Business Briefs

|  By Vincent Nzemeke  |

THE Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has debunked claims that it destroys records of its financial transactions after five years. The apex bank was reacting to reports in some sections of the media after some of its officials appeared before the Public Accounts Committee, PAC. of the House of Representatives last week. The reports allegedly quoted the CBN officials as saying that the bank destroys transactions records after five years.

In statement signed by Ugochukwu Okoroafor, director of Corporate Communications, CBN, said the claims were “erroneous, mischievous and a deliberate attempt by some sections of the media to misrepresent its officials.” Noting that such reports portend danger, the bank said it has a credible and modern archival system for all its records and documents. “The CBN maintains a credible and modern archival system for all its records and documents. As a public institution, all decisions taken by the CBN are guided by established and documented policies and processes which are based on laid down rules and global best practices”.

The bank also explained that the observations made by PAC during the meeting with its officials were based on observations contained in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s report. It added that its officials agreed to furnish the committee with details of its transactions but asked for more time when asked for documents between five to 20 years ago simply because the 48-hour time frame required to provide such information was too short.

While promising to provide the requested documents to PAC as soon as possible, the CBN urged journalists and media establishments to desist from lies and mischief that can damage the image of the bank. “We appeal to those behind these acts of mischief to realise, for once, that the CBN is one of the few surviving and credible public institutions in our country today, and it will be damaging to our commonwealth if its image is impugned by unfounded and mischievous reports,” Okoroafor said.

Bailout for Mali

|  By Maureen Chigbo  |

THE African Development Bank Group (AfDB)  has  approved a loan of 30 billion CFA francs to the Republic of Mali to finance an Emergency Economic Recovery Support Programme, EERSP. The approval came on Wednesday, May 8, in Tunis, This amount will be drawn from the resources of the African Development Fund, ADF, the Bank’s concessional window.

The EERSP is an emergency budget support operation and part of a concerted effort by the international community to help Mali out of its successive crises namely security, political, institutional that have affected the country, by providing support to the reestablishment of public services and fostering economic recovery. The operation will contribute to the consolidation of peace initiatives and social cohesion undertaken under the ongoing transition. It will help to enhance the reconstruction of the country including the rebuilding of the capacities of the State. The programme will equally improve macroeconomic and budgetary framework and create the conditions required for economic recovery.

The program’s specific economic outcomes are, among others, restoration of functioning and rebuilding of the capacities of the public administration, restoration of access to basic social services, especially health and education services and support to economic growth expected to increase from 1.2 percent in 2012 to an average of 5 percent between 2013 and 2014.

The Transition Government in Mali has prepared an Emergency Priority Action Plan, PAPU, the objectives of which are the restoration of the functioning of public services, re-establishing access of the populations to basic social services and resumption of economic activity.

The EERSP will help the State respond to urgent social and economic needs in the wake of the successive crises and its implementation. Furthermore, this operation, in line with the Bank’s intervention in Mali, is found on the Transition Support Strategy (2013-2014) hinged on a dual objective, to mitigate the impact of the crisis and strengthen the population’s resilience, and to consolidate the Government’s stability and the foundations for economic recovery.

The program beneficiaries will be the Malian population as a whole, that is about 15.4 million inhabitants, and, in particular, those living in the northern part of the country, especially those displaced as a result of the conflict. More specifically, these are people living under difficult conditions due to the absence of basic public services in the areas affected and the congestion of basic public services in the areas that accepted the displaced persons.

The main beneficiary structures comprise the school network, public health services, and in general, the public administration which must return to a normal working order. The government will then be able to consolidate its legitimacy and restore its sovereignty in the whole of Mali.

To date, funding approved by the African Development Bank Group in Mali is about 140 billion CFA francs. The aim of the AfDB is to enhance and strengthen its support to Fragile States and those affected by conflict.

 

Datacentre Preview Forum

THINKING differently about data centres provides the focus for this year’s Datacentre Africa, the premier regional event for IT infrastructure which takes place in Johannesburg June 26 to 27. In a packed programme to be attended by executives from across Africa, the conference will focus on how radical changes in the fabric of data centres, cloud, modular, DCIM, innovations in cooling and much more will impact on today’s facilities and the way in which services are procured. Finance, investment, digital hubs, and the market landscape will also feature as key topics.

Speakers and experts from enterprises will complement insights from world class organisations and join forces to present a powerful agenda dedicated to the transformative process that lies ahead towards a flexible computing environment. The event will include a workshop by global consulting firm, Arup, and an accredited training

Key representatives expected to participate include Bernard Donnelly, senior manager, Cloud Architecture, Cybernest, Telkom; Patrick Helmer, managing director, efusion.eu, (Working Group: Carrier Neutral DataCentre) Benin; Geoffrey G Seleka, senior director, Botswana Innovation Hub; Robert Aouad, CEO, Isocel Telecom; Kent Lupberger, Global Head, TMT, International Finance Corporation and many more will take part in facilitated panels and case studies and provide insight into the management of today’s IT infrastructure, data, energy and cloud.

“Datacentre Africa will deliver a tremendous programme covering critical technical, commercial and operational topics aligned to the changing data centre and cloud environment,” commented Philip Low, managing director at BroadGroup (http://www.broad-group.com). “It also promises a forum for discussion and offers unique exposure to the development of data centres across the African continent where demand is increasing.”

Sponsors and partners include Schneider Electric, Panduit, Teraco Data Environments, RT Systems, Delta, International Data Centre Group, and CNET Training. The official publications for the event are datacentres.com daily news and the Finance and Investment for Datacentres News.

 

—  May 20, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT

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