Government of Tanzania capacitates new staff on macroeconomic modelling and forecasting

The Government of Tanzania has recently employed new staff across various departments who require specific skills in macroeconomic, financial and sovereign debt management. To help the government to build capacity for these staff, MEFMI conducted an in-country workshop on introduction to macroeconomic modelling and forecasting from 24 to 28 February 2020 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The mission was delivered by Mr. Sayed Timuno from the MEFMI Secretariat and Dr. Laban Chesang who is a regional resource person based in Kenya.

The workshop was attended by 42 participants across various departments of the Ministry of Finance and Planning, and the Bank of Tanzania. The workshop was mostly interactive and largely involved hands-on individual practicals using the Eviews software. These were supplemented by a series of short lectures that gave a theoretical overview of macroeconomic models, data management and handling techniques, as well as a step-by-step process involved in macroeconomic modelling and forecasting. Group presentations aimed at encouraging participants to demonstrate their understanding of macroeconomic modelling were also incorporated.

The workshop increased participants’ awareness and knowledge in macroeconomic modelling and forecasting) and also developed basic skills required to use the e-views software. In this regard, they are now in a better position to manage data, estimate various behavioural equations, and analyse model output, as well as generate economic forecasts needed to support policy analysis.

The next step is for the participants to continue practising all the workshop activities in order to fully internalize the skills learnt during the workshop. MEFMI will continue to engage with Tanzania’s senior management and participants to provide advice and clarity when need arises.