By Avite Mbabazi
The African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates that Eswatini’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow by an average of 2.8% in the 2023-2024 financial year.
Eswatini’s projected muted growth is below the continent’s average growth of 4% during the same period. Africa is, however, reported to experience a stable medium growth which the AfDB attributes to the policy support on the continent and global efforts to mitigate exogenous shocks and rising uncertainty as well as China’s reopening after three years of the zero-COVID policy.
However, the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development’s own projections in 2022 revealed that in the period of 2023-25, the country’s economy would grow by an average of 4.1% in 2023-2025.
“In terms of the Medium-Term-Outlook, which is a period from 2023-2025, the ministry anticipates growth to be at 4.1% driven by the full implementation of the Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project (LUSIP) II, as well as the commencement of the multi-billion Mkhondvo-Ngwavuma Water Augmented Project,” stated the Minister of Economic Planning and Development, Dr. E.T. Gina.
Regionally, Southern Africa will continue to be the worst performer on the continent. Having contracted the most due to the Covid-19 pandemic by an average of 5.9% due to the pandemic, 2023 and 2024 will see the region’s economies grow on average by only 2.3% and 2.8% respectively.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s real GDP growth more than halved, to 1.9% in 2022 from 4.9% in 2021, due to subdued global demand, power outages, and devastating floods.
Elsewhere in the SACU area, estimated growth was above 2%, except in Eswatini, whose growth of 1.3% was even lower than that in neighboring South Africa.
The AfDB projects that inflation will slow down in part due to policies taken by central banks and improved food supply averaging at 4.9% during 2023-2024.
“The current wave of monetary policy tightening and the improvement in domestic food supply conditions could slow price increases,” the AfDB notes.
The AfDB notes that Africa’s average real gross domestic product (GDP) growth is estimated to have slowed to 3.8% in 2022 from 4.8% in 2021, a marked downward revision from the 6.9% estimated in African Economic Outlook 2022.