Kenya: CBK Projects 2022 GDP Growth To Be Sustained At 5.9pc

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 27 -The Central Bank of Kenya has projected Kenya’s economy to grow at a sustained rate of 5.9 percent, a slight downgrade from its previous 6 percent estimate.

CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge, during the post-Monetary Policy Meeting (MPC) briefing, noted that Agriculture and services sector will be key growth drivers and are expected to expand by 6.4 and 6.3 percent respectively.

“The economy is expected to remain strong in 2022, supported by the continued strong performance of the services sector, recovery in agriculture, and an improvement in global demand,” the regulator said.

Accommodation and restaurant, ICT, and retail sectors are expected to drive growth in the services sectors while the industry and non-agriculture sectors are projected to grow at 5 and  5.9 percent each.

While he acknowledged that agriculture sector growth declined over the past years was 2021 due to unfavorable weather conditions, he partly linked the low figure to data in discrepancies.

“While the low figure could be due to less favorable rainfall, it also was due to data issues we are working with partners and we would not be surprised if the figure is revised upwards,” he said.

The 2021 GDP growth was revised from 6.1 to 8 percent with leading indicators confirming that the Kenyan economy rebounded strongly in 2021, following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and the impact of government interventions.

Kenya’s GDP grew by 9.9 percent in the third quarter of 2021 compared to a contraction of 2.1 percent in the third quarter of 2020 while the Q2 2021 GDP growth was reported at 10.1pc

The Q3 growth was attributed to the recovery of the services sector particularly transport and storage, education, information and communication, wholesale and retail trade, and the improved performance of the manufacturing and construction sectors.

source: capitalfm.co.ke