United Nations Economic Commission for African Centre for

United Nations Economic Commission for African Centre for Statistics Session 2 How to meeting countries needs: What has been done and way forward (UNECA) Xiaoning Gong Chief, Economic Statistics and National Accounts Section African Centre for AGNA Meeting on SNA 12 -15 May 2015 UNCC Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Outline of the Presentation • • Background Progress, key achievements, and results Challenges The way forward African Centre for Statistics

I. Background • The African Project on SNA was developed by this group AGNA • The Pro. Doc was endorsed and adopted at Stat. Com-Africa III (January 2012) and then by 5 th Joint Annual Meetings of the ECA/AUC Conference of Ministers (March 2012). • The Project was officially launched in January 2014. • It brings together countries, RECs, pan-African Institutions, Afristat, and regional and international organizations and development partners. • The goal is to produce timely and quality national accounts, in support of good economic governance, regional integration, and sustainable development. African Centre for Statistics

Expected accomplishments and outcomes Improved capacities Country plan and actions Technical assistance Institutional strengthening Increased resources Compiling documents Advocacy campaign Organize meetings Establish secretariat Completion of phase 1 Further assessment Monitoring & evaluation Produce reports African Centre for Statistics

II. PROGRESS, KEY ACHIEVEMENTS, AND RESULTS African Centre for Statistics

II-1. Launching the project • The Continental Steering Committee (CSC) was established in September 2013, in Addis Ababa. • The secretariat of the African Project was established in April 2013. • As a kick-off of the Project, a technical training workshop on the implementation of the 2008 SNA took place on 21 -23 January 2014 in Nouakchott, Mauritania. African Centre for Statistics

II-2. Project implementation plan (PIP) as a coordination mechanism • PIP was developed as a coordination mechanism among stakeholders at the last AGNA meeting (Feb 2014). • The PIP outlines the activities with specific timeframes, as well as leading and responsible institutions for Phase I activities of the project to be implemented in 2014. • Six pillars as in the next pages. African Centre for Statistics

Pillar 1: Country plans and actions • Allows member states to align 2008 SNA with African statistical strategies and macroeconomic priorities Pillar 2: Technical assistance (Af. DB) • Strengthen statistical institutions and the capacity of national statistics systems • Adopt IT tools, conduct seminars and training workshops Pillar 3: Institutional strengthening (RECs & Afristat) • Develop and strengthen coordination structures and systems African Centre for Statistics

Pillar 4: Technical documents (ECA) • Serve as operational guides for the compilation of national accounts • Development of a guidebook and handbook Pillar 5: Advocacy campaign (AUC) • Organized at a continental, regional and national levels Pillar 6: Coordination, monitoring, evaluation and reporting • Close monitoring of the project implementation plan • Production and dissemination of monitoring and evaluation reports African Centre for Statistics

II-3. Establishing strategic partnership with major players on the continent • The CSC and AGNA meetings have been jointly organized by the three Pan-African Institutions: ECA, Af. DB, and AUC. • The PIP has been an effective coordination framework among stakeholders for collaboration, and cooperation. • IMF, INSEE, UNSD, and the World Bank have actively participated in the related CSC and AGNA meetings and shared information on their technical assistance, capacity building, and financial support to countries on the continent. • Work together to discuss on how to meet the needs and demands by supplies. African Centre for Statistics

II-4. Compiling technical documents as practical operational guides • The Guidebook on use of administrative data in national accounts and the Handbook on supply and use tables: compilation, application and good practices. • Identified by the Member States as being important to serve as operational guides in the compilation of national accounts. • Incorporated clear and specific procedures and methods according to international standards and recommendations on how to apply and implement the 2008 SNA. • African countries’ experiences and best practices. These were organized and carried out through a virtual “community of practice” and expert group meetings for sharing and exchanging country case studies and reviewing and validating the drafts of the Guidebook and Handbook. African Centre for Statistics

II-5. Coordination, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting of the project • PIP, consolidating concrete actions and activities proposed voluntarily by project stakeholders, has served as a coordination mechanism and a useful framework for monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on the progress of the Project. • The Secretariat producing and circulating the AGNA Newsletter, the AGNA Account, to share and report on the progress and development of the Project every quarter. • The Secretariat producing and disseminating monitoring and evaluation reports on the implementation of the African Project on a biannual basis by collecting information from the progress reports of all stakeholders to CSC, AGNA meetings, Stat. Com-Africa/Co. DGs. • Meetings, such as the three CSC meetings and two AGNA meetings, provide a forum for better coordinating, evaluation, and reporting the efforts among different players and stakeholders. African Centre for Statistics

II-6. Country plans and actions • Up today, 38 countries indicated that they have formulated or are in the process of formulating national actions plans for implementing the 2008 SNA. • Most of the countries with completed national action plans have begun taking concrete follow-up actions for implementation. • 34 countries have identified a timeframe for transitioning towards the 2008 SNA: o 12 countries have selected a timeframe between 2010 and 2014 and o 22 counties will begin transitioning towards the 2008 SNA between 2015 and 2018. African Centre for Statistics

III. Challenges • Key stakeholders to take ownership and effectively implement the Project: – The last CSC meeting requested that Pan-African Institutions include the committed activities and resources to support implementation into their work programs; – RECs include the committed activities into their Regional Strategy for Statistical Development (RSSD); and – Countries include SNA 2008 implementation plans into the National Strategy for Development of Statistics (NSDS). • Key stakeholders to share information and report the progress made – CSC requested RECs to regularly submit progress reports of activities at both the REC and country levels to the Secretariat for consolidation. • Strategy and follow-up actions for resource mobilization are crucial. African Centre for Statistics

IV. The way forward • African countries, Pan-African Institutions, RECs and international bodies to continue carrying out the committed activities as in the Project Implementation Plan for the Project; • RECs and Afristat: as part of institutional strengthening, to lead its Member States to set targets for achieving the milestones for the adoption of the 2008 SNA so that to meet the statistical requirements for regional integration and convergence as well as to encourage countries to speed up the process. • The transition period and plan leading to Phase II of the Project: – To take stock of the experience and lessons learned from Phase I of the Project – To revisit the governance structure, sign MOUs between key partners to revise, – Finalize the Pro. Doc; – Mobilize financial resources for the project. – Phase II is to start in 2016. African Centre for Statistics

United Nations Economic Commission for African Centre for Statistics Thank you