The report "Africa's economic outlook" for 2021 published by the African Development Bank (AfDB) last Friday highlights the challenges of the continent. The situation of the economy seems slightly less deteriorated, but the debt and poverty are widening further.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) predicts in its study that Africa should return to economic growth in 2021, but poverty will continue to increase and public debt to widen. “The shock of the pandemic and the economic crisis it has caused have had direct implications on countries' fiscal balances and debt burdens,” explains the AfDB.

The continent's GDP should resume in 2021 with growth of 3.4%. The pan-African institution indicates that oil-exporting countries, including Algeria, Nigeria and Angola, should return to economic growth of 3.1% in 2021, after a recession of -1.5% last year .

Economies heavily dependent on commodity exports like South Africa are expected to rebound from -4.7% in 2020 to 3.1% this year.

Economies dependent on tourism, such as Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritius, are expected to recover from the 11.5% decline in their GDP in 2020 to experience growth of 6.2% in 2021.

Similarly, countries with more diversified economies, some of which managed to maintain positive growth in 2020, such as Ethiopia and Côte d'Ivoire, are expected to move from a 0.9% contraction in GDP to last year to a growth of 4.1%.
If nothing is done, "Africa could face serious debt problems, and defaults and protracted resolutions could hamper Africa's progress towards prosperity", warns the AfDB President , Akinwumi Adesina, adding that “Africans today have one of the highest implicit tax rates in the world”.

It calls on leaders to "address the challenge of Africa's debt and development financing" through "fiscal discipline", increased support from the international community and private creditors, but also "bold reforms of the governance” of African states.