Central African Republic Prime Minister Hails AfDB’s Support On Capacity Building

Posted by African Examiner African News, Featured, Latest Headlines Monday, February 6th, 2023

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Planning and International Cooperation of Central Africa Republic (CAR), Félix Moloua has applauded the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB), aimed at building the capacity of government officials.

The prime minister gave the commendation while speaking at the workshop organized by AfDB for its government officials recently at Bangui, CAR’s capital city.

Certified macroeconomic policy and modeling experts from the Bank carried out the 5-day training in macroeconomic modeling and forecasting.

The workshop which was organized by the African Development Institute (ADI) of the AfDB was focused on strengthening the capacity of government officials in charge of macroeconomic policies in macroeconomic modeling, forecasting and policy analysis.

Moloua said his government was pleased with the AfDB’s support aimed at strengthening the capacity of experts in the use of econometric tools for better macroeconomic and budgetary frameworks.

He noted that other beneficiaries of the support are the Bank of Central African States and the Central African Institute of Statistics, Economic and Social Studies.

“If the AfDB continues in this direction, perhaps other partners will also join to support efforts in scaling up capacity for macroeconomic policy management in CAR”, he said.

AfDB’s Country Manager in CAR, Mamady Souare observed that effective economic policies require good-quality data, robust models, and use of modern and adequate statistical software.

Such policies, according to him, could only be taken based on the use of suitable macroeconomic and forecasting models and well-tested analytical hypotheses.

“As we continue to experience more frequent and large shocks in our economies—both external and internal, there is an increasing need for good macroeconomic models that take into account such disturbances to allow for relevant policy responses”, he added.

Also in his remarks at the workshop, the Acting Chief Economist and Vice President of the Economic Governance and Knowledge Management at the AfDB, ProF. Kevin Urama described the training as a vital step towards building skills for developing robust and reliable macroeconomic models and analytical tools for improved economic planning, analysis, and effective policy implementation.

“The objective of the support is to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Economic Planning and International Cooperation for macroeconomic modeling and forecasting. It also enhances the planning, economic analysis and effective macroeconomic monitoring of the technical staff”, he stressed.

The participants also expressed optimism that the knowledge they gained will translate into better economic policies that will promote sustainable growth and inclusive development in the country.

The exercise enabled the team to master the basic elements and mathematical tools, the foundation of economic theory, use of statistics in the verification of economic theories and the use of analytical tools.

Enock Oueama-Guengaï, an expert in charge of the Sector Policy Monitoring Unit in CAR’s Ministry of Finance and Budget, said the training enabled him and his colleagues to acquire modelling techniques useful in conducting economic analysis.

“The training was very important for our work. In particular, we acquired modelling techniques for conducting relevant economic analyses for decision-makers. The training also allowed us to improve our knowledge of Eviews, which is an important tool in econometrics”, he further explained.

Similarly, the Director of Planning and Social Development in the CAR’s Ministry of Economy, Planning and International Cooperation, Iva Guezewane said: “the training was very beneficial to me in that it helped to refresh the basic elements in econometrics which I learned while at university.

“It also allowed me to familiarize myself with the technical terms including those that the International Monetary Fund use when they come for missions in CAR”.

She further stated that she is convinced that the skills acquired, especially in Eviews Econometric modelling software in statistical tests and estimations will help them to validate inferences and undertake better analysis of the CAR economy

“EViews is a modern econometric, statistics and forecasting package that provides powerful analytical tools within a flexible and easy-to-use interface”, she stressed.