ECOWAS Business News

Media must serve as watchdogs against corruption - AU ABC Executive Secretary   by Marian Ansah,  Nairobi, Kenya The Executive Secretary of the African Union Advisory Board Against Corruption (AUABC), Charity Nchimunya, has emphasized the need for the media to join the Board's efforts in combating corruption.  Speaking at a media engagement workshop held in Nairobi, Ms. Nchimunya said the media can serve as a watchdog by exposing acts of corruption. The three-day workshop, which was organized by the AUABC in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) office to the African Union (AU), kicked off with a presentation by  Dr. Scelo Zibagwe , Programme Planning Specialist at the AU who touched on governance, the rule of law, the AU's thirty-nine priority areas, 15 flagship projects, and seven aspirations.  The first day of the workshop saw Senior Policy Officer at the AU, Martha Munthali highlighting the African Union Convention on Preventing and Comb

#COUNTDOWN TO SECOND AFRICAN FORUM ON MINING (#africanForumOnMining) by E K Bensah Jr Advocacy & Communications Unit, African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) With less than a week before the start of the second edition of the flagship African Forum on Mining, the Advocacy and Communications Unit at the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) has been blasting social media with important nuggets around the conference. Here are some excerpts from twitter feed on www.twitter.com/AfricanAMDC While a provisional programme is available, more details, including a dedicated website, will be communicated when practicable to do so. In the meantime, we invite you to follow our LinkedIn page (see below for latest post) and twitter pages for daily updates as we all count down to this important conference helping unpack Africa's Minerals governance: See you soon!

BREAKING : The Second Edition of IOM & AU's Flagship Africa Migration Report is Under Development. A tweet from twitter today reads: "What challenges will the 2nd Edition of Africa Migration Report #AMR address? What will it focus on? IOM, @AfricanUnion, & experts are meeting in #Addisababa to discuss this! Report builds on the 1st Ed. (2020), which addressed a range of issues that have recently come to light." APN-IOM Sensitization on Africa Migration Report * ENGLISH * MYTHS VERSUS REALITIES : https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ekbensah_freemovementinafrica-africanmigrationreport-activity-6932876034442711040-UeW7?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=android_app 2. HOW AFCFTA CAN HELP BOOST INTRA-AFRICAN MIGRATION: https://twitter.com/ApnMigration/status/1531227338100416513?t=PVCntHtvg_yEE9Q0vJ-QiQ&s=19 3. #Securitization of #Migration that leads to restrictions for overall movement of Africans within Africa ultimately impacts expansion of Freedom of Movemen

NAIROBI HOSTS AU ANTICORRUPTION AGENCY MEDIA BRIEFING & TRAINING MEDIA ADVISORY . The progress on fighting corruption in Africa. What : African Union Advisory Board Against Corruption will brief the media on the progress that has been made in addressing issues of corruption on the continent. When : Tuesday, 27th September 2022. 10.30AM Where : Golden Tulip Hotel, Muthithi Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya. Who : The briefing will be addressed by: Samuel Mbithi Kimeu, Board Member - African Union Advisory Board Against Corruption; and Charity Hanene Nchimunya, Executive Secretary - African Union Advisory Board Against Corruption * Background * The African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption provides a framework which State Parties can follow to combat corruption. Article 12 of the Convention has called upon State Parties to fully engage the Civil Society and Media in the fight against corruption. Recognizing the role that Media has in educating, informing, and acti

AFRICAN PEER REVIEW MECHANISM (APRM) DEPLOYS WORLD-FIRST SERIES OF REPORTS ON UNCONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES OF GOVERNMENT (UCG) #APRM #APRMUCG #APRMPEACE #UCG   This is one of the highlights of my work with African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) as a communicator supporting outreach: the access to new, maybe novel, information that I would heretofore not have access to. As someone who published a small book in 2019 entitled "How ECOWAS & AU Managed conflicts from 2011-2017" (see profile with link to downloadable report on academia.edu ), I am always on the look out for AU's responses to peace and security over the years. To say I am excited about this new APRM advocacy is understating how this privilege continues to remind one of the sense of responsibility for making an impact on the continent.  APRM's new targeted reviews, and this is something my fellow champions -- Caroline Aluoch Adam Alqali Suzan Mwape Gabriel Baglo  -- have all covered since we all started the APR

AUDA-NEPAD'S FLAGSHIP YOUTH PROGRAMME IS LAUNCHED ON SIDELINES OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY: WELCOME, #ENERGIZEAFRICA! Amine Adoum: #EnergizeAfrica is aimed at catalyzing and harnessing youths' creativity and innovativeness into Africa's economic growth and development drive from: https://twitter.com/NEPAD_Agency/status/1571873169278894082?t=AmGQnJomrNndQk7N7TAjwg&s=19 The project is in collaboration with AfriEximBank, and is arguably one of the AU's most ambitious programmes to help harness the efforts of youth into making meaningful impact on the Continent. The Agenda 2063 Media Network, the official media network of AUDA-NEPAD, will be keenly monitoring developments around #EnergizeAfrica. On 6 September, the first of two webinars was held virtually, with moderation services by E K Bensah Jr, MD of Ecowas Business News, and communications Champion for the AU's APRM. The second webinar will be held some time in October. Find everything you need to know about this pr

WEST AFRICAN DIETS ONE OF HEALTHIEST IN THE WORLD  The *West African diet is heavy on starch and vegetables, and light on meat*. It also features a lot of fat. The staple dish in some cultures of this area is a dish called fufu, which blends root vegetables such as yams or cassava together with a soup or stews. *West African cuisine also features more seafood and leafy greens than the rest of the continent*. source: https://www.zmescience.com/science/west-africa-diet-healthier-14092022

APRM Continues to Call for an African Continental Credit Rating Agency by E K Bensah Jr,  Coordinator of APRM Champions (@ekbensah) For the past couple of weeks, APRM Champions ( www.twitter.com/APRMChampions ) have been championing the advocacy around the need for the establishment of an African Credit Rating Agency (#ACRA) alongside APRM's official account on www.twitter.com/APRMorg . Almost every other day, APRM Secretariat has released an infographic that simply and clearly speaks to key issues around ACRA, and the necessity of AU Member States to rally support round it.  So far, Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya are countries playing roles in advancing the agenda at the domestic level.  While there is no dedicated hashtag now, you can follow the Champions as they call for #SetUpACRANow.

Hybrid matchmaking: mango, cassava and ICT suppliers meet buyers Sep 9, 2022 On September 20 and 21, 2022, West Africa Connect brings industry representatives from the mango, cassava, and ICT service sectors together in a hybrid format from Accra, Ghana . With financial support from the European Union (EU), the event will connect more than 160 suppliers from 16 West African countries with more than 20 buyers from West Africa and other regions. West Africa Connect 2022 will be held as a hybrid event on the 20th and 21st of September in Accra, Ghana and online. The event is open to many international visitors. During the event, West African suppliers will showcase their products and attendees can also learn more about the valuable solutions the West African ICT services sector offers . The event's opening ceremony will welcome high-level representatives from the ECOWAS Commission, the UEMOA Commission, and the ECOWAS Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Network. Many participants expre