The International Monetary Fund (IMF), on Tuesday, applauded recent economic reforms such as fuel subsidy removal and unification of the exchange rates initiated by President Bola Tinubu, noting that the measures were a pathway towards stronger and inclusive growth.
However, the multilateral institution revised Nigeria’s growth prospects downwards to 2.9 per cent for 2023, a decline of -0.3 per cent from the 3.2 per cent it had predicted for the country in its July World Economic Outlook (WEO).
In addition, the IMF also lowered its 2024 projection for Nigeria to 3.1 per cent from the 3.2 it had earlier projected for 2024.
The IMF disclosed this during the launch of the World Economic Outlook (WEO) at its ongoing Annual Meetings in Marrakech, Morocco, on Tuesday.
Responding to a THISDAY question, the Divisional Chief at IMF, Daniel Leigh, commended the reforms on the exchange rate and fuel subsidies.
He added: “We see African growth at 3.34 per cent and that is above average but it is below the potential that Africa has and it needs to catch up more quickly.
“For Nigeria in particular we have a growth forecast that goes from 3.3 per cent this year, to 2.9 per cent next year before going up to 3.1 in 2024. There is a downward revision for this year, partly this is because of the demonetisation, the high inflation, the shocks to agriculture and hydrocarbon output.
“That is coming on top of all those external headwinds.
“We also add that President Tinubu has moved quickly with important reforms including ending the fuel subsidies and unifying the official exchange rates. We welcome these initial bold reforms because we see them as paving the way towards stronger and inclusive growth.”
On his part, Chief Economist, IMF, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said: “On Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a slight downward revision for the region as a whole. We are expecting growth at about 3.3 per cent this year and that’s about 0.2 percentage downward revision. There is a slight downward revision for next year to about four per cent.”
The IMF WEO further added that the projected decline reflected in a number of cases, worsening weather shocks, the global slowdown, and domestic supply issues, including, notably, in the electricity sector.
Eromosele Abiodun and Nume Ekeghe in Marrakech
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