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The report examines the impact and challenges of South African investment in Mali, noting that while the country offers political stability and significant gold mining opportunities, investors face severe bureaucratic, legal, and infrastructural hurdles. South African firms, particularly in gold mining, have significantly boosted Mali's GDP and state revenues, but struggle with a complex tax system, an inefficient judiciary, and a lack of skilled local labor. The document highlights the case of the Syama gold mine to illustrate the environmental and social risks of mine closures. It recommends that the Malian government modernize its tax and labor laws and that the South African government provide better diplomatic and commercial support for its firms in the region.

The author argues that the Africa Commission must avoid the pitfalls of previous economic liberalisation efforts, which have often yielded disappointing results. To be effective, the commission should help African nations move beyond the vague goal of 'creating an enabling environment' and instead develop specific, country-by-country strategies based on actual investor needs and comparative advantages. The text highlights a critical lack of focus in regional bodies like SADC and Comesa, which maintain overly long lists of priorities, and notes a significant funding gap in the Nepad short-term action plan that must be filled by the private sector through public-private partnerships.

The author argues that Nepad has largely failed to deliver on its promises due to an over-reliance on donor persuasion and a lack of operational capacity to change national policies. While sectoral strategies and infrastructure projects are criticized as too general or unbankable, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is identified as the most innovative and potentially effective tool for driving reform. The paper recommends that the Nepad Secretariat transform from a conference convenor into a high-powered research organization to support the APRM.

The research paper examines the expansion of South African companies into other African markets, noting that these firms often invest in diverse sectors beyond extractive industries and employ innovative strategies to overcome infrastructural deficits. While South African business competitiveness is high, it has led to perceptions of dominance and 'bullying' in smaller economies. The author argues that while regulating criminal behavior like bribery is necessary, any broader code of conduct must avoid being overly restrictive to prevent deterring investment in a challenging business environment.

The report examines the expansion of South African business into the rest of Africa, highlighting a shift from traditional construction and mining into sectors like banking, telecommunications, and retail. While South African firms possess competitive advantages in capital and technology, they face significant structural hurdles, including political risk, corruption, poor infrastructure, and currency volatility. The document provides detailed case studies on sectors (Banking, Telecommunications, Retail, Mining) and countries (Uganda, Morocco, Mozambique, Ghana), concluding that sustainable growth requires improved governance, the rule of law, and stronger regional integration through initiatives like Nepad.

The report examines the business relationship between South Africa and Nigeria, highlighting the opportunities presented by Nigeria's large market and the significant hurdles faced by investors. Key challenges include systemic corruption, poor infrastructure—particularly in the power sector—and a lack of policy predictability. While the report notes that the return to democracy in 1999 and the introduction of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) have improved the investment climate, it emphasizes that Nigeria remains a high-risk environment. The document also details the specific impact of South African firms like MTN and the broader economic landscape, including the dominance of the oil and gas sector and the emerging 'new economy' driven by the Nigerian diaspora.

The report examines the business environment in Nigeria from the perspective of South African investors, highlighting the tension between the country's massive market potential and its systemic structural failures. While the return to democracy in 1999 and the introduction of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) have improved foreign direct investment (FDI) and political stability, South African firms continue to face high costs due to poor infrastructure, rampant corruption, and unpredictable policy-making. The document details the success of companies like MTN and the failures of others like Vodacom, while providing specific policy recommendations for both the Nigerian and South African governments to foster a more stable and transparent bilateral economic relationship.

The document highlights the critical need for climate-resilient investment in the Caribbean water sector to mitigate high economic losses from hazards like hurricanes and droughts. Between 2010 and 2012, USD 8.3 billion in ODA was disbursed to the Caribbean, with USD 172 million allocated to the water sector; of this, only USD 12 million was tagged as climate change relevant. In contrast, global climate funds provided USD 14 million to the water sector during the same period, showing a stronger focus on strategy development and technical studies compared to the infrastructure focus of traditional ODA. The brief identifies five key global climate funds that disbursed a total of USD 44 million to the Caribbean, with 32% targeted at water. It recommends that water sector planners use online platforms like Climate Finance Options to identify funding and suggests matching specialist climate finance with traditional sources to leverage larger investments.

This document is a draft written reply from the South African Department of Water and Environmental Affairs to a National Assembly question (No. 1407) posed by Mrs S V Kalyan (DA). The reply addresses the timeline, funding, and property acquisition processes related to the raising of the Clanwilliam Dam and its impact on the Nooitgedacht Nature Reserve.

This briefing outlines the Terms of Reference, composition, and scope of the International Advisory Group (IAG) established to monitor the Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project. The IAG is an independent body designed to advise the World Bank Group (WBG) and the governments of Chad and Cameroon on the project's progress toward social, environmental, and poverty alleviation goals.

The report quantifies the economic burden of climate change on Canada, predicting significant GDP losses, job reductions, and decreased household income by the end of the century. It highlights a 'broken window fallacy' where spending on repairs masks the opportunity cost of lost productive investment. The analysis finds that the North and Alberta are most vulnerable, and that combining proactive adaptation with global emission reductions could eliminate 75% of real GDP losses, with adaptation investments yielding a return of $13 to $15 for every dollar spent.

The document highlights the need for significant new finance and improved forest governance to end natural forest loss and restore degraded lands. It specifically examines the risks that infrastructure and extractive industries, driven by the global transition to low-carbon technologies, pose to forests, drawing on data from the CDP's forest module and the NYDF Goal 3 progress assessment.

The Australian Government committed AUD 200 million to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for the 2015-2018 period, requesting that the funds facilitate private-sector led economic growth in the Indo-Pacific region, specifically targeting infrastructure, energy, forestry, and emissions reduction. The agreement includes a supplemental grant of AUD 100,000 and mandates that the GCF adhere to Australian aid standards regarding fraud, anti-corruption, counter-terrorism, child protection, and transparency.

The Green Economy Coalition (GEC) aims to accelerate the transition to a green, fair, and inclusive economy by acting as a bridge between business, civil society, and government. The GEC operates as a global movement of over 50 organisations, focusing on four core activities: building a narrative of change, stimulating policy across five thematic areas, mobilising national leadership through dialogue, and expanding its network of allies. Its thematic priorities include reforming financial systems, greening economic sectors, tackling inequality, valuing nature, and improving economic measurement and governance.

The document examines the struggle of Ghana's MMDAs to transition from basic service provision to facilitating broad-based local economic development. It highlights a critical gap in fiscal decentralisation, noting that MMDAs are heavily dependent on unreliable central government transfers, specifically the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), while internally generated funds remain too low to cover recurrent expenditures. The brief argues that certain central government initiatives, such as the "one-constituency, one-million dollar" program, undermine decentralisation by bypassing MMDAs through special development authorities. To address these issues, the document recommends that MMDAs expand their revenue bases, create business-friendly environments for start-ups, and foster collaborations with the private sector and civil society to reduce poverty and unemployment.

The document examines the rapid rate of urbanisation across Africa, highlighting that while urban growth can drive economic diversification, unplanned growth in developing economies often leads to slums and infrastructure stress. It focuses on Nigeria, where rapid urban population growth has outpaced planning, resulting in high slum residency and significant shortages in housing, water, and sanitation. The briefing notes that Nigeria's inability to manage this growth and integrate its large informal economy limits national economic contributions and increases the risk of political and social instability.

Recent research indicates that while ex-combatants in the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan engage in diverse economic activities—primarily small businesses in the informal sector—their success is hindered by dilapidated infrastructure, predatory taxation, and limited access to credit. The study finds that sustainable peace is possible if reintegration continues, though risks remain higher for young unmarried males who may resort to criminal activities or re-militarization. The presence of mineral wealth in ungoverned spaces offers wealth accumulation opportunities but exposes ex-combatants to violence and extortion by armed groups.

This document is a draft agenda for the Twelfth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, scheduled for February 1-3, 2009, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly identifies coastal erosion, flash floods, windstorms, erratic rainfall, droughts, and heat waves as its main climate hazards. Key sensitive sectors include agriculture, forestry, infrastructure, tourism, and water/health. Proposed adaptation measures focus on coastal protection, enforcing building codes and mining laws, nature-based solutions like mangrove planting, and improving early warning systems and irrigation.

This document is a series of annexes from an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report for the proposed Nairobi Expressway project. It includes technical specifications of the road's alignment, biodiversity data, minutes from public consultation meetings held in November and December 2019, and detailed plans for the relocation of water, sewer, and power utilities.