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BCN-40
SOMALI-ECONOMY-GROWTH-WORLDBANK
World Bank says Somali economy to grow by 3-4 pct
MOGADISHU, Sept. 14, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – The Somali economy is projected
to grow at an annual rate of between 3 and 4 percent, the World Bank said in
a report released on Thursday.
According to the World Bank’s third Somalia Economic Update (SEU), the
country’s economy grew by an estimated 2.3 percent in 2017, down from 4.4
percent in 2016, reflecting the impact of enormous losses seen in livestock
and crop production and exports.
The report said the volume of live animal exports, Somalia’s largest
export, accounting for more than 70 percent of export earnings, declined by
75 percent, from 5.3 million animals in 2015 to 1.3 million in 2017.
John Randa, senior economist at the World Bank Macroeconomic, Trade and
Investment Global Practice and lead author of the SEU, said Mogadishu needs
to continue to build the fiscal buffers to allow greater public investment in
basic services.
“To achieve higher growth, Somalia requires an acceleration of structural
reforms. Recent efforts to broaden the tax base, enhance compliance, and
reduce wasteful expenditures are starting to pay off,” Randa said.
The report said the Somali economy has grown modestly in recent years, and
it remains vulnerable to recurrent shocks.
According to the report, Somalia has one of the most active mobile money
markets in the world, outpacing most other countries in Africa despite its
fragility and underdeveloped financial institutions.
About 155 million transactions, worth 2.7 billion dollars, are recorded
per month, the report said.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1440