West Africa
September 29, 2004

The GDDS Project for West Africa now covers ten countries--Guinea and Mauritania, as well as the eight member countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), namely, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. The project is primarily financed by the Japanese Fund for Technical Assistance. The IMF's regional Technical Assistance Center for West Africa (West AFRITAC) provides technical assistance to the ten countries in the area of government finance, while AFRISTAT provides assistance in the area of real sector statistics.

On May 29, 2003 the IMF's Regional Technical Assistance Center for West Africa (West AFRITAC) opened in Bamako. In addition to covering the eight members of the WAEMU, it covers Guinea and Mauritania as well. It has also taken over project activities on government finance statistics (GFS) and is directly assisting countries in this area.

In April 2004, the AFRISTAT/IMF partnership for the implementation of the GDDS was expanded to cover Guinea and Mauritania, and the agreement was extended from six months to one year, making it possible to consider more gradual and sustained activities. AFRISTAT continues to provide assistance to the eight original members of the WAEMU for the real sector statistics component of the project.

Close cooperation developed between AFRISTAT and West AFRITAC, facilitated by their location in Bamako and by the fact that, for purposes of this project, their geographic spheres of operation were identical. Each institution is now represented on the decision-making body of the other, i.e., the Steering Committee for West AFRITAC and the Comité de Direction for AFRISTAT. These ties have ensured enhanced synergies in the activities undertaken, optimal use of the greater resources available in the two institutions and from other donors, and more effective consideration of countries' needs in the context of the GDDS project. This cooperation has also been extended to other regional institutions, particularly the WAEMU Commission.

The project activities undertaken by AFRISTAT on real sector statistics have fostered continued improvements in the national accounts, industrial production index, consumer price index, and labor market indicators. The improvements observed vary from country to country.

West AFRITAC's program of activities on government finance statistics (GFS) has been developed in response to countries' requests, relating mainly to expansion of the coverage of the TOFE and its harmonization with regional standards, restoration of capacity to compile and disseminate GFS, and training of officials. A more specific need, also frequently mentioned, is the implementation of the 2001 Government Finance Statistics Manual, which will be met by a government finance statistics course to be organized in late 2004 by the Joint Africa Institute in Tunis. This will be followed by a regional workshop organized jointly by West AFRITAC and the Africa Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). Another workshop on real sector statistics is to be organized jointly by AFRISTAT and West AFRITAC in Bamako in early 2005.

The most significant achievements of the technical assistance provided by AFRISTAT and West AFRITAC in the context of the project, and of actions financed by other donors such as the European Union, UNDP, and French Cooperation, are as follows:

Benin

• Reformulation of the industrial production index based on a harmonized methodology for the WAEMU member countries (base 1999).

Burkina Faso

• Compilation of the national accounts for the first base year (1999).
• First phase of the expansion of coverage of the TOFE (GFS) to units of the central government, and training of officials.

Côte d'Ivoire

• Reformulation of the industrial production index based on a harmonized methodology for the WAEMU member countries (base 1999).

Guinea

• Finalization of metadata and posting on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB).

Guinea Bissau

• Estimate of 2003 GDP and 2004-2006 forecasts;
• Restoration of the capacity of the National Statistics Institute (INEC) to compile the national accounts.
• Calculation of the consumer price index using a harmonized methodology for the AFRISTAT member countries with new weights based on a recent survey of households (2002).
• Ongoing enhancement of the capacity to compile GFS, in particular the TOFE (training and technical assistance).
• Technical assistance to improve the balance of payments statistics.

Mali

• First current year of national accounts (1998) finalized.
• Improvement in the calculation of the consumer price index using a final consumption by households structure based on analysis classifications derived from COICOP to 12 purposes.
• Technical assistance to improve the mining statistics.
• Expansion of coverage of the TOFE to all of general, central, and local government.

Mauritania

• Assistance in drafting the metadata, which have just been posted on the DSBB, in cooperation with a mission from IMF headquarters.

Niger

• National accounts for the new base year (2000) finalized.
• Improvement in the estimates of the labor force by industry and the contribution of the informal sector to value added.

Togo

• Improvement in the estimates of the labor force by industry and the contribution of the informal sector to value added.
• Completion of a survey of enterprises and reformulation of the industrial production index based on a harmonized methodology for the WAEMU member countries (base 1999).
• Assistance with the restoration of capacity to compile GFS, in particular the TOFE.

In addition, all national statistics institutes of the countries participating in the project now have or will very soon have a website for data dissemination:

Benin:	www.insae.bj
Burkina Faso:	www.insd.bf
Côte d'Ivoire:	www.ins.ci
Guinea:	site under construction; should be operational in late 2004
Guinea Bissau:	site under construction; should be operational in late 2004
Mali:	www.dnsi.gov.ml
Mauritania:	www.ons.mr
Niger:	site under construction; should be operational in late 2004
Senegal:	www.stat.sn
Togo:	site under construction; should be operational in late 2004

The WAEMU Commission has also opened up its website (www.uemoa.int) to its member countries' an option that some, such as Togo and Burkina Faso, have used to publish their metadata in French.