Benin’s economic growth is expected to decelerate to 3.2 percent in 2020 due to restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.
By Ulvaeus Balogoun
This projection comes at the end of its sixth review of Benin’s three-year economic and financial programme under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) agreement, which was conducted from April 9 to 17, 2020.
According to the IMF, this deceleration is mainly due to the impact of Covid-9 on domestic activity, the substantial drop in external demand and the disruption to world trade and supply chains.
The Bretton Woods institution noted that after strong growth estimated at nearly 7 percent in 2019, the pandemic and the prolonged closure of the border with Nigeria are factors that should considerably weaken Benin’s short-term economic prospects.
“The budget deficit for 2020 is expected to widen to 3.5 percent of GDP due to declining revenues, increased health spending and measures to support the economy, and public debt is projected to reach 43.3 percent of GDP in 2020,” the IMF statement said.
It also stated that “the Beninese authorities are already mobilising additional financing to fund this increase in the budget deficit and remain fully committed to the objective of fiscal sustainability, anchored on a steady decline in the public debt-to-GDP ratio over the medium term as the crisis subsides.”
To date, Benin has 54 confirmed cases of Covid-19 including 27 recoveries and one death.
UB/dng/lb/as/APA