Economic upswing

Many countries of the 14-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) experienced higher growth rates from the middle of the last decade compared to the rest of the sub-Saharan region, according to a SADC finance and investment report this week. The report, to be discussed at a SADC consultative conference in Swaziland next month, states that the region’s positive growth trends were spurred by political stability and sound macro-economic policies. Inflation also declined in 1998 in seven of SADC member countries, added the report. Of the 14 SADC members, only Angola, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe were poor performers with high inflation figures for 1998. War-torn Angola experienced a 134 percent inflation rate, while Malawi’s rate stood at 29.8 percent. Zambia and Zimbabwe recorded inflation rates of 31.6 percent and 31.7 percent respectively. Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in the world, recorded a growth rate of 11.2 percent in 1998, while its inflation rate declined to 1.3 percent. Botswana and Mauritius, added the report, achieved growth rates of over 5 percent each over the same period. The report said, however, that the economy of the region as a whole grew by only 1.7 percent in 1998. The report attributes this low growth rate to the Asian market crisis, the widespread regional drought, low international prices for commodities and the resurgence of hostilities in some member countries. “Member states experienced unprecedented difficulties with their respective balance of payments position during 1998, fuelled by difficult international trade conditions and performance of the export sector,” it said.