Central Bank: Somalia's economy on the right path

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Central Bank of Somalia has confirmed gradual economic growth, adding that the country is picking well after the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit several businesses across the world.

On Wednesday, the Central Bank of Somalia projected that the Gross Domestic Product [GDP] would improve by 2.4 percent from 0.3 percent at the time the pandemic was first reported in the country.

According to the apex bank, the underperformance of the government domestic receipts in the first quarter of 2021 and continued low absorption of grant projects remain a concern around the 2021 elections, which will lead to a widening fiscal deficit combined with financing risks given the fact that projected domestic revenues could be excessively ambitious.

Further, it noted, that inflation remained single digit and stable during the first quarter of 2021. The stability has been witnessed in all states across Somalia according to the bank.

According to CBS, domestic revenue mobilization efforts continue to enhance government revenue (taxes and non-taxes), noting that the total government revenue in Q1 was 76.9 million U.S. dollars.

Moreover, the CBS said the government continued to negotiate with Paris Club creditors since the total debt stock recorded 4.51 billion dollars, with multilateral creditors accounting for 25 percent, equivalent to 1.1 billion dollars, while the bilateral creditors amounted to 3.4 billion dollars, equivalent to 75 percent of total debt stock.

The CBS said the total value of the country's imports during Q1 surpassed 1.14 billion dollars, an increase of 10 percent compared to 1.04 billion dollars of the same quarter in 2020.

"Foodstuffs are continuously dominating the total share of imports in Somalia. A wide range of consumer goods, including basic goods such as rice, flour, pasta, oil, sugar, and pharmaceuticals, dominate the list," the CBS said.

Somalia was one of the countries which was the most hit by the pandemic in the Horn of Africa and witnessed hundreds of deaths. The news about the progress of the economy would be most likely excite business people who are struggling to normalize their businesses.

GAROWE ONLINE