The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that Nigeria’s projected growth may not be enough to create jobs for the country’s growing population.

The IMF in its World Economic Outlook 2018 noted that “Nigeria’s projected economic growth in the sub-Sahara Africa from 3.1 percent this year to 3.8 percent in 2019 is not enough to create the needed jobs for the growing population of the region.”

This projected growth the fund further cautioned may not be enough for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, “if the trend remains for a while.”

The three leading economies of the continent, Nigeria, South Africa and Angola were projected “to witness sluggish growth in 2019 and beyond. While Nigeria will grow from 1.9 per cent in 2018 to 2.3 percent in 2019, South Africa and Angola are projected to move from 0.8 to 1.4 and -0.1 to 3.1 per cents respectively.”

IMF’s chief economist and director of research Maurice Obstfeld, told journalists that “what affects the three major economies affect the whole continent as majority of the countries relies on their trajectories.”

He admitted that the continent “will witness growth next year but the growing number of working-class coupled with less jobs opportunities, huge public debts and poor infrastructure present a challenge in achieving the developmental goals of the United Nations.”

Milesi Ferretti, Deputy Director Research said while presenting the report that “the continent could do much better once these economies are on the more solid footings, particularly South Africa and Nigeria because they are really large and affect a number of countries in their neighbourhood.”

On the global ratings, IMF cut its global growth forecasts as a result of the trade tensions between the U.S. and trading partners. The Outlook said the global economy is expected to grow at 3.7 percent this year and next year — down 0.2 percentage points from an earlier forecast, as the trade war started to hit economic activity worldwide.

“We are concerned about the downturn in economic growth,” noted Jubilee USA Executive Director Eric LeCompte. As a finance expert, LeCompte has tracked IMF meetings for nearly 10 years and is attending the meetings in Bali. “The report reminds us that inequality remains a serious problem and we still are not safe from financial crisis” he warned.

“We are seeing a growing debt crisis in many developing economies,” stated LeCompte who also serves on United Nation expert groups that focuses on economic issues. “At the same time, we see risky and speculative behavior on the rise. We know that risky behavior and unsustainable debt is a recipe for financial crisis.”

The IMF issues the report ahead of the Annual IMF and World Bank meetings where world leaders, finance ministers and nongovernmental organizations will gather this week in Bali, Indonesia.

•Sourced from The Nation report

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