Mozambique: CTA sees deterioration of macroeconomic environment due to Covid restrictions

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Mozambique: CTA sees deterioration of macroeconomic environment due to Covid restrictions

12:55 CAT | 25 Feb 2021

File photo. MMO

The Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) on Tuesday said that the macroeconomic environment in Mozambique looked set to deteriorate in the coming months as a result of restrictions imposed in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“In view of the scenario that we saw in the fourth quarter of 2020, combined with the first impressions from the beginning of 2021, we expect that, in general, the macroeconomic environment will continue to deteriorate in this first quarter,” CTA chairman Agostinho Vuma said.

Speaking during a virtual meeting on Business Performance and Economic Outlook for 2021 under the ‘Economic Briefing’ initiative, Vuma said the recent increase in interest rates and the insecurity in some parts of central and northern Mozambique were also contributing to the deterioration of the macroeconomic situation.

Vuma said the business sector recorded revenue losses estimated at US$1.1 billion in 2020 as a result of Covid-19, 38.3% of which was related to the reduction in working hours. Last year, about 40,000 people lost their jobs and 1,075 companies closed as a result of the pandemic, the CTA said.

By Wednesday, Mozambique had reported 608 Covid-19 deaths , 56.920 cases , 37.870 recoveries and 228 hospitalised patients. Active coronavirus cases across Mozambique stood at 18.438.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused at least 2,474,437 deaths worldwide from more than 111 million cases of infection, according to a report by the French AFP press agency. The disease is transmitted by a new coronavirus detected in late December, 2019, in Wuhan, a city in central China.

Source: Lusa