By BUUMBA CHIMBULUTHE African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates that Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will decline by US$173 to US$236 billion due to Covid-19 related factors, among other reasons.AfDB president, Akinwumi Adesina, regretted that the negative impact on economies had been massive with Africa’s economic growth rate expected to decline by 3.4 percent this year.Dr Adesina said during the Virtual 2020 International Forum on African Leadership recently that the digital divide had worsened.He said countries with poor energy access, electrification rates and limited broadband access could not stay open to transition businesses to the virtual new normal.“Our greatest test and task is to build effective partnerships and reinforce leadership to navigate through the pandemic, save as many lives and possible, reverse the trend, and put the world and its economies back on more resilient recovery pathways,” he said.The pandemic, Dr Adesina said, had further laid bare the divide in the labour market.He explained that those […]
AfDB projects a drop in Africa’s GDP
