Sunday, March 18, 2007

Africa experiencing robust growth rates

Africa needs 15 years of steady growth -IMF's Rato
Reuters
March 16, 2007

The International Monetary Fund Managing Director, Rodrigo Rato recently speaking to a conference of parliamentarians in Cape Town stated that Africa would need between 15 and 20 years of sustained economic growth to achieve its goal of drastically reducing poverty. While Rato believes that Africa is in its “most promising” shape and countries such as Tanzania and Ghana are enjoying particularly impressive growth rates, he believes that Africa must sustain its momentum. One way according to the IMF to ensure sustainable growth is through the removal of regional trade barriers which depress trade between African nations and reduce the potential for growth. Rato also stated that developed countries, most notably, the USA should increase their debt relief budgets to provide a stimulus to Africa’s growth march.

According to the IMF, the emergence of new donors such as China was very beneficial for the world economy as they could help meet shortfalls between the level of aid required by Africa and that currently being provided to it.

Questions:
1. What can multilateral institutions such as the IMF and World Bank do to ensure that Africa continues to experience robust levels of economic growth?

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