By Reuters
Kenya’s economic growth slowed to 4.9 per cent in the first quarter of
this year from 5.5 per cent a
year earlier, hit by the uncertainty
created by coronavirus pandemic, the statistics office said on Tuesday.
Kenya has enjoyed rapid growth rates in recent years, thanks to its
diverse economy which does not depend on a single commodity or one major
trading partner, but the pandemic has put the brakes on economic
activity.
“The economy was affected by the resultant uncertainty that was already
slowing economic activity in some of the country’s major trading
partners,” the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said.
The finance ministry expects growth to slow to 2.5 per cent this year
from 5.4 per cent last year, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,
which has so far seen more than 6,000 people infected in the country.
The International Monetary Fund is more pessimistic, forecasting a contraction this year.
Patrick Njoroge, the Kenyan central bank governor, said on Friday that
the bank would review its 2020 growth forecast in two weeks, citing
better-than-expected data in farm exports and remittances sent home by
Kenyans living abroad.
The first-quarter growth was supported by expansion in the farming,
transport, financial services, construction and trade sectors, according
to the bureau of statistics.
It was however curbed by a steep decline in the tourism sector, after
the first case of the virus was confirmed in Kenya in mid-March and
lockdown measures were instituted to slow its spread, the bureau said.
Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Alison Williams and Angus MacSwan
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