IN THE FIELD
A MISSION VISION
WITH A
During visits to Tanzania and Malawi, OPEC Fund Director-General Dr. Alkhalifa meets with officials, sees projects and emphasizes development impact By Axel Reiserer, OPEC Fund
A
lthough worldwide travel remains impacted by COVID-19 regulations, OPEC Fund Director-General Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa used the earliest opportunity to pay visits to Tanzania and Malawi in late March and early April 2022 with the aim of intensifying existing development partnerships. To date, the OPEC Fund has extended
39 loans to Tanzania for a total value of US$377 million. Ongoing projects include water and road infrastructure investments as well as support for a recent poverty reduction program, where the OPEC Fund is joining forces with the World Bank with a US$50 million loan.
During his visit, Dr. Alkhalifa met with
the President of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan and a group of sector ministers led by Mwigulu Lameck Nchemba, the Minister of Finance and Planning. In Zanzibar, an autonomous island region, the OPEC Fund head met with regional president Dr. Hussein Mwinyi and his ministers. The visit also offered the opportunity
to see the implementation of the poverty reduction program, which helps rural households gain access to socio-economic services and income- generating activities. The OPEC Fund delegation visited the Oldonyowas School, which serves a marginalized community in the Arusha District.
After a warm welcome by the pupils, Dr. Alkhalifa said: “I am deeply touched by the inspirational work that is being done at this school. It could – and should – serve as a role model for how education is key to overcoming poverty.” From Tanzania the OPEC Fund
delegation continued its mission to Malawi in Southern Africa. To date, the OPEC Fund has extended 23 loans to the country for a total value of US$222 million. These projects include health, agriculture, transport, education as well as water and sanitation. During his visit the OPEC Fund head signed a US$15 million public sector loan for the Dowa Town Water Supply Project and a US$350,000 grant for a feasibility study for a new airport in Mzuzu, northern Malawi (see also page 35). In Malawi’s capital Lilongwe the
Director-General met with Malawi’s President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Sosten A. Gwengwe and other officials such as Central Bank Governor Wilson Banda. Again, he set time aside to visit OPEC Fund-sponsored projects and saw a cancer treatment facility and a teachers training college. “On the ground we can see how our vision becomes reality”, he said. “Our thanks go out to all those who make this happen.”
The inspirational work delivered at the
Oldonyowas School [...] could – and should –
serve as a role model for how education is key to overcoming poverty.
Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, OPEC Fund Director-General
25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
