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Socio-economic Impact of political impasse
Socio-economic Impact of political impasse
February 26, 2018
The assessment reveals that while elections and subsequent transitions usually result in a slowdown of economic activities as businesses and investors adopt a “wait-and-see” stance. The ongoing political impasse is compounding pre-existing problems of high poverty, high inflation, the UNMIL drawdown, sluggish economic growth and fragile political stability. This policy brief is an attempt to unravel these issues with a view to informing the UNCT and other interested stakeholders.
Highlights
- Specifically, the protracted litigation over the outcome of the 10 October 2017 elections has created an atmosphere of uncertainty, anxiety, fear, and public apathy.
- Some of the emerging consequences of this impasse are rising prices of consumable goods, reduced demand for non-consumables, postponement of investment plans, and reduced taxes and grants, worsening the already limited fiscal space.
- The brief recommends that there must be a speedy resolution of the political impasse to ensure a smooth and orderly transfer of power as envisaged in the Peace Building Plan to maintain sustained peace and development.