03 October :World Bank reduced it’s former economic growth forecast for Sub- Saharan Africa by 0.4% .

The reduction in their forecast from 3.1% to 2.7% is fueled by the tortoise-rate growth of the continent’s giant economies- Nigeria, Angola and South Africa. The continent was blooming and was boasting of a decent average growth rate till the year 2015, but then suddenly everything came crashing down and they lost their momentum after the commodity prices crashed in 2015-16.

Earlier this year, in April, the Bank had predicted that they continent would recover its pace with an average growth speed of 3.1% . But, the reduced oil production in Angola and Nigeria threw off higher oil prices, while in South Africa, a sluggish household consumption growth was aggravated by a contraction in agriculture.

Although there are other countries in the region that aren't lagging behind , specially the ones that don't depend on commodities, such as Ivory Coast, Kenya and Rwanda. According to World Bank’s chief economist for Africa, the government needs to stop whiling money to boost productivity to aid the region’s economic recovery. He warns that the massive public debts in some countries coupled with malnourished currencies, and skyrocketing interest rates could potentially endanger their ability to service those debts. The policymakers need to amend their strategy to manage new risks arising from changes in the composition of capital flows and debt

Source : Reuters, Nairobi, Kenya.

Reporting for EasyKobo on Wednesday , 03 October 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria