IMF Support to African Countries in National Accounts Statistics

1. IMF Support to African Countries in National Accounts Statistics Inauguration meeting of the Continental Steering Committee (CSC) for the African project for the implementation of the 2008 SNA Addis Ababa, September 18, 2013

2. IMF Support to African Countries in National Accounts Statistics • Through the IMF's Africa Capacity Building Initiative to strengthen economic governance and domestic capacity of governments to carry out sound economic poverty-reducing policies. • Five regional TA centers (AFRITACs), covering 44 sub-Saharan African countries, five long term advisors (soon seven); • Middle East TA Center (METAC) covering Egypt, Sudan and Libya; • The share of Africa accounts for about 40 percent in total field time in persons weeks spent by the IMF for TA • About 100 TA missions per year: assessment missions: single, multi-topic, or ROSC • About 10 workshops/seminars per year: Courses in regional training centers: Tunisia and Mauritius (est. in 2013)

3. AFRITACs • AFRITAC East (AFE), est. 2002 • Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda; • AFRITAC West (AFW), est. 2003 • Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo; • AFRITAC Center (AFC), est. 2007 • Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Congo DR, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Sao Tome & Principe; • AFRITAC South (AFS), est. 2011 • Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe • AFRTAC West 2 (AFW2), est. 2013 • Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone

4. Objectives • Determined by: • Country and regional needs • Country Strategy Notes • GDDS/SDDS requirements • Ensure quality • Data Quality Assessment Framework • Future • Two more Long Term Advisors: AFW2 and AFS • Increased number of TA missions and seminars/workshops

5. Strategy and expected outcomes • Towards regular and timely compilation and dissemination of national accounts, according to internationally accepted standards • Regular updates of the base year for annual national accounts, including supply and use tables and institutional sector accounts; gradual implementation of the 2008 SNA requirements in the updated base years; • Introduction of quarterly national accounts, enhanced compilation of real sector short term indicators; • Training staff in the compilation of national accounts; • Training users in the national accounts principles and basic compilation methods; • Developing price statistics for better price and volume measures in national accounts; and • Enhanced and sustained system of basic economic statistics

6. Achievements and challenges • Enhancement in national accounts compilation: • Increased number of countries applying Supply and Use approach in compilation of national accounts; • Ongoing updates of the benchmark year for national accounts in many countries, good opportunity for adoption of some of the 2008 SNA requirements; and • Quarterly GDP being released for the first time in many countries • Enhancements in price statistics: • New standards in compilation of CPI achieved in most countries, including support in implementation of the SADC/COMESA initiative for compilation of HCPI; • Increased ongoing projects on development/improvement of PPI. • Main challenges: • proactive ownership by the authorities and staff, effective management; • appropriate funding, staffing and other resources.