EAST Africa enjoys strong economic growth for over a decade now but the rosy picture of the economy is soiled by deepening inequality which begs a question on who in particular benefit from the growth.
This is one of the key observation of the State of East Africa Report 2016 that was launched in Dar es Salaam last Friday by Society of International Development and TradeMark Africa.
The region has recorded robust growth of the economy with an average of more than six per cent annual growth-rate for over a decade with Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda all forecast show rapid economic growth over the next decade on the back of tourism, agriculture, services and manufacturing industries and improving their transport links and energy supply.
With Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya economies expected to expand at least six per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), East Africa is considered as a bright spot of the sub-Saharan Africa whose growth is expected to slow again in 2016 to 2.5 per cent, down from 3.0 per cent in 2015 due to low commodity prices, tightening global financial conditions and drought in parts of the region.
However, according to the State of East Africa Report 2016, the growth has been accompanied by growth in inequality in virtually all countries. The report observes that despite the impressive growth, the economic boom has not generated the jobs or prosperity for all as it was expected.
The levels of poverty, hunger and malnutrition in these countries still remain staggeringly high. The report says agriculture, which is dominated by small scale farmers and vulnerable to vagaries and climate, has failed to guarantee reasonable income for those who practice it and is exacerbating food insecurity due to combination of low incomes and productivity.
According to World Economic Forum (WEF), agriculture today accounts for 32 per cent of GDP in Africa and is the sector that offers greatest potential for poverty reduction and job creation, particularly among vulnerable rural populations and urban dwellers with limited job opportunities.
Growth generated by agriculture in sub- Saharan Africa is estimated to be 11 times more effective in reducing poverty than GDP growth in other sectors – a vital multiplier given that 65 per cent of the continent’s labour force is engaged in agriculture.
However, the sector has suffered sustained neglect and, as a result, Africa has gone from being an exporter of agricultural products in the 1960s to a net importer of agricultural and food products today.
The State of East Africa Report 2016 says agriculture remains unattractive career option, with an increasingly aging workforce that relies on rudimentary and is increasingly vulnerable to climate change. “Little wonder then that food insecurity abounds in the region.”
Source: Daily News

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