Meeting of the Continental Steering Committee

4th Meeting of the Continental Steering Committee for the

African Project on the Implementation of the 2008 SNA

Conclusions and Recommendations

17-18 November 2015

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Introduction

The 4thMeeting of the Continental Steering Committee (CSC) of the African Projecton the Implementation of the 2008 System of National Accounts (2008 SNA) was jointly organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), African Union Commission (AUC), and African Development Bank (AfDB).The meeting was held at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) on 17-18 November 2015in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The objective of the meeting was to: review the progress made towards implementing the African Project on the 2008 SNA; and in so doing, discuss and update the Progress Report of Phase I; and review and finalize the Project Document for Phase II by examining the lessons learnt from Phase Iand devising appropriate strategies to strengthen and consolidate the implementation of the 2008 SNA during Phase II of the African Project.

The meeting was attended by the following CSC member countries: Ghana and South Africa. The following Regional Economic Communities (RECs) were represented: Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The following regional and international organizations and development partners were represented: Afristat, AfDB, AUC, ECA, International Monetary Fund (IMF), INSEE, and the World Bank. The following research and training institute was represented: Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics (ENSEA) in Cote D’Ivoire.

Preamble

1. Acknowledging the importance of the CSC as the governing and decision making body of the African Project on the 2008 SNA;

1. Recalling that the objective of the African Project on the Implementation of the 2008 SNA is to improve the quality, availability, timeliness, and harmonization of economic statistics and national accounts for economic governance, regional integration, and sustainable development in Africa;

1. Recognizing the importance of national action plans as both planning and resources mobilization tools;

1. Recognizing the importance of delivering coordinated training, technical, and financial assistance to Member States by aligning the demand of countries with the supply of regional and international organizations;

1. Acknowledging with appreciation the training and technical assistance activities provided and committed by Afristat, ECOWAS, Eurostat, IMF, and INSEE in the Partner Report in response to the capacity building needs of African countries;

1. Acknowledging the important role and comparative advantageof RECs, given their legal authority, in harmonizing statistical standardsand methods and strengthening the institutional capacity of Member Statesfor the implementation of the 2008 SNA;

1. Acknowledging the expertise of statistical training institutions and their important role in providing training programmes on the 2008 SNA with the aim of strengthening capacity at the national and regional levels.

1. Appreciating the contribution of pan-African Institutions, namely ECA, AfDB, and AUC in the implementation of the African Project on the 2008 SNA;

1. Appreciating the effort and progress made by Member States, RECs, Afristat, international organizations and development partners in the implementation of the African Project on the 2008 SNA.

The CSC adopted the following conclusions and recommendations:

Conclusions

Progress Report for Phase I Project Document for Phase II

1. The Progress Report reflects the progress made and captures the contributions of project stakeholders during Phase I of the African Project;

1. The Project Document for Phase II is comprehensive and captures the priority activities identified by the AGNA in May 2015;

1. The Progress Report and Project Document will be presented to the Committee of Directors-General (Co-DGs) in Libreville, Gabon, 21-28 November 2015;

Report of the Current Status and Needs Assessment & Report on Assistance Provisions (Partner Report)

1. The Current Status and Needs Assessment Report and the Partner Report provide useful information for agencies and development partners to design capacity building programmes;

1. The Secretariat will periodically update the Current Status andNeeds Assessment Report and the Partner Report;

Institutional Strengthening

1. RECs will support institutional strengthening and advocacy efforts in the development and implementation of national action plans in their Member States;

1. AUC is fully committed toproviding financial support in the following areas:

• Developing national action plans in Member States;
• Carrying-out advocacy in Member States, upon request; and
• Application of ERETES for compiling national accountsin Member States.

1. To increase synergy and strengthen collaboration, Afristat, the Technical Advisor of AGNA, in principle will organize its annual meeting back-to-back with the annual AGNAmeeting in March 2016 at ECA UNCC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;

1. Countries that have successfully completed their national action plans and countries that have taken follow-up actions to move to the 2008 SNA will be invited to share and exchange their experiences and best practices, and develop trainings and roadmaps based on identified technical topics;

1. ENSEA, Chair of the AGROST, will play the role of reporting the status of national accounts programmesand the activities of Statistics Training Centres (STCs);

1. The IMF will share PDF files on training materials on the compilation of national accounts according to the 2008 SNA;

Advocacy Campaign

1. Pan-African Institutions along with Afristat, RECs, and Member Stateswill organize a donor roundtable meeting during the Meeting of the Committee of Directors-General (Co-DGs)in Libreville, Gabon, 21-28 November 2015. The donor rountablemeetings should be done on an ongoingbasis.

Recommendations

Country Action Plans

1. Member States are strongly encouraged to finalize their national actions plans for the implementation of the 2008 SNAby April 2016;

1. In finalizing their national action plans, Member States are encouraged to utilize the “Minimum-Required Components of a Template for an Action Plan on the Implementation of the 2008 SNA” developed by the AGNA;

1. RECs are requested toactively assist their Member States to:

• Develop national action plans;
• Launch the national action plans; and
• Organize donor roundtable meetings to gather national leaders and regional and international donors.

1. AUC will financially support RECs to carry-out the country missions in support of Member States;

1. AUC and ECA will jointly conduct a workshop for RECs in the 1stQuarter of 2016 on the “Minimum-Required Components of a Template for an Action Plan on the Implementation of the 2008 SNA” developed by the AGNA;

1. ECA is requested to inform the Directors-General(Co-DGs) of NSOs about the outcome documents of CSC, AGNA and related meetings, so that Conclusions and Recommendations (in particular the formulation of country action plans and their incorporation in NSDS) can be addressed at the appropriate level;

1. As Member States are currently at various stages of 2008 SNA implementation, there is a need for the revision of the project timelines;

IT Tools for Compilation of National Accounts

1. Countries are encouraged to use modern IT tools for the compilation of national accounts. Software such as ERETES is recommended to be adopted and will be supported by AUC,Afristat, Eurostat, and INSEE;

Project Implementation Plan

1. The Project Document for Phase II should be used as the base for preparing a Project Implementation Plan (PIP) for each project stakeholder (Member States, RECs, Afristat, and pan-African Institutions) to be presented and discussed at the next AGNA meeting in March 2016;

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting

1. Information on the status of 2008 SNA implementation should be verified and updated biannuallyand the reporting mechanism of the project should be strengthenedin order to facilitate a timely and consistent exchange of information;

1. Project stakeholder (Member States, RECs, Afristat, and pan-African Institutions) are strongly encouraged to share their work plans and national action plans with the Secretariat in order to avoid duplication and minimize gaps;

1. Partners, who have not done so, are encouraged to complete the Partner Survey and submit it to the Secretariat.

1. The Secretariat will circulate the Partner’s Survey among Member States, giving them an opportunity to report on South-South cooperation activities;

1. The Secretariat will circulate the Partner’s Survey to Statistical Training Centres (STCs), giving them an opportunity to report on South-South cooperation activities;

1. RECs will appoint a focal point person to facilitate monitoring, reporting, and information sharing process with their Member States and the Secretariat. The Secretariat will make the formal request in a written statement.

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