Africa's economic growth may reach 7% in 2011

| Tuesday February 23, 2010 00:00

Kaberuka was addressing a panel of finance-ministry and bank-officials at the AfDB's Committee of Ten (C10) meeting in Cape Town on the weekend.

Kaberuka told officials that he was very optimistic of Africa's economic growth prospects for this year, and even more so for 2011.

While the global economic recession had been a set-back for most African economies last year, Kaberuka noted that much of the continent had avoided the worst effects of the recession.

Thus, as the global financial crisis abated and demand for commodities began to increase, Kaberuka said that Africa's economy was expected to grow between 4,5 percent and 5 percent this year, with the expansion likely to accelerate to 6,5 percent or 7percent in 2011. South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya were highlighted as the three countries expected to help spur Africa's recovery on the back of improved global demand.

Kaberuka believed that strong growth in emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil would help stimulate economic growth in Africa.

Officials attending the meeting on the weekend were debating ways of mitigating the effect of the global recession and considering how African countries could increase their participation in institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, as well as global political groups such as the Group of 20 (G20).

'There had been minimal movement in the IMF and the World Bank to give African countries more clout in the global institutions,' South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Sunday. 'The developed countries have to make up their minds and take a step back and allow the developing countries a bigger voice. That's the bottom line.'

Gordhan also told the meeting that the C10 should ensure that African interests were not forgotten.

The C10, consisting of African finance ministers and central bank governors, was established in November 2008 to develop an African response to the global financial crisis. (Engineeringnews)