Even if the dreaded scenario did not happen in Africa, the coronavirus has still dealt a blow to the continent in 2020.
The global health crisis has made the past year a nightmare for governments. Africa, which economy is highly extroverted, has not escaped this reality. It has suffered heavily from the consequences of the disruption of international trade.
The colossal efforts to stem the spread of the virus have undermined economic progress and triggered the first recession in the region in 25 years. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the continent’s economic growth is expected to contract by 3 percent before growing by 3.1 percent in 2021.
This represents a decline in real per capita income of 4.6 percent over the period 2020-21. Per capita income is thus expected to fall back to its 2013 level. That’s seven years of progress reduced to nothing.
And the end of the tunnel is still a long way off. All the more so since fears of a possible second wave are hanging over some countries. Therefore, Africa’s salvation depends on the evolution of the pandemic, the resilience of health systems and access to external financing. External financing is becoming increasingly scarce these days. Without additional liquidity, some countries will struggle to maintain macroeconomic stability and meet the basic needs of their populations.
According to IMF, the need for transformational reforms to build resilience (including revenue, digital development, and improved transparency and governance) is more urgent than ever.
Adesina serves another term
Only candidate for his own succession, the former Minister of Agriculture of Nigeria, Akinwumi Adesina, was reappointed head of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in August 27 during the Annual Meetings of the financial institution.
The re-election sounded like a revenge for this banker cleared of the accusations of bad governance he was subjected to. This soap opera lasted three months and destabilized the institution.
Status quo
The coronavirus pandemic has called into question various programmes that were supposed to boost the continent’s economic dynamism. This is notably the case with the introduction of the ‘Eco’ common currency for member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The announcement in 2019 by the heads of state of this community space of the introduction of the new currency the following year already seemed unrealistic. In fact, in a few months it was necessary to create a central bank, decide on the exchange rate regime, produce coins and bills, and adapt the computer systems and administrations…
As if that wasn’t enough, the coronavirus crisis has turned this hypothetical schedule upside down. This is why the Nigerien President, Mahamadou Issoufou, urged his counterparts at the last ECOWAS summit in Niamey “to draw up a new roadmap while maintaining a gradual approach to the launch of the common currency.”
Since then, no new date has been communicated for the launch of the Eco. In any case, the priority of the countries of the zone for the next twelve months is the revival of their economies bruised by the Covid-19.
ARD/id/te/lb/abj/APA