‘Africa has lost two decades of growth and trade’

CLIVE EMDON
SUB-SAHARAN Africa has lost two decades of trade and growth, according to a new World Bank study on global trade. The 1980s and 1990s saw the subcontinent falling behind the rest of the world, and this economic isolation is most acute in sub-Saharan Africa where 31% of the countries are landlocked compared with only 12% of all the other developing countries. Nearly 40% of sub-Saharan Africans live in landlocked countries with high transport costs and poor trade facilitation. Africa’s distance from international major markets has hindered its ability to take advantage of growing global trade, according to the study titled “Facing the Challenges of African Growth: Opportunities, Constraints and Strategic Directions”. It urges action to improve the investment climate, mainly focused on reducing and underwriting risks and indirect costs to firms, generally related to infrastructure. Energy and transportation top the list of major impediments, along with increasing the security of property.