Democratic Republic of Congo
| 29-Nov-2016 |
This document is the summary of the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) for the Governance and Electricity Sector Improvement Support Project in DRC (PAGASE). Pursuant to national regulations and the requirements of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Integrated Safeguards System (ISS), the project is classified in Category 2. This summary was prepared in accordance with AfDB guidelines and procedures for Category 2 projects. It presents the project and its environment before describing its key environmental and social impacts and the relevant attendant mitigative and... |
| 25-Oct-2016 |
The African Development Bank’s Zambia Field Office in conjunction with the Regional Integration and Trade Department concluded a working visit, on September 22, to Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo to establish current trade patterns with Zambia.
The delegation, led by Country Economist Peter Rasmussen, drove from Lusaka, Zambia, to Lubumbashi, DRC, through Kasumbalesa border crossing and crossed back through Kipushi border in the North Western Province of Zambia. The mission was part of a study on trade facilitation at Kasumbalesa border and surrounding areas that the Bank is... |
| 14-Jan-2016 |
Le président de la Banque africaine de développement (BAD), Akinwumi Adesina, a reçu le 13 janvier 2016, au siège de la Banque à Abidjan, une délégation de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC), conduite par Bruno Kapandji, chargé de mission du chef de l’Etat, avec rang de ministre, en charge de l’Agence pour le développement et la promotion du grand Inga (ADEPI). Selon l’émissaire congolais cette visite s’inscrit dans le contexte de la création, en octobre 2015, de l’ADEPI qui est directement rattachée à la Présidence de la République, marquant ainsi la volonté de la RDC d’accélérer la... |
| 29-Dec-2015 |
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, on December 16, 2015 in Abidjan, formally approved US$ 138 million of loans and grants to finance the Ruzizi III Hydropower Plant Project. Implementation of the project will be carried out at a total cost of US$ 625.19 million (of which the US$ 138.88 million will be borne by the AfDB’s public sector window and US$ 50.22 million by the private sector window).
Ruzizi III hydropower plant is part of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and involves Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.
The... |
| 09-Nov-2015 |
The 10th African Economic Conference (AEC), held in Kinshasa, included a session entitled “Intergenerational Poverty and Inequality in Africa”. A case study presented during this session revealed that attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2015, may have a significant impact on eliminating intergenerational poverty and inequality in Africa.
Sylvain Maliko, Resident Representative of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and chair of the session, set the tone... |
| 05-Nov-2015 |
Four papers focusing on gender, poverty and inequality received considerable attention, Wednesday, November 4, 2015, at the 10th African Economic Conference in Kinshasa, as they highlighted constraints and proposed solutions regarding women’s financial inclusion and empowerment, as well as to their access to land.
The first presentation by United Nations University researcher Maty Konte investigated the effect of gender discrimination in access to finance. For Konte, gender equality and women’s economic empowerment have been a central goal in achieving successful and sustainable... |
| 05-Nov-2015 |
African experts attending the 10th African Economic Conference in Kinshasa from November 2 to 4, called on African countries to reduce their excessive dependency on raw material exports and imported consumer goods, as the only viable way to reduce poverty and social inequality on the continent.
The experts issued this recommendation during an extremely productive session entitled “Inclusive Growth and Structural Transformation for Poverty Reduction in Africa”.
During a presentation entitled “Dependency on raw materials and human development”, Burundian researcher Janvier D. Nkurunziza... |
| 05-Nov-2015 |
As countries seek to finance their own development in the context of the post-2015 development agenda and against the backdrop of receding donors’ aid, African countries have to be empowered with skills and knowledge to enable the efficient, effective and innovative mobilization of domestic resources. These were the observations made at the 10th edition of African Economic Conference in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Tuesday.
Panelists at the plenary session titled “Operationalizing the SDGs to promote inclusive growth and transformational development in the context of... |
| 05-Nov-2015 |
On Wednesday, November 4, 2015, an expert panel was assembled in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, during the 10th African Economic Conference (AEC). The panel, which met during Plenary Session 5, engaged in discussions on the following theme: “Stakeholders’ perspectives in addressing poverty and inequality in Africa”. The assembled experts set out a series of conditions for successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015.
The session opened with expressions of unanimous support for the... |
| 04-Nov-2015 |
Leaving no one behind in the development agenda will require taking bold steps by African governments including strengthening the role of the state in economic transformation to address poverty and inequality on the continent.
This is in addition to accelerating the process of structural transformation and making it more equitable, inclusive, resilient and sustainable, integrating the green dimensions.
This was underscored during the closing ceremony of the 10th African Economic Conference that opened on Monday and concluded Wednesday in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic Congo.
"The... |
| 04-Nov-2015 |
New research on the effect of increasing the amount of raw cocoa processed locally in Ghana for the US $20-billion export market has highlighted the difficulty of achieving rapid industrialization in Africa.
A study paper on the impact of industrial policies on Ghana’s industrialization, titled “Is More Chocolate Bad for Poverty?” shows that increasing the amount of cocoa processed locally in Ghana would eat into the farmer’s earnings while increasing the profit margin of private processing firms by 56 per cent.
The local processing of cocoa produced in Ghana would also lead to a 36 per... |
| 04-Nov-2015 |
The recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a critical framing for transforming development like never before, tackling poverty and inequality as well a promoting integrated policy, planning, and governance for the achievement of equitable and sustainable development.
The implementation of the goals will need to be brought down to the regional, national and local level to achieve sustainable development.
This was highlighted on Wednesday, during a session title “Adopting a Non-Conventional Way of Tackling Poverty and Inequality in the SDGs” at the 10th... |
| 04-Nov-2015 |
Poor working conditions for doctors, nurses and health technicians has a huge effect on the quality of healthcare as it pushes the health workers to hold several jobs at the same time.
This is the finding of a new research by Gaston Brice Nkoumou Ngoa, an economist at the University of Yaoundé whose research attributes the job-hopping practice to unpredictable pay for health workers.
The research on labour income of healthcare workers and multiple job-holders in urban centres in Cameroon focused on 827 healthcare workers who blamed their moonlighting practice on low income from... |
| 04-Nov-2015 |
On Tuesday, November 3, researchers gathered in Kinshasa at a fringe event held during the 10th African Economic Conference. The session, chaired by Professor Bernadette Kamgnia, Acting Director of the African Development Institute at the African Development Bank (AfDB), featured three presentations on the relationship between poverty, inequality and growth in Africa, and on potential responses to these problems across the continent.
The first paper, entitled “Why did Africa fail to reduce poverty sufficiently during the MDG period?”, was presented by El Hadji Fall, Janvier Alofa and Marc... |
| 04-Nov-2015 |
Economists at the 10th African Economic Conference (AEC) are laying ground for new guidelines to measure household poverty based on new reasoning poverty in urban areas differ from rural areas.
The researchers believe the measurement of poverty based on the average national income does not accurately reveal the distribution of wealth to provide a proper basis for dealing with poverty.
The research findings that could lead to ground-breaking policy changes were presented during the discussions on a session on the “Determinants/Drivers of Poverty and Inequality in Africa” on Day 2 of... |
| 04-Nov-2015 |
On Tuesday, November 3, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, three young African researchers presented the results of their research into the social and economic impacts of poverty and inequality in Africa. They made this presentation as part of the 10th edition of the African Economic Conference, held this year in the Congolese capital from November 2 to 4, 2015.
Cameroonian Arlette Simo Fotso presented the results of her research into "Children's disabilities and education in Cameroon". An expert piece of research, it showed how Cameroonian children with disabilities are... |
| 03-Nov-2015 |
Africa is increasingly facing multiple stresses that will be magnified by climate change leading to a complex set of problems, participants at the ongoing 10th edition of the African Economic Conference in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, heard on Tuesday.
In particular, governments across the continent face a daunting challenge of addressing the poverty and inequality amid high levels of poverty, aggravated by land degradation and desertification, especially in arid and semi-arid areas; resource-based conflicts; migration and rapid urbanization.
Moreover, governments are... |
| 03-Nov-2015 |
A billion people have been lifted out of poverty since the United Nations established the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 15 years ago, making it the most successful anti-poverty movement in history. More than a billion people have been brought out of extreme need.
According to the 2015 MDG report, released on Tuesday at the ongoing 10th edition of the African Economic Conference in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, while worldwide there were remarkable gains made on the eight goals, progress has been uneven across regions and countries, leaving significant gaps.
In... |
| 03-Nov-2015 |
“Tax morale and trust in public institutions” and “Housing finance and inclusive growth in Africa” were the topics of two papers presented by a group of researchers and economists on Tuesday, November 3, 2015 in Kinshasa. Debates focused on these topics, which some participants also described as issues impinging the continent’s development. The discussants of the session, were Athanasius Coker of the African Development Bank, and United Nations Development Programme’s Country Economist for Benin, El Hadji Fall.
In the first presentation by Wilfried Anicet Kouame, “Taxes mechanisms and its... |
| 03-Nov-2015 |
Increasing government spending on healthcare, education and support to vulnerable groups like the elderly has emerged at the top of the agenda for a new deal sought by experts attending the 10th African Economic Conference (AEC) from November 2-4 in Kinshasa, to address rising poverty and inequality in Africa.
Amid growing fears that policies to ensure economic growth for all are lacking, economists are seeking a “Kinshasa Consensus” to deal with the possible loss of Africa’s economic gains.
“We need to act. It is clear it is not enough to record growth. We have experienced double-... |