Musings From Abroad

Financial difficulties may affect Kenyan-led police mission in Haiti

Published

4 months ago

September 9, 2024

To replace the current Kenya-led mission in Haiti, the United States of America and Ecuador have published a draft resolution requesting that the UN start preparing for a U.N. peacekeeping operation.

Since June, around 400 Kenyan police have been deployed as part of the U.N.-backed mission.

The United States diplomats stated that the Kenya-led mission, which is dependent on donations from the public, is experiencing financial difficulties and could consider using a U.N. peacekeeping force. Thus far, most of the funding has come from the United States and Canada. In contrast, money for peacekeeping efforts comes from a separate U.N. budget.

It won’t change anything if the proposed Security Council resolution lists the “achievements” of the multinational mission supported by the United Nations.

The state of emergency in Haiti was extended last week to include the whole country.

2017 saw the end of the last UN mission in Haiti. It was said to have caused a cholera outbreak by disposing of contaminated sewage into a river. Nine Haitian children were exploited by at least 134 UN personnel in a sex ring between 2004 and 2007, according to an internal UN investigation.

A 2004 revolt brought the nation dangerously close to collapse, prompting the United Nations to send in reinforcements. Following successful elections and a devastating 2010 earthquake that claimed up to 300,000 lives and ended in October 2017, it contributed to the stabilisation of the impoverished nation.

However, there was a cloud cast over U.N. forces when troops from Nepal were widely accused of bringing cholera, which has killed over 10,000 people in Haiti since 2010, and other troops were linked to sexual assault, including rape and the targeting of undernourished children.

The United Nations has operated several small operations in Haiti since 2017. A Haitian-led political process aimed at advancing elections, the rule of law, and human rights is the goal of the most recent political mission, BINUH.

Given the controversies surrounding the previous peacekeeping deployment, many Haitians have resisted the idea of another one. In addition, some Haitians view U.N. forces as an invading army.

In 2022, Haiti requested an international force to fight gangs, and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres pleaded for months for a nation to take the lead in organising the force before Kenya stepped up and offered 1,000 police.

Police from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad, and Jamaica are anticipated to join them, expanding the global force to 2,500 members.

Musings From Abroad

World Bank doubts Ethiopia-IMF debt assessment

Published

3 hours ago

December 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Some officials of the World Bank have questioned if the study supporting Ethiopia’s debt restructuring may be “faulty” after criticising an evaluation of the country’s finances done with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

World Bank consultant, Brian Pinto, and its head economist, Indermit Gill, evaluated the July Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA), which was created by the IMF and employees of the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the world’s poorest countries, in an internal document seen by Reuters.

According to the authors, Ethiopia is experiencing a short-term cash shortage rather than a long-term solvency problem, which is a source of conflict between the government and holders of its $1 billion international bond that is in default, based on the DSA.

“We found that the bondholders have interpreted the DSA correctly, but the DSA itself may be faulty,” Pinto and Gill wrote in the paper from earlier this month. “The disagreements about Ethiopia’s debt sustainability will be repeated as other countries become debt distressed.”

A World Bank representative responded to a question regarding the paper by saying, “We generally don’t comment on internal deliberations between the World Bank and the IMF or any of our partner institutions.”

As part of the most recent review of the Fund’s loan program, Ethiopian State Finance Minister Eyob Tekalign told Reuters that the DSA had just been reviewed by IMF and World Bank teams and that the status had not changed significantly.

Without providing further details, an IMF representative acknowledged that its officials travelled to Ethiopia in November for the second review of the Fund’s loan program and added that every review incorporates an update to the DSA. Regarding the memo, the spokeswoman remained silent.

A request for comment from Pinto and Gill was not answered. There has been a tense confrontation between Ethiopian officials and bondholders.

The main point of contention is whether, as bondholders contend, Ethiopia is experiencing a liquidity shortage that may be resolved by rescheduling debt or if it is experiencing longer-term financial issues that necessitate haircuts, or debt write-downs.

According to the DSA, certain statistics on exports indicated pressures on both liquidity and solvency.

It was reported in October that the DSA indicated a solvency problem and that writedowns were inevitable. Investors have criticised a government proposal that suggests an 18% haircut in addition to rejecting the evaluation.

Musings From Abroad

Swiss company Mercuria partners Zambia’s IDC in new metals trading firm

Published

3 days ago

December 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by Swiss commodities trader, Mercuria, on Thursday, it has established a metals trading arm with Zambia, the second-largest producer of copper in Africa.

The trading unit is jointly owned by Mercuria and an arm of Zambia’s Industrial Development Company (IDC), and its purpose is to allow Zambia to engage directly in the minerals trading market.

The joint venture “envisages the establishment of a vehicle to market and trade Zambian copper by mutual leverage,” according to a statement from Cornwell Muleya, the CEO of IDC.

The southern African nation wants to increase copper output to roughly 3 million metric tonnes within the next ten years, and in 2023, it produced roughly 698,000 tonnes of copper, down from 763,000 metric tonnes the year before.

In June, the Zambian government announced that it would establish a minerals trading unit.

Investors including First Quantum Minerals and Barrick Gold are ramping up production, with output set to receive a further boost once Vedanta Resources’ Konkola Copper Mines restart activity.

“Our joint venture with IDC marks a significant milestone for Zambia as it positions itself more strategically in the global minerals market,” Kostas Bintas, Mercuria’s global head of metals and minerals, said in the statement.