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Nigerian economy, others may get worse – IMF

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In from Timothy Enietan-Matthews (Nation’s capital) . . .
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Tuesday, painted a gloomy picture of African countries predicting that if the global economy continues to flounder, things may get worse.
According to IMF’s latest report, African Economic Outlook, the slump in commodity prices and the end of a flood of cheap dollars has pegged back African growth to its weakest in six years.
In the report titled, “Dealing with the Gathering Clouds”, the IMF said the African continent was likely to grow 3.75 percent this year and 4.25 percent next, a sharp drop from the years before and after the 2008/2009 financial crisis.
“The strong growth momentum evident in the region in recent years has dissipated.
“With the possibility that the external environment might turn even less favourable, risks to this outlook remain on the downside.”
According to the report, those hardest hit are sub-Sahara’s eight oil exporters – led by top producers Nigeria and Angola. The report also said countries like Ghana, Zambia and South Africa were also suffering from weak minerals prices, power shortages and difficult financing conditions.

Read also: How Africa can survive oil price crash, by IMF

The Fund however noted that Ivory Coast, has a bright chance, as it is expected to grow by as much as 9 per cent this year because of an investment boom following its brief civil war in 2012.
Antoinette Sayeh, IMF’s Head of Africa Department, noted that with revenue from commodities expected to remain depressed for several years, governments have to work quickly to diversify revenue sources by improving domestic tax collection.
“Mobilising more revenues is an urgent matter – as is being more exacting in choosing expenditure.
“It’s a difficult patch, but we definitely think that countries can move out of the very difficult terrain and grow more robustly”, Sayeh told Reuters.
Continuing, she said government has to be very careful in how they managed dollar financing and ensure that it is invested wisely.

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  1. Bukola Ajisola

    October 28, 2015 at 3:19 pm

    This prognosis once again makes abrogation of subsidy regime very imperative.The most patriotic thing the organized labour can do now is to endorse it,any form of activism just to proof it’s antiquated pro-people paradigm would be a total disservice to the future of the masses they claim to protect.Such humongous money could be deployed to building infrastructure and creating jobs.

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