Communication from Prime Minister Clément Mouamba on the second phase of progressive easing of barrier measures in the Republic of Congo reveals that the health crisis has had a very strong impact on the good dynamics of the Congolese economy in several sectors because of the containment measures implemented in almost the entire country to curb the epidemic of coronavirus.
The Covid-19 has already taken a heavy toll on the national economy. With regard to its macroeconomic implications, based on the information collected at the end of May 2020, it emerges as follows:
A strong economic recession with a negative growth rate of between 10% and 7%, a sharp increase in unemployment, through the loss of jobs, especially in the formal sector, a sharp contraction in foreign trade, both in exports and imports, a significant deterioration in public finances, evidenced by the adoption of the amending finance law promulgated on May 13, 2020.
Pending the results of the larger-scale business survey launched by the government, we can already note:
Agriculture, animal husbandry and fishing companies experienced a 34% drop in activity between March and April 2020, the mining industries almost all stopped their activities, due to the sharp drop in demand world and prices. The forest and oil industries have faced the same constraints. The agro-food industries saw their production fall by almost 55%, construction companies recorded a collapse of their activity which reached 92%. Cement factories have experienced the same development.
Trade and services posted activity decline rates of more than 50%.
As we can see, all the formal sectors of the national economy are strongly affected by the disastrous effects of the Coronavirus Covid-19, but not only, because the informal sector, too, has been severely precarious by the pandemic and by containment .
The situation, therefore, requires the implementation of vigorous measures to limit the negative effects of the pandemic on the national economy and revive activities.
