Nairobi — International Monetary Fund is optimistic about the economic prospects of Africa and says the continent has weathered the effects of the global financial crisis.

Speaking in South Africa, the IMF chief Dominique Straus-Kahn, said he was particularly impressed by messages from Kenya, that stressed self-reliance and good governance.

Mr Strauss-Kahn visited the country last week on his tour of the continent to assess the impact of the global crisis. He said the continent was recovering at the same pace as developed countries. The IMF official also visited Zambia.

He said the economies were strengthened by good policies which had provided fiscal space for them to weather external shocks.

"Usually when you have a crisis, African countries' recovery is a little late and lags behind the recovery of the rest of the world. Its not true today. Recovery is taking place at almost the same pace as rest of the world," he said.

Mr Strauss-Kahn said the policies adopted by African countries were appropriate.