"Africa\u2019s economic growth to outpace global forecast in 2023"

" Africa\u2019s economic growth to outpace global forecast in 2023 \r\n\r\nAfrica is set to outperform the rest of the world in economic growth over the next two years, with real gross domestic product (GDP) averaging around 4% in 2023 and 2024.\r\n\r\nThis is higher than projected global averages of 2.7% and 3.2%, the African Development Bank Group said in\u00a0 Africa\u2019s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook \u00a0report for the region, released in Abidjan on Thursday.\r\n\r\nWith a comprehensive regional growth analysis, the report shows that all the continent\u2019s five regions remain resilient with a steady outlook for the medium-term, despite facing significant headwinds due to global socio-economic shocks. It also identified potential risks and called for robust monetary and fiscal measures, backed by structural policies, to address them.\r\n\r\nThe Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook report will be released in the first and third quarters of each year. It complements the bank\u2019s existing annual\u00a0African Economic Outlook\u00a0report, which focuses on key emerging policy themes relevant to the continent\u2019s development.\r\n\r\nThe report shows that estimated average growth of real GDP in Africa slowed to 3.8% in 2022, from 4.8% in 2021 amid significant challenges following the Covid-19 shock and Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. Despite the economic slowdown, 53 of Africa\u2019s 54 countries posted positive growth. All the five regions of the continent remain resilient with a steady outlook for the medium-term.\r\n\r\nHowever, the report sends a cautionary note on the outlook following current global and regional risks. These risks including soaring food and energy prices, tightening global financial conditions, and the associated increase in domestic debt service costs. Climate change\u2014with its damaging impact on domestic food supply and the potential risk of policy reversal in countries holding elections in 2023\u2014pose equally challenging threats.\r\n\r\nThe report advocates bold policy actions at national, regional, and global scales to help African economies mitigate the compounding risks.\r\n\r\nIn remarks during the launch, African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said the release of the new report came at a time when African economies, faced with significant headwinds, were proving their resilience.\r\n\r\n \u201cWith 54 countries at different stages of growth, different economic structures, and diverse resource endowments, the pass-through effects of global shocks always differ by region and by country. Slowing global demand, tighter financial conditions, and disrupted supply chains therefore had differentiated impacts on African economies,\u201d he said. \u201cDespite the confluence of multiple shocks, growth across all five African regions was positive in 2022\u2014and the outlook for 2023\u201324 is projected to be stable.\u201d \r\n\r\nNiale Kaba, Minister of Planning and Development of C\u00f4te d'Ivoire, said: \u201cThe release of this report by our bank, the African Development Bank Group, at this time of the year is an excellent opportunity for Africa and its global partners. We need these regular updates to assess our countries\u2019 macroeconomic performance and prospects. This reliable information will help decision-making and risk management for potential investors in Africa.\u201d \r\n\r\nAfrica\u2019s pre-Covid-19 top five performing economies are projected to grow by more than 5.5% on average in 2023-2024 and to reclaim their position among the world\u2019s 10 fastest-growing economies. These countries are Rwanda (7.9%), C\u00f4te d'Ivoire (7.1%), Benin (6.4%), Ethiopia (6.0%), and Tanzania (5.6%).\r\n\r\nOther African countries are projected to grow by more than 5.5% in the 2023-24 period. They are the Democratic Republic of Congo (6.8%), The Gambia (6.4%), Mozambique (6.5%), Niger (9.6%), Senegal (9.4%), and Togo (6.3%).\r\n\r\nAt the launch, economist Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University commended the report which he said showed that African economies are growing and growing consistently.\r\n\r\nSachs, who is also United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres\u2019 Advocate for Sustainable Development Goals, said: \u201cAfrica can and will rise to growth of 7 percent or more per year consistently in the coming decades. \u00a0What we\u2019ll see, building on the resiliency we see in this report, is a real acceleration of Africa\u2019s sustainable development so that Africa will be the fast-growing part of the world economy. Africa is the place to invest.\u201d \r\n\r\nThe report advocates robust measures to address the risk. These include a mix of monetary, fiscal, and structural policies including:\r\n \r\n \t Timely and aggressive monetary policy tightening in countries with acute inflation, and\u00a0cautious policy tightening in countries where inflationary pressures are low.\u00a0Coordination with fiscal policy will further strengthen the levers to ease inflationary pressures. \r\n \t Enhancing resilience by boosting intra-Africa trade, especially in manufacturing\u00a0products to cushion economies from volatile commodity prices. \r\n \t Accelerating structural reforms to build tax administration capacity and investments in\u00a0digitalization and e-governance to enhance transparency, reduce illicit financial flows, and\u00a0scale up domestic resource mobilization. \r\n \t Improving institutional governance and enacting policies that can leverage the private sector\u00a0financing especially in climate-proof and pandemic-proof greenfield projects\u2014and\u00a0mobilizing Africa\u2019s resources for inclusive and sustainable development. \r\n \t Taking decisive action to reduce structural budget deficits and the accumulation of public debt\u00a0in countries facing a high risk of debt distress or already in debt distress. \r\n "

"Africa\u2019s economic growth to outpace global forecast in 2023"

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