The African economy driven by global trade .

Tags: poverty, mine, tourism, AFRICA, OECD, African Development Bank.

The African Development Bank expects growth of 4.5% in 2010 and 5.2% in 2011. What remains insufficient to meet the objectives of reducing poverty.

Africa remains highly dependent on the global economy and the price of raw materials. As the African Development Bank in a report Monday on the continent's economic prospects for 2010 and 2011: "The growth has been laminated, from an average of about 6% in 2006-2008 to 2 5% in 2009 with a GDP per capita at a virtual standstill. "
The slowdown has hit hard mining, manufacturing and tourism, three areas are very sensitive to international turmoil. This has led to a decline in exports (2.5% in 2009, 30% in value), the collapse of commodity prices, less income from expatriate workers and a reduction of one third of foreign direct investment. "At the same time, Africa has been more durable, thanks to macroeconomic fundamentals much stronger than in past crises in the 1990s, is Amurgo Alberto Pacheco, an economist at the OECD. Inflation is much better controlled, monetary reserves and current account balances more positive. "Some countries like South Africa and Egypt, were able to pursue policies of fiscal and monetary stimulus to resist the crisis. Note also the positive role of official development assistance that has not diminished, and that debt service has increased due to cuts made by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which also granted several loans.
Tax capacity
The bank is concerned, however, the impact of the crisis on poverty levels, which negates the objective of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the UN to reduce poverty by half by 2015. ADB number "about 50 billion dollars per year borrowing to achieve growth rates of GDP needed to achieve".
Building on a confirmed return of the world economy, buoyed by Chinese search engine, and keeping the prices of raw materials at satisfactory levels, the ADB provided 4.5% growth for 2010 and 5.2% in 2011. Most affected country in 2009, South Africa should be gradually brought back by the end of the football World Cup.
Among the most dynamic economies are agricultural as Ethiopia (9.7% growth in 2010) and Uganda (7.4%) or oil and mineral wealth, including Angola (7.4%) and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Madagascar will be left behind, who can not emerge from its political problems.
To ensure its development, Africa needs to mobilize more of its own resources, diversify its export markets and expand trade within the region. "It must in particular its potential tax," says the OECD expert, who compares the tax revenue of the continent, about $ 450 per capita to $ 41 that the amount of aid.
It is also necessary to remove several structural obstacles that recurring problems such as corruption and governance, but also health, education, energy and overall inequality.