scale and studies indicate that losses for sub-Saharan Africa total 1 billion dollars per year. Britain’s minister for Trade and Development, Gareth Thomas, said that the scale of illegal fishing could be double earlier estimates, with weak international governance hampering progress in tackling the problem. The study indicates that the scale of illegal fishing now threatens around 10 million Africans who depend on fishing as a source of income. The malefactors in the devastation of African fishing stocks are large-scale commercial fishing companies originating form the European Union and Asia.

AfDB Loan to Alleviate African Food Crisis

The African Development Bank (AfDB) will give an additional 1 billion dollars towards helping address the food crisis in African countries, Reuters reported. This extra funding would raise the bank’s portfolio of agricultural loans to 4.8 billion dollars. In late March, the UN World Food Program had appealed to donors to help it offset a 500 million dollars increase in aid costs to maintain deliveries already scheduled for this year. The bank stated that it would also consider providing countries in difficulty with support for state budget spending and would help fund the provision of more fertilizers to increase farming production.

Oil Prices Fall As US Dollar Strengthens

Oil prices retreated further on Friday May 2, reaching its lowest level since April 14 from the early week record of nearly 120 dollars a barrel as a strengthening U.S. dollar prompted investors to exit the market. This has lessened oil’s appeal to investors who have betted that the U.S. dollar would continue to lose strength. When the dollar gains ground, commodities such as oil lose their value as a hedge against inflation, prompting selling. The strengthening of the dollar makes oil more expensive to investors overseas. Analysts caution that oil’s swoon could be temporary. The dollar’s decline has been a major factor behind oil rises from about 64 dollars a barrel a year ago, and the dollar’s weakness in the future could easily push crude futures above 120 dollars, they say. The recent gains of the dollar have come against the background that the US Federal Reserve is done cutting interest rates; lower interest rates tend to weaken the dollar. The Federal Reserve cut its key rate a quarter percentage point on Wednesday April 30, without giving a clear indication of its future plans

US Pledges 50 Bn Dollars to Health Sector

Appreciating the developments taking place in the health sector of Ethiopia, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) promised to further strengthen the progress that the country has shown recently. The Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of Health with the USAID expressed his delight with the pending reauthorization of President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief  (PEPFAR), which will provide 50 billion dollars over 5 years to combat HIV/AIDS across the globe, with Ethiopia as one of the fifteen countries of its focus. This pledge places the US government as the largest bilateral donor to Ethiopia.

Taylor Amassed a Fortune in US Banks

Liberia’s ex-President, Charles Taylor, had about five billion dollars in two US bank accounts while in office, his chief prosecutor has told the BBC. A UN-backed war crimes court is trying Mr. Taylor for supporting rebels in Sierra Leone during his presidency. He denies allegations of selling arms and diamonds for his own benefit. Any money found in his possession would be distributed to civil war victims of Sierra Leone and Liberia. The case has been transferred from Sierra Leone to The Hague for security reasons.                                                      

Substantial Increase to Flow of Investment

Trade and Industry Bureau of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples State said 918 investors, with a combined capital of over 5.7 billion Birr have launched various investment projects in the state over the past nine months. The investors are engaged in agriculture, industry and provision of social services. The projects are expected to create jobs for nearly 230,000 people when they are fully operational. The flow of investment to the state has increased during the past nine months due to extensive promotional activities, the favorable climate created by the new Ethiopian Millennium celebration, the prompt services provided by the Bureau and the readily available plots of land. Industrial sites with necessary infrastructure facilities have been designated in 16 towns in the state.

Anti-Corruption Commission Applauds Media Impact

The Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (FEACC) applauded the role of media in creating awareness among the public concerning corruption and related issues, as this year’s number of cases reported by the public exceeds that of the previous year. The commission said that it received around 2500 cases from the public within a duration period of nine months. This is double the figure reported last year. The Director of Ethics Education and Public Relations Department of the Commission, Birhanu Assefa, said that these cases confirm the impact of the media on the public.

Banking And Insurance Industry

The ever-increasing number of banks and insurance companies in Ethiopia indicates booming economic activity across the nation, Ethiopia’s Athletics legend, Haile Gebre-Selassie, said. Haile made the statement while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the ‘Raguel Branches’ of the Anbessa Bank and Anbessa Insurance Companies. The bank and insurance companies should deliver efficient services to clients to remain competent in the sector. Bank Acting President, Wolde-Gebriel Wedajo, said the bank has established up-to-date information technologies to provide efficient services to customers. The bank has installed relevant banking software to interconnect the various branches. He said that the bank has 16 branches with a combined capital of half a billion Birr, while its sister insurance company has 8 branches.