Press Release: The East African Regional Technical Assistance Center (AFRITAC) is Inaugurated

IMF News, October 24, 2002

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Canonical URL: Press Release: The East African Regional Technical Assistance Center (AFRITAC) is Inaugurated

Press Release No. 02/49
Date of inauguration: October 24, 2002
Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Key speakers:
- His Excellency Benjamin William Mkapa, President of the United Republic of Tanzania (inaugural address)
- Mr. Eduardo Aninat, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (keynote address on behalf of the IMF)
Participants included regional finance ministers, central bank governors, senior officials from participating countries, and senior officials from bilateral and multilateral donor agencies
Countries served: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda
First plenary meeting of the steering committee: October 23 (chaired by Dr. Daudi Ballali, Governor of the Bank of Tanzania)

The East AFRITAC is part of the IMF's new Africa Capacity-Building Initiative launched in the same year
Key objective: strengthen the capacity of African governments to formulate and implement their own growth oriented, poverty reducing policies in the context of the countries' Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
The Initiative increases the Fund's capacity-building assistance to the African continent and is linked to support for the New Partnership for Africa (NEPAD)

The East AFRITAC will provide capacity-building assistance through:
- a team of resident experts
- supplementation by short-term specialists
Core areas of IMF expertise to be provided:
- macroeconomic policy
- monetary and exchange rate policies
- financial sector policies
- tax policy and revenue administration
- public expenditure management
- macroeconomic statistics

Another center will be opened later this year to serve French-speaking West African countries in similar areas
Contingent expansion: if the operations of the first two centers are successful, the IMF plans to open three additional centers over the medium-term to serve all sub-Saharan Africa
The IMF will strengthen collaboration with existing capacity-building initiatives in the continent
- As part of this strategy, the IMF joined the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) earlier this year

The East AFRITAC's work will be guided by a steering committee composed of:
- senior officials from the participating countries
- representatives of the agencies and donors providing financing

Source: IMF Press Release — "The East African Regional Technical Assistance Center (AFRITAC) is Inaugurated" (October 24, 2002).