Africa: A difficult month across the region

Recent economic news from Africa has been pretty poor. Figures released this month confirmed that South African GDP contracted in Q1. And while things probably improved more recently, sharp divides within the government suggest that President Cyril Ramaphosa is unlikely to push through the reforms that many investors had expected. Elsewhere, an attempted coup in one of Ethiopia’s states highlighted the fragility of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s reformist government. The plot was quickly put down, but resulted in the deaths of several key officials. A protracted crisis in the country could snuff out a reform drive which offers significant economic potential.