According to historians, in 1839, Muhammad Ali Shah gave 3.6m rupees – considered a vast sum in those days – to the East India Company, then a British trading enterprise, on the condition that it would be responsible for maintaining the monuments built by the Awadh nawabs, while the kitchen would continue to run on…
STORY HIGHLIGHTS In Benin, massive campaigns to rehabilitate old plantations have improved the productivity of cashew, the country’s second largest export crop after cotton. World Bank support helped rehabilitate 122,547 hectares of old cashew plantations and establish 17,818 hectares of new cashew plantations, reaching nearly 40,000 beneficiaries. These investments helped increase the production of raw…
Many municipalities struggle to deliver services efficiently due to siloed, incomplete or outdated data. Revenue collection, for example, is hampered when departments do not have a unified view of assets or service areas. Waste management often exposes these gaps. During audits, municipalities may report the number of households served, yet thousands of units (often unregistered…
A Public Investment Corporation research paper in support of the urgent need for investment in Africa presents some startling realities, but also cites investment and co-investment opportunities for development finance institutions, asset managers and private capital. A Public Investment Corporation research paper in support of the urgent need for investment in Africa presents some startling…
Geneva — In an era defined by the gig economy and pervasive job insecurity, advocating for permanent contracts within the United Nations might seem anachronistic, even counterintuitive. Yet, clinging to a culture of short-term, precarious contracts is not just detrimental to staff well-being; it’s a strategic and financial misstep that undermines the UN’s core mission….
Restoring trust will take all of us. (LexisNexis Risk Solutions) In early 2024, a finance worker at a major multinational design and engineering company was on a video conference call with several of his coworkers. On the call, the company’s CFO directed this worker to pay a multimillion-dollar outstanding invoice to one of the corporation’s…
