MONROVIA, November 20 (LINA) - Finance and Development Planning Minister Amara Konneh has disclosed that the country’s economic growth rate is experiencing a downward trend due to the overwhelming impact of the Ebola virus on the country.

He said Liberia’s growth rate is subject to reduction as the projected rate at which the country’s economy was heading has been subject to lots of cuts due to a shrink in the agriculture, fishery and mining sectors.

Minister Konneh made the disclosure Thursday at the Ministry of Information regular press conference held at the Ministry in Monrovia when he presented a report on the “State of the Economy, Ebola financing and accountability”.

On Liberia’s economic outlook, Konneh said Liberia’s economic growth rate in 2013 was 8.7 percent and was projected to grow at the rate of 5.9 percent for 2014 as the result of the Ebola crisis which led to an economic slowdown.

He added that at the start of the health crisis in 2014, it was reduced to 2.5percent.
Konneh noted that as the health crisis worsened, Liberia’s economic growth rate further reduced to one percent, adding that it has further been revised to a negative 0.4 percent.

He said the effect of the economic slowdown was measured after consultation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to Konneh, economic activities are further expected to deteriorate in the remaining months of 2014 and likely to worsen as the country’s growth rate for 2015 is still subject to revision.
LINA