Browsing: IMF

Zambia’s economy is expected to grow by 3 per cent, according to nation’s President Edgar Lungu who said on Thursday that, the nation’s economic growth will be slightly off the previous forecast of 3.2 per cent.

According to Reuters, President Lungu revealed the growth projection when he was meeting diplomats, and commented on the fiscal deficit which was expected to shrink from 6.5 per cent in 2019 to 5.5 per cent in 2020, while inflation would remain within the range of 6 to 8 per cent.

However, in October 2019, Bloomberg reported that Zambia’s inflation rate remained at a three year high in October and economic growth slowed, complicating the central bank’s task.

Further, annual consumer inflation accelerated to 10.7 per cent from 10.5 per cent in September 2019, whereby Zambia Statistics Agency noted to be the fastest rate of price growth since October 2016.

The economy of Africa’s second-biggest …

Maize flour is a live wire for the Kenyan authorities so this may be an issue the government treads cautiously on.…

Just days after Kenya repealed a rate cap which portends the return of expensive loans for borrowers, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited the country to “discuss economic development”.

The IMF has held that the country’s real GDP growth averaged 5.6 per cent in the first half of 2019 and is expected to accelerate in the second half of 2019 and 2020.

It adds, “Inflation has remained within the target band and stood at 5.0 per cent in October (year-on-year).”

The IMF visit to Kenya

A staff team from the IMF led by Benedict Clements, visited Kenya from November 18-22, 2019, to among other things discuss “recent economic developments and the government’s reform plans”.

Another mission is planned in early 2020 to hold discussions on a new precautionary stand-by arrangement and undertake the Article IV consultation discussions.

According to the team, Kenya’s economy has continued to perform well.

At the …

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) report on Tanzania’s economic status was one-sided.

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Phillip Mpango opened up on April 23, 2019 detailing why the government did not give IMF the green light to publish the content.

Responding after the matter was raised in the National Assembly, Dr Mpango said that the go-ahead was not given because opinions given by government experts after reading the first draft were not included in the final report.

“The IMF team was in the country from November 26 to December 7 last year. After preparing the draft I received on March 18 and we gave opinions that should have been accommodated in the final report but that did not happen,” the minister said.

Dr Mpango noted that during his recent visit to Washington DC for the 2019 spring meetings organized by the World Bank and IMF, he held talks on the …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the international economic advisory body, has cut its forecast for Tanzania’s economic growth for this year and 2020 to four percent, down from previous expectations.

Tanzania is forecast for economic growth of 4 percent in 2019 before accelerating modestly to 4.2 percent in 2020 – a drop from an estimated 6.6 percent in 2018. In January last year, the IMF said it expected Tanzania’s economy to grow between six and seven percent over the medium term, provided the country increased capital spending and improved its business environment. However, the organization has drastically cut its outlook for the country, predicting growth of four percent in 2019 and a minor increase for 2020.

The Fund also predicts Tanzania’s consumer price inflation will reach 3.5 percent this year and rise to 4.5 percent in 2020.

The IMF’s revised forecast contradicts government estimates that predict the economy will grow …