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Economist Impact announces speakers for Sustainability Week Africa
Economist Impact has announced speakers for the inaugural Sustainability Week Africa scheduled to take place from Thursday, October 24 to Friday, October 25, 2024.
The two-day conference will bring together Pan-African and global leaders in-person at The Westin, Cape Town, South Africa.
The conference themed ‘‘Africa’s green industrial revolution’ is set to bring more than more than 500 delegates and 100 speakers to explore strategies towards a successful Pan-African sustainability initiative.
The Sustainability week Africa Is part of a successful series of sustainability events by the Economist Impact. The conference will focus on “Africa’s green industrial revolution” plus conversations on changing how businesses operate to achieve their sustainability goals.
In addition, the conference will delve into the areas of business and investment, providing original insights and solutions on how companies can support the continent in driving green growth, while avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.
Vijay Vaitheeswaran, the Global Energy and Climate innovation editor at The Economist will deliver the opening remarks, followed by keynote addresses from Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Tolupe Lewis Tamoka, Chief, Government Relations and Africa at the United Nations Global Compact.
With more than 500 delegates and 100 speakers confirmed, Sustainability Week Africa will welcome many figures from the sustainability community, including governmental officials, global investors and senior executives from key sectors such as retail, transportation, logistics, food and beverages, energy, agriculture, manufacturing, technology, finance, science, and civil society.
There will be other globally renowned speakers who will focus on Africa’s role as a global sustainability leader and explore strategies for enhancing Africa’s appeal to international investors, discussing insights from successful Pan-African sustainability initiatives.
The list of speakers expected at the Sustainability Week Africa include:
Mo Ibrahim, Founder and Chair, Mo Ibrahim Foundation
Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations
Nigar Arpadarai, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, COP29
Carl Hermann Gustav Schlettwein, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Republic of Namibia
Dan Marokane, Group Chief Executive Officer, Eskom
Stéphanie Mbombo, Presidential Special Envoy for New Climate Economy, Democratic Republic of Congo
Feroz Koor, Group Sustainability Officer, Woolworths Group
Mandisa Mabaso, Country Manager, South Africa, Rio Tinto
Barend Petersen, Executive Chairman, De Beers Group South Africa, Deputy Chair, Mining 2030 and Representative, Archbishop of Cape Town
Noluthando Gosa, Independent Non-Executive Director, MTN Group, Executive Director, Akhona Group, and Adviser, Sustainability Week Africa
Mpho Makwana, Former Chairman, Nedbank, Eskom and ArcelorMittal South Africa, Chairman, Epitome Investment, and Adviser, Sustainability Week Africa
Joseph Nganga, Vice President for Africa, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), and Adviser, Sustainability Week Africa
Vaughan Pierce, Chief Sustainability Officer, Pick n Pay
The programme will explore a variety of topics, including opportunities for the continent to strengthen its manufacturing capabilities and increase its share of the global value chain.
Discussions will also centre on sustainable growth for small businesses and suppliers across the continent, addressing the compatibility of sustainability with population growth and its implications for food security.
In addition, the event will highlight the potential of green jobs and explore collaborations between companies and the African youth and explore biodiversity’s crucial role in Africa and the benefits of intra-African trade for advancing sustainability.
Sustainability Week Africa will also include a CSO leaders club, curated networking sessions and cross-industry sessions aimed at leveraging synergies.
Sponsors of Sustainability Week Africa include Woolworths, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Boston Consulting Group, Amazon Web Services, Genesis Analytics, United Nations Global Compact, Webber Wentzel and the City of Cape Town.
The family of Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, a distinguished statesman and diplomat, has paid a courtesy call on President John Dramani Mahama. They officially informed him of his passing.
The delegation, representing the Gbeho family, noted that it was culturally and diplomatically important to formally notify the President of the loss before making a public announcement of his death.
Ambassador Gbeho was a towering figure in Ghanaian and international politics. He served in many diplomatic missions, including New York. He was Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, a Member of Parliament for the Anlo constituency, and President (formerly Executive Secretary) of the ECOWAS Commission.
He was widely respected for his role in regional integration and his contributions to global diplomacy at the United Nations.
President Mahama expressed his condolences and shared reflections on Ambassador Gbeho’s contributions to the country, West Africa and the world.
Funeral details will be announced later.
The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has revoked all firearm permits in Ghana with immediate effect and announced a new registration process for all gun owners.
The minister made the announcement on Tuesday, June 23, at the information service department saying all individuals who currently hold licences to own firearms or sidearms must undergo a fresh registration process.
“From this afternoon, all permits that have been granted to any individual that you are holding a sidearm or firearm is hereby revoked,” Mr Muntaka said.
He explained that the government had identified gaps in the country’s firearm registration system and needed to introduce stricter measures to improve public safety.
“We are opening the window where everyone will have to come forward again to register or re-register the gun because we’ve changed the procedure,” he stated.
According to him, the government decided not to wait until the end of the year to make the changes because lives could still be saved within the next six months.
The Interior Minister said one of the new requirements would be mandatory mental health screening for applicants seeking firearm licences.
“We’ve seen that people with mental health have already gone through and have the sidearm. Now we are introducing mental health. Before we give you the sidearm, we have to be sure that you have the mental stability to hold the firearms,” he said.
Mr Muntaka also announced that applicants would be required to undergo drug tests before being granted licences.
“We’ve also realised that people who are on drugs are also holding their arms and they are legitimate because it’s been registered. Now you have to go through drug tests to be sure that you are not on drugs before you can hold sidearms,” he added.
The minister said the new measures form part of efforts by the government to tighten firearm control and prevent legally registered weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
He urged all firearm owners to cooperate with the new registration process once details of the exercise are announced.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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