African Centre for Statistics United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Session 5: Progress Report for Phase I of African Project on SNA (actions, achievements, challenges) Katalin Bokor Economic Statistics and National Accounts Section African Centre for Statistics AGNA meeting May 2015

African Centre for Statistics Outline of the presentation I. Actions and achievements –Country plans and follow-up actions (Pillar 1) –Capacity building (Pillar 2) –Institutional strengthening (Pillar 3) –Compiling technical documents and practical guidebooks (Pillar 4) –Advocacy (Pillar 5) –Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting (Pillar 6) II. Challenges –Countries’ needs for training, TA and financial assistance –Challenges and actions to resolve issues

African Centre for Statistics I/1. Country plans and actions As of March 2015, 22 countries reported to have already formulated country plans –Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zimbabwe 16 countries are currently elaborating country plans –Angola, Botswana, Central African Republic, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zambia

African Centre for Statistics I/1. Country plans and actions (Cont’d) Figure 1: Activities that have been incorporated in the national action plans and have been followed up

African Centre for Statistics I/1. Country plans and actions (Cont’d) Most countries have already taken one or more of the following actions: –Strengthening the institutional framework and management structure for national accounts; –Adhering to international classifications (activities, products, etc.); –Harmonizing with other statistical systems such as the balance of payments, public finances, etc.; –Administering statistical operations including censuses, surveys, studies, etc.; –Improving conditions to access different data sources; –Updating the business register; –Conducting training for national accountants; –Changing to a new base year and software for compilation of national accounts.

African Centre for Statistics I/1. Country plans and actions (Cont’d) Figure 2: Timeline of transitioning to the 2008 SNA PeriodNumber of countriesPercentage (%) To be decided1023 Total44100

African Centre for Statistics I/1. Country plans and actions (Cont’d) Survey on countries’ needs assessment (Dec 2014 – March 2015) Survey on partners’ assistance provision (April-May 2015) Matching demands to supply

African Centre for Statistics I/2. Capacity building AFRISTAT: strategy based to implement the 2008 SNA in its Member States –Progressive approach to consolidate knowledge and correct shortfalls –Six pillars: »(i) help Member States to migrate with success from the 1993 SNA to the 2008 SNA; »(ii) reinforce institutional and organizational capacity of national accounts sections; »(iii) assist countries to put in place an operational and efficient system to produce and analyse national accounts; »(iv) develop an operational system for the publication of national accounts; »(v) assist and monitor the implementation of the 2008 SNA; and »(vi) coordinate assistance with other partners.

African Centre for Statistics I/2. Capacity building Training Workshop on the Implementation of the 2008 SNA ( January 2014, Nouakchott, Mauritania) –By ECA SRO-NA and ECA ACS. –31 participants from NSOs, Ministries of Planning and Central Banks of 11 francophone African countries. Training on the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) –By ECA in collaboration with GIZ and the United Nations Statistical Division –(i) an online training over 8 weeks and 5 modules during September- November 2014; –(ii) an on-site workshop on 2-5 February 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. –20 African countries have participated and completed the online training course and on-site training workshop.

African Centre for Statistics I/2. Capacity building Seminar on Supply and Use Table (10-14 November 2014 in Mauritius) –By IMF AFRITAC South Workshop on the preparation of quarterly national accounts ( January 2015 in Bamako, Mali) –By IMF AFRITAC Central, AFRITAC West and AFRISTAT –National accountants from 9 Member States. Seminar on quarterly GDP (16-20 March 2015 in Mauritius) –By IMF AFRITAC South

African Centre for Statistics I/3. Institutional strengthening ECA launched a “community of practice” on the compilation of supply and use tables as well as the use of administrative data in national accounts. The purpose is to produce country contributions, in the form of case studies and sharing country experience for the two technical documents and practical guidebooks.

African Centre for Statistics I/4. Compiling technical documents Exhaustive survey on the use of administrative data in the compilation of national accounts carried out among African countries –December 2013-January 2014 –46 responses Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on Administrative Data –By ECA in collaboration with the Sub-Regional Office for Eastern Africa (SRO-EA) –23-27 June 2014, Kigali –16 countries

African Centre for Statistics I/4. Compiling technical documents (Cont’d) Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on Supply and Use Tables –ECA in collaboration with the Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa (SRO- SA) –2-6 June 2014, Port Louis –25 countries Drafts of Guidebook of administrative data and Handbook on supply and use table (SUT) are being finalized.

African Centre for Statistics I/4. Compiling technical documents (Cont’d) AFRISTAT: –Member States are validating a Methodological Guide on the Production of National Accounts in AFRISTAT Member States (According to the 2008 SNA) –On-going work on a Methodological Guidebook on the Retropolation of National Accounts

African Centre for Statistics I/6. Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting Inaugural Meeting of the CSC in September 2013: CSC will meet every 6 month during Phase I, and once a year in Phase II of the Project ToRs of the CSC were established during its Inaugural Meeting held in September 2013 in Addis Ababa. 2nd CSC Meeting (or the Friends of the Chair of the CSC) was held on 2-4 April 2014 in Addis Ababa 3rd CSC Meeting convened on 8-9 December 2014 in Tunis

African Centre for Statistics I/6. Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting (Cont’d) Progress report template for the African Project endorsed by the Friends of the Chair meeting –Updated on a biannual basis by the Secretariat –Presented to both AGNA and the CSC As part of the transition to Phase II of the project, consultation with stakeholders about the experience, progress and gaps observed so far –Report will be circulated

African Centre for Statistics Figure 3: Training needs of countries (by activity and planned date for moving to 2008 SNA) II/1. Challenges

African Centre for Statistics Figure 4: Technical assistance needs of countries (by activity and planned moving date) II/1. Challenges

African Centre for Statistics Figure 5: Financial assistance needs of countries (number of countries by activity) II/1. Challenges

African Centre for Statistics II/2. Challenges and actions to resolve issues 1.Institutional coordination: –Avoid duplication of activities, improve communication –Secretariat has proposed to the three pan-African institutions (AfDB, AUC, ECA) to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to assist African countries to implement the 2008 SNA 2.Reporting mechanism: –A template has been developed to provide stakeholders a tool to follow the progress made –Stakeholders are invited to report biannually to the Secretariat on activities

African Centre for Statistics II/2. Challenges and actions to resolve issues 3.Supporting countries to play a key and central role in the project –the report on the needs assessment of countries is expected to help to match countries’ individual needs to partners capacity for assistance provision. 4.Financial resource mobilization –the expected MoU can help pan-African institutions to show their engagement for the project and pool together resources

African Centre for Statistics United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Thank you Participants are invited to: Comment on the progress that has been made Comment on challenges not mentioned above Provide advice on how to improve and strengthen the implementation of the Project