The International Monetary Fund (IMF), said last week at the African Union (AU), Summit in Add is Ababa, Ethiopia, that the impact of the global financial meltdown on Africa was underestimated. Speaking at the summit, Deputy Managing Director of the global body, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Takatoshi Kato, said: “The global financial crisis presents tremendous challenges for Africa, notwithstanding laudable progress over the past 10 years to put in place sound and sustainable economic policies that have delivered robust growth and low inflation. The fruits of these efforts, which together with debt relief, have resulted in low levels of public debt, relatively sound financial systems, and a rise in living standards, are now at risk.”
He said: “the effects of the crisis are more significant than widely anticipated a few months ago largely because the downturn in the advanced economies has been stronger than expected, commodity prices have dropped more sharply than anticipated, generalized external funding pressures have surfaced, and the risk appetite among foreign investors in Africa has deteriorated”.
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