Niger has agreed an ambitious programme with its donor partners to curb poverty, a PANA correspondent has learnt from the Planning Ministry in Niger’s capital, Niamey.
The new Economic and Social Development Programme (PDES) approved by Niger’s National Assembly expects to see a rise in public investment from 11 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2011 to between 16 and 17 per cent between 2012 and 2015.
The PDES 2012/2015 that was approved by Niger’s donors at a round-table discussion in Paris seeks to increase the country’s GDP growth by about 8.5 per cent annually.
It also seeks to maintain public deficit at its present level of 11-12 per cent by 2015, reduce the current account deficit in the balance of payments to around 13.5 per cent of the GDP and contain the debt ratio at 30 per cent of the GDP.
According to the programme, the growth in GDP will help improve living conditions of the population by about 3 per cent annually.
It said economic growth would be supported by an improvement in the primary sector by about 8.3 per cent annually, due to an increase in the irrigated land area, the introduction of new cultures and techniques and improvement of investment in agriculture and animal husbandry.
It is expected that the secondary sector will grow by 11.5 per cent annually on the strength of a renewal of the internal market and improvement in exports.
The PDES expects the added value in the tertiary sector would grow by about 9 per cent annually during the period 2012 to 2015, about 8 per cent in the commercial sector, particularly in transport, communication and trade.
Meanwhile, the non-commercial sector from public administration would grow by 10 per cent with the increase in public investment and infrastructure works.
National savings is expected to grow by about 12.5 per cent annually between 2012 and 2015.
