$50 Billion to Recharge Lake Chad; Pres Trump Should be at China’s Belt-Road Forum

re posted from                                          AFRICA AND THE WORLD

$50 Billion to Recharge Lake Chad; Pres Trump Should be at China’s Belt-Road Forum

$50 Billion to Recharge Lake Chad; Pres Trump Should be at China’s Belt-Road Forum

April 26 2019

Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari-left and UN General Secretary  Antonio Guterres-right  (courtesy LEADERSHIP)

UN Promises To Help Raise $50 Billion for Lake Chad Water Transfer

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari enrolled UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the effort to raise the $50 billion needed to finance the construction of the Transaqua project to refill Lake Chad, Nigerian media report. That figure was proposed at the International Conference on Lake Chad in February 2018. Here is one such report from the Nigerian daily {Leadership}. Transaqua is an “inter-basin water transfer” project that I have advocated for over 20 years and discussed with President Buhari shortly after he was elected in March 2015. True to his word, President Buhari has remained committed to this inter-basin water transfer project, which would transform the living conditions for over 30 million Africans trying to survive in Lake chad Basin.

“There is a glimmer of hope for the revival of the shrinking Lake Chad after the United Nations yesterday agreed to help in efforts to raise $50 billion for its recharge.” President Muhammadu Buhari revealed yesterday that  UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, had accepted to co-chair a special fundraising session to raise $50 billion (or £38.65 billion) for a project to help revive the drought stricken Lake Chad.”

{Leadership} reports that President Buhari had written to the UN scribe to co-chair the fundraising session with him, which the UN chief accepted. The response of the UN Secretary-General was presented to President Buhari by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank-(AfDB), at the State House, Abuja yesterday.

In a statement by his press spokes person, Garba Shehu, Buhari  said such a special forum was necessary in view of the size of capital required for the project, which was unavailable to the Lake Chad Basin countries. “President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the acceptance of the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres to co-chair a Special Session to raise $50 billion to fund the inter-basin water transfer from Central Africa to revive Lake Chad,” Buhari said in the statement.

{Leadership} reports that the Lake, which borders Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, has lost 90% of its size due mainly to climate change, leading to fear of famine and throwing the economic life of the 30 million population around it into jeopardy. The shrinking Lake is part of the reason why insurgency and terrorist activities thrive in the region, with militant groups including Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) and Boko Haram having their strongholds there….”

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China Ambassador: `Why U.S. Shouldn’t Sit Out the Belt and Road’

Under the headline above, China’s Ambassador in Washington Cui Tiankai wrote a column in {Fortune} magazine on the eve of the Second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. “Don’t miss all the winning” involved in the Belt and Road, Cui admonishes, perhaps referring to one of President Donald Trump’s favorite phrases.

The ambassador starts with a very direct challenge: “Imagine the potential of China and the United States, the world’s two largest, most vibrant economies, collaborating on the most ambitious development project in history. The scenario is no fantasy: China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which kicked off almost six years ago, will eventually connect a vast swath of the world, creating huge yields in economic activity, and wiring the world together as never before. However, the United States remains on the sidelines, and this has implications not only in terms of missed opportunities for growth in the U.S., but for the cause of global development, which needs the ingenuity of US industry.”

Cui gives many arguments for the BRI which reflect those of Xi Jinping. He cites total benefits to the 126 countries now in relationship to it: $6 trillion in total trade, $80 billion in direct investment by China; 300,000 new “local jobs” in those countries; Kazakhstan’s first-ever access to the Pacific Ocean; 6,000 new jobs in Europe’s largest inland port, Duisburg; Kenya’s beginning of economic development and industrial-ization; and so on, with citations from national leaders.

“So where is the U.S. amid all of this winning?” he concludes. “There are countless opportunities to U.S. corporations available through BRI projects. Honeywell International is already working with partners to further oil and gas development along the Belt and Road. General Electric has signed a number of deals with partners of the BRI which will help to provide reliable power and energy to critical regions throughout the world. Caterpillar is working with China’s initiative to help solve Pakistan’s severe power shortages. Meanwhile, Citibank is actively providing financing for projects through the markets along the Belt and Road. We certainly welcome more taking part…. My suggestion is that the U.S. embrace this opportunity.”

Source: lawrencefreemanafricaandthewrld

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