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East Africa

The update exercise, conducted in accordance with Article 61(1)(e) of the Constitution and Section 20 of the Electoral Commission Act (Cap 176), began on Monday, January 20, 2025, and was initially scheduled to end on February 10, 2025 

 

President William Ruto has faulted global credit rating agencies over what he terms as being unfair to African countries in their ratings.

Speaking on Friday, February 14, 2025, during the launch of the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) during the presidential breakfast on the sidelines of the 38th Ordinary Assembly of the African Union, Ruto said global credit rating agencies have been deliberately failing Africa. 

“The time has come to rewrite our history, reclaim our narrative, and charge the African Renaissance forward. Esteemed colleagues, our urgent calling is to fulfil our duty to Africa’s people and ensure that our continent takes its rightful place in shaping global progress in its full capacity and potential,” Ruto stated.

According to Ruto, the global agencies have been using flawed models, outdated assumptions, and systemic bias, painting an unfair picture of African economies and leading to distorted ratings, exaggerated risks, and unjustifiably high borrowing costs.

“That is why we are gathered here today. Africa’s economic potential is hamstrung by a financial system that misrepresents, distorts, and understates our reality. Global credit rating agencies have not only dealt us a bad hand, they have also deliberately failed Africa,” he added.

“These prejudiced assessments come at an enormous cost not just to Africa but to the world. They deter investment, distort global trade, and derail progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. By misjudging Africa, these agencies deny opportunity to investors and economies and deprive nations of prosperity.”

Ruto laments that despite Africa’s natural wealth, vast arable land, billions in diaspora remittances, and the world’s largest carbon sinks, credit rating agencies have delivered 94 per cent of all downgrades in the past decade, while arbitrarily designating only two African nations as investment grade.

Ruto has termed the situation as a financial straitjacket imposed on Africa, a system that punishes African economies while rewarding others, even when the fundamentals are comparable.

“The foundations of global finance are supposed to be anchored on the principles of fairness, transparency, and merit. Yet, these principles are disregarded when it comes to Africa,” he stated.

“Africa will no longer accept to be misjudged by scales that overlook our reality. The winds of change are blowing, and our march forward is as unstoppable as it is relentless. An African Credit Rating Agency is not just an alternative, it is an imperative. This agency must be globally credible and backed by rigorous, credible data and driven by high reporting standards from our own governments. But more importantly, it must reflect Africa’s reality correctly.”

Ruto says African countries must work to strengthen the capabilities of Pan-African credit rating agencies and expanding their reach. 

“The potential impact is profound. Research shows that a one- level improvement in Africa’s average credit rating would unlock $15.5 billion in additional funding. This alone would outstrip Official Development Assistance by 12% and meet 80% of Africa’s infrastructure needs. The opportunity is within our grasp, and we must seize it,” Ruto said. By , People Daily

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), announced that DEWA achieved the world’s lowest electricity Customer Minutes Lost (CML) in 2024, recording just 0.94 minutes per customer. This breaks its record of 1.06 minutes in 2023 and is significantly lower than the 15-minute average of leading European utilities.

"We are guided by the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the world’s best city for quality of life. To achieve this, we continuously develop Dubai's electricity and water infrastructure through innovation, which we adopt as a key approach to managing facilities through a smart and interconnected network.

This enables us to deliver our services according to the highest standards of quality, availability, reliability, efficiency and sustainability, supporting the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan and the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), which aims to position Dubai among the world’s top three cities.

We have reduced the Customer Minutes Lost in Dubai from 6.88 minutes per year in 2012 to just 0.94 minutes in 2024. This emphasises our leadership in innovation and adopting the latest disruptive technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to enhance DEWA’s resilience, agility and readiness to meet the growing demand for electricity and water in Dubai," said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer.

"The Smart Grid, which we are implementing in stages with AED 7 billion investments up to 2035, has been instrumental in achieving this milestone. It provides advanced features, including enhanced energy transmission and distribution efficiency, reduced losses and improved electric load management.

A key programme launched under the Smart Grid is the Automatic Smart Grid Restoration System, the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa. It increases the control, management and monitoring of the power network. Operating around the clock without human intervention, it uses smart, innovative and centralised systems to locate faults, isolate them and automatically restore service, enhancing grid automation, fault detection and rapid service restoration," added Al Tayer.

With many historical political changes in East Africa, this is an essential moment that requires the political participation of youth and women, who are often marginalised and left out of political processes. Political corridors of power remain largely inaccessible to young people and women. Futurelect is determined to change this.

"Often, the political participation of young Africans and women, in particular, is relegated to voting and, at best, political mobilisation. At Futurelect, we want to shift this narrative and nurture a new generation of politicians and public leaders ready to run for political office or seek political appointments." Says Natasha Kimani, Regional Director for East Africa at Futurelect.

This is not a passive ambition—it is a directive. Futurelect's rigorous, nonpartisan nine-month fellowship is designed to prepare a new calibre of leaders. This interdisciplinary programme equips exceptional individuals with the resilience, knowledge, strategic acumen, and ethical grounding required to excel in government and elected office.

Futurelect is building a pipeline of ethical leaders and forging a movement of good governance excellence across Africa. The success of our alumni—many of whom have gone on to contest elections, assume advisory roles, and influence policy—demonstrates the urgent necessity of this work.

Launched in 2023, the East Africa Public Leadership Programme is already shaping the region's future. In February 2025, 18 fellows will graduate into an emerging generation of moral, competent, and visionary leaders ready to assume public office. The programme has instilled integrity, accountability, and strategic governance in such leaders to ensure they are prepared to lead and lead with purpose. Their journey marks the beginning of a leadership transformation that will ripple across East Africa for many years. Applications for the next East Africa Public Leadership Programme cohort are open until 4 April 2025.

Africa's future will not be dictated by external forces but shaped by the leaders it cultivates today. The time to invest in bold, principled, and visionary leadership is now. Futurelect is not asking for permission to lead this charge—it is taking up the mantle.

For those ready to run, the future starts here.

For more information or to apply visit https://www.futurelect.org/eastafricapublicleadershipprogramme

By WILFRED CLARKE

This year’s World Radio Day celebration slated for the 13th of February 2025 by U.N.E.S.C.O has been themed as ‘RADIO AND CLIMATE CHANGE’.

Using the Drive-Time Show on the 6th of February 2025 by Ghana Broadcasting Corporation’s Unique FM to promote and propagate the Climate-Change agenda ahead of this year’s thematic World Radio Day celebrations, was indeed a great example as a national broadcaster setting the pace while in charge.

Adjoa Isaka, the anchor of the show together with her astute panel members, rightfully discussed the issues and elements pertinent to the challenges facing the global climate story. As well as how radio could be used to harness the dissemination of information by reaching audience in Ghana and across the globe.

Scientifically and statistically speaking on the show, Mr Eric Kofi Afornorpe, an Environmental Science candidate and a climate expert said: “Climate Change is a very critical issue in the 21st century.

“Beginning from the 20th century, due to the industrial revolution, temperatures have increased, rainfall patten has changed. It is either scanty or too intensive when it rains.

“After raining, there will be a lot of flooding. And these are the changes that happen in climatic conditions such as the wind, rainfall, sunshine and humidity.

“In our development space, a Climate Change is more like a program or an issue of litigation: how do we take action with response to combat Climate Change or how do we take actions in reducing the global emissions causing the Climate Change.”

In his crucial explanation, he reiterated: “The whole thing hovers around the rising temperature or the warming of the earth and this is what we call global warming.

“And global warming occurs when a lot of radiant energy from the sun reaches the earth and about to escape and being shielded by carbon dioxide or green house gases. And when this changes, everything else changes.”

Sitting in on behalf of the citizenry while making her point clear, lady Alice Azu, a Procurement Consultant Officer added: “My understanding is that, the human activities that we undertake are the results or consequences of the Climate Change.”

Talking of deforestation without afforestation in Ghana, she opined: “We are cutting down our trees, so how would the trees absorb the heat from the sun.

“The heat will not be able to evaporate into the air, thereby disturbing and worrying us and also destroying our environment. So, if we do not mitigate our activities, our activities will start to bite us as we are experiencing with the Climate Change. The impact is against our health, our lives and our future.

“Last year some part of the Northern and Bono Ahafo area had some serious drought and I think this is a practical result of the Climate Change, losing some foodstuff as a consequence. And when the rain started falling, places were being flooded.” She concluded.

In solving the issue of Climate Change Mr Afornorpe and lady Alice seem to believe in some factors, namely Mitigation and Adaptation.

Having taken those factors into consideration, what about taking a critical look at countries that are not following ‘The Montreal Protocol’ as well as nations that are not adhering to ‘The Kigali Accord’. 

Actions to reduce the emission is paramount in the equations of the solution if ‘Refrigerant Management is properly checked and adapted by most countries if not all countries.

If On-Shore Wind energy could be turbined based, like in Norway and if the culture of the world’s Agriculture production could consider a Plant-Based Food.

All things being equal, if all these measures are strictly adhered to with regards to the culture of recycling and the usage of renewable energy, the result will be clear.

To spread the word in the remotest part of the country, Community Radio Stations and Rural Information Centres would have to be involved in targeting and tackling this situation head on. Most especially within Ghana and across the Africa region as a whole.

Going Off Fossil Fuel completely in Africa at the moment is somehow difficult without funding, due to the financial difficulties it will bring in its wake. In its implementation, some or most citizens will have to forgo so much, in terms of money in order to make up for the usage of electric energy.

To push ‘The Climate Change’ and its related ‘Global Warming’ Agenda forward and across the world, a concerted effort from the world’s Multimedia and Cross-media channels, together with Bloggers and Vloggers, should be telling the narrative with empathy and facts in the right educational direction and perspective.

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