September 27, 2007	Thursday	Ramazan 14, 1428

GENEVA, Sept 26: Africa should dig deeper into its pockets to generate growth and halt the flight of capital which represents a sum almost double the continent’s total debt, a United Nations report said on Wednesday.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) said Africa should make greater use of its resources by bringing the large “informal” sector worth an estimated 45 per cent of Gross Domestic Product into the economic mainstream.

The hidden or undeclared portion of the economy accounts for 58 per cent of GDP in Tanzania and 28 per cent in continental powerhouse South Africa, according to Unctad.

The report warned that capital flight was also sapping domestic resources.

About $400 billion in capital has flowed out of Africa since the 1970s, while its debt burden is about $215 billion, said Samuel Gayi, an Unctad economist.

—AFP