AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has plagued the world in various ways and almost all countries have been affected.
Each country has taken its own approach and at the same show solidarity with other countries to mitigate the pandemic’s effects.
Besides being a pandemic, coronavirus is also creating opportunities that if well-utilised will help the world, including African countries, start rebuilding their economies that have been also affected to a considerable extent.
The World Bank (WB) predicts Africa’s first recession looms large. However, other sources suggest that ‘the African continent can eventually look forward to many post-Covid-19 recovery and growth narratives.’
In Tanzania in particular, the economy is on track, registering an average of 7.0 per cent growth for the second year in a row since 2018.
This is according to Minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Philip Mpango, as he was tabling 12.39tri/- budget estimates and expenditures for the fiscal year 2020/21.
This puts Tanzania second after Rwanda that recorded a GDP growth rate of 9.4 per cent and ahead of Kenya and Uganda which registered 5.6 and 4.9 per cent recently.
Africa has been reported one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. But with the coronavirus pandemic, many sectors of the economy have stalled. One of them is the aviation industry.
Many countries across the world implemented lockdowns to mitigate the effects of the pandemic and international flights were suspended. As a result, airlines have incurred substantial losses.
Not only this, lockdowns have also led to losses of other jobs. For instance, the closure of schools, colleges and universities had an adverse impact on catering businesses.
There are many examples to show how the pandemic has affected humanity. We do not know when it will end although some countries are thinking of lifting of their lockdowns.
What is needed is to plan how to rebuild world economies as we are still wrestling with Covid-19. The reason is simple. It is not known when it will be eradicated for all.
This is so because some countries which have recorded some strides in controlling the pandemic have started experiencing resurgence in new cases of infection.
As one economist suggests ‘each African country, regardless of its stage of economic growth, presents a particular set of opportunities across various sectors and a particular set of challenges in facing Covid-19’.
These challenges, of course, can be changed into opportunities to make our economies stronger.
What is needed is to continue taking preventive measures against the pandemic and at the same time researching on how we can perform during the post-Covid-19 era.
It still makes sense to show solidarity in finding a workable solution to this global pandemic and others whenever they strike.
