Southern Africa Quarterly Review and Analysis – 1st Quarter 2014 - Issue 12

The Southern Africa region continued on a positive growth path with significant differences in growth rates among countries in the region. Mozambique, Zambia and Angola registered the fastest growth rates, exceeding the 7 percent growth rate target of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), supported by positive performance of the mining sectors and strong public expenditure. Officials in Zimbabwe also predict a significant acceleration of growth (from 3.7 percent in 2013 to 6.1 percent in 2014) premised on the successful implementation of its Agenda for Sustainable SocioEconomic Transformation (ZIM-ASSET) and the completion of on-going institutional and structural reforms encompassing the mining sector. However, there are significant negative pressures to growth in Zimbabwe arising from liquidity constraints, weak aggregate demand and infrastructure bottlenecks.

In Malawi, growth is expected to accelerate to 6 percent in 2014, up from an estimated 5 percent in 2013, benefiting from a good tobacco harvest. However, the continued suspension of budget support following the exposure of government officials’ misuse of public funds and the suspension of uranium mining activities due to low global ore prices present downward risks.