By: Nyima Sillah
The Central Bank of The Gambia on Monday hosted the first IMF/WAIFEM Regional Course on Government Finance Statistics (GFS), and Public Sector Debt Statistics (PSDS) training.
The 2weeks Regional course organized by West Africa Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) aimed at assisting senior officials from the central, state, and local finance ministries, public accounting offices, statistics offices, and central banks, in understanding how existing fiscal data can be utilised effectively.
This course has brought together stakeholders from different West African Countries.
Speaking at the opening of the Training, Dr. Baba Yusuf Musa, Director General, WAIFEM said the course is intended to upscale the knowledge of participants on the conceptual framework of Government Finance Statistics (GFS) Public Sector Debt Statistics as presented in the IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014) and Public Sector Debt Statistic Guide 2013 (PSDS Guide 2013).
“It is expected, upon the completion of the course, that participants can understand and explain the integrated GFS framework which includes basic concepts, definition, and accounting principles and classify basic government flows and stock positions according to the GFSM 2014 and PSDS guide 2013.”
The Course, he said, is also designed to enable participants to apply the general principles to classify an entity in the public sector, as well as in the relevant subsectors of the public sector, such as the general government and public corporations.
Director General, WAIFEM noted that the course has been designed to cover key topics such as preparation and dissemination of government finance statistics and public sector debt statistics, effective utilization of existing fiscal data, improving source data, and quality of GFS/PSDS in terms of comprehensiveness accuracy, timeless and usability.
On behalf of the Governor of Central Bank, Saikou Touray, Director of the Risk Management Department, added that “Finance Statistics (GFS)/Public Sector Debt Statistics (PSDS) play an important role in helping policymakers, analysts, academics and the public at large to understand the financial operations, financial position and liquidity situation of the government sector in an organised manner.”
According to Touray, this has provided a means to monitor the government to ensure they are good stewards of the resources that are entrusted to them. Helped to understand the importance of the public sector and its impact on the overall economy, helped to track and monitor the interactions between the public and other sectors of the economy.
“The Government Finance Statistics Manual (GFSM) and Public Sector Debt Statistics (PSDS) Guide for Compilers and Users provide concepts and definitions for fiscal indicators and measures that are economically meaningful and internationally comparable.
He continued: “The GFS framework enables the compilation and presentation of financial information that is easily understandable. It is consistent across regions/countries and over time, provides summarized, high-level analytical insights in macro-trends and overall assessment of the financial performance and position, and allows for detailed analysis of individual components.”
Touray, therefore, urged participants to optimize the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills.
