Review of Key Documents of the Previous Meetings

1. Session 2: Review of Key Documents of the Previous Meetings -- C and R of the First CSC Meeting Xiaoning Gong Chief, Economic Statistics and National Accounts Section African Centre for Statistics Meeting of Continental Steering Committee for African Project on SNA 8-9 December 2014 Tunis, Tunisia

2. Outline of the Presentation • Introduction • Preamble • Conclusions • Recommendations • To Pan-African institutions (AfDB, AUC, and ECA) • To RECs • To African countries • To development partners

3. Introduction • The Inauguration Meeting of the CSC was held at the UNCC on 17-18 September 2013 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. • The purpose of the meeting was to inaugurate the Continental Steering Committee (CSC) to assume its roles and functions as the governing body of the Project. • The meeting reviewed, discussed, and finalized the organization and arrangements of the CSC, its Executive Board, and Secretariat. • It provided guidance and advice on the work plan and resource requirements of the Project.

4. Introduction (Cont’d) • The meeting was attended by • (5) countries • (3) RECs • AFRISTAT • (2) Training Centers • Australian Aid, DFID, European Union Delegation, INSEE France, IMF, USAID, and the World Bank

5. Preamble • Taking note of the progress, opportunities, and challenges for the development of economic statistics and national accounts in Africa; • Acknowledging the importance of improving the quality and availability of economic statistics and national accounts for economic governance, regional integration, and sustainable development in Africa; • Recognizing the need to strengthen human, technical, and financial capacities and resources for the development of economic statistics and national accounts in Africa;

6. Preamble (Cont’d) • Bearing in mind that the implementation of the 2008 SNA is an international initiative that provides an opportunity to improve the quality, availability, consistency, and harmonization of economic statistics and national accounts; • Recalling that African Heads of State and Government adopted the Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa (SHaSA) as a common tool for the harmonization of statistical activities and outputs on the African continent and the African Strategy for the Implementation of the 2008 SNA as the first pillar of the SHaSA;  • Recalling that the African Strategy for the Implementation of the 2008 SNA and its Project are the joint work and product of the African Group on National Accounts (AGNA) and are in accordance with the Global Strategy for the Implementation of the 2008 SNA; and • Acknowledging the significance of inaugurating the CSC and operationalizing its Secretariat hosted at UNECA for the implementation of the 2008 SNA in Africa.

7. Conclusions • Jointly take ownership of the process and outcome of the African Project on the Implementation of the 2008 SNA; • Adopt the Terms of Reference of the CSC, its Executive Board, and Secretariat with amendments to be made by the Secretariat: • Providing additional details regarding the governance structure, including hierarchy and reporting lines; • Inviting and encouraging development partners to be members rather than observers of the CSC; and • Convening CSC meetings once every six months for the first two years of the Project. • Promote South-South collaboration, share best practices, and make efficient use of resources for the effective and timely implementation of the 2008 SNA in African countries;

8. Conclusions (Cont’d) • Actively engage not only producers but also users of economic statistics and national accounts, including statistical training centers for capacity building activities; • Scale-up financial and technical resource mobilization efforts from African countries, sub­regional, regional, continental, and international organizations, and development partners for the Project; and • African countries, sub-regional, regional, continental, and international organizations, and development partners to work together for the implementation of the 2008 SNA in Africa to strengthen synergy and cooperation, and avoid duplication and overlap.

9. Recommendations: AUC, AfDB, and UNECA • Launch and operationalize the African Project on the Implementation of the 2008 SNA on 01 January 2014; • Put into place interim mechanisms aimed at the management and work of the Continental Office; • Further develop the Secretariat component of the budget to illustrate the use of funding for technical assistance and capacity building; • Develop a standard framework for monitoring, evaluating, reporting, and disseminating related reports in a timely manner; • Engage and follow up with development partners regarding the outcome of financial resource mobilization and report the status to the CSC on a quarterly basis; and • Continue advocacy at the national, sub-regional, and regional levels.

10. Recommendations: RECs and Afristat • Mobilize technical and financial resources at national and sub-regional levels; • Actively promote and report on the use of national accounts statistics; and • Strengthen collaboration with Sub-Regional Offices of UNECA in view of their new roles in data collection.

11. Recommendations: African Countries • Mobilize domestic resources for national accounts through national treasuries and finance ministries; and • Encourage countries to take ownership of the Project by mainstreaming the strategy for the implementation of the 2008 SNA into their national statistical activities.

12. Recommendations: Development Partners • Join as members or observers of the CSC and support human and institutional capacity by providing technical assistance; • Support in the mobilization of financial resources for the African Project; • In accordance with the synchronization initiative, support the implementation of the 2008 SNA by providing progress reports to be compiled by the CSC Secretariat prior to the CSC meetings; and • Play an active role in advocating for national accounts.

13. Thank you The committee may like to: Make comments on the conclusions and recommendations of the first CSC. Discuss any issues or challenges associated with the recommended follow-up actions. Propose solutions on how to deal with the issues and challenges.