Press Release No. 15/153

Press Release: AFRITAC South Strengthens Member States Macroeconomic and Financial Sector Management

April 5, 2016

The Steering Committee of the International Monetary Fund’s Regional Technical Assistance Center for Southern Africa (AFRITAC South¹) met in Ebene, Mauritius, in March 30-April 1, 2016.

Mr. Vidianand Lutchmeeparsad, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of Mauritius, welcomed the progress made in the center’s technical assistance (TA) delivery despite challenges facing the region and he noted that support from the center had been instrumental in improving growth prospects.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Mukuli Chikuba, Chairman of the Steering Committee meeting and Director of the Economic Management Department at the Ministry of Finance of Zambia, and Ms. Effie Psalida, AFRITAC South Coordinator, issued the following joint statement:

“Members of the Steering Committee noted good progress towards the execution of the FY16² work plan. While TA delivery across countries varied to some extent due to unforeseen developments at the level of member countries, the volume of TA is expected to increase by about 25 percent in FY16 relative to FY15 – partly reflecting a sustained increase in demand from the region, to which AFRITAC South responded positively. The execution rate for FY16 is expected to reach slightly above 94 percent.

“The Steering Committee also took note that the bulk of the recommendations of the mid-term external evaluations had been implemented during FY16 and those which needed a longer-term horizon for implementation would be executed in the early years of the center’s second program phase which will start as from May 1, 2017.

“Members also welcomed the increasing focus by AFRITAC South on regional initiatives which complements direct TA delivery, in particular the professional attachment program and new seminars planned ahead. The Steering Committee strongly supported the improvement in

coordination and collaboration with regional partners on the center’s work plan and thanked donor partners and regional institutions for their feedbacks on TA priorities. Members also called for stronger inter-agency coordination at country level.

“The Committee endorsed the work plan for FY17. It also endorsed greater flexibility on reallocation of resources during the implementation phase with a view to improving execution. The work program for FY17 will complement IMF HQ-led TA and development partner initiatives in member countries. A third of the resources will support fragile and low income countries.

“Members took note of the emerging strategic priorities for the next phase in the light of an increasingly challenging global environment facing the AFRITAC South region. The need for increasing support towards the financing for development agenda will be critical for achieving sustained and inclusive growth ahead. In this context, the Steering Committee invited members and donors to support the IMF initiatives for financing the phase 2.”

The AFRITAC South Steering Committee is currently chaired by Zambia. This seventh meeting was attended by officials from eight AFRITAC South member countries: Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; and the following donor representatives: the European Union; the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO); Germany (represented by German International Cooperation (GIZ), the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the African Development Bank. The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) attended as observer.

AFRITAC South is one of nine regional IMF technical assistance (TA) centers around the world (of which five are in Africa) and offers capacity building services to member countries in its core areas of expertise, namely public financial management, revenue administration, financial sector supervision, monetary policy framework operations, financial market infrastructure and payments, and real sector statistics.

Useful links:

IMF Technical Assistance

Factsheet: IMF Technical Assistance Centers

¹ The center serves Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

² Financial Year (FY) 2016 covers the period May 1, 2015–April 30, 2016.