The African Development Bank (AfDB) has projected that the
continent's economic growth rate will rise to 6 percent this year,
the News Agency of Nigeria reported on Wednesday.
A statement released by the AfDB said its projection was based
on strong demand for oil and other Africa n resources from fast-
developing nations.
The statement based its projections on rising investment, good
weather for agriculture and sound macroeconomic policies.
"Increased growth follows an expansion of 5.5 percent in the
Africa n economy last year, up from an average of about 5 percent
in the preceding years," it said.
But in spite of the overall expansion, the bank's Chief
Economist Louis Kasekende said growth must accelerate to a steady 7
percent to 8 percent for Africa to reach its goal of halving the
number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015.
(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2007)
