Saturday 14 December 2019

Afreximbank Branch Office to Serve as Gateway into Central Africa

Media Contact: Obi Emekekwue (oemekekwue@afreximbank.com; Tel. +202-2456-4238)

Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, Minister of Trade of Cameroon (centre), and Afreximbank Executive Vice President Amr Kamel (2nd right), joined by (L-R) Obi Emekekwue, Director, Communications and Events, Afreximbank; Rene Awambeng, Director, Client Relations, Afreximbank; and Alain Thierry Mbongue, Afreximbank Regional Chief Operating Officer, Francophone West and Central Africa, following the opening of the roadshow in Yaounde.

Yaounde, 11 Dec. 2019: – The new branch office being opened by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Yaounde will serve as the Bank’s gateway to the Central African region, Amr Kamel, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President for Business Development and Corporate Banking, has said.
Speaking during a roadshow organised in Yaounde to present the Bank’s products, programmes and facilities to the business community, Mr. Kamel said that the office would bring the Bank closer to local businesses in the region.
“We are in the final stages of discussions with the Government authorities to open the branch office,” he told the audience of more that 250 business leaders from all the key sectors of the Cameroonian economy.
Mr. Kamel noted that many African countries were taking strategic steps towards decommoditizing their exports and implementing industrialization strategies, saying that they were tired of being heavily commodity-dependent.
Many Africans could no longer accept a situation where their development aspirations were defined by the vagaries of the international commodity markets, he explained.
He commended the role given to Afreximbank in mobilizing all parties towards the attainment of the goals of Cameroon’s Vision 2035 and pledged that the Bank was committed to assisting both the government and the private sector.
Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, Minister of Trade of Cameroon, commended Afreximbank for the decision to hold the roadshow in Yaounde and for selecting Cameroon to host the Central Africa Branch Office.
He urged the business leaders in attendance to take full advantage of the services offered by Afreximbank in order to exploit the opportunities opened up by the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Mr. Atangana noted that, with the AfCFTA, Africa had become one huge market of 1.2 billion people to which businesses in Cameroon and the Central Africa region could sell their products.
In the presentations that followed, members of the Afreximbank business team discussed the various products, programmes and facilities offered by Afreximbank to promote and support trade across Africa.
The presentations covered intra-African trade; export development and project finance; trade finance; specialised finance; and guarantees.
On 10 December, Afreximbank organised a similar roadshow in Douala, Cameroon, which also attracted more than 250 business leaders representing the various sectors of the economy.

Thursday 12 December 2019

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12/11/2019 01:45 PM EST

Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State
Today, the United States is taking action against three Iranian entities linked to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and sanctioning eight other entities that helped smuggle weapons from Iran to Yemen.  The State Department is announcing the designation of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), its China-based subsidiary, E-Sail Shipping Company Ltd, and the Iranian airline Mahan Air under Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of WMD and their delivery systems, as well as their supporters.  The Iranian regime has continued to procure proliferation-sensitive items in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.   
These designations should serve as a warning that doing business with IRISL, E-Sail, or Mahan Air risks contributing to Iran’s proliferation-sensitive programs, including its nuclear and missile programs.  To allow exporters of humanitarian goods to Iran sufficient time to find alternate shipping methods, the designations for IRISL and E-Sail Shipping Company Ltd will have a brief wind-down period.  The designation of Mahan Air and three of its general sales agents is effective immediately. 

Tuesday 26 November 2019

ITFC and Afreximbank sign $100 Million Credit Facility

Media Contact: Adaeze Anyaoku (aanyaoku@afreximbank.com; Tel. +202-2456-4055)
Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah (right) and ITFC CEO Hani Sonbol shake hands after signing $100 million credit facility agreement in Egypt’s New Capital City yesterday, as Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly (left) and Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Dr. Sahar Nasr look on.
New Capital City, Egypt, 25 Nov. 2019: The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) yesterday in Egypt’s New Capital City signed an agreement to provide a $100-million credit facility to the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to promote Arab-Africa trade and investments.
The signing ceremony took place at the Africa 2019: Investment in Africa Forum, with Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah and ITFC CEO Hani Sombol signing on behalf of their two organisations in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Dr. Sahar Nasr.
The agreement states that the facility will help finance and derisk trade flows between the Arab and Africa regions, thereby raising the level of trade, which currently stands at about $500 million. It will also help in leveraging other Arabian funds in support of Arab investments in Africa.
The facility is part of the Afreximbank/ITFC Arab-Africa Trade and Investment Promotion Programme launched by the two organisations about two years ago and is aimed at deepening the partnership between them.

Wednesday 20 November 2019

Africa industrial Day

https://livestream.com/AfricanUnion/events/8901797/videos/199116525?origin=stream_live&mixpanel_id=13bef88d7fc339-0276c299a472ca-43612442-13c680-13bef88d7fd38d&acc_id=4004048&medium=email

https://livestream.com/AfricanUnion/events/8901797/videos/199116525?origin=stream_live&mixpanel_id=13bef88d7fc339-0276c299a472ca-43612442-13c680-13bef88d7fd38d&acc_id=4004048&medium=email

Monday 18 November 2019

Afreximbank says Export Risk Guarantee Body Will Boost Egypt’s Role as Intra-African Trade Hub

Media Contact: Obi Emekekwue (oemekekwue@afreximbank.com; Tel. +202-2456-4238)

Cairo, 15 Nov. 2019: – Egypt’s decision to establish an export risk guarantee company will give a major boost to the country’s role as a critical hub for intra-African trade and allow it to be a key driver in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), said today in Cairo.
Welcoming the announcement that the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) had approved the establishment of an Export Credit Risk Guarantee company with a capital of $600 million, Prof. Oramah said that the company will make it possible for Egypt to take advantage of the many promising opportunities for trade between it and other African countries.
He said that the company would greatly compliment Afreximbank’s service offerings promoting Egypt-Africa trade by creating more capacity, noting that the Bank had provided an aggregate of about $7.5 billion in support of Egypt-Africa trade and contract financing in the past few years.
“Afreximbank will share risks with the Export Credit Risk Guarantee company and will fund projects covered by the company where necessary,” stated the President, who went on to congratulate CBE Governor Tarek Amer and the CBE Board for their initiative in setting up the company.
The establishment of the company follows an in-depth study carried out by the Central Bank in partnership with the Afreximbank, which highlighted that lack of required financial services, lack of information, high levels of risk and high cost of financing were hindering investors and banks from taking advantage of opportunities for trade between Egypt and other African countries.
The study also pointed out that, given its economic potential, geographical location and strong relationship with other African countries, Egypt had the capacity to support African trade if the necessary banking entities and supporting instruments were available.
The Board of Directors of the Central Bank subsequently, in June 2019, approved the appointment of a technical office nominated by Afreximbank to work toward the establishment of the company.
The new company will provide strategic support for Egyptian industrial and export services to the rest of Africa and will support Egyptian companies by helping them to win contract for major projects with African governments, which are estimated to be worth $60 billion annually.
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Sunday 17 November 2019

cretary Michael R. Pompeo At the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Small Group Ministerial
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    14 Nov at 17:21
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    11/14/2019 12:05 PM EST

    Michael R. Pompeo
    SECRETARY POMPEO:  Well, good morning, everyone.  Welcome.
    I first want to thank Secretary General Stoltenberg, Under Secretary of Defense Rood – John – and the representatives of 31 partners for being here today.  Thank you all so much for joining us here in Washington.
    You all know we must keep taking the fight to ISIS.  So do we.  The United States will continue to lead the Coalition, and the world, on this essential security effort.
    That leadership under President Trump began right after he took office.  I had a different job at the time.  He went out to the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters the very first day, less than 24 hours after he was inaugurated, and he pledged his support for whatever the agency needed to take out Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the entire caliphate.
    And a few months later, he empowered American military commanders to pursue the fight more aggressively than ever.
    Our troops did that, in conjunction with many of you in this room – partners and friends and the Coalition.  We did it both on the ground and in the air in Iraq and Syria.  The caliphate was 100 percent destroyed in March of this year.  We should all be very proud of that.
    Our diplomats here at the State Department, too, have worked with you all as members of the Coalition to stabilize liberated areas, get humanitarian relief to its destinations, and make sure that ISIS cannot gain new footholds.
    American leadership continues on each of these missions today.
    Last month, we achieved what the President talked about that day:  We took out al-Baghdadi and his would-be successor.  Ask each of them whether there’s a deficit in American leadership countering ISIS.
    Today we’re watching the space once occupied by this fraudulent caliphate like a hawk.  That’s why we’re maintaining our residual presence at Tanf, in southern Syria, and our capacity to conduct air operations.
    We’ve repositioned some of our troops in northeast Syria and in the broader region as well, to make sure that ISIS will never get a second wind and to prevent ISIS from recapturing the oil fields.
    We’ve gotten assurances from Coalition partners and our partners on the ground on their responsibility for foreign fighters, and we’ll hold them to account.
    We’re also maintaining humanitarian assistance and stabilization programs to ameliorate the conditions in which ISIS would re-emerge.
    And we’re continuing to pursue a diplomatic resolution of the Syrian conflict with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 as the guide so that stability can, one day, return to this war-torn land.
    I’m proud of the work that my team has done and what the Trump administration achieved.  But you all know – it’s why we’re here today – this is not our story alone.
    This Coalition – the group assembled here today – has been one of the most successful multilateral undertakings of the century.  We beat back a jihadist dream – a would-be terror state in the center of the Middle East – and we saved millions of people from tyranny unlike anything that the world has seen.
    And our good work continues with our stabilization and recovery efforts.  We’re working with women like Samia, a mother of five and a beneficiary and employee of a Coalition-funded, Iraqi-led stabilization initiative.  She and others conduct quick rehabilitation of essential infrastructure, and in one instance, a primary school in Mosul.
    Samia is proud to help Iraqis get past the ISIS nightmare.  This progress has been possible thanks to the United States and 27 other Coalition partners’ provision of more than $1.2 billion to fund the more than 3,000 stabilization projects in 31 liberated towns and districts across Iraq.  Stories like Samia’s show that it is a worthy investment.
    But we can’t stop now.  We must make sure that ISIS never again flourishes.
    That work begins with carrying out justice against those who deserve it.  Coalition members must take back the thousands of foreign terrorist fighters in custody and impose accountability for the atrocities that they have perpetrated.
    Our efforts to help displaced Iraqis helped facilitate the safe and voluntary return of more than 4.3 million civilians in – since April of 2015.  We want them all to return home.  That’s why the Coalition needs to fulfil the significant UNDP Funding Facility for Stabilization shortfall to restore essential services and refurbish critical infrastructure.  We’ll all need help in the northeast of Syria as well.
    Lastly, there’s a growing concern about the ISIS threat outside of Iraq and Syria.
    Recently, we agreed at the working level that West Africa and the Sahel would be a preferred initial area of focus for the Coalition outside of the ISIS core space – and with good reason.  ISIS is outpacing the ability of regional governments and international partners to address that threat.
    We’re planning a Coalition meeting that will focus on specific support that partners can provide across that region.
    Know this:  That work will not – that initiative will not – detract from the mission ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria.  It will complement existing military efforts.  And we will develop and coordinate our efforts in close cooperation with countries of the Sahel.
    The fight against ISIS is a long-term test of will, a test of civilization against barbarism.  I know where we all stand.  Let’s work together to make sure that our enemy knows that, too.  Thank you, again, for coming and for all your contributions past, current, and future.
    And I’d now like to invite Secretary General Stoltenberg to make remarks.
    SECRETARY GENERAL STOLTENBERG:  Thank you so much, Secretary Pompeo.  And many thanks, Mike, for hosting us all here today and for your leadership in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
    Let me start by congratulating United States on the successful action of your special forces against ISIS lead al-Baghdadi.  I think this is really a milestone in our efforts against international terrorism.
    All NATO allies are part of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.  Together, we provide significant support, including with air surveillance and training.  The coalition has made significant progress.  Millions of people and vast territories have been liberated.
    But the fight is not over.  ISIS is still a threat.  The situation in northern Syria remains fragile and difficult.  It is well known that there are differences between NATO allies when it comes to the situation there, but at the same time we agree on the need to safeguard the gains we have made against our common enemy, ISIS, and to support UN-led efforts to achieve a sustainable political solution.
    We also agree on the need to continue to build the capacity of partner forces to strengthen the resilience against terrorism.  We partner with Iraq to help them build, train, and educate their security forces so they can ensure ISIS does not return.
    NATO also contributes to the fight against international terrorism in other ways, not least through our training mission in Afghanistan.  We train and advise Afghan security forces to help them fight terrorism and to ensure that ISIS does not gain the foothold in Afghanistan that they lost in Iraq and Syria.
    And NATO is also helping other countries, such as Jordan and Tunisia, build their local counterterrorism capacity, because prevention is better than intervention and building local capacity is one of the best tools we have in our common fight against terrorism.
    So I look forward to our discussions today and hearing views about how the global coalition can continue to make the world safer.  Thank you.
    SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you, Jens.  At this time, I’d like to ask the press to kindly depart as we move into a closed session.

Saturday 16 November 2019

https://youtu.be/7llytR_1_5g

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  Mwenyekiti wa Taasisi ya Vyombo vya Habari Kusini mwa Africa (MISA) tawi la Tanzania Salome Kitomari akienelea kutoa elimu juu ya waandishi wa kujua umuhimu wa kuendelea kusoma kwa kuwa elimu haina mwisho

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVnTLqIpn_bQlPzH4NAKzzkdo1NhheT07gjQGBiK8gkx8OjTEvVTHmm6oceEwO45DI_mHNBy-tzcuJxX2w-XkqbK6YIZVHVG11AHDEuBs3KfMathWsjGxX6MWgKUVSquErvuRdt1yEye_/s1600/IMG_5348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVnTLqIpn_bQlPzH4NAKzzkdo1NhheT07gjQGBiK8gkx8OjTEvVTHmm6oceEwO45DI_mHNBy-tzcuJxX2w-XkqbK6YIZVHVG11AHDEuBs3KfMathWsjGxX6MWgKUVSquErvuRdt1yEye_/s640/IMG_5348.JPG" width="640" />

 Waandishi wa habari wa mkoa wa Iringa wakiwa makini kusikiliza mjadala ambao ulikuwa unaendelea kuhusu umuhimu wa elimu ya uandishi wa habari

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  Waandishi wa habari wa mkoa wa Iringa wakiwa makini kusikiliza mjadala ambao ulikuwa unaendelea kuhusu umuhimu wa elimu ya uandishi wa habari 

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2vGpcCCa8VSsGtqpaUFms4lREZas7xw79AXV68eLlBinc9Dih1LPGITJSWztXZVjtCjKv0bTaH6WwTlfMzb3oiCywxCnvHtn18QGuwx4vgbWqvliEZ5CivPXNmcbCVHQ_0KmZbUYNchU/s1600/IMG_5375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2vGpcCCa8VSsGtqpaUFms4lREZas7xw79AXV68eLlBinc9Dih1LPGITJSWztXZVjtCjKv0bTaH6WwTlfMzb3oiCywxCnvHtn18QGuwx4vgbWqvliEZ5CivPXNmcbCVHQ_0KmZbUYNchU/s640/IMG_5375.JPG" width="640" />

Waandishi wa habari na wadau wa habari wa mkoa wa Iringa wakiwa kwenye picha ya pamoja na viongozi wa MISA Tanzania




NA FREDY MGUNDA,IRINGA.




Wanahabari mkoa wa Iringa wametakiwa kuongeza
kiwango cha elimu ili kuweza kufanya kazi kwa kujiamini na kwa weledi wa hali
ya juu katika kazi zao.





Akizungumza kwenye majadiliano ya kubaini
changamoto za waandishi wa habari mkoani Iringa mwenyekiti wa Taasisi ya Vyombo
vya Habari Kusini mwa Africa (MISA) tawi la Tanzania kwa kushirikiana na

Internews,Salome Kitomari alisema kuwa waandishi wa habari mkoani Iringa
wanatakiwa kufanya kazi kwa weledi kutokana na elimu uliyonayo.





“Waandishi wakiwa na elimu ya uandishi wa
habari wanapaswa kuishi maisha yaliyo mazuri kwa manufaa ya jamii kwa kuwa
waandishi wa habari ni kioo cha jamii,mwandishi unapaswa kujiuliza kwenye jamii
unaonekanaje kutokana na kazi yako” alisema Kitomari





Kitomari alisema kuwa waandishi wa habari
wanatakiwa kuwa nadhifu muda wote kutokana na taaluma inavyotaka ili kuweza
kutambulika kisheria kama taaluma nyingine ambazo zinatambuliwa vizuri kwa
muonekano wao kwa wanataaluma wao.





“Waandishi wa habari mnatakiwa kuvaa mavazi
nadhifu kama ilivyo wanasheria ambavyo wamekuwa wanaonekana wawapo kazini ndio
maana wanaaminika zaidi ya waandishi wa habari hivyo inatupaswa kubadilika
kimuonekano” alisema Kitomari





Aidha Kitomari alisema ikifika 2021 kama huna
elimu ya stashada ya elimu ya uandishi wa habari hautakuwa na fursa ya
kuendelea kufanya kazi ya uandishi wa habari kwa mujibu wa sheria za nchi hii.





“Kama
ujaanza kusoma stashada ya elimu ya uandishi wa habari basi ikifika 2021
utakuwa hujamaliza hivyo hutakuwa na sifa za kuwa mwandishi wa habari hasa
usisubili changamoto hiyo ikukute jiongeze kitaaluma.” Alisema Kitomari





Lakini katika majadiliano ya kubaini changamoto
kwa waandishi wa habari mkoani Iringa kuliibuka changamoto kama tatizo la
uchumi kwa mwandishi mmoja mmoja ambapo ilionekana waandishi wengi hawaandiki
habari kiweledi kutokana na na tatizo la kiuchumi.





Raymond Minja mwandishi wa gazeti la Mtanzania
alisema kuwa waandishi wengi wa sasa wamekuwa wakiandika habari za kusifu na
kuabudu kutokana na tatizo la uchumi kwa kuandika kile kitu anachokita mtoa
habari.





“Tunaandika sana habari za kusifu na kuabudu
kutokana na waandishi wengi kuwategemea watoa habari ambao mara nyingi wanakuwa
viongozi wa kada mbalimbali na kupelekea kutoka katika misingi ya taaluma ya
uandishi wa habari” alisema Minja





Waandishi wa habari wanachuki wao kwa
wao,hawapendani na wanaubinafsi kutokana na tatizo la changamoto ya uchumi duni
hiyo kupelekea waandishi wengi kuanza kutoka kwenye weledi wa taaluma hiyo,
alisema Denis Mlowe mwandishi wa gazeti la Tanzania Daima






Thursday 24 October 2019


In this talk, Brother Hakim 'The Film Doctor' and Professor Lez Henry will take you on an interactive journey through film, and other forms of media, to highlight how the Black personality is under attack and how Garvey's notion of 'a tree without roots' and Bob Marley and the Wailers' tune 'Babylon System is the vampire' offer ways to combat this mindset. 

We ask that you bring your mind and make sure it is open. Bless

Everyone welcome come as a family group, come with your friends or just come on your own but spread the word.
Afreximbank Announces Cotton Initiative


Kanayo Awani, Managing Director, Intra-African Trade Initiative, Afreximbank, speaking during launch of African Corner at World Cotton Day in Geneva.

Cairo, 21 Oct. 2019: - The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is developing an African Cotton Initiative (AFRICOTIN) to help to catalyse the African cotton sector, Kanayo Awani, Managing Director of the Bank’s Intra-African Trade Initiative, has announced.
Speaking during the launch of the African Corner at the World Cotton Day organised by the World Trade Organization in Geneva on 7 October, Ms. Awani said that the initiative would involve upstream interventions boosting production of cotton on the continent and downstream interventions promoting and financing the consumption of cotton products.
She noted that the cotton value chain provides income for millions of people in Africa, especially those living in rural areas, and represented an important source of foreign exchange for many countries.
Afreximbank had a cotton pipeline of about 400 million Euros, she announced, including $195 million dollars in textile and cotton Parks in Burkina Faso and textile and garments industrial parks in Nigeria.
The African Corner, sponsored by Afreximbank, allowed the Bank to showcase its support for the African cotton value chain and for the African fashion and design industry.
The African Corner is a section of the WTO premises dedicated to African Cotton products and was designed to give exposure and recognition to African cotton and cotton stakeholders. The corner is also being used to develop collaboration with the private sector and seek investors for cotton-related industries and production in Africa.
Observance of the World Cotton Day followed a United Nations resolution sponsored by Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali proclaiming 7 October as World Cotton Day. The four countries, also known as the Cotton-4, are co-sponsors of the Cotton Sectorial Initiative which aims to improve the international cotton trading system.
Cotton is produced in 75 countries, including many least-developed countries where production and processing are important contributors to economic stability and job creation.
Also addressing participants in Geneva was Arancha González, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre, who said that cotton was at the heart the Centre’s efforts to ensure sustainable development through trade in Africa.
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