IMPACT ON AFRICA, WITH NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former managing director of the World Bank worries about the recovery of economies on the continent. Apparently, there is a prediction of about 2 percent contraction on the continent. This has never happened for the past 25 years, and could potentially eradicate the decades of growth and development that has been recorded so far on the continent. 

There is also a growing debt profile which could potentially escalate after the pandemic. Hence, Africa is struggling to implement stimulus packages to curb the effect of the pandemic. Ngozi proposes a debt standstill for a number of years to enable governments respond to pandemic rather than servicing debts.

She also talks about the importance of ‘building back better’, meaning we should not return back to our old ways of building infrastructures. Hence, now it the time to build more sustainable and environmentally friendly infrastructures.

‘Never waste a Crisis’ – Winston Churchill 

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IMAGE: Reuters