SANUSI FORECASTS DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH IN 2013

http://www.nigerianbestforum.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/sanusi_cbn_gov_03.jpg Nigeria would likely record double-digit Gross Domestic Product (GDP growth if the current reforms in the power oil and gas sector, as well as the privatisation of the power sector were allowed to scale through this year.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who made this forecast during a panel discussion on Emerging Markets at the just concluded World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, the economy also stands to benefit from the successful passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and unbundling of the power sector.

Sanusi also noted that mis-governance on the part of the nation's leaders has been responsible for the high level of insecurity experienced in the country in recent times.

He said, 'The government has to recognise that the level of social insecurity in the country is largely as a result of misgovernment.'

Recall that the governor had earlier blamed high level unemployment and poverty for growing terrorism in the North.

'Indeed, the security situation in this part of the country is fundamentally linked to the absence of job opportunities and to the quality of life of the people. Unless these real economic issues are addressed, we will not likely find a long-lasting solution to the political and security problems.

He noted that though the country was doing so much in the area of reforms, there was still a long way to go. 'The bunkering in the oil sector has to stop, the fraud in the subsidy regime has to stop and there has to be a general commitment across the board.'

Meanwhile, the sub-Saharan Africa remained a growth hot spot, with the IMF maintaining its 5.8 per cent growth forecast for the region for 2013. The WEO calculatedover again that the territory expanded by 4.8 per cent in 2012, which was slightly below its October estimate of 5.0 per cent.

'Activity in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to remain robust, with a rebound from flood-related output disruptions in Nigeria contributing to an acceleration in overall growth in the region in 2013,' the WEO states.

Overall, it expects growth in emerging-market and developing economies to build to 5.5 per cent in 2013, but said that continued weakness in advanced economies will weigh on external demand.