Paris, France - African economies 'did not go down' during the global financial crisis following their sound financial policies, the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Donald Kaberuka, gave this indication in an interview with Jeune Afrique magazine, published Monday. 'Africa resisted the economic crisis better than previously thought because investors also began to properly assess risks in the continent,' he said, adding that 'banking and financial systems in Africa were better operated than in other parts of the world.' 'Good regulation, good supervision and mechanisms for resolving problems worked well in the continent,' Kaberuka said, adding that 'bankruptcy was not experienced on the scale that we have seen elsewhere. '

He said that despite the crisis, the default rate of loans from the AfDB did not increase, saying that the default rate was 14 per cent in 2005, against 3.5 pc in 2010 and 'these were mainly in Zimbabwe, Sudan and Somalia.'

According to Kaberuka, the revolts occurring in North Africa will not tarnish the image of the continent because“revolutions should not be mistaken for conflicts.'

He said the revolts were in the right direction as revolutions can lead to a better Africa.

However, he deplored the Ivorian conflict, saying with the ongoing post-election stalemate, the situation in the West African country was a repeat of what happened in the eighties.

Pana 15/03/2011