World Bank To Nigeria: Remove Trade Barriers To Hasten Growth

The president of the World Bank, David Malpass has called on the Nigerian government to remove trade barriers including the multiple exchange rates which it said is hampering growth of the nation’s economy.

Speaking at a press conference at the ongoing Spring Meetings of International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington DC, Malpass said there is need for the country to ease trade restrictions and diversify its economy to achieve shared prosperity and sustainable growth.

Noting that the Nigerian economy is expected to grow by World Bank’s projection by 2.8 per cent in 2023, he stressed the need to focus on improving electricity, access to clean water, and more investment in agriculture which would help trigger faster growth.

Responding to questions, he said: “For Nigeria, the growth was 3.3 per cent in 2022 and 2.8 per cent in 2023 within our forecast, and our high priority for the World Bank is shared prosperity in a sustainable way. And so, as we think about Nigeria, there are many changes that are needed in order to allow that process to proceed

“Nigeria has a big chunk of its GDP is oil and it means that a lot of people in Nigeria are facing poverty, and that needs to be a direct focus.  And they also face insecurity across the northern and western regions that are very challenging. And so, the World Bank is working hard within Nigeria but also working to try to have an economic system that can be more productive, and that means Nigeria has trade protection that blocks market development.

“They have a dual exchange rate that is very expensive for the people of Nigeria to maintain that dual exchange rate system. They have high inflation and not enough diversification of the economy to really make sufficient progress.”

He further urged Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African countries to focus on policies that would enhance inclusive growth while using India as a case study by focusing on improving electricity supply, investments in agriculture, and investments in infrastructure that would enhance inclusive growth.