African economies have ‘turned the corner’

MANY AFRICAN economies appear to have turned the corner and may be on a path of faster and steadier economic growth needed to reduce high levels of poverty, according to the World Bank Africa Development Indicators 2007 (ADI), released in Johannesburg last week. Over the past decade Africa has recorded an average growth rate of 5.4%, which is on par with the rest of the world. “The ability to support, sustain and in fact diversify the sources of these growth indicators is critical not only to Africa’s capacity to meet the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) but also to becoming an exciting investment destination for global capital,” said Obiageli Ezekwesili, the World Bank vice president for the Africa region. In 2005 [the latest year for which ADI 2007 posts data], the performance varied substantially across countries, from -2.2%in Zimbabwe to 30.8% in Equatorial Guinea, with nine countries posting growth rates of near or above the 7% threshold needed for sustained poverty reduction. South Africa has been performing below this target, averaging around 4% during the survey period. Despite this, South Africa’s GDP is four times that of its Southern African neighbours and comprises around 25% of the entire continent’s GDP. African countries fall into three broad categories along this continuum with the first group of seven countries comprising the region’s seven major oil exporting economies, home to 27.7% of the region’s population.