Officials trained on governance frameworks for public debt management

A survey by the MEFMI Secretariat in 2019 indicated that all MEFMI member countries had legislation for managing public debt either as part of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) or as standalone debt management laws. However, gaps were identified when the legal provisions were benchmarked with sound practice. Further, non-adherence to the laws was identified in some countries. The survey also noted that while member countries were increasingly adopting the recommended institutional arrangements of public debt management, there was a lack of coordination among debt management departments. For instance, some functions were still being done outside of the debt management office/unit/department, with limited coordination among the entities.

Against this background, MEFMI and the IMF jointly offered a virtual training to enhance the capacity of debt managers and legal practitioners in MEFMI member countries in the area of legal and institutional framework for public debt. The workshop, which was conducted from 8 to 12 November 2021 on the Zoom platform, introduced participants to sound practices related to legal and institutional frameworks for public debt management. The workshop also focused on the issues of coordination amongst entities responsible for debt management, cash management and contingent liabilities.

The workshop enhanced the capacity of 65 officials on governance frameworks for debt management. Officials were drawn from the ministries of Finance and Justice as well as from the central banks of 10 of the 14 MEFMI member countries, namely Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The knowledge gained from this training is expected to support reforms on legal and institutional frameworks in the region. The training also provided a platform for peer-to-peer learning among participants.

The workshop was facilitated by eleven (11) resource persons, namely Messrs. Ron Snipeliski, Akihiro Yoshinaga, Cory Hillier, Chanda DeLong, Arindam Roy, Mike Williams and Mses. Alissa Ashcroft, Mia Pineda, Karla Vasquez from the IMF as well as Dr Sanga Sangarabalan, a Public Debt Management Specialist and Ms Josephine Tito of the MEFMI Secretariat.

By Josephine Tito