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| Kenyan engineers with Civicon Compnay taking a rest as they try to raise a tank in Mtwara Tanzania |
Africa
is now the fastest growing continent in the world a report by the African
Development Bank (AfDB) has said.
The
Report, ‘Annual Development Effectiveness Review 2013’ said the growth has been
pushed by economic governance on the continent and the private sector.
It also
places the positive growth on exploitation of oil and minerals and project more
positive growth if assets are effectively managed and used in an accountable
and transparent manner.”
“Africa’s economic growth could not have
happened without major improvement in economic governance as more than
two-thirds of the continent has registered overall improvement in the quality
of economic governance,” it said.
According
to the report which is published online the costs of starting a business have
fallen by more than two-thirds over the past seven years, while delays for
starting a business have been halved.
Internal
demand has also seen a growth in private sector which is the main engine of
growth for the continent’s improved business climate.
“This
progress has brought increased levels of trade and investment, with the annual
rate of foreign investment increasing fivefold since 2000,” the report states.
The
reports forecast a 5.5 per cent economic growth for continent’s low-income
countries in coming years after growth exceeded 4.5 in 2012 forecast.
Africa’s
collective gross domestic product (GDP) reached US $953 billion while the
number of middle income countries on the continent rose to 26, out of a total
of 54.
“This
growth has reduced income poverty as the share of the population living below
the poverty line has fallen from 51 per cent to 39 per cent,” it states.
Some 350
million Africans now earn between US $2-20 (Sh170-1,700) a day with the middle
class is increasingly becoming an active consumer market.
However,
the report warns of that the continent’s inadequate infrastructure and
disparity in earning between rural and urban areas and slums remains a major
constraint to the continent’s economic growth and development.
Strong
emphasis should be placed in greater regional economic integration to improve prospects
for growth by enabling African producers to build regional value chains,
achieve economies of scale, increase intra-African trade and become
internationally competitive.
Manuel Odeny
© 2013
