'Import restrictions in Nigeria complicating business operations' - IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the challenge of import restrictions in Nigeria and other African countries has made business operations difficult.

IMF made this known in its Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa entitled, 'A Tepid and Pricey Recovery', where it revealed that the problems of import restrictions and foreign currency shortages could negatively affect the post-pandemic recovery in terms of profitability of companies across the region.

IMF said: “Moreover, several countries are facing challenges like foreign currency shortages or import restrictions (for example, Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria) which have complicated business operations.

"This comes at a time when companies in the region have just turned a leaf and returned to pre-pandemic profitability.”

IMF added that the post-pandemic recovery for Africa comes during a time of global uncertainty and shocks, as rising interest rates push Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries’ expenditure from critical capital investments towards debt servicing.

It said: “The liquidity squeeze is imperiling the growth prospects of the region’s future generations, as funds are sorely lacking to address the vast development needs, intensified by the pandemic’s scarring effects.

"For instance, nearly 3 in 10 school-age children are not attending primary and secondary education. Of those who do enroll in primary school, only about 65 percent complete it, compared to the global average of 87 percent.

“As of 2023, an estimated 140 million people across the region, including a significant number in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria, are grappling with acute food insecurity, with policymakers facing constraints in their ability to respond effectively given limited fiscal space.”

BEB