Non-oil economy also recording significant growth -says Pres. Ali

Reflecting on the country’s economic performance as a new year beckons, President Irfaan Ali noted on Sunday that while a lot of attention has been focused on the oil and gas sector, the country’s non-oil economy has grown by 41% since 2019.

He said while the booming Oil and Gas Industry is fueling the country’s economic growth, a large percentage of the National Budget is being financed by the non-oil economy.

“The non-oil GDP grew by 41% – 41% over the last four years, that is how the non-oil economy performed. And this demonstrates that the investment that we are making in economic diversification is paying dividends. This is to show that we are on our way to building a dynamic economy – one that would be globally competitive, and one that is not stuck or overwhelmingly based on oil revenue,” the President said.

He attributed the growth of the non-oil economy to the Agriculture, Construction and Services Sector.

“Agriculture, over the last four years 17% growth, services 28% growth, construction 138% growth, mining and others 153% growth. This shows you, and this tells a story about an economy that is performing in every sector, one that has seen growth in almost all of the main areas of economic expansion, diversification and modernization,” President Ali said.

The President also said the expansion of those sectors have resulted in increased job opportunities, particularly in the areas of Agriculture, Construction and Services as more persons are engaged in agro-processing and the construction of homes and hotels.

“We have far exceed the 50,000 jobs that we would have committed to in the manifesto. The 138% construction growth is further segmented into household, community growth, not only growth at the industrial and manufacturing level or growth with the building of hotels and roads and office buildings but growth at the household level; growth in home construction,” the President said.

Although gold declarations, especially from small and medium scale miners, have been on the decline, President Ali said the Mining Sector, including the Quarry Sector, has seen a 153% growth.

He said the growth in the non-oil economy has restored the Private Sector’s confidence in the country’s economy.

“If you look throughout the country you will see new factories, new processing plants, new housing schemes are all being invested in,” President Ali said.

With increased growth in the economy and expansion in various sectors, there is now an increase in the need for foreign currency, even as the country’s export earnings increase, the President said.

This, he said, is as a result of growth in the mining and productive sectors, which often times require the importation of equipment such as agricultural and industrial machines, and materials to support the various sectors.

The President anticipates that with increased investments by both the Government and the Private Sector, even more growth and the continued expansion of the country’s economy are expected in the year ahead.