COVID-19: WHY AFRICA NEEDS AN UBUNTU PLAN

摘要

UNLIKE ANY OTHER pandemic, COVID-19 will alter the way we live, work, and socialise. The financial costs and the economic devastation are already of epic proportions. This is why Africa in particular urgently needs an Ubuntu Plan. A globally coordinated fiscal stimulus plan that recognises our shared and connected humanity. America passed a US$2tn stimulus package. It is the largest bailout in the history of the US. European economies likewise have announced stimulus measures in excess of ltn euros. Chinese factories are ramping up again, backed by a US$344bn stimulus package. In contrast, Africa's economies are already buckling. Global demand for oil and gas and commodity products-the mainstays of Africa's leading economies-has stalled. Revenues which were already overextended have dried up and small, medium, and large enterprises are at risk of total collapse. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimated that the pandemic could reduce the growth of the region's GDP from 3.2 per cent to 1.8 per cent in 2020.