The African Development Bank (AfDB) has noted that the economies remained resilient with 53 out of 54 African countries seen maintaining positive growth and a stable outlook for the 2023/24 period in spite of the current fiscal and other shocks in the economies.
The bank’s Acting Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, Prof. Kevin Urama, made this forecast while speaking during at the launch of the International Monetary Fund’s Macroeconomic Developments and Prospects in Low-Income Countries – 2022 Report on 31 January in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Noting that with Africa’s abundant natural capital, massive youthful population and its growing economy, there is a huge opportunity for low-income economies to rebound after shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic, he pointed out that “the beautiful news is that Africa’s five fastest-growing economies are set to re-join the ten fastest-growing economies around the world in the coming years.”
Urama said that many low-income countries are in Africa and noted that the IMF report came at a most auspicious time, especially as most of the economies are grappling with complex domestic and external economic shocks.
He said: “These shocks are threatening the recovery and momentum we have seen from countries trying to make a comeback after the ravaging effects of Covid-19 and also what Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is creating in the global economy.”
the development finance expert explained that the overlapping shocks were disrupting Africa’s and global supply chains and fuelling widespread energy and food price inflation.
Urama, who cited the World Food Programme data to stress his point, said over 345 million people in 82 countries globally were currently suffering from acute food insecurity, stressing the need for governments to increase access to food, energy and facilities that can help address some of these challenges.
He maintained that the AfDB’s 2023 Africa’s Macro-Economic Performance and Outlook report, which was launched on 19 January, showed that these inflationary trends could ease in 2023-2024, giving some cautious optimism for the continent’s outlook but warned that African and middle-income countries would face significant challenges in 2023 going forward.
