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(NYASATIMES, APA) Global financial crisis brings job losses to Southern Africa : Malawi Minister

Global financial crisis brings job losses to Southern Africa : Malawi Minister
By Nyasa Times
Published: March 24, 2010

Malawi’s Development Planning and Cooperation Minister Abbie Marambika Shawa on Wednesday said that the Southern Africa region had generally experienced massive job losses, particularly in the mining, agriculture and service sectors, due to the global financial crisis.

Speaking during the official openning of 16th Intergovernmental Committee of Experts (ICE) in the capital Lilongwe, he said the development had led to the devastation of the region’s economies, increased poverty, environmental degradation, malnutrition and personal misery.

“Many countries have been swept off their feet as the global economic crisis slowed export growth, reduced tourism receipts, private remmitances and private capital flows,” he added.

Many countries’ current accounts moved from enviable surpluses to deficits and continued to widen as the crisis took grip of the gobal economy, he said.

In Malawi, the impact of the financial crisis was generally very limited because of its small and less sophisticated financial sector, he added.

He therefore said the crisis had demostrated clear messages for the sub-region to expedite the process of regional integration so as to withstand the pressure and challenges of external shocks on a united front.

He added that the sub-region needed to move away from a laissez faire policy stance to more effecient regulations and supervision of financial markets inoder to minimise economic shocks.

Director of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa-Southern Africa, Jennifer Kargbo, said despite the harsh economic environment set in motion by global crisis, member state were proactive by putting in place a number of policy interventions.

“They devised a number of policy interventions to insulate their economies from the adverse effects of the crises,” she said.

This year’s ICE meeting will provide opportunity to analyse country responses to the crises with a view to identify valuable lessons and useful guidance to member states.–APA

Labels: ABBIE MARAMBIKA SHAWA, GREAT DEPRESSION II

posted by MrK @ 4:36 PM