The latest outlook report of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, for sub-Sahara Africa has indicated that the current federal government’s broad-based economic reforms are still struggling for a positive impact, 18 months after commencement.
Also, stakeholders in the food sector have indicated that the reforms have failed to uplift the necessities of life in the country.
The IMF report rolled out yesterday acknowledged a few countries that have recorded little success in reforms,but Nigeria was not mentioned. Rather, it mentioned that those failing to meet the desired results.
According to the report, the average economic growth rate in the region would remain at 3.6 per cent for the full year 2024, but Nigeria’s growth rate, put at 3.19 per cent, is below this average.
Presenting the report at the Lagos Business School, LBS, IMF Deputy Director, Catherine Patillo, indicated that macroeconomic imbalances in the region have started reducing with notable improvements in some countries, but she excluded Nigeria in the good news.
She stated: ‘‘More than two-thirds of countries have undertaken fiscal consolidation. The median primary balance is expected to narrow by 0.7 percentage points alone in 2024. These have included notable improvements in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Zambia, among others’’.
Further on the improving macroeconomic situations in the region, Patillo stated: ‘‘On the imbalances side, median inflation has declined in many countries. And it’s already within or below the target band in about half the countries’’.
But contrary to this position, Nigeria’s inflation, which had slowed down in July and August, returned to uptrend in September 2024 with further rise in October, while analysts predicted that November and December would sustain the uptrend.
Also at current 33.8 percent, Nigeria’s inflation rate is largely off the 21 percent target for 2024.
The IMF report actually mentioned Nigeria as one of the countries that have been unable to tame inflation.
BBC
