Africa’s growth may rise to 4.1% in 2018, 2019 – AU

Africa’s growth could rise to 4.1 percent by the years 2018 and 2019, African Union’s commissioner for economic affairs Victor Harrison said on Wednesday.

The infrastructure sector in the African region needs a financing estimated at $130 billion a year, Harrison said at the 41st meeting of the Association of African Central Banks (AACB) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Illicit financial flows (IFFs) are hindering Africa’s economic development and increasing poverty rates in the continent, Harrison said. IFFs reduce domestic resources and tax revenue needed to fund poverty-reducing programmes and infrastructure in the African continent.

The African Union held a meeting last April on the mobilisation of domestic resources, fighting against corruption, and illicit financial flows.