Nairobi — The current financial crisis will interrupt Africa's growth momentum, analysts have warned.

The Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim said the financial markets remain at risk despite the $700 billion (Sh51.8 trillion) bailout package approved by US lawmakers earlier this month.

The bank's head of Africa research desk, Yvonne Mhango, said Africa, despite its limited exposure to the crisis, will experience a slump in tourism, a slowdown in demand for commodities and capital inflows.

"There is likely to be moderation in donor aid inflows, a rise in the cost of capital and a decline in remittances," Ms Mhango told a press briefing at a Nairobi hotel on Tuesday.

Moderation

According to the analysts, the financial crisis has exacerbated the inflationary effects fuelled by the high fuel and food costs. They said oil-exporting African countries are likely to grow on average twice as faster than their oil-importing countries this year.

This will see the exporters registering growth rates of about 10 per cent this year compared to an average of 4.5 per cent of the importers as a result of being weighed down by high fuel prices.

For instance, Kenya's oil import bill for five months to May this year reached $2.5 billion or 25 per cent of its total imports compared to $1.7 billion over the same period in 2007.

Slower growth

In East Africa, the effects of the post-election violence that rocked Kenya early this year will see it registering slower growth rates over the next two years compared to Uganda and Tanzania.

While Kenya's economy will grow by less than 4 per cent this year, those of Uganda and Tanzania will grow by over 9 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.

The analysts said that next year will see Kenya growing by over 6 per cent while Uganda and Tanzania will both grow by 8 per cent.