Tax avoidance, secret mining deals and financial transfers are depriving Africa of the benefits of its resources boom, ex-UN chief Kofi Annan has said. Firms that shift profits to lower tax jurisdictions cost Africa $38 billion a year, says a report produced by a panel he heads. “Africa loses twice as much money through these [...]
Kofi Annan Launches West African Panel on Illegal Drug Trafficking
January 31, 2013 | Posted by
Kofi Annan, a former U.N. secretary-general, today launched a major new initiative to help tackle the growing threat from illegal drug trafficking in West Africa. The West Africa Commission on the Impact of Drugs on Governance, Security and Development (WACD) was launched at the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Center in Accra, Ghana. According to officials, WACD [...]
Kofi Annan Resigns as U.N. Envoy to Syria
August 2, 2012 | Posted by
Kofi Annan Resigns – Frustrated by his inability to bring a sense of peace to the conflict in Syria, Kofi Annan submitted his resignation today from his role as the U.N. special envoy to the conflict. United Nation Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced Annan’s resignation today in a statement that said Annan will not “renew [...]
200 Brutally Killed in Attack on Syrian Village of Tremseh
July 13, 2012 | Posted by
Some 200 people have been killed in an attack on the Syrian village of Tremseh, opposition activists say. If confirmed, it would be the bloodiest single event in the Syrian conflict. Residents said the village, in Hama province, was attacked with helicopter gunships and tanks, and later by the pro-government Shabiha militia, who carried out [...]
Clinton to Syria: ‘The Sand is Running Out of the Hourglass’
July 8, 2012 | Posted by
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that time is running out on Syrian peace hopes and warned that the Syrian state could collapse. Speaking in Japan, Clinton said Annan’s acknowledgement that his peace plan is failing “should be a wake-up call for everyone.” She said last month was the deadliest for the [...]
African Officials Worry Economic Uncertainty Poses Great Risk
May 14, 2012 | Posted by
The Africa Progress Panel warns if African nations fail to generate equitable growth, they could face grave consequences. The International Monetary Fund expects economic growth in Sub-Saharan African by 5.5 percent, up from 5 percent in 2011. Despite this, officials are wary. “Africa is on its way to become a preferred investment destination, a potential [...]
Africa’s Leaders Should Be Prepared To Say No
May 11, 2012 | Posted by
Africa’s leaders should be prepared to say no, Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi told business and political leaders in Addis Ababa at the World Economic Forum on Africa 2012 yesterday. Speaking in a panel on leadership, Zenawi said African leaders must be “able and prepared to say no when that leadership is required to act [...]
