PRESS RELEASE -MEFMI TO HOST RESEARCH & POLICY SEMINAR

The inaugural MEFMI Research and Policy Seminar whose main theme is “Improving the Prospects for High and Inclusive Growth” will be held at the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Thursday 10 December 2015. The Seminar, which will be attended by more than 60 delegates from the MEFMI region, will be officially opened by the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Dr Kupukile Mlambo.

The main objective of the Seminar is to foster dialogue and exchange of knowledge in order to contribute to the search for solutions to challenges confronting the region, with a view to preserving and improving the prospects for sustaining high and inclusive growth. The Seminar was necessitated by the need to complement MEFMI’s advisory services by strengthening its research function as a basis for providing informed policy and technical advice to MEFMI member states.  MEFMI is a regionally owned institute with 14 member countries: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Institute supports human and institutional capacity development in the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning and the Central Banks of its member states that straddle both the East African Community and SADC regions.

Challenges which the member countries are currently facing require deep understanding of macroeconomics as well as the various socio-political dynamics that confront the region. This makes research an integral part of instruments for supporting economic development as it facilitates deeper understanding of the interplay and impact of different factors on policy outcomes. Evidence-based policy advice is critical for improving the effectiveness and relevance of the policies in member countries.   

The papers to be presented at the Seminar were prepared by experts drawn from the MEFMI region.  The papers are policy-oriented and focus on the Institute’s key priority areas of Macroeconomic Management, Financial Sector and Sovereign Debt Management.  The experts will make presentations and lead discussions covering the following sub-themes:
1) Growth, Poverty and Inequality;
2) Public Debt, Growth and Poverty;
3) Financial Inclusion and Impact on Economic Growth and
4) Mobilization of Resources to Finance Infrastructure and Pro-Poor Growth.

These themes focus on practical issues that policy makers in the MEFMI region are faced with on a daily basis.  Rigorous research on these themes and innovation are expected to play a critical role in shaping the development paradigm of Eastern and Southern Africa. A review of the development experiences of most emerging economies indicates that a key source of their impressive growth is due to increases in total factor productivity arising from research and innovation in particular. Governments in the MEFMI region must, therefore, invest in research and development to generate new ideas and facilitate adoption of policies and technologies that add value. Through this seminar, MEFMI is making its modest contribution to the process.
Despite the rapid economic growth witnessed in Africa in the last decade and a half, the pace of poverty reduction has been painfully slow in the continent. Furthermore, inequality between the rich and poor remains high and widespread. Most African countries also remain vulnerable to shocks as evidenced by the aftermath of the global financial and economic crisis of 2008 and 2009. The global financial crisis was a firm reminder that the modest socio-economic gains that countries are making can easily be wiped off by external shocks. Therefore, there is need for proper safeguards in the fiscal frameworks and domestic financial systems in order to cope with the effects of such crises. It is expected that some of the Papers to be presented at the MEFMI seminar will help in identifying the type of safeguards that countries can put in place.

The recent build-up in public debt is another key issue that needs to be keenly watched by governments in the MEFMI region. Public debt of most countries has increased dramatically in recent years, both as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and in nominal terms. The main concern is that the recent wave of borrowing is increasingly dominated by semi-concessional and commercial sources of finance, which are very expensive. This is happening at a time when less than a decade has elapsed from the time that most of the low income countries benefited from external debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative and other bilateral debt relief arrangements. There has also been massive borrowing in countries that have hitherto not relied on borrowing while domestic debt has also risen substantially.   The seminar presentations are expected to recommend how this trend should be dealt with going forward.

Discussion sessions during the seminar will be moderated by a panel of experts comprising academics, policy makers as well as representatives of development organizations that share a passion for the development of the region and have unique perspectives on how it can be achieved. This diverse mix of expertise will provide a basis for formulating sound economic policies for the region.

For more information on the Seminar please contact Mr. Raphael Otieno, Director of the Debt Management Programme at MEFMI.
Email: raphael.otieno@mefmi.org
OR
Ms Gladys Siwela, Public Relations Manager of MEFMI
Email: gladys.siwela@mefmi.org