Africa’s economies are turning a corner

A MONTAGE of miracles plays on the giant screens in the Perez Dome, a Pentecostal church in Accra. A paralysed man tosses away his crutches. A woman’s tumour vanishes. It is not only the sick who need help. “I pray for businesses,” intones the pastor, promising that struggling ones will “resurrect”. A stall outside sells recorded sermons on “financial prophecy” and “creating wealth God’s way”. Someone up there is listening. After several tough years Ghana’s growth rate in 2017 was 8.4%, the third fastest in the world.

African economies often seem like victims of divine whimsy. Most of the continent’s workers are farmers, reliant on the rains. Much of its wealth comes from oil and minerals, at the mercy of markets. When prices are high, as they were in the first decade of the century, Africa booms. But in recent times drought and a commodities slump have stymied growth. In 2016 economies in sub-Saharan Africa grew by just 1.4%, the slowest rate for two...Continue reading

Source: Middle East and Africa https://ift.tt/2I6Y4Vc

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