Reflections on the 2006 Africa Symposium on Statistical Development

1. Reflections on the 2006 Africa Symposium on Statistical Development  2007 Africa Symposium on Statistical Development 15-19 January 2007 Kigali, Rwanda Dr. Dimitri Sanga (ECA) and Mr. Risenga Maluleke (South Africa)

2. Outline • Background • Roadmap for African Statistical Development (06/07) • The 2006 ASSD: Cape Town (and Resolutions) • The Friends of ECA • The Friends of ECA’s proposed Programme of Work • The Friends of ECA’s Achievements • Achievements by Theme • The 2010 RPHC • The Luanda Declaration • Conclusions

3. Background • Statistics: important tools in the policy-making process of countries and regional organizations • Assessment of African National Statistical Systems (NSSs): • Many countries: (RRSF) • lack the capacity to perform even the minimum operations • cannot adapt to the new challenges or meet the new demands for data • Decline of African Statistical Systems • Decline of the statistical function at the ECA • Need to improve the capacity of African countries to produce quality data that will meet the increasing demand emanating from various development agendas.

4. Roadmap for African Statistical Development 2005-2007 UN Expert Group Meeting 2010 Censuses Angola, 2005 UN Statistical Commission March 2007 Workshop on Resource Mobilization for 2010 Censuses Cameroon, 2005 2007 Africa Symposium on Statistical Development Rwanda 2006 Africa Symposium on Statistical Development Making Census Count in Africa The Luanda Declaration Angola, 7 Dec 2006 2nd Forum on Statistical in Development Ethiopia March 2006 AU African Ministers of Finance and Economic Planning Cameroon, November 2006 39th Session of African Ministers of Finance and Economic Planning Burkina Faso, May 2006 AU Harmonization of Statistics Meeting Mali, September 2006 Working Session of Stakeholders on drafting ECA Business Plan for Statistics Addis Ababa, June 2006 Meeting of ADB, ECA and AU on ECA Business Plan for Statistics Tunisia, September 2006

5. The 2006 ASSD: Cape Town • African countries resolved to meet in Cape Town under the leadership of South Africa: • to deliberate on issues of statistical development • Challenges that are posed to NSOs in Africa • Organized in close consultation with the ECA and the UNSD • Attendance: 43 countries • Dates: 31 January to 2 February 2006 • Theme: “The 2006 Africa Symposium on Statistical Development: The 2010 Round of Population and Housing Censuses”

6. Objectives of 2006 ASSD • Encourage all African countries to undertaking a population and housing census in the • 2010 round of censuses (2005 – 2014); • Reach consensus on recommendations on revision of United Nations P&R from an African perspective; • Reach consensus on core topics and tabulations of relevance to African censuses; • Focus and fostering linkages in MDG-related and census campaigns; and, • Provide a platform for comprehensive exchange of experiences, countries’ participation,technical assistance, information and data dissemination.

7. 2006 ASSD Resolutions • Resolution 1 It is recommended that the African statistical community meet on an annual basis. • Resolution 2 All African countries represented at the Symposium represented agreed that all African States should conduct a census in 2010 rphc.

8. 2006 ASSD Resolutions • Resolution 3 The Symposium recommended that a comprehensive capacity building program be initiated.

9. 2006 ASSD Resolutions • Resolution 4 Sustainable statistical systems will be developed in Africa by: a. Reversing the decline of African statistical systems partly through census taking; b. Improving data coverage and quality for MDGs; c. Aligning National Statistical Systems with the African Union and NEPAD programmes d. Mainstreaming gender in NSS’s; e. Lobbying governments to invest in reform their National Statistics Systems by political support, undertaking legal reforms, institutional reforms, and adequately funding the development of their National Statistical Systems; and f. Developing NSDS’s.

10. 2006 ASSD Resolutions Resolution 5 The Symposium acknowledged the range of technical and financial support of the United Nations system funds and programmes, other international agencies, and development partners and exhorts these organizations to extend their support to ensure the success of the 2010 round of Population and Housing Censuses. However, the Symposium specifically: • Urges the Economic Commission for Africa to provide critical leadership for the implementation of the 2010 round of Population and Housing Censuses in Africa; • Urges UNFPA to provide technical and financial support in census planning and implementation to countries in the promotion of advocacy and resource mobilization for the 2010 round of censuses; • Encourages the United Nations Statistics Division to extend its technical support to capacity building in Africa though the establishment of International Statistics • Development Centre;

11. 2006 ASSD Resolutions Resolution 5 (concl…) • Urges the ECA to support the south-south cooperation and continue the convening of Symposia on the progress of countries in the implementation of the 2010 Round of Population and Housing Censuses; and • Urge the African Union to include statistics as one of its programme areas and ensure that other regional initiatives such as the NEPAD have a statistics component. A recommendation is made to AU and ECA that Peer Review mechanism be extended to the review of statistical development and in particular for the implementation of population census, to promote the sharing of experiences and information on good practices in the conduct of censuses.

12. 2006 ASSD Resolutions Resolution 6 To encourage institutional reform in Africa, • The Symposium recognized the need for appropriate institutional arrangement, and to this end would ensure that in each country legislation will be reviewed against the UN Handbook on Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics. • Where appropriate African regional bodies will develop protocols to guide the implementation of institutional reforms.

13. 2006 ASSD Resolutions Resolution 7 The coordination role of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa needs to be strengthened. It was resolved that: • A Bureau of Statistics or “Friends of the ECA” be established. The following countries will constitute the interim structure to advise the Executive Secretary of the ECA on matters of statistical development in Africa: •Mozambique •South Africa •Uganda •Kenya •Rwanda •Egypt •Tunisia •Senegal •Ghana

14. 2006 ASSD Resolutions Resolution 7 (concl…) • The ECA must develop its own capacity to fulfill the co-ordination role envisaged by the Symposium. • ECA must promote the preparations for 2010 round of Population and Housing Censuses and must prepare a report on the state of readiness of all countries on the continent by January 2007 and follow up report each of the following years.

15. 2006 ASSD Resolutions Resolution 8 The coordination role of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa needs to be strengthened. It was resolved that: • A Bureau of Statistics or “Friends of the ECA” be established. The following countries will constitute the interim structure to advise the Executive Secretary of the ECA on matters of statistical development in Africa:

16. Achievements Since the Cape Town Symposium: Friends of ECA Work Programme

17. The Friends of ECA • Nomination of 9 countries to the Bureau of Statistics: Friends of ECA: • Egypt, Ghana, Tunisia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Senegal, and South Africa. • Friends of the ECA’s mandate: to work with the ECA to re-establish a sustainable statistical programme for Africa • First meeting: Pretoria, South Africa, in April 2006 • A work programme that seeks to address challenges facing the African statistical community under the themes: • Capacity building; • Institutional Reform; • Leadership and Management; • Advocacy and Communication; and • Resource Mobilization.

18. Friends of ECA’s Proposed Programme of Work • The development of the work programme: • Based on the above themes • Consisted of a framework for action identifying areas for political, technical, and resource intervention • Considered: • ECA commitments • Other resolutions from the Statistical Commission • The RRSF • To enhance African statistical development

19. Friends of ECA’s Achievements • Effectiveness of the Friends of ECA: two meetings (Pretoria, Durban) • Developed a programme of work that seeks to address challenges facing the African statistical community • Strong advocacy campaign aimed at revamping the statistical function: Creation of the ACS as a Division at ECA • Participation in the process of producing the Business Plan for the newly created ACS • Strong advocacy in favour of improving censuses undertaking during the 2010 RPHC: ASD in Angola • Participation in production of a framework for collaboration between the ADB and the ECA

20. Theme 1: Capacity building Specific objectives: • Increase the skills levels of staff employed by statistical agencies in Africa • To undertake a research of relevant courses to be part of the training programmes in relevant fields of official statistics (Friends of ECA) • Develop a staff recruitment and retention strategy • A regional workshop on recruitment and retention plans (ECA and the ASSD Secretariat). • These have not been undertaken

21. Theme 2: Institutional Reform Specific objectives: • Legislative frameworks that allow compliance with the fundamental principles of statistics • ECA prepared an assessment of current situation as requested • Establish a statistics sub-programme at ECA • Creation of the ACS as a Division: Sub programme 9 of the ECA

22. Theme 3: Leadership and Management Specific objectives: • Design and implementation of NSDSs • By December 2006: • 3 countries have adopted their NSDS • 28 countries are currently designing their NSDS • 17 countries have a statistical master plan • 5 have no plan at all. • Creation of an effective coordination role of the ECA • Friends of ECA: • to assess current role of ECA • proposals on ways to enhance ECA’s coordination role in statistical capacity building in the region • The assessment was not conducted

23. Theme 4: Advocacy and Communication Specific objectives: • Develop an unified vision and mission for the development of statistics • Friends of ECA: research on a common vision and mission for Africa • To sensitise the suppliers and users of statistical data on the importance and usefulness of data • Countries: identification of methods for communication and decide on how to apply them in their respective countries • Invigorate the celebration of the Africa Statistics Day: • ECA has identified the theme • submitted to ABSA • prepared advocacy materials and forwarded to countries

24. Theme 5: Resource Mobilization Specific objectives: • Ensure adequate resources, both financial and human, for the realisation of the strategic plan • ECA prepared a Business Plan covering the period 2007 to 2009 • Launched on 17 November 2006 during the African Development Forum by the UN Secretary General • Being used for resource mobilization

25. The 2010 Round of Population and Housing Censuses • Designed to focus on preparations on the African continent for the round • Contains 5 Sub-programmes: • Coordinate between regional and world programmes • Convene workgroups on selected topics in line with recommended topics of the Global Programme • Census advocacy and networks • Coordinate the supply and demand of expertise • Forging partnerships

26. Sub programme 1: Coordinate between regional and world programmes • Outcomes of the Cape Town Meeting and Recommendations to the revision of the P&R: StatCom and the EGM • Participation in UN Workshops on the 2010 RPHC organized by the UNSD in Maputo and Bamako • Preparations of the 2007 ASSD • Revisiting the recommendations to the P&R in the African context (ASD 2007)

27. Sub programme 2: Convene workgroups • Working groups on: • Effective use of IT and GIS for census operations • Using the census for measuring new and emerging priority issues • Planning and financing the next censuses • Analysis, dissemination and utilization of census data • The ECA Business Plan has provision for the convening of working groups as recommended by the Friends of ECA

28. Sub programme 3: Census advocacy and networks • Special African Statistics Day in Angola on 7 December 2006 • Organized by the ECA and the Friends of ECA, with the collaboration of the UNSD • Commitment of the Angola government to undertake a census during the 2010 Round • First stop of an advocacy tour aimed at improving the participation of African countries in the current round of censuses

29. Sub programme 4: Coordinate the supply and demand of expertise • This meeting should come up with tangible proposals on the exchange of expertise needed to help countries in census undertaking during this round • Participants to the Maputo and Bamako meetings: support to African countries that are currently in particularly difficult circumstances and that have not been able to conduct a PHC

30. Sub programme 5:Forging partnerships • ECA has started building partnerships in order to launch the African Programme on Population and Housing Censuses: • Census is an integral part of the aide-mémoire signed between the ADB and the ECA on their future areas of collaboration • ECA-UNFPA/CSTs: e.g. Lesotho Census Analysis Training workshop

31. Luanda Declaration

32. Background • The declaration follows from the last-minute withdrawal of AfDB, in facilitating and funding the attendance of all African member states to a workshop on the International Comparisons Programme (ICP) that was planned to take place on 04-08 December 2006 in Luanda • The ICP meeting was supposed to happen parallel with the SADC-UNSD (United Nations Statistics Division) workshop on organisation and management of NSOs • Particpants of the parallel ICP and SADC-UNSD Seminars would converge on the last day to witness the pronouncement of the Luanda Declaration regarding statistical development • The Luanda Resolution was officiated by Angola’s Minister of Planning, Ms Ana Alfonso Dias Lourenco, and in attendance were the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Dr Abdoulie Janneh, as well as the African Union (AU) Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Dr Maxwell Makwezalamba

33. Resolutions • The delegates in Luanda, that is, the National Statistics Offices (NSOs) of SADC, Cape Verde and the SADC Secretariat, gathered here in Luanda, Angola, on the 6th day of December 2006, a meeting attended also by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the UN Statistics Division (UNSD) and PARIS21, resolved that: • AfDB should explain its unacceptable action to the Government of Angola, in particular, and to those of the other African member states • The countries and agencies that have deployed financial resources to assist and prepare for AfDB-ICP meeting should be reimbursed by AfDB • Member states and AfDB should work together to urgently repair the relations that have been seriously damaged following the unilateral decision by AfDB to cancel the ICP meeting • AfDB should quickly arrange for the ICP meeting to take place so that it can publish the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) without delay

34. Resolutions (cntnd.) • AfDB, ECA, AUC and the Friends of the ECA should meet urgently to ensure that such problems like last-minute cancellation of meetings/workshops do not happen again • Each member state present at the meeting would ensures that the resolution and the appropriate accompanying documentation be availed to their government • AfDB remains an important African institution that could continue to contribute to the development of statistics in Africa • AfDB should re-assure the co-operating partners of its highest commitment in order to re-establish the trust

35. Solutions • The AfDB moved with speed. A meeting attended by INE, Stats SA and the AfDB concluded and agreed that: • The AfDB should provide support to long-term and sustainable initiatives that the two agencies would like to achieve, that is, financing the transport and subsistence allowance for the Kigali ASSD 2007 in the case of Stats SA as well as financing certain statistical programmes in the case of INE • The AfDB will support INE in the areas on prices statistics and National Accounts • The AfDB had already written to countries that include Angola and enquired on their specific requirements for support in these areas • The AfDB would look into supporting new and pressing areas of statistical development for INE • The NSDS • Preparations for conducting a census within the 2010 Round of Population and Housing Censuses • The recent experiences should not diminish the fact that the AfDB has a role to play in the development of statistics on the continent • The AfDB ensures that ICP-Africa happens concurrently with the ASSD 2007 in Kigali during 15-19 January 2007

36. Conclusions • 2006 ASSD: an historical meeting • African countries paved the way to finding solutions to their problems on a regionally coordinated basis • Friends of ECA chaired by South Africa achieved a number of commitments in a relatively short period of time • Some of the desired outputs have been implemented • The current trend: a better future for statistical capacity building in Africa.

37. Thank you!