African leaders on Wednesday laid out the continent’s vast potential and invited global investors to seize investment opportunities.
Speaking during the 2022 Africa Investment Forum Market Days being held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire’s economic capital, the leaders vowed to continue working to strengthen the economic resilience of their countries against external shocks.
The three-day forum has drawn project sponsors, investors, and heads of state from around the world to participate in boardroom sessions that could lead to transactions worth billions of dollars.
President of Cote d’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara expressed the hope that Market Days 2022 would break the $100 billion threshold in investment interest. Vice President Tiemoko Meyliet Koné delivered his remarks.
Ouattara acknowledged the wave of threats African countries continue to face, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the impacts of climate change. The Market Days 2022 theme, Building Economic Resilience Through Sustainable Investments, reflects these realities.
‘Immediately following the challenges of the pandemic, African countries are once again facing external shocks because of the war in Ukraine, with heavy economic, financial and social consequences,’ Ouattara said.
The current crisis makes us even more vulnerable to food insecurity, Ouattara said. ‘This is paradoxical for a continent that has 60% of the world’s arable land and abundant and youthful manpower.’
African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina gave a preview of the three-day event, saying, ‘You are in the right place: Africa! In the next 72 hours, we will have curated several investment-ready projects for you as investors. These range from renewable energy hydropower, gas infrastructure, railways, road, and water transport.’
Other priority investment sectors for 2022 include agriculture, health, mining, fertilizer manufacturing, port infrastructure, and urban green transport. The Africa Investment Forum is an initiative of the African Development Bank and seven partners.
The African leaders present had the opportunity to pitch their countries as investment destinations. They included Ethiopia’s President Sahle-Work Zewde; Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo; President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe; Vice President of Liberia Jewel Howard Taylor; Tanzania’s Vice President Philip Mpango; José Ulisses Correia e Silva, Prime Minister of Cabo Verde; and Prime Minister Patrick Achi of Cote d’Ivoire.
A common thread in their remarks was the existence of a gap between perception and reality in terms of Africa’s investment risk.
President Mnangagwa spoke about what he termed Zimbabwe’s peculiar circumstances. ‘There are a lot of misperceptions about Zimbabwe just because we have chosen to be ourselves.’ He assured investors, saying: ‘For those who want to make money, Zimbabwe is open to business.’
For Adesina, the perception gap is not borne out by data. He pointed out that Moody’s Analytics research indicates Africa has the lowest default rate on infrastructure projects among the world’s regions – 5.5% – compared to 12.9% in Latin America, 8.8% in Asia, and 5.9% in Western Europe. ‘Africa is not as risky as you think,’ Adesina said. ‘Perception is not the same as reality.’
President Akufo-Addo said that Africa’s promising future should make it very hard to overlook its opportunities. ‘There are problems but look beyond the challenges to what the future holds,’ he urged. He pointed to the continent’s demographic dividend and abundant arable land as causes for optimism.
One of the key themes of the Africa Investment Forum is women as investment champions, a topic that President Sahle-Work Zewde addressed at length. ‘We must accelerate women’s digital literacy as a matter of urgency given the enormous potential of e-commerce and digital finance. Otherwise we risk deepening yet another gap in the gender digital divide,’ she said.
Africa Investment Forum Market Days 2022 will feature boardroom sessions that also promote sectors where Africa has a comparative advantage, such as music, film, fashion, textiles, and sports.
The event will also cover potential investment and development in areas such as food security, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, and emerging technologies including the internet of things and blockchain. Click here for the full agenda.
Since its inception in 2018, the Africa Investment Forum platform has mobilized investment interests in excess of $100 billion. It is an initiative of the African Development Bank; Africa 50; the Africa Finance Corporation; the African Export-Import Bank; the Development Bank of Southern Africa; the Trade and Development Bank; the European Investment Bank; and the Islamic Development Bank.
Source: afdb.org
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Air Tanzania Banned From EU Airspace Due to Safety Concerns
Several airports have since locked Air Tanzania, dealing a severe blow to the Tanzanian national carrier that must now work overtime to regain its certification or go the wet lease way
The European Commission has announced the inclusion of Air Tanzania on the EU Air Safety List, effectively banning the airline from operating in European airspace.
The decision, made public on December 16, 2024, is based on safety concerns identified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which also led to the denial of Air Tanzania’s application for a Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation.
The Commission did not go into the specifics of the safety infringement but industry experts suggest it is possible that the airline could have flown its Airbus A220 well past its scheduled major checks, thus violating the airworthiness directives.
“The decision to include Air Tanzania in the EU Air Safety List underscores our unwavering commitment to ensuring the highest safety standards for passengers in Europe and worldwide,” said Apostolos Tzitzikostas, EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism.
“We strongly urge Air Tanzania to take swift and decisive action to address these safety issues. I have offered the Commission’s assistance to the Tanzanian authorities in enhancing Air Tanzania’s safety performance and achieving full compliance with international aviation standards.”
Air Tanzania has a mixed fleet of modern aircraft types including Boeing 787s, 737 Max jets, and Airbus A220s.
It has been flying the B787 Dreamliner to European destinations like Frankfurt in Germany and Athens in Greece and was looking to add London to its growing list with the A220.
But the ban not only scuppers the London dream but also has seen immediate ripple effect, with several airports – including regional like Kigali and continental – locking out Air Tanzania.
Tanzania operates KLM alongside the national carrier.
The European Commission said Air Tanzania may be permitted to exercise traffic rights by using wet-leased aircraft of an air carrier which is not subject to an operating ban, provided that the relevant safety standards are complied with.
A wet lease is where an airline pays to use an aircraft with a crew, fuel, and insurance all provided by the leasing company at a fee.
Two more to the list
The EU Air Safety List, maintained to ensure passenger safety, is updated periodically based on recommendations from the EU Air Safety Committee.
The latest revision, which followed a meeting of aviation safety experts in Brussels from November 19 to 21, 2024, now includes 129 airlines.
Of these, 100 are certified in 15 states where aviation oversight is deemed insufficient, and 29 are individual airlines with significant safety deficiencies.
Alongside Air Tanzania, other banned carriers include Air Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe), Avior Airlines (Venezuela), and Iran Aseman Airlines (Iran).
Commenting on the broader implications of the list, Tzitzikostas stated, “Our priority remains the safety of every traveler who relies on air transport. We urge all affected airlines to take these bans seriously and work collaboratively with international bodies to resolve the identified issues.”
In a positive development, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been cleared to resume operations in the EU following a four-year suspension. The ban, which began in 2020, was lifted after substantial improvements in safety performance and oversight by PIA and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA).
“Since the TCO Authorisation was suspended, PIA and PCAA have made remarkable progress in enhancing safety standards,” noted Tzitzikostas. “This demonstrates that safety issues can be resolved through determination and cooperation.”
Another Pakistani airline, Airblue Limited, has also received EASA’s TCO authorisation.
Decisions to include or exclude airlines from the EU Air Safety List are based on rigorous evaluations of international safety standards, particularly those established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
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The process involves thorough review and consultation among EU Member State aviation safety experts, with oversight from the European Commission and support from EASA.
“Where an airline currently on the list believes it complies with the required safety standards, it can request a reassessment,” explained Tzitzikostas. “Our goal is not to penalize but to ensure safety compliance globally.”
Airlines listed on the EU Air Safety List face significant challenges to their international operations, as the bans highlight shortcomings in safety oversight by their home regulatory authorities.
For Air Tanzania, this inclusion signals an urgent need for reform within Tanzania’s aviation sector to address these deficiencies and align with global standards.
The path forward will require immediate and sustained efforts to rectify safety concerns and regain access to one of the world’s most critical aviation markets.
Source: allafrica.com
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