Carte Blanche with Perry

The African Development Bank (AfDB) board of governors as compelled by law and custom are meeting this week for their Annual Meetings in Kigali, Rwanda.  Running under the theme, “The next 50 years: The Africa we want”, it is fitting that this year`s meetings are being held in the East African nation. Rwanda, East Africa`s fastest growing economy most likely has been the poster child of the “Africa rising” narrative over the years. Africa largely remains a continent of paradoxes. Basing on the continent`s resource endowments, Africa is very wealthy. Yet the levels of poverty on the continent are appalling. According to the latest World Bank Poverty Headcount Ratio (which measures the number of people living under US$1, 25 per day as a percentage of the total population) about 48, 5 per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa still live in poverty. For a continent which boasts of 6 of the last decade`s 10 fastest growing economies, this is a statistic that goes against t...

Zimbabwe`s Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa Recently, there have been amplified calls by government authorities in appealing for Foreign Direct Investment. The importance of foreign investment cannot be over-emphasised, especially for an economy at a precipice like ours.  In Mozambique for instance, during the past year, the country registered a 30 percent increase in its FDI flows to $7, 1 billion. It is no coincidence that the International Monetary Fund forecasts its economy to grow by as much as 8 percent this year alone, making it one of the leading ‘frontier market’ economies. What is clear from this example is the crucial role that capital accumulation can play in fuelling economic growth. The Zimbabwean government`s economic blueprint (ZimAsset) which is a set of policies meant to induce economic recovery requires at least US$27 billion for its successful implementation. In the policy document, the government emphasises on mobilising funding for the programme ...