AA / Abidjan / Fulbert Yao
Africa’s economic growth is expected to outpace that of the rest of the world in 2023-2024, with real gross domestic product (GDP) rising by around 4% on average, the African Development Bank Group said in its “Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Prospects” report, unveiled Thursday in Abidjan.
The five best performing African economies of the pre-Covid-19 period are expected to grow by more than 5.5% on average in 2023-2024 and regain their place among the ten fastest growing economies in the world. These countries are Rwanda (7.9%), Côte d’Ivoire (7.1%), Benin (6.4%), Ethiopia (6.0%) and Tanzania (5.6%). ), says the report.
Other African countries are expected to grow above 5.5% over the 2023-24 period. These are the Democratic Republic of Congo (6.8%), Gambia (6.4%), Libya (12.9%), Mozambique (6.5%), Niger (9 .6%), Senegal (9.4%) and Togo (6.3%).
However, the text issues a reservation on the outlook, given the current global and regional risks.
These include soaring food and energy prices, tightening global financial conditions and the related increase in domestic debt service costs.
Climate change — with its adverse effects on food supplies and the potential risk of policy change in countries where elections will be held in 2023 — poses equally daunting threats.
To help African economies mitigate the cumulative risks, the report calls for strong measures to address these risks.
These include, among others, a rapid and aggressive tightening of monetary policy in countries with high inflation, and a moderate tightening in countries where inflationary pressures are low.
taking decisive action to reduce structural budget deficits and the accumulation of public debt in countries facing a high risk of debt distress or already in debt distress.
The President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina, assured that “the outlook for 2023-2024 should be stable”, in his address delivered at the launch.
Niale Kaba, Ivorian Minister of Planning and Development, said that “this reliable information will facilitate decision-making and risk management for potential investors in Africa.”
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