A miner inside the Bulyanhulu gold mine in northern Tanzania. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Tanzania's economy expanded by 7.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2019 compared with 6.1 per cent in 2018.
According
to A Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics report released recently,
the fast growth of the gross domestic product in the April-June 2019
period was due to improved performance of construction, mining and
communications sectors.
“The largest share to GDP in
the second quarter of 2019 was from tertiary activities which accounted
to 41.5 per cent, followed by primary activities by 32.9 per cent and
secondary activities had the least share of 25.7 per cent, before
adjustment for taxes,” the report said.
Construction
recorded the highest growth of 19.6 per cent followed by mining and
quarrying (17.2 per cent) and information and communication (10.3 per
cent), it said.
The economy grew by 6.6 per cent in the
first quarter of 2019 and government expects full-year GDP growth to
expand by 7.1 per cent this year, up from 7 per cent last year.
In
the second quarter, construction recorded a double-digit growth rate,
at 19.6 per cent compared with 5.2 per cent in the corresponding quarter
of 2018.
The growth was attributed to an increase in local production of
construction materials like cement, iron and steel that are used in
construction.
The activities that followed were mining
and quarrying at 17.2 per cent in the second quarter compared with a
growth rate of 6.8 per cent in the similar quarter of 2018.
Growth was mainly due to an increase in production of gold, coal, and diamond.
According
to the IMF, Sub-Saharan Africa’s growth is expected at 3.2 per cent in
2019 and 3.6 per cent in 2020, slightly lower for both years than in the
April 2019 World Economic Outlook.
The IMF further adds that economies in Africa that are typically more diversified are experiencing solid growth.
The
Information and communication sector increased by 10.3 per cent in the
second quarter of 2019 compared with 12.4 per cent in the corresponding
quarter of 2018.
This growth was attributed to an
increase in airtime used by mobile phone customers and the expansion of
broadcasting and Internet services in the country.
“The
softening of consumption growth is supported by Tanzania Revenue
Authority data showing lower consumption tax collection, as well as
tight controls on public consumption expenditures.
“Investment
growth remains positive but dampened as indicated by significant
under-execution of public development plans, lower levels of FDI inflows
and improved but relatively low private sector credit growth,” said the
WB economic overview.
Rwanda’s economy expanded by 12.2 per cent compared with 6.8 per cent in 2018, (5.4 percentage increase).
Uganda’s economy recorded a growth rate of 5.4 per cent compared with 5 per cent in 2018 (an increase of 1.3 percentage points).
Kenya
grew by 5.6 per cent compared with a 6.4 per cent in the second quarter
of 2018 equivalent to slowdown of 0.8 percentage points.
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