Invest Africa (www.InvestAfrica.com), a business network promoting trade and investment in Africa, is proud to announce a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Economy of the United Arab Emirates to host The Africa Debate-UAE (https://TheAfricaDebate.com/UAE). The event, taking place on 31 October in Dubai, will serve as a platform to explore and capitalise on the burgeoning opportunities along the UAE- and broader Gulf-Africa trade and investment corridor.

Following ten successful editions of The Africa Debate in London, Invest Africa is excited to take the conference to the UAE – the largest investor in Africa among the GCC states. This year’s programme will spotlight investment opportunities along the UAE- and broader Gulf-Africa trade and investment corridor, featuring sessions on financial services, logistics and supply chain optimisation, energy and infrastructure, and ICT and digital transformation. The event will bring together global businesses, private and public investment bodies, thought leaders, and policymakers for a series of insightful debates on UAE-Africa relations in 2024 and beyond.

Chantelé Carrington, Chief Executive Officer, Invest Africa said: “Our partnership with The Ministry of Economy – UAE is a testament to our commitment to facilitating meaningful business connections and fostering two-way trade and investment between the UAE and Africa. The Africa Debate – UAE will not only spotlight investment opportunities but also provide a robust platform for dialogue and collaboration among key stakeholders. The UAE is already the fourth-largest investor in Africa, and we are excited to work with the government to bolster commercial ties across the continent at this critical time in Africa’s growth story.”

H.E. Juma Alkait, Assistant Undersecretary for International Trade Affairs, Ministry of Economy – UAE said: “The UAE has long recognised the strategic importance of Africa as a key trade and investment partner. By collaborating with Invest Africa, we aim to deepen our engagement with African markets and explore new avenues for economic cooperation. The Africa Debate has already established itself as a premier platform for promoting Africa-forward initiatives and investment, and we are excited to bring this prestigious event to Dubai. We look forward to welcoming 300+ vetted industry leaders to advance UAE-Africa partnerships and drive mutual growth.”

The conference will feature a series of breakout sessions focusing on:

Financial Services
Logistics and Supply Chain Optimisation
Energy and Infrastructure
ICT and Digital Transformation

As global businesses, investors, and policymakers converge in Dubai, The Africa Debate – UAE will serve as a crucial nexus for those seeking to engage in trade and investment along the UAE- and broader Gulf-Africa corridor.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Invest Africa.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Cara Oldenburg
Head of Marketing and Events
Invest Africa
T: +442037305035
E: cara.oldenburg@investafrica.com

About Invest Africa:
Invest Africa is a leading pan-African business platform that promotes trade and investment across the continent. With over sixty years of experience, our network is made up of more than 400 multinational corporations, private investors, fund managers, family offices, policy makers and entrepreneurs. Together they share our desire to build opportunity across the African continent. As the trusted entry point into Africa, we support and connect business and investment through a unique range of services, from leading business conferences and bespoke trade and investment missions to sector-specific event programmes and consultancy projects.

https://TheAfricaDebate.com/UAE

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund granted a loan of $13.2 million to Zambia in Abidjan on 17 July 2024 to implement innovative measures and improve access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for 460,000 people in Kabwe and Bauleni. The project also aims to strengthen the resilience of the beneficiary populations to the effects of climate change.

In addition to the funding from the African Development Bank Group’s concessional loans window, the project is being supported by the European Union, the Bank Group’s strategic partner, with a grant of $6.05 million through their Nexus Energy and Water Programme for Zambia, a transformative initiative under the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy.

“The project aims to improve access to better-quality water and sanitation services in the town of Kabwe (in central Zambia) and Bauleni (a district of Lusaka city) and increase the operational and financial efficiency of water and sanitation providers in Lukanga (Centre) and the capital, Lusaka,” explained Raubil Durowoju, the head of the African Development Bank Group’s Country Office in Zambia.

Among other things, the project plans to rehabilitate the Mulungushi water purification plant in Kabwe (abstraction of water from the river, pipework for untreated water, replacement of obsolete treatment and pumping equipment) to relaunch production of 37,500 cubic metres of drinking water per day. It also plans to improve water transport and distribution pipe networks, with an extension of over 70 km, and to build and equip five boreholes in the catchment areas of Kalulu (in the south-west) and Mukobeko (Centre) in Kabwe town. The project will use renewable energy technologies and introduce innovative measures, such as smart meters, to reduce operating costs through the installation of energy efficiency equipment in the water production and supply system.

It will collaborate with partners such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to strengthen the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene services and also raise awareness around integrated nutrition and hygiene services, climate resilience, waste and water management among at least 10,000 people.

The African Development Bank’s long history in the water sector in Zambia makes the institution a unique partner in supporting the Zambian government’s implementation of the project. The Bank has supported Zambia’s water sector since the late 1970s. Its first intervention, in 1979, was a water and sanitation project in five provincial centres that aimed to improve services in the towns of Choma, Kalomo, Livingstone and Monze in the south of the country. Since then, the Bank has supported a total of 14 projects to improve the long-term security of water supply and sanitation services in Zambia.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

Media contact:
Alexis Adélé
Communication and External Relations Department 
media@afdb.org

About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is the premier multilateral financing institution dedicated to Africa’s development. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NSF). The AfDB has a field presence in 41 African countries, with an external office in Japan, and contributes to the economic development and social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund, the African Development Bank Group’s (www.AfDB.org) concessional window, approved on Thursday a loan of $60 million to the Republic of Benin to finance the second phase of the country’s Economic Governance and Private Sector Development Support Programme. The funding brings the total amount granted to Benin to over $100 million through programmatic budget support covering 2023 and 2024 fiscal years. 

The programme will boost the private sector’s contribution to the national economy by improving the overall business environment, supporting the agri-food sector and strengthening climate action. 

Through this programme, Benin will increase private investment to 30.2 per cent of GDP, up from  29.9 per cent in 2022; reduce the time government takes to settle debts due to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) from 200 days to 60.  

“The African Development Fund is pleased to support the government’s ambitious reforms, placing Benin at the forefront of climate action and the creation of a favourable environment for the private sector,” said Robert Masumbuko, the Bank’s Country Manager for Benin. “The Bank also stands by Benin in continuing to support the remarkable financial innovations that have enabled the Beninese government to raise substantial resources on all financial markets.”  

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

Media contact:
Communication and External Relations Department
media@afdb.org 

About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org

Ethiopian security forces are detaining the brother of, and at least 11 other people linked to Batte Urgessa, a political opposition member who was murdered in April 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should immediately and unconditionally release those held without charge and seek international support for their investigation into Batte’s killing.

Batte was last seen alive at a guest house in his hometown of Meki, in the East Shewa Zone of Ethiopia’s Oromia region, on April 9. Early the next morning, residents found his bound body with a gunshot wound to the head, on the outskirts of town. In the ensuing days, local police announced the arrest of 13 suspects to the killing, including Batte’s younger brother, Millo, a family friend, Ebba Wane, and the owner of the guest house where Batte had been staying. Many of them remain in detention. Batte was an outspoken political officer of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) opposition group.

“The Ethiopian authorities’ detention without charge of the murdered opposition leader’s brother and others suggests that the government is more concerned about preventing the truth from coming out than uncovering it,” said Laetitia Bader, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should immediately release those unlawfully held and seek international assistance for an impartial investigation.”

Two photographs circulating on social media on April 10 show a man, said to be Batte, lying face down in a dry stream bed with his arms bound behind his back with a belt strap. At least one bullet wound is visible to the left side of the back of the head, and blood stains are visible on the lower back. The ground under his head and left shoulder are also stained with blood, indicating he most likely would have been shot while restrained at this location.

A second photo posted to Facebook accompanying the first shows six rifle-sized bullet casings, said to have been collected at the scene, on a piece of paper. Human Rights Watch could not establish the location or date these photographs were taken. However, they were not available online before April 10.

On April 10, Oromia’s regional government released a statement condemning Batte’s murder and saying that online propaganda blaming the government was unacceptable. In an interview with a US-based Oromo diaspora outlet that aired on April 11, Millo Urgessa said that witnesses close to where Batte was killed observed people remove Batte from a “ranger,” a common term for a government security vehicle. Millo was arrested that day, shortly after Batte’s funeral.

While Millo and Ebba are held in the Meki police station, the whereabouts of other detainees are not publicly known, putting them at risk of mistreatment. Human Rights Watch has received a list of nine people who remain detained in connection with Batte’s case. On June 12, a Meki district court ordered Millo release, yet he remains in detention. “Security officials are saying they don’t know about him [Millo], that he is not held by them,” said one individual familiar with the case.

Ethiopian authorities had arrested Batte on several occasions, including on March 7, 2021, after he visited detained OLF officials. On that occasion, Batte was held for a year without charge, often transferred between formal detention and makeshift detention sites, including a poultry farm, and beaten by guards. He was released in March 2022 after developing serious health issues. He continued to campaign for the release of his detained colleagues.

“I tried to do what was possible [for my colleagues],” Batte said in a 2023 interview with Human Rights Watch: “I reported their cases [to authorities]. I begged for their immediate release. Yet, there is no solution…. I have never seen this before … It is only in Ethiopia where you have an authority ordering your release and the police denying the request…. Our office in Addis is guarded by the federal police. No one is allowed to enter … It seems the government is trying to dismantle the OLF. Or ban the party. Or kill the OLF leaders.”

Batte’s seven senior OLF colleagues have remained in detention for nearly four years despite court rulings ordering their release. In May, Ethiopia’s national electoral board called on Ethiopia’s parliament to investigate the ongoing detention of the OLF officials.

Batte was last arrested in February 2024, along with a French journalist, Antoine Galindo, as they met for an interview at a hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. Batte was released on bail on March 9 and eventually returned to Meki in Oromia.

The United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union and several of its member states all echoed a call from the national Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, a federal body, for federal and regional authorities to examine the circumstances of Batte’s death and conduct a prompt and impartial investigation into his killing. US Senator Ben Cardin, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, pointed to the government’s repression of media and the political opposition and urged the Ethiopian authorities to allow a “credible, neutral international body to conduct a thorough investigation.”

In recent months, Ethiopian authorities have increased threats, intimidation, and harassment against prominent Ethiopian human rights organizations, including the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, the country’s oldest, independent rights group. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CJP) has also documented a repressive media environment that has forced at least 54 Ethiopian journalists and media workers into exile since 2020.

Human Rights Watch and other rights organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about the government’s lack of effective investigations into human rights violations, and about the capacity and independence of Ethiopia’s investigative and judicial institutions, which are subject to political interference. Though the Ethiopian government has announced a three-year plan to reform and overhaul the justice sector, and in April released its nationwide transitional justice policy, the ongoing detention of political opposition figures despite court orders calling for their release, casts doubt on the Ethiopian government’s commitment to accountability and the rule of law, Human Rights Watch said.

Given the sensitivity and importance of the Batte Urgessa case, the government should be requesting international assistance for its criminal investigation.

“The Ethiopian authorities have glossed over or treated dismissively numerous high-profile killings and other human rights abuses against perceived critics of the government,” Bader said. “Concerned governments should make clear that the brazen murder of an opposition politician needs an investigation with significant international participation.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).