AfDB, IMF EAST AFRITAC AND WORLD BANK WORKING TOGETHER WITH EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT EFFORTS TO PRODUCE BETTER PUBLIC DEBT STATISTICS

As part of the African Development Bank’s ongoing efforts at improving data quality, management and dissemination support to statistical development in Africa, the AfDB took part in a joint workshop on public sector debt statistics, with the World Bank and the IMF East AFRITAC (AFE) in Zanzibar during June 8-19, 2015 with 30 officials from seven East African countries.

Addressing a strong demand for debt data improvements in the region, the workshop assisted the EAC Partner States to meet the fiscal and debt data requirements associated with the East African Community Monetary Union (EAMU) protocol. The workshop focused on compilation, dissemination and harmonization of public sector debt statistics in East Africa. The first week of the workshop comprised training in the IMF debt statistics methodology, followed by hands-on training on the open data platform provided by AfDB experts.

The Open Data Platform is part of the Africa Information Highway (AIH) initiative and is designed as a user-friendly tool for extracting, customising and visualising data, offering users a wide range of development data on the countries from various sources, while also facilitating the collection, analysis and sharing of data among countries. This initiative presents a unique opportunity for participant countries to take the lead in implementation and promotion of international statistical standards across all countries in the region. The Open Data Platform is expected to play a crucial role in the compilation and dissemination of reliable debt statistics which are essential to monitor the EAC regional convergence process. The Open Data Platform will also be used by participant countries for all data submission flows to the AfDB and the IMF.