Uncertainty hangs over the growth prospects for the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) thanks to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the global and sub-regional economy, the latest monetary policy report of the Central Bank (BEAC) seen by APA on Tuesday warned.
By Felix Cyriaque Ebole Bola
In 2020, sub-regional economies should thus experience a significant deterioration in macroeconomic accounts, a fall in external financing, disturbances in intra-community trade, the weakening of external and financial stability, with a risk of rising inflationary pressures.
Depending on whether it is a transient and rapidly mastered crisis, or whether it is a rapid and large-scale spread, the Apex bank recommends that member states accelerate the assessment of the effects of the pandemic on their economic prospects in order to consider, as soon as possible, the appropriate budgetary and financial measures to take.
It also suggests that they seek financial support from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which have set up support programs for developing countries exposed to the health crisis.
Looking back, BEAC service estimates point to 2.0 percent, CEMAC’s economic growth in 2019, against 1.8 percent a year earlier.
The resilience of the petroleum sector, which remained the locomotive of sub-regional growth, stood at 2.1 percent during the period under review, compared to 1.2 percent in 2018, growing at a faster rate than that of the non-oil sector.
FCEB/te/fss/as/APA