Economic shocks need to be contained -- economist

Rachel Sebudde, a World Bank economist, says policy makers on the African continent need to come up with measures that would help their economies absorb shocks during times of crisis.

Sebudde says a combination of restrictive monetary and fiscal policies would help bring back balance in the affected economies.

“Global inflation has been a challenge for the world economy even before the war in Ukraine. Actually, the war just made things worse. The impact of the war varies from one African country to the other. A combination of restrictive monetary and fiscal policies would help bring back balance in the affected economies,” she says.

Sebudde has also echoed the need for African countries to seek homegrown solutions such as taking advantages of each country’s strength.

“There’s currently food shortage in some African countries which has come as a result of the war. African countries with good environmental conditions need to develop their food production capabilities. It doesn’t make sense to import food from countries whose environmental conditions are worse than ours,” she says.

Sebudde made the remarks during the on-going 5^th edition of the Kampala Geopolitics conference being held at Makerere University. The conference is geared towards bringing international debates to the African continent with African perspectives.