African Bank: Unrest in north has hit growth

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The turmoil in North Africa has hit growth across the continent but may be prompting important indirect political changes, the chief economist of the Africa Development Bank said Monday.

In a speech, Mthuli Ncube said the unrest in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia is likely to reduce economic growth in North Africa this year to 0.7 percent from 4.7 percent last year. Overall, Africa's growth is estimated at 3.7 percent in 2011, down from 4.9 percent last year.

Further south, Ncube said economies have been affected by a drop in money sent home by Africans from elsewhere on the continent who had been working in North Africa. Niger, for example, had 200,000 citizens …