Equally, the average budget deficit for the region is estimated to have risen to 4,2 per cent of GDP this year, up from 1,8 per cent three years ago; as a result, the public-debt-to-GDP ratio is likely to have reached its highest level since 2005.
The re-emergence of the ‘twin deficit’ phenomenon in many African countries may prove of particular concern at a time when global financing conditions have deteriorated and the credit spreads of most emerging sovereigns widen this year, in particular among subSaharan issuers.