African Centre for Statistics United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Conclusions and Recommendations of the Friends of the Chair of the CSC Secretariat Meeting of the CSC for the African Project on the Implementation of the 2008 SNA 8-9 December 2014, Ramada Plaza Tunis, Tunisia

African Centre for Statistics Background 2-4 April 2014, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Purpose –(i) Review the progress –(ii) Discuss practices and experiences for developing country plans and follow-up actions –(iii) Deliberate on effective mechanisms for sharing information among regional and international organizations. Participants –Countries: Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa –RECs: UMA, COMESA, ECCAS, SADC –Training institutions: School of Statistics and Planning at Makerere University, Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics –International organizations: AFRISTAT, IMF, ECA, World Bank

African Centre for Statistics Agenda items Review and discussion of the Terms of Reference of the CSC Review and endorsement of the Conclusions and Recommendations and Project Implementation Plan of the AGNA meeting held in February 2014 Country presentations: how to design country plans and take follow-up actions? Presentations of RECs and international organizations: what to do to effectively support country plans and actions? Discussions on how to share information and report on activities of all involved stakeholders: presentation of progress report template

African Centre for Statistics Conclusions and recommendations 1.Modify the title of the meeting from “Continental Steering Committee” to “Friends of the Chair of the CSC.” 2.Terms of Reference of the CSC, Executive Board and Secretariat: –The CSC should be considered as a body to provide both policy and technical guidance and advice; –The Executive Board (composed of Heads of Statistical Offices of ECA, AUC and AfDB) should serve as the Bureau of the CSC; and –The CSC Secretariat should be strengthened with the capacity to provide administrative, logistical, and technical support.

African Centre for Statistics Conclusions and recommendations (continued) 3.Take note of the Conclusions and Recommendations and the Project Implementation Plan developed at the African Group on National Accounts meeting held in February Take note of the Progress Report template developed by the Secretariat as an effective tool for reporting on the –activities that have been accomplished –problems encountered –work plan for the remaining activities –budget expenditures. 5.Propose coordinated technical assistance to be provided in support of the Project

African Centre for Statistics Conclusions and recommendations (continued) 6.Survey on country plans, follow-up actions, and needs for technical assistance, will be conducted by the Secretariat. Results will be shared with stakeholders, upon which a plan for delivering the requested technical assistance will be formulated by stakeholders. 7.Member States design country plans for the implementation of the 2008 SNA. 8.The IMF provides technical assistance in the area of Integration Framework and Data Dissemination for national accounts. Member States are encouraged to utilize the service by making a formal request through the Statistics Department of the IMF.

African Centre for Statistics Conclusions and recommendations (continued) 9.The World Bank provides financial and technical support in coordination with other partners upon the completion of a country’s plan. Member States are encouraged to inform the Africa Region Statistical Team for assistance. 10.A component of the African Project’s advocacy campaign should target governments with the aim of gaining national support for developing and sustaining human capital and statistical infrastructure. 11.Promote and develop mechanisms to facilitate South-South collaboration, sharing of best practices, and making efficient use of resources.

African Centre for Statistics Conclusions and recommendations (continued) 12.Seek additional technical assistance for RECs to promote statistics on the continent. 13.Information sharing on the progress of the project: –RECs collect information from Member States regarding project progress and ongoing activities and share with the Secretariat; –International Organizations share information on their technical support activities and progress in national accounts in Africa; –The Secretariat prepares and disseminates biannual project progress reports for review by the CSC.

African Centre for Statistics Conclusions and recommendations (continued) 14.The Secretariat will update the PIP by taking into account the presentations made at the meeting, upon which RECs, Afristat and other concerned parties will review and return the document to the Secretariat; 15. ECA, AUC, and AfDB will convene the next CSC Meeting.

African Centre for Statistics Q&A Questions? Observations? Endorsement?

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