Africa’s economy continues to grow strongly —World Bank

ECONOMIC growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains strong with growth forecasted to be 4.9 per cent in 2013, the World Bank said in its new publication, Africa’s Pulse.

But notwithstanding, the world financial institution, in its report published on Monday, suggests that most of the world’s poor people by 2030 will live in Africa.

World Bank said “ almost a third of countries in the region are growing at 6 per cent and more and African countries are now routinely among the fastest-growing countries in the world.”

The World Bank’s Africa’s Pulse, however, noted that as Africa’s growth rates continued to surge with the region increasingly a magnet for investment and tourism, poverty and inequality remain “unacceptably high and the pace of reduction unacceptably slow.

“Almost one out of every two Africans lives in extreme poverty today. Optimistically, that rate will fall to between 16 per cent and 30 per cent by 2030.”

In it new Africa’s Pulse, the World Bank said a twice-yearly analysis of the issues shaping Africa’s economic prospects, was buoyed by rising private investment in the region.

The report identifies the remittances now worth $33 billion a year supporting household incomes GDP growth in Africa as what will continue to rise and pick up to 5.3 per cent in 2014 and 5.5 per cent in 2015.

“Strong government investments and higher production in the mineral resources, agriculture and service sectors are supporting the bulk of the economic growth,” World Bank said.

“Sustaining Africa’s strong growth over the longer term, while significantly reducing poverty and strengthening people’s resilience to adversity may prove difficult, because of the many internal and external uncertainties African countries face.

“Within Africa, natural disasters, such as droughts and floods are occurring more frequently, while the threat of conflict continues, with recent events in the Central African Republic and Mali reinforcing the need for peace, security, and development to take place at the same time.

• by  Seyi Gesinde with Agency Report