Africa rises but infrastructure falls short

A record US$80 billion of investment is expected to f low into Africa this year but it cannot be sustained unless the continent urgently addresses its US$93-billion annual infrastructure deficit, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said in her keynote address at the Africa Rising conference held in Maputo, Mozambique recently. “Investment in infrastructure is critical for sustained growth and high quality infrastructure can be a magnet for foreign investment,” she said, pointing out that Africa‘s economy was set to grow by around 5.5% in 2014 and 2015. She warned however that even as the global economy was turning a corner, recovery remained weak.