Recovery in slow motion

Slow vaccine rollouts, tight fiscal policy and weakness in tourism sectors will hold back recoveries across Sub-Saharan Africa. Virus containment measures will probably remain in place for some time, depressing activity. Meanwhile, some countries, like South Africa and Angola, are turning to austerity to tackle worrying debt trajectories. Debt restructuring is already underway in some places and risks remain high in Kenya and Ghana. Elevated commodity prices will provide support to oil producers (Nigeria, Angola), industrial metal exporters (South Africa, Zambia) and gold producers (Uganda, Tanzania). But GDP across most of Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to stay well below its pre-crisis path over 2021-23.