[Zimbabwe] WB: Zim 'not beating poverty'

from News 24 South Africa

Johannesburg - Many African countries, including Mozambique, might meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving poverty by 2010, but Zimbabwe was not one of them, said a World Bank report on Monday.

Gobind Nankani, the World Bank vice-president for Africa, said: "Africa is today a continent on the move, making tangible progress on delivering better health, education, growth, trade and poverty-reduction outcomes."

The annual World Bank publication, "African Development Indicators (ADI) 2006," depicted a diverse continent, with several countries making remarkable progress, some stagnating and others lagging seriously behind.

Many countries, including Mozambique, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Uganda, Ghana and Cape Verde, had lifted significant percentages of their citizens above the poverty line and might well be on course to meet the MDG target of halving poverty by 2010.

Economic outcomes 'increasingly diverse'

The full spectrum of achievers and laggards stretched from Zimbabwe, which recorded a negative growth rate of 2.4% - the only country with a negative growth rate in 2004 on the continent - to Equatorial Guinea, with a 20.9% growth rate.

John Page, the World Bank's chief economist for the Africa region, said: "While economic outcomes are increasingly diverse, Africa has made near uniform progress in social outcomes, notably education and health."

He said that Africa's per capita income was now increasing in tandem with other developing countries.

The ADI 2006 confirmed that 16 African countries had sustained annual GDP growth rates in excess of 4.5% since the mid-1990s; inflation on the continent was down to historic lows; most exchange rate distortions had been eliminated; and fiscal deficits were dropping.

Several countries increase exports

The continent weathered higher oil prices better than previous shocks and its real GDP grew by 4.3%, compared to 5.4% in 2004.

Productivity in Africa's best performing firms was on par with competitors in Asia (India and Vietnam).

Factory-floor costs in Africa's best economies compared well with India and China, but Africa had overall lost market share in traditional exports although several countries increased exports by more than 10%.

The good news included primary enrolment rates rising significantly across the continent. HIV/Aids prevalence and child mortality rates had started to fall and the gender gap had started to shrink in several countries.

Page said: "Gross primary enrolment rates as a share of the relevant age group - a standard indicator of investment in the poor - shot up to 93% in 2004 from 72% in 1990, contributing to a rise in literacy rates from 50% in 1997 to 65% in 2002."

The ADI 2006 highlighted the numerous challenges facing Africa, the lone region of the world, where the number of the poor continued to rise.