MOWCA UPDATE 2/10
Regional Maritime Development Bank

Abuja gets ready to host the MOWCA Bank

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is getting Abuja ready to host the MOWCA Regional Maritime Development Bank. This follows the unanimous decision of the MOWCA General Assembly of Ministers to site the Headquarters of the Bank in Abuja, the capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

At the 13th General Assembly of Ministers, the Secretary-General gave a detailed report on the establishment of the Regional Maritime Development Bank.

He recalled that based on a positive feasibility report and the success of the MOWCA Fund in many countries, the organisation is ready to harness a large capital outlay of the maritime institutions and ports of the sub-region to establish a Regional Maritime Development Bank to provide sustainable financing of maritime and port sector development as well as of transit transport development in the sub-region.

The 13th General Assembly reaffirmed the importance to the sub-region of a Regional Maritime Development Bank and congratulated the Secretary General, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Republic of Angola, the member States and the Experts of the project for their contributions which allowed the progress made in the implementation of this project.

To this effect, the 13th General Assembly exhorted the Secretary General to pursue necessary initiatives for the participation of all members States in the establishment of the Regional Maritime Development Bank.

The 13th General Assembly approved the proposal for the Headquarters of the Bank to be sited in Abuja, Nigeria and invited the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to take all the necessary measures to this effect.

By a letter addressed to the Secretary-General, the Federal Republic of Nigeria conveyed its acceptance to host the Headquarters of the Bank. The Secretary-General subsequently convened a meeting of Experts in Abuja, Nigeria, in July, 2009 to discuss the establishment of the Bank and its Headquarters in Abuja. The meeting of Experts chaired by the Representative of the current Chairman of MOWCA, Mr Magueye Gueye of Senegal, considered proposals made by the Secretary-General and took the following decisions:

Invited the Federal Republic of Nigeria and in particular, the Hon Minister of Transport of Nigeria, to provide a Project Secretariat with relevant logistics that would facilitate the take-off of the Bank; draft a Headquarters Agreement, identify and appoint suitable Consultants and draft a Charter for the Bank taking into consideration the Banking laws and regulations currently in force in Nigeria and the sub-region. The Secretary-General was invited to work with the Hon Minister of Transport in implementing the Committee’s decisions and report to the 7th session of the Bureau of Ministers. The Committee of Experts is expected to convene a 2nd meeting in Abuja to consider the implementation of the decisions.

The 2nd meeting of the Committee of Experts will be convened in Abuja after the Hon Minister of Transport of Nigeria has submitted his report to his colleague Ministers at the 7th session of the Bureau and the Bureau directs as appropriate.

On 6 January, 2010, the Secretary-General met with the Hon Minister of Transport in Abuja to ascertain work done on the decisions of the MOWCA Committee of Experts. This is to enable the Hon Minister and the Secretary-General to report to the 7th Bureau of Ministers. The Secretary General was very pleased with the work accomplished by the Hon Minister as follows:

• Appointment of Consultants:
• Provision of Project Secretariat in Abuja
• Drafting of Headquarters Agreement and the Charter of the Bank:

Preparatory work has been completed for the convening in Abuja of a second meeting of the Committee of Experts to implement the decisions of the 7th Bureau on the establishment of the Regional Maritime Development Bank.