Rebuilding Post COVID-19: A Focus on Africa

In Africa, like elsewhere in the world, countries continue to struggle to respond to Covid-19. At the moment the focus is on saving lives and cushioning its impact on economies but once the pandemic is over, it’s going to leave behind lasting damage that will require efforts from governments, regions and the international community in form of rebuilding the post COVID-19 world. Africa is expected to be among the regions worst hit by the pandemic due to pre-existing conditions such as fragile health systems and unstable economies. This article highlights the sectors governments across Africa should prioritise and the challenges to be overcome in order to rebuild better after the pandemic.

Digital technologies such as big data analytics have been a great resource to governments and businesses in responding to the pandemic and it’s going to be very important in helping governments and the international community understand the demographics of groups of people that have been worst hit by COVID-19.The Forth Industrial Revolution (4IR) disrupted entire sectors of economies and the COVID19 crisis is reshaping how people work, learn and receive services. Yet prior to this global health crisis, over 71% of Africa’s population was still offline according to statistics from the 2019 report by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The gender digital gap is widening across Africa with women less likely to afford a smart phone with internet connectivity. African governments, therefore, should utilise post COVID-19 economic recovery to develop comprehensive digital strategies that highlight sectors that support job creation such as agriculture and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), in alignment with national development priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Rebuilding post-COVID19 also provides a widow for African governments to perform transparent value for money assessments. It’s a moment for many African governments to focus inward and enact measures to better manage and mobilise resources. In Sub-Saharan Africa, at least ten countries’ tax-to-GDP ratio remain below 15 per cent, with Uganda among countries with the lowest tax-to-GDP ratio of 14.3 per cent. The pandemic has led to a reduction in economic activity due to lockdown measures and as a result revenue generation is going to be difficult for many governments. Governments across the continent have got to close tax loopholes and remove exemptions for global corporations and wealthy individuals.

In addition, to increase and improve resource mobilisation, African governments should utilise the untapped entrepreneurial potential of the informal sector. Solving the informal sector issue remains one of the biggest policy-making challenges facing African governments in the 21st Century. Data from the International Labour Organisation shows that the informal sector in Sub-Saharan Africa makes up nearly 86% of all employment and employs majority of the continent’s youth. Many of them are organised in saving groups yet most of them lack knowledge on how best to invest their capital, a factor which limits their productivity and growth.

African governments should use post COVID-19 economic recovery to identify and support businesses with growth potential, strength public-private partnerships to offer individuals basic financial services to expand their businesses and become financially secure. That way, small and medium-sized businesses that are still operating in the invisible economy can be included in any form of official statistics, oversight, taxation and regulation.

The pandemic has put to test many governments’ effectiveness in responding to emergencies and while saving lives remains a priority for most governments, once the pandemic is over, many governments’ survival will depend on their ability to make decisions guided by efficient use of resources as part of their recovery plans. Prior to the pandemic, some African countries were facing deadly civil wars and those with a semblance of peace were experiencing what is called negative peace. The pandemic is likely to have an amplifying effect on conflict in the region, but governments can use post COVID-19 recovery to work towards regaining public trust. Among other steps, African governments should embark on transformation, addressing policy gaps and human rights challenges.

In the post COVID-19 world, globalisation is expected to become more digital yet prior to the pandemic, Africa’s share in global trade remained very low. Statistics from the World Trade Organisation indicate that Africa’s share in the world’s total exports declined from 3.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent between 2008 to 2018. With globalisation going more digital it means that countries with developed digital infrastructure are going to rebuild better and faster. African governments that are yet to embrace technology should work towards achieving meaningful connectivity for their citizens and revise their education systems to ensure that young people are equipped with skills relevant in the current labour market.

Post COVID1-9 recovery should focus on increasing the capacity of the African manufacturing sector both in products and services. This will require capitalising on the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) as the starting point in boosting the region’s share in global trade. In a collective manner, African governments should identify the challenges and opportunities, can start by eliminating the barriers to intra-continental trade such as lack of regional value chains. Using the comparative advantage approach, African countries can improve the quality of goods and services made in Africa for the global market. Different African countries can choose to produce goods/services where they have a lower opportunity cost. African governments should rely on technology for value addition to produce and export finished products in order to reduce the balance of payment deficits that African countries face.

We are certain that the world is going to overcome this pandemic but it’s with the same certainty that the world is likely to face more pandemics of this nature in future. This pandemic has exposed many inefficiencies in countries’ health systems and Africa was found without healthcare infrastructure in place. The region is still fortunate that it’s not among the regions with the highest number of COVID-19 fatalities although the region is yet to reach its peak in infections. For African governments, to rebuild a better, more inclusive and more resilient continent, they have to harness lessons from the pandemic which include building Africa’s public health systems and putting in place social safety nets for the African people.

By,

Patricia Namakula