The President of African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina has said the growth recorded in African economies has not been reflected in the lives of the citizens.
Akinwunmi who made the statement while he unveiled the Bank’s flagship economic report on Thursday said the growth in GDP alone cannot feed citizens.
He said, “Africa’s economies are growing strongly, but growth alone cannot meet the needs of the continent’s poorest citizens, because “nobody eats GDP,”
The 2020 African Economic Outlook (AEO) showed that the continent’s economies are growing well, higher than the global average. The report projected a steady rise in growth in Africa from 3.4% in 2019 to 3.9% in 2020 and 4.1% in 2021.
According to the report, these figures do not tell the whole story. Across the continent, the poor are not seeing enough of the benefits of robust growth. Relatively few African countries posted significant declines in extreme poverty and inequality, which remain higher than in other regions of the world.
Inclusive growth occurred in only 18 of 48 African countries with data, the report revealed.
Adesina stated however that the “Growth must be visible. Growth must be equitable. Growth must be felt in the lives of people.”
The theme of the 2020 Africa Economic Outlook report, Developing Africa’s workforce for the future, calls for swift action to address human capital development in African countries, where inclusive growth has been held back by a mismatch between young workers’ skills and the needs of employers.
