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World Bank contradicts Tanzania's growth estimates
THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2019 12:06
Tanzania's President John Magufuli. PHOTO | NMG
Nairobi
Tanzania’s economy expanded 5.2 percent in 2018, the World Bank said on Thursday, the second major report this year from a multilateral financial institution contradicting rosier government figures.
Tanzania’s finance minister had told parliament last month that growth was 7 percent last year
In a report, the World Bank, which makes its calculations based on state data, also forecast 2019 growth at 5.4 percent - again lower than the government’s estimate of 7.1 percent.
Last year’s growth was affected by a decline in investment, exports and private lending, the report said.
ALSO READ
President John Magufuli embarked on an ambitious programme of industrialisation after coming to power in 2015, investing billions of dollars into infrastructure, including a new rail line, reviving the national carrier and a hydropower plant.
But government interventions in mining and agriculture have led to declining investment in east Africa’s third largest economy.
Foreign direct investment has more than halved since 2013, while private sector lending growth plummeted to less than 4 percent in 2018, far below the 20 percent average between 2013-16.
The World Bank report follows an unpublished International Monetary Fund (IMF) report in April that also raised questions over Magufuli’s handling of the economy.
Leaked version
A leaked version of the report, seen by Reuters, accused the government of undermining the economy with “unpredictable and interventionist” policies, saying medium-term growth would be around 4-5 percent, again below official forecasts.
In its report, the World Bank said investment growth was subdued partly because of government struggles to meet spending targets in development projects.
THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2019 12:06
Nairobi
Tanzania’s economy expanded 5.2 percent in 2018, the World Bank said on Thursday, the second major report this year from a multilateral financial institution contradicting rosier government figures.
Tanzania’s finance minister had told parliament last month that growth was 7 percent last year
In a report, the World Bank, which makes its calculations based on state data, also forecast 2019 growth at 5.4 percent - again lower than the government’s estimate of 7.1 percent.
Last year’s growth was affected by a decline in investment, exports and private lending, the report said.
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President John Magufuli embarked on an ambitious programme of industrialisation after coming to power in 2015, investing billions of dollars into infrastructure, including a new rail line, reviving the national carrier and a hydropower plant.
But government interventions in mining and agriculture have led to declining investment in east Africa’s third largest economy.
Foreign direct investment has more than halved since 2013, while private sector lending growth plummeted to less than 4 percent in 2018, far below the 20 percent average between 2013-16.
The World Bank report follows an unpublished International Monetary Fund (IMF) report in April that also raised questions over Magufuli’s handling of the economy.
Leaked version
A leaked version of the report, seen by Reuters, accused the government of undermining the economy with “unpredictable and interventionist” policies, saying medium-term growth would be around 4-5 percent, again below official forecasts.
In its report, the World Bank said investment growth was subdued partly because of government struggles to meet spending targets in development projects.
