Africa investor (Ai) today confirmed Dr Hubert Danso, its CEO and Chairman and the Chairman of the African Union Development Agency Continental Business Network (CBN), has been appointed to the Expert Advisory Group for the International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa.
The International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa, which draws representatives from current and former Heads of State, as well as other global leaders, was launched in March 2022 during the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar, Senegal, by H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal and Chair of the African Union.
The Panel is led by three Co-Chairs: H.E. Macky Sall, H.E Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of The Kingdom of the Netherlands, H.E. Hage Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia, and Alternate Co-Chair, H.E Jakaya Kikwete, Former President of the United Republic of Tanzania.
The Panel will drive global political mobilization and international engagement, to meet the socio-economic needs of the continent, SDG 6 water-related targets, and address the twin challenges of climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The objective of the panel is to develop actionable pathways for mobilising US$30 billion annually by 2030 for implementing the Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP) and close the existing water investment gap in Africa, which is estimated at US$11-19bn/year. The Assembly of the African Union Heads of State and Government adopted the AIP, as part of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa – Priority Action Plan 2 (PIDA-PAP 2) in February 2021.
Dr Danso will provide critical insights and support to the panel on institutional investor-public partnerships to close the existing water investment gap in Africa and strategies to fast track and scale private capitals’ participation in the implementation of the Continental Africa Water Investment Program (AIP).
The Technical Expert Advisory Group will advise the High-level panel and provide input into the panel’s investment action plan, report and high-level strategic stakeholder consultations and outputs.
In his remarks to the inaugural Advisory Group meeting, during the Stockholm World Water Week, Dr Danso thanked H.E. President Macky Sall, Panel Co-Chair, the Hon. Serigne Mbaye Thiam, Minister of Water and Sanitation, Republic of Senegal, and H.E. Amb. Josefa Sacko, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, African Union Commission, for their confidence, nomination, and appointment, to the Expert Advisory Group for the International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa.
Dr Danso went on to commend panel members for their vision and recognition of the catalytic role that the African institutional investment community and private sector must play in assisting design, develop, finance, operate and maintain water assets. Dr Danso restated this water capital mobilization problem is solvable and is being solved in many parts of the world today. He re-affirmed his commitment to forging catalytic institutional investor-public partnership investment pathways, in the spirit of SDG17 that fast track and scale, private capital mobilisation to support water security and sustainable sanitation in Africa.
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For more information contact:
Wendy Edwards
Email: wedwards@africainvestor.com
