EN/AGNA/2014/Doc/07
African Group on National Accounts Meeting
African Project on the
Implementation of the 2008 System of National Accounts
3-6 February 2014
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Strengthening or Establishing Governance and Coordination Structures at National
Level (ECOWAS Perspective)
1. IntroductionThis is a proposal on governance and coordination structure from the perspective of the ECOWAS
Commission based on her experience in the implementation of regional statistical programmes.
It is recommended, whatever the coordination and governance structure need to be put in place, it is
necessary that it considers and incorporate what is already existing in the states and at the sub-regional
level. This is to create synergy, avoid duplication of efforts and promote judicious use of resource.
2. The Current Governance and Coordination Structure at ECOWAS
At the ECOWAS level there are three levels of coordination and governance structure at the country
level, namely:
A. Steering Committee
B. Technical Committee
C. Taskforce/work groups
The chairperson for each of the Committees are nominated from the Member States, ECOWAS
Commission serves as coordinating secretariat of the committees. Other regional institutions; WAMA,
WAMI, AFRISTAT and UEMOA are Members/observers of these Committees. All Regional Statistical
Programmes (RSP) are decided in consultation and approvals of the steering and technical committees.
The taskforce monitor and assist with the implementation of the RSP at the country level.
A. Steering Committee
The Membership of the steering committee consist of 15 heads of National Statistics Offices (NSOs) in
the ECOWAS region. The committee is responsible for endorsing and recommending to the Council of
Ministers all the regional statistical programmes presented to her by the ECOWAS Commission. The
heads of NSO are to provide resources for the implementation of programmes approved by the Council.
The steering committee meet at least once a year and any other time as there may be urgent need for it.
They are the overall coordinator and implementers of the regional programme at the country level.
B. Technical Committee
The technical committee members consist of the officers in-charge of the subject matter statistics in all
the 15 Member States. They are responsible for day-to- day implementation of the regional statistical
programmes. They are the focal persons for the subject matter statistics in their countries. Often, an
official letter is written from ECOWAS Commission requesting the heads of NSO to designate a person
as a member of the technical committee (no pay). The regional statistical programme and its
implementation strategies are drafted in collaboration with the technical committee, who in-turn presented
to their colleagues and supervisors at the national level for review. The technical committee meet at least
once a year for peer review and for validation of work done.
For the technical committee of function effectively, their appointment must be formalized in writing to
the heads of national statistics offices and letting all the relevant stakeholders be aware. This will
facilitate the follow-up on the implementation of the programme. For example, the technical committees
can be contact directly without resorting to bureaucracy and get the work done.
C. Taskforce/work groups
The Taskforce/working groups are responsible for monitoring the implementation of the regional
programmes in the Member States. They consist of 5 member states and the ECOWAS Commission as
secretariat. The taskforce meet at least twice a year to review progress made by each member states (or
consultants) and recommend the type of assistance required.
3. ECOWAS 2014 – 2018 National Accounts Programme
Below is a summary of the ECOWAS Regional Statistical Programme for national accounts statistics for
the period 2014 to 2018. The programme has already been approved and funding by the council of
ministers. Some of the activities such as development of a common nomenclature based on ISIC rev 4 and
CPC rev2 and a roadmap for its implementation have already been concluded.
The funding for these activities is going to be sourced by the ECOWAS Commission, which is going to
complement the AGNA sources.
Establish a list of the changes introduced
by the 2008 SNA, which are relevant for
the countries
Preliminary activities and bridge
assistance to Member States
Review the existing programmes on
outstanding issues with the 1993 SNA,
taking into account the 2008 SNA
changes
Training in General problem areas in
respect to GDP estimates
List of relevant changes introduced by the 2008 SNA
Identify their implications
Identification of relevant activities
Short term and long term activities
Classification of Countries
Training and bridge assistance
Adoption of new relevant classifications (RNA/RNP) and
improvements in business registers
Review of related source statistics compiled by the statistical
office
Review of related macroeconomic data sets compiled outside the
statistical office
Use of administrative data sources
IT and staff resources
Measurement of financial services
Estimates at constant prices: development of suitable deflators
Estimation of non-observed economy, informal, illegal and
underground activities and estimates of owner occupied
dwellings
Measurements of the government sector: accruals, coverage
(linked to the implementation of the revised GFS)
Balancing in a supply and use framework and combining
information coming from different data sources
Improved measures of gross fixed capital formation and
consumption of fixed capital
Seasonal adjustments methods for quarterly national accounts.
Training on Common tools for compilation of national accounts
Training on any other theme that will affect the level of GDP
Measurement of financial services: FISIM, Output of the Central
Bank, insurance services, etc.
Focus on those issues that are likely to
have greatest impact on GDP and its main Expenditure on research and development (R&D)
Military expenditure
components. At the same time
improvements to the integrated set of
Other issues related to fixed assets: mineral exploration,
accounts and major indicators such as
databases and software, etc.
GNI and Gross Saving should be pursued.
Issues concerning informal and illegal activities
Back-casting