( 3 minutes read)
· A recent study undertaken by the African Union (AU) says
that that about 20- million jobs are at stake on the continent due
Covid-19. Economies (most of them) will shrink this year due to the
pandemic; though the intensity of the pandemic is much less compared
to other continents
· Tourism sector, which used to be a foreign exchange spinner
for some countries, is in doldrums. Tourist destinations in Uganda,
Rwanda, Zambia, South Africa etc have reported that the tourism
activities, which used to provide gainful employment to many people,
have come to a grinding halt.
A recent study undertaken by the African Union (AU) says that that
about 20- million jobs are at stake on the continent due Covid-19.
Economies (most of them) will shrink this year due to the pandemic;
though the intensity of the pandemic is much less compared to other
continents, where millions of people are affected and casualties are
close to 95,000 and still counting.
The pandemic, the study points out, will add to the existing problems
of the continent, already devastated by sharp fall in commodity prices
including that of crude oil. Tourism sector, which used to be a
foreign exchange spinner for some countries, is in doldrums. Tourist
destinations in Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, South Africa etc have reported
that the tourism activities, which used to provide gainful employment
to many people, have come to a grinding halt. It would take several
months to restore the sector even after the abatement of the pandemic.
Earlier, before the outbreak of the pandemic, continent-wide gross
domestic product (GDP) growth was projected by the African
Development Bank to reach 3.4% this year. However, the AU study titled
– Impact of the coronavirus (COVID 19) on the African Economy – GDP
will now shrink between by 0.8% and 1.1% . It will also have an impact
on the flow of FDI and the impact will be more felt in sub-Saharan
Africa.
