Record inflation, high debt levels and weak currencies sent the cost of living soaring in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa throughout the year.
When
But hardly any assignments came his way in 2022. He's now an
"It's difficult, very difficult, because I ventured into
The fuel price shot up by over 140% in
Inflation at runaway levels
In
"It is not easy especially for someone like me that is making effort to make it in a legal way. As a youth that wants to make it in a legal way," Oduola said.
"There is no money, people are complaining that there is no money so people that even want to buy your products must be people that have extra money to spend."
Inflation crossed the 50% threshold in
The Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) has put average the annual inflation in sub-Saharan Africa at 14% year-on-year.
Setback for poverty reduction efforts
The
"If you used to spend
In the
"These trends compromise poverty reduction efforts that were already set back by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," Dabalen wrote.
Conflict and weak currencies
In the conflict-torn eastern
Bisafi Viviane who sells maize flour at the city's
"Before, we sold a measure of maize for 1,000 Congolese francs (
"And the maize we sell today comes from
Father-of-six Kitumaini Kimwenge told DW in Goma about his hardship in 2022: "We have been living miserably for some time because money is not circulating, and the price of food has doubled in all markets. There are eight of us in my family and I have to work like a slave just to find food for every day."
A fall in agricultural production in conflict zones often leads to high inflation, according to Thomas Gahamanyi, professor of economics at the
"The justification for inflation or price increases is the law of supply and demand. Imagine that during this war, there was a massive displacement of the population, which at the time was a supply player," he told DW.
Over-reliance on imports
Some economists have blamed the high inflation rates seen in countries such as
"The exchange rate has meant that importers needed more money to buy the same about of dollars in order to import the crude oil,"
Industries across
"In our industries, we discovered that most of our importers cannot be able to afford dollars to be able to purchase their goods and these things are really affecting the business in
Interventions that didn't work
In
"Anytime the cedi depreciates that means if you want to import or bring in more goods that means you have to find additional money to top up whatever money you are supposed to use to do your imports," he told DW.
"If you go to the bank to borrow you still going to borrow at a very high rate. So, it has not been easy, and it is even difficult trying as much as possible as a family man to provide three square meals for my family."
According to the
"You will realize that we import about 70% of everything we use in
A strategy by some governments of increasing taxes on imports to discourage has lead to high prices in some cases, Adeola told DW.
"If you ask the government, they would tell you that they want to discourage importation of some goods and increase exportation but the truth is that continuous increase monetary policies, duties, taxation will not help," he said.
The
A public debt burden
"African governments spent 16.5% of their revenues servicing external debt in 2021, up from less than 5% in 2010," according to the
It found that eight of the 38 countries that were eligible for
"High commercial borrowing costs make it difficult for countries to borrow on national and international markets, while tightening global financial conditions are weakening currencies and increasing African countries' external borrowing costs," the
As 2022 drew to a close, the
Economists say that African countries could have avoided high living costs had governments had kept tighter controls on public borrowing and spending. "We can't continue to be doing a four-year circle of going to the
Outlook for 2023
Some economists have warned of the risk of current economic trends continuing across sub-Saharan Africa. The EIU has forecast a fall in economic growth in the region to 2.8% in 2023, from an estimated 3.3% in 2022.
The aspiring videographer, Richard Gbewornyo, is bracing for an even tougher 2023.
"In the coming year, we all know what is going to happen. We just have to tighten our belts. It is just what it is unless the leaders sit and accept their faults and work towards it," he told DW.
The graduate,
"Any country that doesn't invest in its youth, have nowhere to go. Because those youth are the one kidnapping when they don't see support. They have to find a way to survive," he said.
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