WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE NATIONAL PENSION COMMISSION OF NIGERIA,
CHINELO ANOHU-AMAZU, AT THE OPENING OF THE 3rd EDITION OF THE WORLD PENSION SUMMIT ‘AFRICA SPECIAL’
ON 27 SEPTEMBER 2016
AT THE TRANSCORP HILTON HOTEL, ABUJA
PROTOCOL
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this third edition of the World Pension Summit ‘Africa Special’ taking place here in Abuja, Nigeria. The theme of this year’s Summit is “Pension Innovations: The African Perspective”.
Distinguished delegates and accomplished professionals here present would agree with me that Africa is, indeed, at a critical turning point in its history. After a long period of faltering economic performance, there has been resurgent growth over the last decade, with the Continent recording, on the average, a 5% increase in GDP. This renaissance has been, among other things, essentially sustained by unique African entrepreneural and innovative spirit; the success stories of emerging industries, and smaller innovative initiatives such as the portable irrigation technology helping Sub-Saharan small holder farmers grow crops out of season. These innovations undoubtedly provide the foundations for transforming the Continent over the next decades.
A recent World Bank report on Africa’s Demographics which was published in 2015 states that countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have experienced impressive and sustained economic growth and development over the past 15 years. Child mortality has dropped in most countries and infertility rates have reduced significantly for educated women living in urban areas. This has resulted in a rapidly growing population, with estimates showing that the region will become a much larger part of the global population with a projected 2.8 billion people by 2060. This exponential milestone is expected to translate to a population of healthy, educated and empowered labor force that would engender sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. Africa would, therefore, need to address the issue of aging population that will emerge as the demographic transition comes to an end, by developing robust pension and social security systems to cater for old age income.
Then again, cutting-edge Infrastructure is critical for economic growth and social progress. Extant indices show that Africa’s infrastructure remains by far the most deficient and costly amongst developing countries. In many cities, the challenge of urbanization and the need for modern infrastructure is already evident. One-third of urban residents in Sub-Saharan Africa are located in 36 cities, each with more than one million inhabitants. The United Nations estimated that by 2025, the population in Lagos and Kinshasha would reach 18.9 million and 14.5 million, respectively. To put this in context, it would be the equivalent of combining the current populations of London, Berlin and Madrid, which stand at 15.42 million based on 2015 population figures.
Bridging Africa’s infrastructure deficit will require sustained spending of about US$93 billion per annum, which translates to about 15% of Africa’s GDP. This huge challenge, I believe, can be surmounted by a coordinated, multifaceted approach to development and the integration of domestic funding sources such as pension funds, and foreign institutional investors.
The forgeoing interplay of events, Ladies and Gentlemen, to a great extent influenced the choice of this year’s theme, which I believe would resonate with delegates and is meant to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and experiences on innovative practices in pensions and social security to advance the African agenda of addressing economic and social challenges.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, as I welcome you to this summit, I would like to leave you with a few posers: how do we build deep and efficient capital markets and financing models that would enable institutional investors such as pension funds to invest in Infrastructure? How can pension fund managers in Africa mainstream Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) principles in their investment decisions with a view to promoting sustainable impact investments? How do pension fund managers and regulators leverage technology to stimulate the impact of pensions on socio-economic systems? What specific action steps can be taken today to begin the process of developing these practices?
Distinguished experts and delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I am quite confident that these and other issues would be thoroughly deliberated and practical solutions proferred over the next two days.
As we go into the Plenaries, I implore each and everyone present to contribute to deliberations geared towards achieving the objectives of entrenching sustainable pensions and social security systems in Africa.
Thank you for your attention.
