Retail and recreational activities in the East African region have declined sharply by around 40 per cent in the last two months, a new study shows.
The fall has been attributed to stringent measures enforced by governments to fight Covid-19, such as curfews, directives to work from home and general social distancing.
The report by property consultancy Knight Frank also showed a significant shift in occupation of workplaces. Working from home, coupled with layoffs and mandatory leave that companies have implemented to keep costs down, meant that as workplaces became deserted, activity in residential places increased.
“However, these trends are not uniform across countries and are reflective of the severity of government interventions. Countries such as Rwanda and Uganda, which have imposed total lockdowns, recorded strong declines in their respective retail and workplace activity and considerable growth in their residential activity,” said Knight Frank.
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With an anticipated slump in tourism, disruptions in trade as supply chains stall and a reduction in consumer spending, the International Monetary Fund in April revised downwards economic growth forecasts from earlier projections for all countries in the region.
Rwanda’s GDP, whose growth hit double figures in 2019, is expected to register growth of under four per cent this year. Kenya’s forecast dipped from 5.7 per cent to one per cent. Uganda is expected to fare better from just below five per cent to 3.5 per cent growth in 2020.
Meanwhile, governments have introduced financial incentives to support citizens through the pandemic.
