Dr George Agyekum Donkor, the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), has once again been recognised as one of the 100 personalities transforming Africa. Financial Afrik, a leading business news magazine, in its annual rankings, now in the ninth year, highlights influential individuals for their accomplishments within the year. It recognises their positive impacts and contributions to Africa's socio-economic development. In December 2022, Dr Donkor featured as a 'Development Banker' of the Year, and in 2023, he featured again as an 'Integrator,' says an EDIB release shared with the Ghana News Agency. This speaks not only to his efforts towards positioning the sub-region for growth but also his commitment to enhancing regional integration for sustainable development. Dr Donkor's leadership of EBID saw significant achievements including upgrading of the Bank's credit rating by Moody's and Fitch, improvement in the quality of the Bank's por tfolio and the development of a more robust governance structure. Chief amongst these achievements has been the overall increase in the Bank's interventions, with a total of USD 3.8 Billion deployed, to-date, for various projects all over the ECOWAS sub-region. 'Guided by an ambitious strategy for 2021-2025, EBID continues to grow with Dr Donkor at the helm and is expected to keep doing bigger exploits,' the release said. EBID is the development finance institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) comprising 15 member states: Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Based in Lomé, Togo's capital, the Bank is committed to financing developmental projects and programmes covering diverse initiatives from infrastructure and basic amenities, rural development and environment, industry, and social services sectors, through its private and public sector windows. EBID interven es through long, medium, and short-term loans, equity participation, lines of credit, refinancing, financial engineering operations and related services. Source: Ghana News Agency The government has put in place adequate security measures to ensure the safety of local and international tourists visiting Mombasa and other coastal areas to celebrate Christmas and New Year Holidays. The coastal city of Mombasa, South and North Coast beach resort towns of Diani and Malindi have witnessed influx of international and local visitors for this holiday season. Kisauni Deputy County Commissioner Jamleck Mbuba said all security arrangements have been put in place ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays to ensure area residents and visitors enjoy a peaceful and safe holiday season. 'We have deployed adequate security personnel and enhanced patrols at the beaches and other popular joints,' said Mbuba during an interview with Kenya News Agency on Sunday. The Administrator said all security personnel have been put on high alert to ensure locals and international visitors celebrate the holidays in a peaceful environment. The DCC also asked the public to report or volunteer information to the police on any suspected person or illegal activities. At the same time, Mbuba urged holidaymakers to exercise caution while at the beaches and stay away from activities that can easily lead to unnecessary accidents. He also asked them to avoid boats and other vessels which are being operated by unprofessional or drunkard pilots. 'We will increase security patrols to curb all forms of crime and improve safety for tourists and locals on the beachfronts,' he said. Meanwhile, thousands of ecstatic local and international visitors are trooping to various hotels, apartments and other tourist establishments in Mombasa and other coastal areas for the holiday season. The Director of Jawambe Hotel, Janet Mirobi said most of the hotels have recorded impressive bookings despite the current economic hardship. 'It is very encouraging to see Kenyans embracing the concept of domestic tourism and exploring the various historical sites and other popular destinations,' said Mirobi. She added that hoteliers and those in t ourism related businesses are optimistic of brisk business and expect high bed occupancy following increased bookings and enquiries. Source: Kenya News Agency
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