A farmer sorts onions at Kiawara Market in Nyeri County: Agriculture,
which accounts to a quarter of the national GDP, recorded slower
July-September growth of 3.1 per cent. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Summary
- The July-September performances falls far lower than an impressive 5.6 per cent growth recorded in a similar period of 2016.
- The only other low quarterly growth that economy has recorded in recent times was a 3.5 per cent between October and December 2013, also an election period.
- Most sectors posted slower growths compared to the same quarter last year.
Kenya’s economy grew by 4.4 per cent in the third quarter of
2017, the slowest quarterly growth in five years, as prolonged electoral
politics and drought took its toll on key segments of the economy.
The
July-September performance falls far lower than an impressive 5.6 per
cent growth recorded in a similar period in 2016, data released by the
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows.
“The
macroeconomic fundamentals remained largely stable and supportive of
grow but uncertainty associated with political environment coupled with
effects of adverse weather conditions slowed down the performance of the
economy,” KNBS said in a statement Friday.
Kenya had its general election on August 8 and a re-run - boycotted by the main opposition party - on October 26.
The
only other low quarterly growth the economy has recorded in recent
times was 3.5 per cent between October and December 2013, a period which
also coincided with a General Election.
Slow sector activity
For
the third quarter of 2017, most sectors – agriculture, manufacturing,
health, accommodation, mining and education - posted slower growth
compared to the same quarter last year.
Financial and insurance activities, for instance, recorded the
largest drop from 7.1 per cent in third quarter of 2016 to 2.4 per cent
this year while accommodation and food service reduced considerably from
13.5 per cent to 7.3 per cent over the period.
Similarly,
agriculture which accounts to a quarter of the national GDP, recorded a
slower July-September growth of 3.1 per cent compared to 3.8 in the
same period last year while manufacturing slowed over the period from
4.4 per cent to 2.1 per cent.
According to the KNBS
data, only professional services, public administration and real estate
sectors defied the electoral uncertainly to post enhanced growth.
The
Information and Communication sector, for instance, grew at nine per
cent in the third quarter compared to 8.8 per cent in 2016 while real
estate growth by 8.9 per cent, up from 8.5 per cent last year.
No comments :
Post a Comment