(3 minutes read)
· The World Bank has forecast Tanzania’s economic growth to slow down sharply in 2020 to 2.5 per cent from last year’s 6.9 percent
as a result of Covid-19.
· The Bank also suggested additional policy responses to ward off the negative impact of the pandemic
· The flip sides of the Tanzanian economy flagged by the Bank included lower export demand, supply chain disruptions for domestic
producers and suppressed consumption
The World Bank has forecast Tanzania’s economic growth to slow down sharply in 2020 to 2.5 per cent from last year’s 6.9 percent as a
result of Covid-19.
The 14th World Bank’s Economic Updates released recently shows that the country is already reeling under the impact of the pandemic just like other countries. The Bank has called on the authorities to take additional health and economic policy measures to mitigate negative fall outs
The Bank also suggested additional policy responses to ward off the negative impact of the pandemic. The flip sides of the Tanzanian
economy flagged by the Bank included lower export demand, supply chain disruptions for domestic producers and suppressed consumption. The combined effect of these could push an additional 500,000 Tanzanians below the poverty line.
The urban self-employed and those in informal or micro enterprises, will be hard hit by the impact of the Covid-19, according to the
report. . The report recommends building on the country’s favorable macroeconomic conditions to support a robust health and economic
policy response that can mitigate negative effects and position the economy for recovery in 2021. The report also highlighted the need for boosting tourism at the earliest to create both direct and indirect jobs to absorb thousands of people who have become unemployed substantial so also imports. While the exports are likely to fall by 10%, imports would get shaved off by 1.5%.
