Africa meets the world in Davos but without a strong, common agenda

Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

Countries like Nigeria and Angola, which have in the recent years undergone recession, sent in both government and business delegations as they seek to jump start their economies, whose growth has dipped.
For countries such as Zimbabwe, this year’s Davos meeting was a new dawn, introducing President Emmerson Mnangagwa, following the ouster of Robert Mugabe, who had been shunned by the West.
Only the African Development Bank (AfDB) went to the conference to shop for investors who would fund opportunities across the continent.

The African agenda at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, appears fragmented with countries going solo as they seek investment deals and opportunities.

Only the African Development Bank (AfDB), the continent’s banker, went to the conference to shop for investors who would fund opportunities across the continent.

“We are here sharing the investment opportunities that are available on the continent. We have launched a $500 million fund to support businesses in Africa that are producing power in a decentralised way and we hope we will have international corporations take interest in such ideas,” AfDB president Akiwumi Adesina said.

IMF’s support for Somalia

For the first time in its history, Somalia sent its Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, who managed to secure audience with IMF chief Christine Lagarde and held discussions over the country’s push for debt relief. Mr Khaire also met with his Norwegian counterpart and discussed increasing aid to Somalia.

‘‘The underlying economic conditions in Somalia remain difficult, but the authorities are making strong efforts to rebuild their country. Somalia’s debt relief is a priority for the IMF.

‘‘The discussion also touched on the IMF’s support for Somalia. Somalia is among the largest recipients of IMF technical assistance,” IMF said in a statement released after the meeting on the sideline of the Davos meeting.

Zimbabwe's new dawn

For countries such as Zimbabwe, this year’s Davos meeting was a new dawn, introducing President Emmerson Mnangagwa, following the ouster of Robert Mugabe, who had been shunned by the West.

The new Zimbabwean leader attended the Davos summit, a first by a Zimbabwean president, to market the country and lure potential investors. He also met Ms Lagarde and for the first time in almost two decades had discussions on a possible IMF bailout for his country.

“This was an opportunity to share views on ways to address the severe economic challenges that Zimbabwe is facing, and how the IMF can help. I welcome President Mnangagwa’s commitment to stabilising the Zimbabwean economy and working towards normalising the country’s engagement with the international community,” Ms Lagarde posted on Twitter after the meeting.

Bilateral relations

The meeting also offered the incoming African Union chairman and Rwandan president Paul Kagame an opportunity for a one on one talk with US President Donald Trump, coming at a time the continent says it is still offended by the US president’s recent negative reference about immigrants.

On Friday, the two held discussions on bilateral relations and ongoing reforms at the AU.

“We had a good discussion on those two levels, bilateral relations between Rwanda and the US. Rwanda has benefited tremendously from the support of the US in many areas,” he said, citing support in peacekeeping operations, trade investments and tourism.

President Kagame said he hoped the US would support the reforms which are aimed at making the body financially independent and effective.

Diplomatic relations

The Rwandan leader also met South African Deputy President and African National Congress leader Cyril Ramaphosa in what appears to be a move to restore diplomatic relations between Rwanda and South Africa.

The two countries have been attempting to restore diplomatic ties which deteriorated in 2014, resulting in both expelling each other’s diplomats.

South Africa accused Rwandan diplomats of co-ordinating attacks on Rwandan exiles while Kigali accused Pretoria of protecting Rwandan fugitives. Rwandans are yet to resume getting visas to South Africa.

Tax evasion

Countries like Nigeria and Angola, which have in the recent years undergone recession, sent in both government and business delegations as they seek to jump start their economies, whose growth has dipped.

In terms of agenda, tax evasion, which affects many African countries featured yet again, with Oxfam’s chief executive Winnie Byanyima calling for a shift towards public transparency around corporate tax affairs.

“We are in a system where greed is good. Companies are encouraged to maximise for their shareholders and that is why they avoid tax and slash wages.

We should now shift to have a global agreement on tax co-operation to be forged at the UN given that we’ve seen overseas agreements between wealthy countries do now work in the interest of developing economies,” Ms Byanyima said.

Migration

Migration, which has featured in the global arena for the past two years, has also been a subject of discussion at the summit with leaders calling for a rethink on how to address the source countries, mostly African countries.

The panelists discussed how immigrants are used as scapegoats, terming it one of the problems of short-term political thinking.

At the meeting, technological innovation emerged as the main driver in the immigration question, since it was displacing more jobs than migrants.

“Europe is getting older and they’re not producing children. Africa by 2050 will double the population. Immigrants have no lawyers, no flags, no special interests, no ambassadors… The easiest way to win an election is to go after them,” Hikmet Ersek, the president at the Western Union Company said.