Kenya’s growth to hit 5.7 per cent this year, says bank

A view of the African Development Bank head offices in Tunis. The AfDB Regional Director for Eastern Africa, Mr Gabriel Negatu Monday said Kenya’s capital city would effectively be the region’s PPP resource hub as it seeks to ensure efficient financing for the continent’s infrastructure projects. PHOTO | FILE

By  JULIUS BOSIRE

What you need to know:

  • The African Development Bank urges African countries to articulate public policies targeted at promoting more equitable economic and social transformation.

KIGALI

Kenya has been ranked among the fastest-developing states in Africa, with its economic growth projected to hit 5.7 per cent this year.

This is according to a yearly report released by the African Development Bank on Monday during its annual general meeting held in Kigali.

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The financier, however, urged African countries to articulate public policies targeted at promoting more equitable economic and social transformation.

The report notes that Kenya, having witnessed drastic currency depreciation and rapid inflation in 2011, later experienced stability in 2012 and last year, with inflation dropping to a single digit.

“This stability is expected to continue in 2014,” the report says.

NOTABLE GROWTH

Other countries with such notable growth through agribusiness include Ghana and Ethiopia.

South Africa has developed tremendously because of its improved vehicle industry by removing obstacles and providing incentives for component producers and assembly lines.

The report said Kenya’s growth is buoyed by the development of agribusiness value chains, which has also contributed to job creation.

Positive projections for the short to the medium terms are dependent on sustained and rising growth based on increased investor and business confidence, reliable rainfall and a stable macroeconomic environment.

Other factors expected to support economic growth are lower, stable international oil prices, the stability of the Kenya shilling, and reforms affecting security, governance and justice.

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