‘Ongoing conflict could derail Africa’s economic growth’ - AfDB

Sub-Saharan Africa will see economic growth accelerating to around 6.2%; a dozen countries will even surpass it but ongoing conflict and political instability could derail that. So said Donald Kaberuka, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), speaking at the launch of the High Level Panel on Fragile States Report at the 22nd African Union Summit last week Thursday. The panel was tasked with reviewing the likely sources of fragility in Africa in the coming years and to make recommendations both for the Bank and the wider policy community as to how they should be tackled, noted Kaberuka. Some of the key recommendations by the panel include that the AfDB develop new instruments for supporting private investment and that it works in partnership with other agencies to build financial management capacity within the trade finance and infrastructure funding sectors. “We also encourage the Bank to help build the capacity of regional economic communities,” the panel recommended.