All Posts in "Day: January 19, 2023"

AfDB President calls for adequate funding of education in Africa

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

The President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina has called for adequate funding of education sector in Africa in order to reduce youth unemployment in the continent

Adesina on Thursday in Abeokuta warned that, the high unemployment rate in Africa if not checked could worsen the social and political fragility of countries in the continent.

The AfDB President gave the warning in a lecture delivered at a Colloquium on “The Role of Education in 21st Century Nigeria Development: BBHS Adventure” as part of activities marking the 100 years anniversary of Baptist Boys High School (BBHS), Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The event which was attended by the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole and other alumni of the school was organized by the Old Boys Association of the school.

Adesina while delivering his lecture virtually said, for the United Nations (UN) goal for inclusive and quality education for all to be achieved, the global spending on education must rise from $1.2 trillion to $3 trillion per year by 2030.

He said, Nigeria as a nation with rapidly growing population must do more to ensure that the younger generation receive access to the education they deserve.

He said, “As a nation, the demands of a dynamic, fast-changing and integrated labour market globally require that we must significantly invest in building first grade and competitive human capital”.

“We must also improve educational system to be more resilient and able to adapt to the rapidly changing environment.

“We must transform African’s educational systems to prepare students for this new digital world.

“The investment that any nation makes in education reflects hopes and aspirations for accelerated development.

“We cannot underfund education. A nation can only go as far as its quality of its human capital, so if you underfund quality education, get ready for underdevelopment.

“The greatest discouragement to education is lack of jobs. The unemployment rate in Africa is extremely high and it reduce the return on education. Furthermore, it leads to frustration among the youths and spurs social discontent which could worsen social and political fragility of countries.”

Adesina said, AfDB has equipped no fewer than 50 million young Africans with skills, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

According to him, the AfDB has invested more than $171 million in education in Nigeria, adding that, the various interventions have produced more than 464 Masters degree holders and 83 PhD holders.

He said, the AfDB would soon establish a Youth Enterprise Investment Bank in Africa to address high unemployment rate in the continent.

In his address, the National President of Old Boys Association of BBHS, Prof. Kayode Oyesiku said there was need for Nigeria to de-emphasis certification and focus more on technical and vocational education.

“This country place too emphasis on paper certificate. The issue of unemployment may not be resolved if we continue to place too much emphasis on paper certificate.

“Without vocational and technical education we are going nowhere. We are only deceiving ourselves, we must emphasis on vocational and technical in our schools starting from secondary up to the tertiary level”, Oyesiku said.

Patoma Admin by — January 19, 2023 in Banking & Finance 0
Global reinsurance capital down by $115bn at Q3 2022

By Favour Nnabugwu
Global reinsurance capital fell by $115 billion to $560 billion representing 17percent in the first nine months of 2022, according to Reinsurance broker, Aon
The $560 billion of dedicated reinsurance capital seen by Aon as of the end of September, 2022, is comprised of $467 billion of traditional capital, and $93 billion of alternative reinsurance capital.
When compared with the end of 2021, traditional capital fell by more than 19 percent or $112 billion, while alternative capital fell by a little more than 3 percent, or $3 billion.
It’s also interesting to see the change in reinsurance capital from the mid-point of 2022 to the end of September, so during the third quarter of the year.
The report said some of the world’s largest reinsurance groups reported some significant declines in the period, this was attributed to the reduction was principally a result of substantial unrealised losses in investment portfolios.
Aon reported previously that overall, global reinsurance capital stood at $600 billion as of the end of June 2022, which means the 9M 2022 total of $560 billion reflects a decline of $40 billion, or almost 7 percent in just three months.
From H1 2022 to 9M 2022, traditional capital fell by over 7 percent to the $467 billion reported by Aon today, while alternative capital declined by 2 percent, or $2 billion to the $93 billion reported by the broker in its January renewals report.
“Underwriting results were generally resilient in the period, despite the impact of Hurricane Ian, but investment portfolios were impacted by material unrealized losses, driven by rising bond yields, widening credit spreads and declining equity markets,” says Aon. “These effects undermined overall earnings and eroded reported book values.”
The broker also highlights the fact reinsurer management teams noted a mismatch in the major accounting regimes that were driving volatility in reported equity.
“Mark-to-market losses are being immediately recognized on the asset side, while there is little to no offset on the liability side to reflect the long-term benefits of higher interest rates. In addition, bonds are generally held to maturity and recover value as that date approaches,” explains Aon.
Patoma Admin by — January 19, 2023 in Insurance 0