Browsing: World Bank

The World Bank (WB)—one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for the developing sphere published its Global Economic Prospect report in January 2021.  

The report zoomed in on the prospects of the global economy and Africa, displaying how the region remains pinned by the shocks of COVID-19 unless sound policy changes and strategic investment-enhancing reforms are made.  

On the bright side, the global economy is expected to expand by 4 per cent in 2021—this is dependent on the progression of COVID-19 vaccine provision throughout the year. …

Businesses in  Zimbabwe are feeling the covid sting has the government moves to reinforce a strict countrywide lockdown in response to renewed breakout of Covid-19 infections.

The lockdown came to effect at the end of the week and involves restriction of movement as well as business operations. With borders closed, businessmen in the country fear worse losses than they are already suffering.

As of January 15, 2021 Zimbabwe had 25,365 confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and 636 deaths prompting more restrictions.

The lockdown means effective closure of what the country says are non-essential businesses and with it comes also the prohibition of large gatherings like weddings, parties and even religious events.

Issuing the announcement, Zimbabwe’s Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga said the government admits that there is a new Covid-19 outbreak and overwhelmed the country’s health institutions.

Chiwenga, who is also the Health Minister, said the lockdown also means a dusk-to-dawn curfew will …

The year 2020 had a lot of events across the development aisle, and Tanzania’s economic upgrade from low to lower-middle-income status by the World Bank (WB), is worth noting as one of the success stories.

There have been a number of forecasts on the economy of Africa and Tanzania at large, with a variety of predictions which point at different directions.

On June 11 2020, the Tanzanian government confidently, via the Ministry of Finance and Planning stated that the nation’s economy is expected to grow at a rate of 5.4 per cent in 2020 compared to earlier estimates of 6.9 per cent.…

It is with no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has caused serious troubles for economies around the world, namely in the developed world. However, addressing the matter in much of the developing world is quite different, as many governments have seen national economic outputs derailed by a few years. The situation is much worse, as its knocked off many African countries from their respective economic trajectories.  

The health pandemic brought it’s friends along, as we’ve now witnessed an economic pandemic of sorts. Food crisis, housing crisis and political crisis have been all party to Covid-19, a theme that was explicit in the 2020 Bill and Melinda Gates Goal Keepers report published just last month (September 2020).  

The report raised interesting issues to examine attentively. It argued that in just 25 weeks almost 25 years of progress was regressed, particularly on the Sustainable Development Goals and in particular …

Human Capital Horizon matters? 

The human population comprises of valuable elements necessary for the development of the modern world. As the world keeps to shake off the remnants of the coronavirus, there are some crucial ideas emerging and compelling vital changes in the way humans work. As stability is being restored, it is important also to rethink how to sustain the human capital value over space and time. The future of work is dependent on how human capital is dispersed globally and how it reacts to what we would call the development of the modern world.   

The current global crisis reveals holes in various sections of the workforce, including financial security and health coverage. With respect to Africa, the figures are heightened, and the “holes” as one would look at, in particular the formal employment sector, the numbers are astronomical.  

Africa alone has more than 24 million …

The world Bank signed a $400 million grant to Ethiopia for its urban programs and another $80 million to support the completion of projects started during the second phase of Agricultural Growth Program (AGP II).

The $400 million agreement was signed by the Minister of finance Ethiopia Ahmed Shide and Ousmane Dione, World Bank Country Director for Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and South Sudan to support Ethiopia’s urban programs. The programs include job creation and productive safety nets program in Ethiopia’s cities.

During the signing ceremony, the government of Ethiopia said it will also allocate an additional $150 million for the implementation of the program aimed to be executed within five years. 83 cities and towns in Ethiopia will benefit from the programs while also 798,500 people living below the poverty line will benefit from the programs.

The $80 million grant aims at supporting the completion of projects started during the …

The largest movement of African migrants was within Africa where these emigrants also make a very clear contribution to the economy of the country they move into.…

Africa is rising and gradually taking over the helm of economic power. This growth is now evenly spread, as other parts of the continent experience a slower growth pace compared to the rest, albeit recent years point to evidence of uneven growth across the continent’s sub-regions.  

The African Development Bank’s (AfDB) economic outlook observed that only a third of Africa’s nations met the inclusive mark—downplaying inequality and poverty across the continent.  Inequality and poverty have not been combatted efficiently as that would require deep structural reforms, build resilience for farmers against harsh-weather conditions by providing for smart agricultural schemes and providing fiscal space for expansion of safety nets. 

In the same context, the continent’s growth has been forecasted on different levels.  The outlook released on January 30,  pointed out that Africa’s economic growth had stabilized at 3.4 per cent in 2019 and …

Continent-wide, over 640 million Africans have no access to energy which corresponds to an electricity access rate for African countries at just over 40 per cent. …

As the World shakes off the effects of Covid-19, the global energy sector has a long way to go to recover, but the baby steps have begun.

In his remarks at the 20^th Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), mid last month, the OPEC Secretary General, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, underscored the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and what he described as ‘…its complete disruption of daily life.’

 “These monthly meetings of both the JTC and the JMMC send a reassuring message that we are ready, willing and able to address shifting market conditions”, he said during the video conference.

The SG maintained that ‘…the historic actions taken by OPEC and its partners in the DoC have contributed to an improved balance in the oil market compared to the situation in April, however, the JTC and JMMC must remain vigilant in monitoring market conditions.”

While the global …