By Sizwe Dlamini
The Governor of the Central Bank of Eswatini Dr. Phil Minisi says that the importance of statistics cannot be over-emphasized as they are critical inputs in economic management and evidence-based policy making.
The Governor was speaking at the Happy Valley Hotel while addressing delegates from 19 member states during the opening of the five-day Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI) Regional Workshop on Advanced Monetary and Financial Statistics.
MEFMI, a regional organization dedicated to providing technical assistance, training, and capacity-building in macroeconomic and financial management, aims to support member states in enhancing their economic policies and financial management practices to foster sustainable development and economic stability in the region.
Dr. Mnisi described the workshop as a continuous journey that MEFMI should regularly pursue to build sustainable capacity in the field of statistics. He highlighted that statistics are essential inputs for effective economic management and evidence-based policymaking. To underscore this point, he noted that MEFMI had previously conducted a three-week e-learning course on “Introduction to Monetary and Financial Statistics” from May 8 to May 26, 2023, which some of the workshop participants had completed.
Dr. Minisi expressed satisfaction that the five-day workshop aims to build capacity in both theoretical and practical aspects of Monetary and Financial Statistics.
He pointed out that the comprehensive program for the next five days includes lectures on the characteristics and classification of financial instruments, stocks, flows, accounting rules, money, liquidity, credit, and debt, as well as hands-on exercises on the depository corporations survey. He commended the workshop for its focus on both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in Monetary and Financial Statistics.