World Bank Says Liberian Economy Expects Growth in 2017
Monrovia - Liberia’s economic growth fell from 0.7% to 0% in 2015, the World Bank said Thursday in its annual publication of the state of the African economy.
World Bank Liberian Chief Economist for Liberia Daniel Boakye said the sharp fall was as the result of the fall in prices of major commodities such as iron ore and rubber, coupled with the drawdown of UNMIL.
“Concession companies are no longer sustainable,” Boakye told reporters on the margin of the Africa’s Pulse report, released in Washington D.C., in the United States of America.
“They have slashed down their activities-iron ore and rubber exports have declined by 50 percent in terms of revenues (US$500 million to US$250 million).”
He said Liberia had a lot of potential in the agricultural sector, but much was not being done to improve the sector, nothing policy makers should accelerate structural reforms to boast economic growth.
But the good news, according to Boakye, is the country is expected to experience economic growth of two percent in 2017 owing to the rise in the infrastructure and services sectors.
The report outlined that the continents economic slowed to percent in 2015 and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to fall further to 1.6 percent in 2016, the lowest level in over two decades.
The sharp decline in aggregate growth reflects challenging economic conditions in the region’s largest economies and commodities exporters—Nigeria, South Africa and Angola—the report said.
While Africa’s economic growth continues to falter on the overall average, some countries show signs of resilience.
The report names Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Tanzania as countries that have continued to post annual average growth rates of over 6 percent.
“Several countries including Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal have become top performers due to strong economic policy put in place.
“Our analysis shows that the more resilient growth performers tend to have stronger macroeconomic policy frameworks, better business regulatory environment, more diverse structure of exports, and more effective institutions, “said Albert Zeufack, World Bank Chief Economist for Africa.
Meanwhile, a release from the World Bank noted that despite a recent pick up, commodity prices are expected to remain largely below their 2011-14 peaks, reflecting the weak global recovery.
Faced with growing financing needs, commodity exporters have begun to adjust, but efforts have been uneven and remain insufficient.
Against this backdrop, the report maintained that a modest recovery was expected, with real GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa forecasted to grow 2.9 percent in 2017, and then rising moderately to 3.6 percent in 2018.
The release quoted the World Bank as noting that the decline in oil and commodity prices hurt resource-rich countries and signals and urgent need for economic diversification in the region, including through improvements in agriculture. It added that agriculture productivity growth in Africa has lagged than in other regions.
“While productivity increases elsewhere driven by better use of inputs better improvements in production technologies, in Africa they resulted mainly from expanding the area under cultivation.
Public agricultural spending in Africa has also lagged other developing regions yet agriculture accounts for a third of region-wide GDP and employs two-thirds of the labor force, with the poorest countries most heavily reliant on it”.
In order to move forward, Africa’s Pulse recommended that countries took urgent steps to adjust to low commodity prices, address economic vulnerabilities, and new sources of sustainable, inclusive growth.
“By boosting agriculture productivity, countries will not only raise the incomes of farm households, but will also lower food costs and promote development of agro-industry,” the World Bank concluded.
FrontPageAfrica Newspaper - World Bank Says Liberian Economy Expects Growth in 2017
Monrovia - Liberia’s economic growth fell from 0.7% to 0% in 2015, the World Bank said Thursday in its annual publication of the state of the African economy.
World Bank Liberian Chief Economist for Liberia Daniel Boakye said the sharp fall was as the result of the fall in prices of major commodities such as iron ore and rubber, coupled with the drawdown of UNMIL.
“Concession companies are no longer sustainable,” Boakye told reporters on the margin of the Africa’s Pulse report, released in Washington D.C., in the United States of America.
“They have slashed down their activities-iron ore and rubber exports have declined by 50 percent in terms of revenues (US$500 million to US$250 million).”
He said Liberia had a lot of potential in the agricultural sector, but much was not being done to improve the sector, nothing policy makers should accelerate structural reforms to boast economic growth.
But the good news, according to Boakye, is the country is expected to experience economic growth of two percent in 2017 owing to the rise in the infrastructure and services sectors.
The report outlined that the continents economic slowed to percent in 2015 and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to fall further to 1.6 percent in 2016, the lowest level in over two decades.
The sharp decline in aggregate growth reflects challenging economic conditions in the region’s largest economies and commodities exporters—Nigeria, South Africa and Angola—the report said.
While Africa’s economic growth continues to falter on the overall average, some countries show signs of resilience.
The report names Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Tanzania as countries that have continued to post annual average growth rates of over 6 percent.
“Several countries including Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal have become top performers due to strong economic policy put in place.
“Our analysis shows that the more resilient growth performers tend to have stronger macroeconomic policy frameworks, better business regulatory environment, more diverse structure of exports, and more effective institutions, “said Albert Zeufack, World Bank Chief Economist for Africa.
Meanwhile, a release from the World Bank noted that despite a recent pick up, commodity prices are expected to remain largely below their 2011-14 peaks, reflecting the weak global recovery.
Faced with growing financing needs, commodity exporters have begun to adjust, but efforts have been uneven and remain insufficient.
Against this backdrop, the report maintained that a modest recovery was expected, with real GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa forecasted to grow 2.9 percent in 2017, and then rising moderately to 3.6 percent in 2018.
The release quoted the World Bank as noting that the decline in oil and commodity prices hurt resource-rich countries and signals and urgent need for economic diversification in the region, including through improvements in agriculture. It added that agriculture productivity growth in Africa has lagged than in other regions.
“While productivity increases elsewhere driven by better use of inputs better improvements in production technologies, in Africa they resulted mainly from expanding the area under cultivation.
Public agricultural spending in Africa has also lagged other developing regions yet agriculture accounts for a third of region-wide GDP and employs two-thirds of the labor force, with the poorest countries most heavily reliant on it”.
In order to move forward, Africa’s Pulse recommended that countries took urgent steps to adjust to low commodity prices, address economic vulnerabilities, and new sources of sustainable, inclusive growth.
“By boosting agriculture productivity, countries will not only raise the incomes of farm households, but will also lower food costs and promote development of agro-industry,” the World Bank concluded.
FrontPageAfrica Newspaper - World Bank Says Liberian Economy Expects Growth in 2017
Sekou Toure Otondi
