The attacks by the US and Israel on Iran, In the words of the International Energy Agency:
The war in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.
The impact is being felt by countries across the globe. African countries are no exception, including those that produce oil.
We asked five scholars from Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Kenya and Ethiopia to answer the question: Is the spike in oil prices hurting your country’s economy?
The answer was a uniform “yes”. The universal fear is the effect the rise in prices is having on fuel, a staple commodity in every one of the countries for ordinary people as well as industries. In some cases, such as Ethiopia, the government has already introduced fuel subsidies to shield people from the impact of having to pay more at fuel pumps.
The fear that higher prices and outright scarcity could have damaging effects, notably on food production, was also near universal.
For some there may be a silver lining: Kenya and Senegal are in the early phases of oil production. But they’re some way off reaping the benefits of higher prices. And in the case of Nigeria, the danger is that any windfall that comes its way won’t ease the economic burden faced by ordinary people.
Written by Stephen Onyeiwu, Professor of Economics & Business, Allegheny College; Ibrahima Thiam, enseignant-chercheur, Université Iba Der Thiam de Thiès; Rod Crompton, Visiting Adjunct Professor, African Energy Leadership Centre, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand; Tsegay Tekleselassie, Visiting Lecturer in Economics, Wellesley College, and XN Iraki, Professor, Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, University of Nairobi
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