Growth in sub-Saharan Africa was at the lowest level in two decades in 2016, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest regional economic outlook released on Tuesday. According to the IMF, growth in sub-Saharan Africa dropped to 1.4% in 2016. The forecast for 2017 is a marginal recovery of 2.6%. In SA, the lifting of the drought and improved terms of trade were projected to drive growth to 0.8%. The IMF warned, however, that political risks continued to loom large. Director of the IMF’s African Department Abebe Aemro Selassie said: "The overall weak outlook partly reflects insufficient policy adjustment. "The delay in implementing much-needed adjustment policies is creating uncertainty, holding back investment, and risks generating even deeper difficulties in the future," he said. "Vulnerabilities are also emerging in many nonresource-intensive countries. While they have generally continued to record high growth rates, they have also maintained elevated fiscal deficits...
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