The GDDS Project Phase 2 Presented by William E. Alexander Deputy Director Statistics Department International Monetary Fund Southern African Development Community Steering Committee Meeting Durban, South Africa July 14–16, 2006

The Predecessor (Phase 1): “GDDS Project for Anglophone Africa” Supported development of metadata, and TA for capacity-building: Provided Macroeconomic and financial statistics by IMF Socio-demographic statistics by World Bank Well over 200 TA missions to 14 countries Mid-2002 – mid-2006

The Successor Project The IMF and World Bank jointly administer the project, with macroeconomic and socio-demographic statistics components “Modules for Strengthening Statistics” To cover all Anglophone countries in Africa (some 20) Mid-2006 – mid-2009 US$8 million, funded by DFID

GDDS Project for Anglophone Africa Funded by DFID Phase 1 countries: Botswana, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe New Phase 2 countries: The Gambia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda

Key Features of the Modular Approach Creation of capacity-building blocks Structured activities Commitment to agreed results Self-help—small groups of countries work together Enhanced interaction in the region

Proposed Success Criteria for the Successor Project Capacity-building through measurable improvements in agreed areas (modules) Countries make the development of their statistical system part of their national development strategy Effective coordination nationally, regionally, and with donors GDDS continues to provide framework

What are modules? Selected priority areas for TA Well-planned activities 3–5 countries work together Mutual commitment to agreed results

What are the advantages? Focus on critical improvements Assured results Creating building blocks Enhancing interaction in the region Providing “hooks” for donor coordination

Examples for Modules (IMF) Real Sector Better use of existing data for National Accounts, Advance to QNA Rebase the CPI, introduce the PPI Financial/Fiscal Statistics Step-by-step improvements of national data standards External Sector Improving the services account of the BOP BOP surveys GDDS/SDDS Graduate to the SDDS Incorporate capacity-building for statistics into Poverty Reduction Strategies

Next Steps Some 8 IMF and 8 World Bank modules to choose from Launch workshop in late September Implementation to start with regional module workshops for 3–5 countries Each country to host some 3 expert visits Initial set of modules to be completed in 18–30 months