IMF AFRITAC East

🔔From March 10-14, 2025, the IMF Regional Technical Assistance Centers—IMF AFRITAC East, West 2, and South— in collaboration with the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department cohosted an interregional workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on Central Bank Balance Sheets and Policy Solvency. The workshop brought together around 80 participants from 21 countries across the three Centers, with both in-person and virtual participation.    💡The workshop featured 16 presentations, three panel discussions, and one group exercise, with speakers for the IMF contributing conceptual and practical insights. Participants explored the significance of the central bank balance sheet in monetary policy, the importance of policy solvency, and strategies to preserve financial soundness through risk management, operational efficiency, and sound income distribution policies. In addition, the workshop provided tools for stress testing central bank balance sheets under different risk scenarios. Participants shared country experiences and intensively used the event as a platform for peer-to-peer sharing of country experiences across the regions. #CapacityDevelopment #AFRITACEast #CentralBankOperations European Commission Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs SECO Economic Cooperation and Development Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia IMF Capacity Development Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Mark Buessing-Loercks Gerguri Gani Guido Della Valle Romain Veyrune Ivohasina Razafimahefa Joelle Gemayel Manmohan Singh Luyao Liu

🔔From March 11-14, 2025, IMF AFRITAC East, in collaboration with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Revenues, hosted a regional workshop on Domestic Revenue Mobilization in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Themed “Enhancing Domestic Resource Mobilization to Support Development Goals,” the workshop brought together representatives from the Ministries of Finance and Revenue Administrations of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. 🌱The workshop was inaugurated by Ethiopia’s Minister of Finance, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Shide, who emphasized the Ethiopian government’s ongoing tax reform initiatives to strengthen fiscal capacity and achieve sustainable development. He encouraged regional collaboration and the adoption of robust strategies to boost domestic revenue mobilization. H.E. Mrs. Aynalem Nigusie, Ethiopia’s Minister of Revenues, also addressed participants, highlighting Ethiopia’s tax system reforms aimed at financing development plans and public services. AFE Director Ms. Clara Mira emphasized AFE’s work supporting its members' efforts to strengthen revenue mobilization through technical assistance and capacity development. 🌍Senior officials from the IMF Head Quarters, the IMF Resident Representative to Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian Customs Commissioner, Mr. Debele Kabeta, were also in attendance. Representatives from some development partners also attended and participated in the discussions (including the European Union ambassador to Ethiopia, GIZ, and the World Bank). 💡The workshop provided a platform for participants to share experiences, learn from each other, and explore strategies for improving domestic revenue mobilization efforts. Given the fiscal constrain many countries face due to limited resources, discussions focused on the need for reforms to enhance revenue collection and administration. #CapacityDevelopment #AFRITACEast #DomesticRevenueMobilization #PublicFinancialManagement Ministry of Finance, Ethiopia European Commission Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs SECO Economic Cooperation and Development Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia IMF Capacity Development Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Kenneth Ochola rameck masaire Dzingai Francis Chapfuwa (Ph.D)

🔔 From February 3 to 7, 2025, the IMF AFRITAC East hosted a regional workshop on E-Commerce and Customs Controls in Lilongwe, Malawi, bringing together 38 participants from the eight member countries 🌍. The workshop aimed to strengthen customs risk management and enforcement capacity to effectively regulate, control, and facilitate e-commerce transactions 🛒, in the wake of exponential growth in digital trade 📈. The event was inaugurated by Mr. Khumbo Gondwe, Deputy Commissioner of Customs, on behalf of the Commissioner General of the Malawi Revenue Authority, who emphasized the critical role of customs in balancing regulatory oversight with fostering e-commerce innovation ⚖️. He encouraged participants to leverage digital technologies 💻 to enhance risk profiling 🔍, detect fraudulent activities 🕵️♂️, and improve trade facilitation in alignment with international best practices 🌐, such as the World Customs Organization Framework of Standards on Cross-Border E-Commerce. Senior customs managers and experts at the workshop discussed practical solutions for managing e-commerce risks ⚠️, developing digital trade strategies, and enhancing partnerships 🤝 to strengthen customs controls across the region. #CapacityDevelopment #AFRITACEast #CustomsAdministration European Commission Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs SECO Economic Cooperation and Development IMF Capacity Development Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Kenneth Ochola

🔔 From January 29 to 31, 2025, the IMF AFRITAC East hosted its annual East African Community (EAC) Public Financial Management (PFM) workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to support EAC Partner States in their regional convergence efforts. This workshop is part of the IMF AFRITAC East’s ongoing commitment to facilitate the harmonization of monetary and fiscal policies, financial systems, and PFM laws and practices among member states in the context of the EAC work towards East African Monetary Union 🌍📈. Participants reviewed progress and challenges in achieving EAC convergence, assessed recent PFM reforms, and shared experiences on fiscal policy coordination 🤝. The workshop also provided a platform to discuss priority areas for 2025, including accelerating fiscal and monetary policy harmonization, improving infrastructure quality, promoting gender equality ⚖️, and enhancing the implementation of EAC programs. The IMF AFRITAC East highlighted its capacity development support in key areas such as Public Investment Management (including climate-sensitive projects) 💡, gender-responsive budgeting, fiscal risk management, and climate change adaptation 🌱. Discussions aligned with the EAC’s current theme of promoting sustainable economic transformation through fiscal consolidation and climate-resilient investment 📊✨. #CapacityDevelopment #AFRITACEast #PublicFinancialManagement East African Community East African Community Secretariat European Commission Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs SECO Economic Cooperation and Development IMF Capacity Development Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Dzingai Francis Chapfuwa (Ph.D) Kessy, Pantaleo

🔔The Director of Debt Issuance and Management of the National Treasury of South Africa opened a five-day in-person regional training workshop on Liability Management Operations (LMOs) in Johannesburg, South Africa 🌍✨ on Monday, January 20, 2025. Liability management operations refer to a broad range of non-distressed, market-based sovereign debt transactions undertaken by debt managers in the context of their countries’ medium-term debt management strategies to help them achieve debt management objectives. The workshop is organized jointly by AFRITAC South and IMF AFRITAC East and aims at equipping participants with the necessary skills to utilize LMOs as tools to achieve a more desirable public debt portfolio structure, manage refinancing risks inherent in the public debt portfolio, and support the development of the domestic market for government securities. A total of 38 middle and senior-level officials from both Ministries of Finance and Central Banks of the 17 IMF AFRITAC East and AFRITAC South member countries are attending the course. The course is financed by the Canadian Trust Fund under the COVID-19 Crisis Capacity Development Initiative. #CapacityDevelopment #AFRITACEast #DebtManagement European Commission Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs SECO Economic Cooperation and Development IMF Capacity Development Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Tiviniton Makuve

🌍🌱 From January 14 to 17, 2025, the IMF AFRITAC East hosted a regional workshop on Gender Budget Tagging ⚖️📊 and Climate Budget Tagging 🌳🌍 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The workshop, inaugurated by the Deputy Permanent Secretary from Ministry of Finance-Tanzania, Mr. Elijah Mwandumbya, brought together 36 participants 🌐 from the 8 IMF AFRITAC East member countries, representing ministries of finance 💰📈 and ministries responsible for gender equality⚖️. This workshop equipped participants with the knowledge and tools 🛠️ needed to implement effective tagging systems that enhance transparency 🔍, accountability 🏛️, and results-oriented decision-making 🎯. Through interactive sessions 🧩 and hands-on exercises ✍️, participants explored best practices in identifying and tracking public resources 📂 allocated to advancing gender equality ⚖️ and addressing climate change objectives 🌦️. We extended our sincere appreciation 🙏 to our donor partners—China, the European Union, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom—for their steadfast support 🤝. #CapacityDevelopment #AFRITACEast #Macroeconomic_Framework European Commission Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs SECO Economic Cooperation and Development IMF Capacity Development Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Alessandro Pisani Simona Pojar Johann Seiwald

🔔From December 2 to 13, 2024, the IMF AFRITAC East hosted a regional training on Macroeconomic Diagnostics in Zanzibar, Tanzania 🌍✨. A total of 25 participants from 7 IMF AFRITAC East member countries’ Central Banks and Ministries of Finance attended 🏦💼. The training was designed to strengthen participants’ ability to comprehensively assess a country’s macroeconomic situation 📊💡, including the current state of the economy, the stance of fiscal and monetary policy, financial stability, exchange rate, vulnerabilities in the different sectors, and the medium-term outlook, especially the sustainability of public and external debt 📉🔍. The course emphasized practical tools for use in day-to-day macroeconomic analysis 🛠️📈 and relied on case studies relevant to the region to illustrate how these tools were applied and how they could contribute to the policymaking process 🤝🏽📘. #CapacityDevelopment #AFRITACEast #Macroeconomic_Framework European Commission Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs SECO Economic Cooperation and Development IMF Capacity Development Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Archil Imnaishvili

🌍✨From December 2 to 6, 2024, the Financial Integrity Division, in collaboration with IMF AFRITAC East and the Africa Training Institute, the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG), and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, hosted a regional workshop on AML/CFT risk-based supervision of Virtual Assets (VAs) and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) in Nairobi, Kenya. The hybrid workshop brought together 75 participants from supervisory authorities and financial intelligence units representing ESAAMLG and GIABA member countries. 🤝 The training focused on enhancing participants’ understanding of the legal, regulatory, and supervisory frameworks for AML/CFT in the VA sector. 📚💼Through practical exercises and discussions, participants explored key challenges such as assessing money laundering and terrorism financing risks, developing regulatory frameworks, and implementing effective risk-based AML/CFT supervision of VASPs. 🔍⚖️The program also introduced the VA/VASP Supervisory Risk Assessment Methodology, a tool designed to strengthen supervisory risk assessment and enforcement actions.🛠️📊 By equipping participants with practical knowledge and tools, the workshop aimed to support member countries in strengthening their AML/CFT frameworks for the VA sector. 💪 #CapacityDevelopment #AFRITACEast #AML/CFT European Commission Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs SECO Economic Cooperation and Development IMF Capacity Development Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Rebecca Obare

🔔 From November 18 to 22, 2024, the IMF AFRITAC East hosted a regional workshop on Government Finance Statistics (GFS) 📊 in Zanzibar, Tanzania. A total of 27 participants from eight IMF AFRITAC East member countries' national statistical agencies were in attendance. 🎯 The workshop aimed to enhance participants' understanding of the importance of compiling and disseminating government finance statistics. Attendees engaged in comprehensive training on key GFS concepts, including the analytical framework, sector classification, revenue, expenditure, financing, and the consolidation of government statistics. Participants also gained hands-on experience through practical exercises on each topic. #CapacityDevelopment #AFRITACEast #GovernmentFinanceStatistics European Commission Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs SECO Economic Cooperation and Development IMF Capacity Development Christelle Groenewald

IMF AFRITAC East advisors Archil Mestvirishvili, Tiviniton Makuve, and Georgios Genimakis attended the IMF’s 11th Annual Monetary and Capital Markets Long-Term Expert Workshop in Washington, DC 🌍, aimed at enhancing collaboration 🤝 and capacity development 📈.