By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Chief Administrative Secretary of the National Treasury and Planning Kenya, Eric Simiyu Wafukho, has urged African Insurance and reinsurance operators to promote environmental sustainability in the continent.
Wafukho, who made this appeal at the on going Africa Insurance Organisation’s (AIO) conference holding in Nairobi, Kenya, said that the call is in line with the UN’s principle for sustainable insurance initiative.
The theme of the conference is, “Insurance and Climate Change: Harnessing the Opportunities for Growth in Africa.”
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The 2012 UN’s principles of sustainable insurance were dedicated to helping insurers manage sustainability risk while seizing opportunities to move towards a more climate resilient economy.
Wafukho in a statement said, “The insurance industry has a critical role to play in helping companies and nations manage, measure and reduce the impact of climate change. We therefore cannot continue with business as usual in the face of increasing frequency and scale of risks caused by climate change.We must adjust our business models to better support environmental , social and governance (ESG) issues”.
He highlighted the UN’s four principles for sustainable insurance as including ESG issues that are relevant to insurance business into decision making process, working with clients and business partners to raise awareness of ESG issues, manage risk and develop solution.
Also in his remarks, the AIO President, Mr Tope Smart, while affirming the challenges faced in the Insurance industry, said, “Our industry’s growth keeps getting slowed down by our inability to build substantial capital reserves due to poor saving culture and Premium flight. There is still heavy reliance on foreign expertise. Our industry is still plagued by poor public image and lack of trust. These and many more are the challenges we face today”.
He urged that “There is need to address them if we intend to secure a better future for our industry.”
