Lagos — African Development Bank (ADB)'s chief executive, Mr. Donald Kaberuka, has said he expects the continent's economy to grow by between 4.5 and 5.0 per cent this year, and by some 6.0 per cent in 2011.

Speaking at the just-concluded African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he said, "The rebound is already here. In 2010 the ADB and the World Bank are expecting growth of between 4.5 and 5.0 per cent and around 6.0 per cent in 2011, thanks notably to exports picking up and to the price of agricultural products such as coffee and cocoa holding up".

"The problems aren't behind us yet but we're starting 2010 on a more optimistic note. Contrary to what we had feared, the big donors have respected their commitments towards Africa," he told AFP.

Kaberuka's forecast, the agency said, is slightly more optimistic than the 4.3 per cent growth announced by a top UN official last week in the Ethiopian capital at a ministerial meeting ahead of the AU summit.

"The forecast in the forthcoming Economic Report for Africa, jointly published by the ECA and African Union Commission, shows that Africa's GDP is expected to grow at a rate of 4.3 per cent in 2010," Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Abdoulie Janneh, said on January 28.

Africa has many of the world's fastest expanding economies but the 2008 growth rate of 4.9 per cent dropped to 1.6 last year, Janneh said.

The continent's 2009 performance was better than that of shrinking Western economies but with population growing at a rate close to 3.0 per cent, faster than gross domestic product, Africa saw a per capita income decrease.

In a related development, African leaders have urged the AU Commission to scale down proposed 2010 activities.

The 14th Ordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the AU, urged the Commission to reduce the number of activities scheduled for this year. Activities covered include the special session and meetings and seminars of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, (ACHPR), the African Press Agency (APA) reports.

The AU leaders also requested the cancellation of meetings of the AU International Law Commission, said a draft decision on the 2010 project of the Union adopted by the AU Executive Council and submitted for approval at the summit.

The summit, which ended on Tuesday in the Ethiopian capital, also decided to postpone the effective implementation of new AU bodies and programmes until next year.

It also decided to cancel the loans allocated to the Pan African Parliament and other AU bodies, "in order to harmonise the holding of joint electoral observation missions with other bodies."

Leaders of African countries also agreed to allocate over US$3 million to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) as initial budget for its integration into the structures and processes of the Union, pending the approval of its structure by decision-making bodies.

The 2010 AU draft budget, which amounts to US$250.4 million, has increased by 23 per cent, compared to the previous year.