BusinessDay... the voice of business: Creating an enabling environment for cross border capital investment tops WAICA conference

Creating an enabling environment for cross border capital investment tops WAICA
conference
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MODESTUS ANAESORONYE on 29 April, 2008 02:00:00
 
To achieve the ongoing subregional monetary integration being pursued by heads
of Governments in West Africa, financial and economic sectors have got a role to
play in redefining their position to be able to contribute optimally. While the
banking industry in the region is seen as having the deal to conclude, the
insurance and capital markets are to mobilise the needed investment funds to
drive other sectors of the economy in each country of the region.
To this end, insurance companies in the West African sub-region have taking
bold step to checkmate outflow of foreign reserves leaving the region, with
increased effort to create an enabling environment that would enshrine mutual
co-operation among member companies.
Rising from the 2008 Educational Conference of the West African Insurance
Association (WAICA) held in Freetown Sierraleaone participants agreed that a lot
of business was leaving the region to other distant lands because that
interregional co-operation was missing.
They also noted that with increasing capitalisation, expansion, acquisition and
setting of new companies by member companies in countries of the region, effort
must be made to guide against much outflow in the increasing spate of cross
boarder capital investment.
Beginning to tackle this, the forum voted to establish a long time dream WAICA
Reinsurance Company. This, the WAICA president Alice Onomake said is important
in the new dive to make the region an independent economy.
Ernest Bai Koroma, president, Repubic of Sierra Leone who special guest speaker
at the conference sated that a strong  and professionally operated insurance
sector is essential  in underpinning the investment that will be made by both
domestic investors as well as the international community in any country.
He observed that for long time, Africa depended on overseas support for
education, professional assistant and reinsurance capacity, but noting that it's
gratifying that the dependence was dramatically reducing.
"Through hard work, a clear vision, planed education and sheer determination,
the insurance sector stands on the threshold of grater self determination and
greater autonomy as our economies in Sub-Sahara Africa start to move in the
upward direction".
The conference with the theme "The role and relevance of WAICA in the economic
development of West Africa" Bai Koroma said is most appropriate at a time when
financial operation especially insurance are becoming not only complex but
global.
The president pledged that his government is committed to the ongoing sub
-regional effort at monetary integration and this he noted entails harmonisation
of the countries economies leading to the establishment of a single currency for
the sub-region.
To this end, he charged WAICA to play a significant role by providing a
platform for the exchange of views, strengthening the bonds of friendship and
co-operation among practitioners in the region.
Against the backdrop of challenges facing the sub -region which according to
Bai Koroma tops major discussion at meetings of Government of the region, the
insurance companies under WAICA are challenged to take to mergers and
acquisition to form mega companies that would match global standard instead of
operating in small market and small undercapitalised companies; design and
develop products to reflect changing environment amidst increasing changes in
climate, natural disasters and rising temperatures of the earth atmosphere,
which has been accepted worldwide; more insurance products for farmers as a way
of reducing poverty in the region as well as a life assurance cover to help
bring the informal sector into the mainstream financial sector.