The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said that Nigeria recorded 32.8 per cent power cuts on average monthly in 2015.
A statement by the Communications Section of ECA on Thursday in Dakar, Senegal gave the information.
It said the information was derived from the second generation ECA Country Profiles launched on March 25.
Among the 21 reports presented, four are from West Africa: Cape Verde, the Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria.
According to the statement, power infrastructure installed are insufficient to satisfy current demand in Nigeria.
“This has caused shortage of electricity in Nigeria which constitutes a major problem for the economy.
“Nevertheless, recent privatisation efforts in the sector have improved the situation.’’
It also said that Cape Verde recorded a relatively low performance from the point of view of sub-regional integration.
The issues are related to, among others, ethno-linguistic and historical factors, the island geography of the country or a low potential for external goods trade.
In effect, Cape Verde is ranked 10th out of the 15 ECOWAS countries in terms of regional integration.
It added that the country had however, shown good performances in regional infrastructure and freedom of movement of people.
“The budget expenditure of the Gambia has over time accentuated the pressure exercised on the financial viability of the public debt levels and crowd out private investment.
“In spite of these difficulties, the Gambia recorded good performances in terms of poverty reduction.’’
Poverty rate in terms of less than one dollar a day declined from 58.0 per cent in 2003 to 39.6 per cent in 2010.
It said that for Ghana, its rate of economic growth was at 4.0 per cent in 2014 and at 3.9 per cent in 2015, adding that the main macro-economic indicators reflected unsustainable fundamentals in the medium term.
“Moreover, since 2013 and 2014, Ghana has been at the centre of a serious energy crisis which is paralysing the economy.
“However, a good outlook is expected in 2016-2017, stimulated notably by the increase in the production of petroleum and gas and by the political stability of the country.’’
It also said that among the four countries, two experienced average inflation rates were lower than the African average of 7.9 per cent from 2013-2015.
Ghana with 14.9 per cent, experienced two-figure inflation; Nigeria 8.5 per cent, followed by the Gambia with 6.1 per cent and Cape Verde with a very low rate of 0.5 per cent.
“In terms of economic performances during the period of 2013-2015, two of the four countries in West Africa, with a country profile in 2016, recorded a real growth rate higher than the average in Africa.
“Growth in Ghana (3.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 9.3 per cent in 2012) and Nigeria (2.7 per cent in 2015 compared with 6.3 per cent in 2014) has however recently been depressed by, among other factors, low world market prices for raw materials.’’
It said that Cape Verde recorded lower growth since 2009, owing to the prolonged effect of the global financial crisis, lower tourism revenues and exports.
It added that Gambia was sensitive to precipitation shocks, making growth highly volatile.
The ECA Country Profiles were designed in 2015 in accordance with Resolution 917 of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (Abuja, 2014).
The aim is to provide African decision-makers with an independent analysis of their countries’ economic and social development and the progress made to achieve regional integration.
Each Country’s Profile is based on data provided by member states and complement ongoing ECA efforts to improve the collection of statistical data in Africa.
The objective of this initiative is to provide analyses and specific recommendations for member states to support structural transformation to promote sustained growth and sustainable social development and regional integration. (NAN)
FOF/IA
