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World Bank suspends humanitarian project funding in Congo DR. Here’s why

Published

12 months ago

May 16, 2023

Following the decision of the Congo DR government to stop humanitarian project funding without prior notice, the World Bank has also suspended its operations related to the project.

The World Bank suspended humanitarian and development projects worth more than $1 billion in the East African country, which is home to one of the most disturbing humanitarian crises in the world.

World Bank’s director of operations for the country, Albert Zeufack, in a letter, stated that “before being able to continue to commit the project funds, the government and the World Bank should agree on transitional measures… in order to ensure that the funds are used for the intended purposes.”

According to the international lender, the suspension will affect more than 600,000 beneficiaries, including victims of sexual violence. The Bank also stated that it was waiting for documentation on the status of $91 million which had already been advanced for the projects out of the total of $1.04 billion.

Meanwhile, the government, through its spokesperson, Tina Salama denied the suspension claim by the World Bank and said there would be transitional management of the fund. “I think arrangements have been made,” she said. She did not respond to questions about the $91 million.

Reacting to the development, one of the fund’s beneficiaries, Panzi Foundation led by Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynaecologist, said he had been warned a few days before that expenses incurred on his programme would stop being reimbursed. A programme coordinator said that he had had to turn victims away.

“It’s a catastrophe for the victims,” Mukwege told journalists.

According to the World Bank, DRC has the third-largest population of poor people globally, which remains widespread and pervasive, and is increasing due to the impacts of COVID-19.

Related Topics:Congo DR Featured World Bank

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ExxonMobil ‘optimistic’ over Mozambique LNG project

Published

15 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a company spokesman on Thursday, ExxonMobil is “optimistic and pushing forward” with its postponed Rovuma liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique and anticipates a final investment decision before the end of next year.

In offshore Area 4 in northern Mozambique, ExxonMobil and its partner Enivare are developing the Rovuma LNG project. Exxon is in charge of building and running the onshore liquefaction and associated facilities, while Eni is focused on the Coral floating LNG and upstream activities.

ExxonMobil was also impacted by the development of shared and common facilities, such as an LNG jetty and offloading facility when TotalEnergies declared force majeure in 2021 in response to an offensive by militants linked to the Islamic State that threatened its Area 1 Mozambique LNG project.

“We recognise there are challenges and there are. We recognise that those challenges can be overcome if we work together,” Arne Gibbs, general manager at ExxonMobil Mozambique, told an energy conference in Maputo.

“My message is quite simple … We are optimistic, we are pushing forward,” he said of a project expected to enter a front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase in a few months.
Originally planned for 15 million metric tons per year (mtpa), the project has been changed to a modern, electric, modular facility capable of producing 18 mtpa of LNG, which is more flexible and emits fewer harmful pollutants, according to Gibbs.

“It was important to change our design to a project that is ready-made, that is fit for purpose for the current business environment, including the attention to CO2 emissions and GHG (greenhouse gases),” he added.

Credit Agricole declared in March that it would not lend money to two significant LNG projects, including Rovuma, on the grounds that it had made a pledge to abstain from further fossil fuel ventures.

According to Gibbs, the business acknowledged that the intervention of a regional military force and Rwanda’s military assistance to Mozambique had resulted in a notable improvement in the security environment.

In February, Exxon announced that it was keeping an eye on security developments in the province of Cabo Delgado, where terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State have been launching new attacks this year.

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Nigeria’s Insurance Corporation raises maximum deposit coverage from N500k to N5m

Published

19 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The maximum deposit insurance coverage levels for Deposit Money Banks has been raised by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) on Thursday from N500,000 to N5 million.

At a news conference in Abuja, NDIC Managing Director Bello Hassan declared this effective immediately. He said, “For Deposit Money Banks, the increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N5,000,000, would provide full coverage of 98.98% of the total depositors compared with the current cover of 89.20%. Regarding the value of deposits covered, the revised coverage would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 25.37% compared with the current cover of 6.31% of the total value of deposits.

“The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N200,000 to N2,000,000 would provide full coverage of 99.27% of the total depositors compared with the current level of 98.76% and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 34.43% compared with 14.38% of the total value of deposit, currently covered.

“The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N2,000,000 would provide full coverage of 99.34% of the total depositors compared with the current 97.98% and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 21.04% compared with 10.77% of the total value of the deposit, currently covered.”

Additionally, Hassan said that increasing the maximum deposit insurance coverage for primary mortgage banks from N500,000 to N2,000,000 would cover all depositors, or 99.99% of them, and increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance from the current 40.60% cover to 43.10% of the total deposit value.

Additionally, the Corporation increased the maximum pass-through deposit insurance coverage for each Mobile Money Operator subscriber from N500,000 to N5,000,000.