Xiaoning Gong Chief, Economic Statistics and National Accounts Section, ACS, UNECA at Fourth Meeting of the CSC for the African Project on the Implementation of the 2008 SNA Addis Ababa, Ethiopia November 2015 P RO D OC FOR P HASE II OF THE A FRICAN P ROJECT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2008 SNA

Economic Commission for Africa Outline of the Presentation Importance of SNA Problems, risks, and challenges Objectives of the project Three stages and expected accomplishments Governance structure of the project Implementation strategy Conclusions and recommendations

Economic Commission for Africa Importance of SNA A systematic picture of the structure and evolution of a national economy A tool for macroeconomic analysis Backbone of various international statistical standards A base for harmonization of economic statistics Key indicators for regional integration, economic structural transformation, and sustainable development agenda

Economic Commission for Africa Problems, Risks, and Challenges Limited human, financial, and technical resources Weak capacity within the statistical systems Production of official statistics is underdeveloped and not harmonized across the continent Not fully cover everything in some important basic headings GDP base years for African countries range from 1982 to 2012 Many NSOs are under-resourced for regular data collection Statistics are too aggregated Data is not available and/or disseminated with a long delay Inconsistency in participation of project activities Weaknesses in coordination and reporting

Economic Commission for Africa Objectives of the Project The Project is the continental collaborative and common project for the implementation of the 2008 SNA in Africa The overall development objective: to support sound macroeconomic management and evidence-based policy formulation through the sustained and quality compilation and reporting of national accounts based on the 2008 SNA methodology by African Member States. The medium-term objective: by the end of the Project, all Member States will adopt the 2008 SNA by 2018, in order to produce harmonized and comparable national accounts and related economic statistical data. Three stages of the project Six expected accomplishments (EA)

Economic Commission for Africa Stage 1: Strengthening Institutional Capacities of NSO EA1: Increased support for 2008 SNA implementation at national, regional, and international levels Activity 1.1: Formulate country action plans as an implementation and resource mobilization tool Activity 1.2: Mobilize and increase national resources through National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) Activity 1.3: Organize advocacy campaign at national level Activity 1.4: Organize advocacy campaign at regional level Activity 1.5: Promote the use of statistics, especially, national accounts EA2: Institutional capacities strengthened Activity 2.1: Strengthen national NSO position and role in the society Activity 2.2: Establish and strengthen existing governance and coordination structures for national accounts statistics at national level Activity 2.3: Strengthen the statistical training institutions Activity 2.4: Strengthen the African Network of National Accountants Activity 2.5: Development of the national statistical system

Economic Commission for Africa Stage 2: Building Statistical Capacities for National Accouts Compilation EA3: Technical capacities strengthened Activity 3.1: Conduct technical assistance missions Activity 3.2: Conduct training workshops Activity 3.3: Organize study tours and facilitate south-south cooperation Activity 3.4: Conduct peer review missions EA4: Technical operational guidebooks compiled Activity 4.1: Review and operationalize international standards and recommendations Activity 4.2: Exchange country experiences and best practices Activity 4.3: Organize Expert Group Meetings Activity 4.4: Dissemination and promoting the compiled operational guidebooks

Economic Commission for Africa Stage 3: Implementing SNA and Ensuring Sustainability of the Project EA5: Developed national accounts in Member States in accordance with 2008 SNA Activity 5.1: Improve data sources used for national accounts compilation Activity 5.2: Implement international classifications requested by SNA Activity 5.3: Adapt and adopt modern IT Tools for national accounts compilation Activity 5.4: Improve national accounts compilation processes Activity 5.5: Develop policy for dissemination and revision of data EA6: Continuity and sustainability of the implementation of the 2008 SNA Activity 6.1: Monitoring and evaluation of project activities Activity 6.2: Coordination and facilitation of project activities (meetings, technical assistance, training, workshops) Activity 6.3: Reporting and information sharing of progress and project activities Activity 6.4: Ensure sustainability of the 2008 SNA implementation by updating standards, classifications, and compilation procedures.

Economic Commission for Africa Governance Structure of the African Project CSC Secretariat (at UNECA) African Group on National Accounts (AGNA) Pan-African Institutions, Member States, AFRISTAT, Regional Economic Communities National Statistical Systems National Strategy Coordinators, National Statistics Offices and Others Statistical Commission for Africa (StatCom-Africa) / Committee of Directors General (CoDG) Meetings of the Heads of AUC, AfDB and UNECA Annual Progress Report Governance Implementation Executive Board (UNECA, AUC, AfDB) Continental Steering Committee (CSC) Annual Progress Report

Economic Commission for Africa Governance structure and members CSC as the governing and decision-making body of the Project will continue to ensure the accountability of all stakeholders and oversee the implementation process of the Project in phase II. Five RECs continue to have the role of Regional Coordinators for the development of the Project. Afristat serves as the Technical Advisor of the AGNA. Implementation of the strategy at the national level is under the responsibility of the entity in charge of the compilation of national accounts, usually NSOs. Report to StatCom-Africa / CoDGs

Economic Commission for Africa Institutional Strengthening: National Action Plans Countries: Conduct analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the NSS Develop national action plans Take concrete steps and actions to implement national action plans Request technical assistance and support when encountering difficulties

Economic Commission for Africa Institutional Strengthening: Institution Capacity Building RECs and Afristat: Support NSOs to establish or strengthen governance and coordination structures for national accounts Organize national user-and-producer’s workshops Establish and strengthen regional and sub-regional governance and coordination structures for the implementation of the African Project Establish African Network of National Accountants (ANNA) Organizing the annual AGNA meeting to include Heads of National Accounts of all the African countries

Economic Commission for Africa Institutional Strengthening: Advocacy Campaign AUC: No significant result can be obtained without an active and coherent advocacy strategy, particularly addressing Heads of States and Government, members of Parliament, Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economy, Governors of Central Banks, Civil Society and Development Partners Carry out high level advocacy missions to MS, sub-regional, regional, and continental organizations to deliver target messages, provide project updates, and improve resource mobilization Country missions to target governments, parliaments, civil society, and private sector Address and report the importance and progress of the African Project to the conference of the Heads of the State and the Ministers Develop advocacy materials and tools including publications of reports, newsletters, flyers, brochures, and a website

Economic Commission for Africa Capacity Building: Training and Technical Assistance AfDB takes the lead along with other international and regional agencies: Implementation of SNA is a complex process which requires a certain level of specialization and professional capability among staff members. The increase of statistical capability is obtained through different training programs The training programs are implemented through seminars, workshops, and meetings, by using the training center infrastructures available Enable regional organizations and member countries to share experiences (peer- to-peer) in developing sustainable economic statistics programs At country level, the members of AGNA will be the trainers to conduct training workshops/seminars and to distribute and disseminate the developed manuals and handbooks Upon requests form the MS, experts and consultants and technical assistance will be provided to countries from the agencies The Secretariat will share the information and coordinate and support the efforts.

Economic Commission for Africa Capacity Building: Preparation of Technical Documents ECA takes the lead along with other international and regional agencies and MS: Guidebooks will lay out clear and specific procedures and methods on how to apply and implement the 2008 SNA in African countries with their specialties and circumstances A set of guidebooks developed with the support of the members of the AGNA group in Phase I will be finalized New documents will be realized in the second part of the project Establish a virtual “community of practice” to gather country experts for sharing and exchange African country experience and practices Develop a website knowledge base to share all technical documentation developed during the project Prepare guidebooks required by the project Organize EGM for reviewing and validating the draft of guidebooks developed

Economic Commission for Africa Implement SNA 2008 and Sustain the Project: Coordination, M&E, and Reporting The Secretariat: Tools and options for M&E Peer review (filling in the self-assessment, provide the SNA documentation, assessment of the documentation by the peer review team, drafting the assessment report, and provided to the country for feedback and possible correction) The meeting of the CSC is part of the monitoring, evaluation, and reporting process to examine project achievements and provide recommendations for corrective measures Produce and disseminate M&E reports on the implementation of the project on a biannual basis through collecting information from all stakeholders The reports will be reviewed during the CSC, AGNA, StatCom-Africa, and CoDGs Pan-African Institutions, RECs, Afristat, MS, and concerned international and regional organizations and development partners on a biannual basis will provide the requisite information and progress reports to the Secretariat

Outputs/ Activities Year 1Year 2Year 3 Key Players Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4 EA1: Increased support for 2008 SNA implementation at national, regional, and international levels. Activity 1.1: Formulate country action plans as an implementation and resource mobilization tool XXXX NSOs Activity 1.2: Mobilize and increase national resources through National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) XXXX NSOs, RECs Activity 1.3: Organize advocacy campaign at national level XXXXXXXXXXXNSOs Activity 1.4: organize advocacy campaign at regional level XXXXXXXXXXXAUC Activity 1.5: Promote the use of statistics, especially, national accounts XXXXXXXXXXXNSOs, RECs

Outputs/ Activities Year 1Year 2Year 3 Key Players Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4 EA2: Institutional capacities strengthened Activity 2.1: Strengthen national NSO position and role in the society XXXXXXXXXNSOs Activity 2.2: Establish and strengthen existing governance and coordination structures for national accounts statistics at national level XXXXXXXXX NSOs, RECs Activity 2.3: Strengthen the statistical training institutions XXXXXXXXX Training institutes Activity 2.4: Strengthen the African Network of National Accountants. XXXXXXXXXXX AfDB Secretariat Activity 2.5: Development of the national statistical system XXXXXXXXXXXXNSOs

Outputs/ Activities Year 1Year 2Year 3 Key Players Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4 EA3: Technical capacities strengthened Activity 3.1: Conduct technical assistance missions XXXX AfDB Activity 3.2: Conduct training workshops XXXXXXXXXXAfDB Activity 3.3: Organize study tours and facilitate south- south cooperation XXXXXXXXXXXAfDB Activity 3.4: Conduct peer review missions XXXXXAfDB

Outputs/ Activities Year 1Year 2Year 3 Key Players Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4 EA4: Technical operational guidebooks compiled. Activity 4.1: Review and operationalize international standards and recommendations XXXX ECA Activity 4.2: Exchange country experiences and best practices XXXXXXXX ECA Activity 4.3: Organize Expert Group Meetings XXXXXXXXXXXECA Activity 4.4: Dissemination and promoting the operational guidebooks compiled XXXXXXECA

Outputs/ Activities Year 1Year 2Year 3 Key Players Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4 EA5: Developed national accounts in Member States in accordance with 2008 SNA. Activity 5.1: Improve data sources XXXXXXXX NSOs Activity 5.2: Implement classifications XXXXxxNSOs Activity 5.3: Adapt and adopt modern IT Tools for national accounts compilation XXXXXXXXXNSOs Activity 5.4: Improve compilation processes XXXXXXX x xNSOs Activity 5.5: Develop policy for dissemination and revision XXXx x NSOs

Outputs/ Activities Year 1Year 2Year 3 Key Players Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4 EA6: Continuity and sustainability of the implementation of the 2008 SNA Activity 6.1: Monitoring and evaluation of project activities XXXX ECA- Secretariat Activity 6.2: Coordination and facilitation of project activities (meetings, technical assistance, training, workshops) XXXXXXXXXXX X ECA- Secretariat Activity 6.3: Reporting and information sharing of progress and project activities XXXXXXXXXXXX ECA- Secretariat Activity 6.4: Ensure sustainability of the 2008 SNA implementation by updating standards, classifications, and compilation procedures XXXXXECA- Secretariat

Economic Commission for Africa Proposed Questions for Discussion Has the ProDoc covered all relevant issues? Has the ProDoc addressed the priority activities identified by the AGNA? Are the proposed activities adequate for achieving the expected accomplishment (EA)? Are the suggested “key players” appropriate for leading the related activities? Any other comments and suggestions?