Regional economic outlook and funding squeeze
Growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is expected to slow to 3.6 percent as a “big funding squeeze”, before rebounding to 4.2 percent in 2024 in line with global recovery, subsiding inflation, and a winding down in monetary policy tightening, tied to the drying up of aid and access to private finance, hits the region. This is the second consecutive year of an aggregate decline in SSA growth. Between 2020 and 2022 the IMF provided more than 50 billion dollars to the region, more than twice the amount disbursed in any 10 years since the 1990s. And as of March 2023, the IMF had lending arrangements with 21 countries, with more requests under consideration. The IMF together with stakeholders held a meeting on Monday at Mubs to navigate through the funding space narrowing for the region, and Dr Fred Muhumuza and Francis Muhire both economic analysts shall talk to us about this.