Foreign

Coups: Elders forum urges African leaders to prioritise citizen’s welfare

Published

3 weeks ago

September 3, 2023

Niger crisis: ECOWAS Heads say all options still on table

West African Elders Forum (WAEF) has urged African leaders to put citizens’ welfare, peace, and security at the centre of governance, to consolidate democracy in the region.

Participants at the ‘State of Democracy’ webinar, organised by WAEF, an Initiative of Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF), gave this advice in a statement by its Communications Officer, Mr Wealth Ominabo, in Abuja.

The theme of the conversation is entitled: “Making meaning of democratic reversals in West Africa.”

The participants examined the challenges to democratic governance in the region and how best to advance democracy amid the growing trend of coups and unconstitutional change of government.

The speakers at the virtual meeting also urged governments, regional and sub-regional bodies, to invest more in citizen-centric initiatives that would help serve as a buffer against threats to democracy.

They also called for strengthening democratic frameworks in countries to ensure accountability and guarantee free and credible elections.

The panelists noted that a decline in the region because of the poor state of governance had led to frustration and trust deficit between citizens and government.

They called for the rethinking of democracy in the continent to address citizens’ contemporary realities.

Former Vice President Fatoumata Tambajang of the Gambia, in her contributions, attributed democratic reversal in the region to political leaders’ disregard for normative values of democracy and inability to deliver on their political promises.

“It is time to rethink democracy within our context. First of all, what are the factors leading to democratic decline?

“The context in the Sahel is complex because we have civil leaders who are not ready to respect the constitutions and civil institutions. They are also not ready to deliver on their democratic promises.

“Most of our leaders believe that after soliciting for votes and getting victory at the polls, they forget to deliver their promises to the people.

“Citizens are getting more aware and saying they are tired of voting and not seeing results.

“They are saying we want decent lives; we want food in our homes; we want security and competent people in the civil service who can deliver on services.

“They are equally saying we want equal opportunity, gender equality,” Tambajang said.

Also, Mr Remi Ajibewa, former Director, Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security at Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Commission, suggested that ECOWAS should focus more on citizens than incumbent presidents.

Ajibewa highlighted the many initiatives ECOWAS had done to safeguard democracy in the sub-region.

“We intend to see civilian coups, which manifest in referendums, popular uprising, military-assisted transition, and constitutional review after the election.

“Not that ECOWAS has not been doing well. It is a problem of perception.

“Citizens within the continent see ECOWAS as a body more interested in securing the regime of incumbent presidents and not working for the people’s interests.

“ECOWAS needs to move from ECOWAS of the government to ECOWAS of the people, ” he said.

Ajibewa also said that safeguarding democracy in the continent required collective effort.

He urged all stakeholders to work towards protecting and promoting democracy in the region.

“All of us, from civil society to member states, to ECOWAS, AU to the UN, all have a role to play.

“We need to mobilise to strengthen member states institutions to have a peaceful and inclusive electoral system,” Ajibewa said.

The Executive Director of Sahel Institute for Democracy and Governance, Mr Moussa Kondon, called on ECOWAS to redouble its efforts to protect democracy in the sub-region.

Kondon, also a panelist at the webinar, said that with ECOWAS, it was always negotiation and tonnes of negotiations while people were suffering.

“With globalisation, people have access to information and are more informed than before.

“ECOWAS must proactively engage and uphold its relevant instruments, especially those promoting democracy and good governance,” he said.

Foreign

IMF/World Bank meetings to hold in Marrakech despite devastating Moroccan earthquake

Published

6 days ago

September 19, 2023

Olakunle Adeniyi

The managements of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), together with Moroccan authorities have agreed to hold their 2023 Annual Meetings in Marrakech despite recent devastating earthquake in the country.

This is contained in a joint statement signed by World Bank President, Ajay Banga; IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva; and Kingdom of Morocco Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah Alaoui.

They however said that the meetings, scheduled between Oct. 9 and Oct. 15, would hold by “adapting the content to the circumstances”.

“Since the devastating earthquake in Morocco on Sept. 8, the World Bank and the IMF staff have worked in close coordination with the Moroccan authorities and a team of experts to thoroughly assess Marrakech’s capacity to host the 2023 Annual Meetings.

“In undertaking this assessment, key considerations were that the meetings would not disrupt vital relief and reconstruction efforts, and that the safety of the participants can be assured.

“Based on a careful review of the findings, the Managements of the World Bank and IMF, together with the Moroccan authorities, have agreed to proceed with holding the 2023 Annual Meetings in Marrakech from October 9 to 15,” they said.

According to them, the meetings would be conducted in a way that does not hamper the relief efforts, and respects the victims and Moroccan people.

“At this very difficult time, we believe that the annual meetings also provide an opportunity for the international community to stand by Morocco and its people, who have once again shown resilience in the face of tragedy.

“We also remain committed to ensuring the safety of all participants,” they said.

The World Bank plays a key role in the global efforts to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity.

Working in more than 100 countries, the bank provides financing, advice, and other solutions that enable countries to address the most urgent challenges of development.

The IMF is a global organisation that works to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity for all of its 190 member countries.

It does so by supporting economic policies that promote financial stability and monetary cooperation, which are essential to increasing productivity, job creation, and economic well-being.

Foreign

Zelensky among leaders arriving in New York for high-level UN summit

Published

1 week ago

September 18, 2023

Alero Danjuma

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is among the world leaders descending on New York on Monday as the United Nations prepares to kick off a high-level summit.

The summit is aimed at rescuing its largely ignored Sustainable Development Goals for economic growth.

The UN General Assembly in New York, would formally start on Tuesday and will last a week.

It is set to focus on dusting off its 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at avoiding poverty, hunger, poor education and poor health care, among other things.

In 2015, the countries of the world set themselves these central goals for global development with the key aim of ending hunger and extreme poverty by 2030.

However, the pandemic, the Ukraine war and a debt crisis in poor countries are among the setbacks that have left the UN well off its target.

According to the UN, if things continue as they are, 575 million people will still be living in great poverty and more than 600 million in hunger in 2030.