PIA meeting with the IMF

Recently, the PIA members held their annual plenary meeting. On this occasion, the members met with Andrew Tiffin - Senior Economist, Regional Studies Division, IMF African Department – who provided an overview of the year ahead for Africa with GDP growth expected to be 4%. Possible new Covid variants, supply chain issues and political volatility continue to impact growth, however, Africa has managed the impact of Covid-19 relatively well and there remains momentum in intra-regional trade with the new AfCFTA. The PIA believes the private sector is an important growth partner for the continent and access to forex and increases in taxation in certain regions are significant blockages that require ongoing engagement.