Commissioner of Macroeconomic Policy and Economic Research of ECOWAS, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, has encouraged member states to invest in accurate and quality data production to facilitate rapid socioeconomic growth.
The development of new and non-traditional data sources, including big data he stated, would improve the provision of official statistics to leverage advances in new technologies that would ultimately make data production easier and more cost-effective in the region.
He made the assertion speaking at a three-day ECOWAS Regional Statistical Coordination Meeting in Accra. The meeting is to discuss the implementation of the World Bank’s project dubbed, “Harmonising and Improving Statistics in West Africa (HISWA),” and also solicit the beneficiary countries’ commitment for the effective implementation of the project.
The meeting was to further validate the Regional Framework and User Guide for compilation of National Accounts for the region and the Regional Framework and User Guide for compilation of Government Financial Statistics.
The ECOWAS Commission and the African Union have received a grant of $379 million from the World Bank to implement the Project.
The project would support the national and ECOWAS regional statistical systems in the production of up-to-date, reliable and harmonised statistics covering the social and economic sectors, Dr Apraku noted.
The three-day meeting will also look at issues on the implementation of the HISWA Project start-up activities and arrangement, key components and sub-component of the project and how ECOWAS Commission will coordinate the process.
Country-specific component and the regional component in terms of methodological guides, result monitoring framework, procurement and financial management procedures will also be discussed.
The meeting will articulate the Financial Management and Payment Mechanism, Budget Operation Manual, Result Framework and Grievance Reporting Mechanism of the project.
