The African Development Bank Group, announced the 18-month debarment of Sargittarius Nigeria Limited and its affiliates, including Sargittarius Henan Water Conservancy Engineering Limited, with effect from 28 July 2021. Sargittarius Nigeria Limited is a limited liability company registered in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
An investigation conducted by the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that Sargittarius Nigeria Limited engaged in fraudulent practices during tenders for the construction of water infrastructure in Ibadan, Nigeria, under the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project in Nigeria.
The debarment renders Sargittarius Nigeria Limited and its affiliates ineligible to participate in Bank Group-financed projects during the debarment period. Additionally, the debarment qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions, including the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank Group.
Italy, Ethiopia sign two agreements
Italy and Ethiopia signed the implementing agreements related to two initiatives within the Ethio-Italian Cooperation Country Framework. On 1st July, the Ambassador of Italy to Ethiopia, Arturo Luzzi, and Yasmin Wohabrebbi, State Minister for Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Finance, signed the agreement to implement the programme “Entrepreneurship development and employment creation for women entrepreneurs Focus on supporting women to enter or grow in the leather sector”. The programme, with a budget of 1 Million Euro, aims at promoting entrepreneurial development and employment opportunities for women in the leather sector enhancing entrepreneurial skills, strengthening market linkages, and networking opportunities. On 19th July, Ambassador Luzzi and Ahmed Shide, Minister of Finance, signed the Implementing Agreement regarding the initiative “Building Labour Market Intermediation that supports Economic Transformation in Ethiopia”. With a grant of 4 Million Euros, the overall objective of the project is to improve labour market outcomes for the rural population in Ethiopia by building effective Public Employment Services. The project aims to establish pilot rural job centers in three regions of the country providing services to vulnerable job seekers.
