## Capacity Development in Public Sector Debt Statistics — Achievements and Challenges from a Practitioner's Perspective

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**Canonical URL:** [Capacity Development in Public Sector Debt Statistics — Achievements and Challenges from a Practitioner's Perspective](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/capacity-developement/d4d/presentation-capacity-development.pdf)

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### Tangible Progress of Past CD: The Example of Senegal
- Senegal expanded Public Sector Debt Statistics (PSDS) coverage to the public sector for the first time, helping to paint a more complete picture of the public debt burden and related fiscal risks.
- Factors contributing to successful outcome:
  - Strong ownership: authorities subscribed to the SDDS, implemented regional fiscal and debt directives, and modernized infrastructure with associated borrowing needs.
  - Cross-agency cooperation: various agencies involved in PSDS strengthened their cooperation.
  - Well-focused capacity development (CD): complementarity of CD from IMF’s Statistics and Fiscal Affairs Departments.
  - Leveraging IMF country teams: CD was linked to IMF surveillance and lending operations.
- Senegal — Total Public Sector Debt (% of GDP, 2017):
  - PublicSector Debt (includes Para-Public and SOEs): 60.6
  - General Government Debt (includes Para-Public entities): 54.0
  - Central Government Debt: 49.8
- Source cited: IMF Staff Report on the Seventh Review Under the Policy Support Instrument and 2018 Article IV Consultation.

### Challenges for PSDS Capacity Development in LLMICs
- Data availability and quality issues:
  - Data for sub-sectors of government often not available.
  - Agency fragmentation on PSDS compilation and reporting.
  - Some data only available in hard copies.
  - Low frequency (annual at best) with substantial delays.
  - Compilation methods not always aligned to international guidelines.
- Insufficient data dissemination:
  - Lack of understanding and political will on the merits of data dissemination.
  - Only 27 LLMICs reported to the WB/IMF QPSDS database in 2018.
  - Only 13 LLMICs reported liabilities stock position to the IMF’s 2017 GFSY.
  - Data sharing with IMF country teams limited and irregular.
  - Country-internal data dissemination infrequent, limited in coverage, and not always in line with international guidelines.
- Coverage gaps:
  - Institutional coverage often limited to the budgetary central government, not fully capturing fiscal risks and vulnerabilities.
  - Instrument coverage usually limited to debt securities and loans; little or no data on other accounts payable (arrears).

### Tackling the Challenges to PSDS CD under the D4D Fund — Planning Stage
- Assess key deficiencies:
  - Identify source data issues: availability, frequency, compilation methodology.
  - Determine coverage deficiencies: institutional and/or instrument coverage.
  - Identify obstacles to dissemination, including reform ownership and political will.
- D4D Fund PSDS CD approach:
  - Based on a thorough diagnostic; demand-driven CD starts with authorities and the IMF country team to independently identify policy-relevant data gaps.
  - Early involvement of authorities to build reform ownership.
  - Regional workshops with peers to raise awareness of merits of improved reporting and how other countries tackled reforms.
  - Diagnostics form basis for country-tailored work plans; TA hinges on senior policy-makers endorsing the work plan.
  - Involving IMF country teams, other IFIs, and donors to embed addressing critical data gaps in policy dialogue, select qualified workshop participants, and ensure CD coordination.

### Tackling the Challenges to PSDS CD under the D4D Fund — Delivery Stage
- Delivery principles:
  - Country-tailored and risk-based approach that focuses on issues with substantial bearing on macroeconomic management.
  - Start with low-hanging fruits to quickly generate positive outcomes.
  - Track progress in IMF’s RBM framework and adjust approach as needed.
- Leveraging IMF country teams:
  - Partially overlap CD with IMF country team missions to improve access to policy-makers and strengthen data for the DSA.
  - Appeal directly to senior authorities to endorse reforms and address critical data impediments.
  - Emphasize direct dissemination channels to get data to IMF country teams as key data users.
- Prioritization and sequencing:
  - Select and address top priority data gaps that best fill critical information gaps on fiscal risks.
  - Assess realistic short-, medium-, and longer-term progress.
  - Ensure continuous engagement with policy-makers and data users to fill source data, coverage gaps, and improve dissemination.

### Tackling the Challenges to PSDS CD under the D4D Fund — Follow-up Stage
- Key follow-up questions:
  - How to generate “buy-in” and commitments to follow through TA recommendations?
  - How to maintain incentives and momentum after reforms start?
  - How to create synergies among IMF departments, other IFIs, and donors for continuous support?
- D4D Fund follow-up approach:
  - Holistic approach aimed at sustainability, impact, and effectiveness.
  - Closely involve country authorities, IMF country teams, other IFIs, and donors to preserve country ownership and provide continuous support for implementation.
  - Include reform milestones in IMF policy advice and lending programs.
  - Further improve CD and surveillance coordination within the IMF on a continuous basis.
  - Collaborate with other IFIs and donors to ensure continued support to tackle remaining PSDS improvement needs.
  - Leverage other CD vehicles, including continuous methodology advice and improved compilation and dissemination processes; may involve CD missions funded by RCDCs and other resources.

### The Mauritius PSDS Workshop — Implementing the D4D Fund Approach
- Mauritius workshop served as a prototype with replicable lessons:
  - Planning:
    - Collaborate with authorities and IMF country teams to identify policy-relevant data gaps and qualified workshop participants.
    - Prepare a template for participants to review current PSDS status and critical data gaps to build ownership.
  - Workshop outcomes:
    - Identification of policy-relevant data gaps and low-hanging fruits.
    - Formulation of country-tailored and risk-based draft workplans.
    - Peer learning focused on merits of improved reporting and dissemination and how other countries tackled reforms.
  - Work plans:
    - Endorsement by countries’ senior policy-makers.
    - Anchor work plan implementation in the IMF’s RBM framework with TA milestones focusing on improved compilation and dissemination processes to get better data to policy-makers and IMF country teams.
  - Technical assistance:
    - Focus on macro-critical data gaps.
    - Leverage IMF country teams’ access to engage senior policy-makers directly and preserve reform ownership.
    - Joint effort with IMF country teams and other IFIs/donors for continuous post-mission support.
    - TA needs not fully met under D4D Fund to be taken up by RCDCs and other CD vehicles.
- Reported immediate outcomes:
  - Buy-in from authorities enabled Liberia TA on PSDS after a two-year hiatus.
  - Interest from IMF country team prompted quick follow-up TA to Zambia.
- Some countries to receive first follow-up TA missions; top priorities identified by country compilers and IMF country teams.

### PSDS Data Collection and Dissemination — Building on a New Vision
- New vision priorities:
  - Focus on getting better PSDS data to country policy-makers, IMF country teams, and other users (e.g., investors, rating agencies, parliamentarians, media).
  - Reduce reporting burden by leveraging countries’ National Statistics Data Page (NSDPs) established under the IMF Data Standards Initiatives.
  - Shift gradually to machine-to-machine data transmission via the planned Global Data Common, as envisaged under the IMF’s Overarching Strategy for Data and Statistics at the Fund in the Digital Age.

### PSDS CD in LLMICs — Past, Present, and Future
- Continued emphasis on:
  - Building ownership and cross-agency cooperation.
  - Prioritizing macro-critical data gaps and low-hanging fruits.
  - Sequencing reforms with realistic short-, medium-, and long-term targets.
  - Ensuring sustainability through coordinated follow-up, involvement of IMF country teams, IFIs, donors, and leveraging other CD vehicles.

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/capacity-developement/d4d/presentation-capacity-development.pdf_