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The International Monetary Fund is warning that growth in the sub-Saharan Africa region is likely to slow to its lowest point in more than 20 years.
The Washington-based lender said in a report on Tuesday that average growth in the region is forecast at just 1.5% this year due to lower commodity prices and an unfriendly global economic environment.
The report noted that countries without significant natural resources such as Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Senegal were performing better as they stood to benefit from lower oil import prices and infrastructure reforms. Commodity exporters such as Angola, Nigeria and South Africa, on the other hand, were hurt by the slump in oil prices.
The IMF called for fiscal, structural and social reforms to help these countries withstand the slowdown.
