Zimbabwe economy 'needs 12 years to recover' - UN

Wednesday, 19 November 2008

A United Nations Development Programme report said it could take more than 12 years for Zimbabwe’s economy to reach peak levels of per capita income reached in 1991.

A minimum of $5bn in foreign aid will be needed over the next five years to revive finances and infrastructure and prevent starvation. The report followed the power-sharing agreement between Robert Mugabe and his opposition rival Morgan Tsvangirai announced in September, an agreement whose future is now in serious doubt.

Merkel praises Ghana
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to take steps to encourage more German investments in Ghana to boost its private sector. Merkel, on a state visit to Ghana in September, praised the country’s consistency in economic reforms and said it had become the star performer and model of democracy, good governance and transparency in Africa.

Record exports for Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s export revenues grew 25 per cent in 2007/08 to reach a record $1.5bn. The leading export was coffee which has its main markets in Germany, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, United States and Japan. Ethiopia is the largest coffee producer in Africa with an annual production of around 300,000 tonnes. Import revenues grew to $4.7bn up from $3.9bn in 2006/07 primarily on industrial machines and fuel.