Press Release No. 10/138

Press Release: 12th IMF-East AFRITAC Steering Committee Meeting Concluded in Addis Ababa on April 7, 2010

April 8, 2010

The 12^th annual meeting of the Steering Committee of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) East Africa Regional Technical Assistance Center (East AFRITAC) was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during April 6 and 7, 2010, under the Co-Chairpersonship of H.E. Mr. Mekonnen Manyazewal, State Minister of Finance and Economic Development of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and H. E. Mrs. Mary. Nkosi, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi. The meeting was attended by delegations from IMF-East AFRITAC’s regional member countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda), delegations from supporting donors (the African Development Bank, Germany, the United Kingdom, and The Netherlands), and observers (the African Capacity Building Foundation and Italy). The IMF, itself a contributor to the Center, sent a delegation from its headquarters in Washington, DC, USA.

The Center currently has a resident team of nine international professionals, deploys a large number of short-term experts, organizes several regional and national workshops a year on emerging issues of common interest to the region, and publishes manuals where it distills its experience gained from assisting its membership.¹

In his opening remarks, H.E. Mr. Sufian Ahmed, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, praised the valuable assistance provided by IMF-East AFRITAC to the region in helping to build capacity to design and implement sound macroeconomic and financial policies. He also noted the Center’s positive contributions, among others, in the revenue administration and public financial management sectors.

On behalf of the Committee, Mrs. Nkosi thanked the Center’s donors for their generous financial support. She further noted that six of the Center’s member countries had pledged financial contributions to the Center’s activities thereby demonstrating their strong support for the Center.

In its deliberations, the IMF-East AFRITAC Steering Committee² considered the following issues: (i) endorsement of the implementation of the Center’s work plan during fiscal year 2010 (FY 2010³); (ii) endorsement of the work plan for FY 2011; (iii) and recommendations towards further strengthening results-based management and coordination with donors. The Committee commended IMF-East AFRITAC for the valuable contribution it had continued to provide to building capacity in East Africa.

In closing the meeting, H.E. Mr. Getahun Nanna, Vice-Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia, noted that “the ability to be flexible and proactive in response to requests received from member countries continues to be a hallmark of East AFRITAC’s work.”

The next meeting of the IMF-East AFRITAC Steering Committee will be held in Malawi in April 2011.

¹ For more details on East AFRITAC’s activities, see the Center’s website at: www.eastafritac.org.
² The IMF-East AFRITAC’s Steering Committee meets once a year, its venue rotating. It provides guidance to the Center’s capacity-building strategy, and sets priorities for its assistance by endorsing its work program. The Committee is a key feature of the IMF-East AFRITAC’s governance structure and provides for strong ownership of the Center and its activities by the membership.
³ East AFRITAC’s fiscal year runs from May 1 to April 30 of the following year.