Category: APO-OPA

MOGADISHU, Somalia, June 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), through its Humanitarian Liaison Unit, today handed over four water wells to the Banadir Administration in Mogadishu. The four wells located in Hamarweyne, Dharkenly, Wadajir and Hamaarjajab, will benefit over 260,000 households.

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), through its Humanitarian Liaison Unit, today handed over four water wells to the Banadir Administration in Mogadishu. The four wells located in Hamarweyne, Dharkenly, Wadajir and Hamaarjajab, will benefit over 260,000 households.

The construction and rehabilitation of the wells was funded by the Swedish Government and supported by AMISOM and implemented by Hadaf Humanitarian Relief Organization (HADAF), a local Non-Government Organization.

Speaking during the handover ceremony on behalf of the African Union Special Representative for Somalia Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif, AMISOM Political Officer James Gadin said the donation would uplift the living standards of the people by providing basic social services in the areas that have been recovered.

“The wells will provide affordable and reliable clean water to the residents of the Mogadishu districts” he said adding that the Civilian Component of AMISOM is complementing military and Police efforts on the ground by trying to improve the lives of the Somali people.

On his part Senior Humanitarian Liaison officer, Abdul Diagabate said that the project will greatly help improve individual as well as public health, and enable parents to spend more time working to provide for their families’ needs.

Acting Mogadishu Mayor Ismail Maalim Abdi thanked AMISOM and the Swedish Government for the continued support to the Somali people and its Government saying that the water wells will provide basic humanitarian assistance to the people of Somalia and alleviate suffering of the people.

The handover exercise was attended by Representatives from AMISOM, Acting Mayor of Mogadishu Ismail Maalim Abdi, District Commissioners from the four Districts and the representative from the local community.

LUSAKA, Zambia, June 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Byung Jang visited Lusaka during May 27–June 6 to review economic developments and discuss the macroeconomic framework with the Zambian authorities. The mission met with Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda, Bank of Zambia Governor Michael Gondwe, and other senior government officials, as well as representatives from the private sector and civil society.

At the end of the mission, Mr. Jang issued the following statement:

“The economy continues to grow at a rapid pace but fiscal and exchange rate developments point to significant vulnerabilities. Rebasing of the national accounts has revealed that the economy is 20-25 percent larger than earlier estimated, growth is projected to remain strong at 6.5 percent in 2014, and the medium term outlook is supported by ongoing expansion in copper production. However, the recent steep depreciation of the kwacha is raising inflationary pressures and expansionary fiscal policy has created large budgetary imbalances.

“Maintaining strong growth in the period ahead will require forceful measures to address the emerging vulnerabilities. The Bank of Zambia has already substantially tightened monetary policy in response to exchange rate developments and to address rising inflation, including by raising its policy rate and reserve requirements for banks. On the fiscal side, spending overruns in some areas will require compensating adjustments to meet the budgeted deficit target and available financing. Moreover, a solution to the impasse regarding VAT refunds for exporters is urgently needed.

“The IMF is working closely with the Zambian authorities to develop a plan that will anchor macroeconomic stability. The authorities have indicated strong determination to ensure that the fiscal deficit does not go beyond the budgeted 5.2 percent of rebased GDP in 2014 and is reduced to 3 percent of GDP over the medium term. Steps in this direction would go a long way towards restoring confidence in the foreign exchange market, removing fiscal funding pressures, and allowing for a normalization of monetary policy and a reduction in interest rates.

“The authorities have requested the IMF team to return in early September to discuss an economic program that could be supported by a Fund arrangement. The current mission has made important progress in laying the ground work for such a program.”

BAMAKO, Mali, June 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Mr Pierre Buyoya, Head of the African Union (AU) Mission for Mali and the Sahel (MISAHEL) paid a courtesy call to Mr Bah Ndao, Malian Minister of Defence and Veterans, appointed on 28 May 2014.

Mr Buyoya took this opportunity to congratulate the newly appointed Minister for the confidence placed in him by the Head of State and briefed him about the close collaboration that has always existed between the Ministry of Defence and MISAHEL. Indeed, MISAHEL works in the areas of Security Sector Reform (SSR), Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR), army reform and, especially, regional cooperation on security through the Nouakchott Process. On the latter, Mr Buyoya insisted on the importance for countries of the Sahel region to mutualise their effort, particularly security and intelligence services, to effectively tackle terrorism and transnational crime. The Head of MISAHEL further expressed the availability of the AU to continue supporting the Ministry of Defence in the above mentioned fields.

Mr Ndao said that the task is difficult but not impossible to surmount. “The situation is complex, but I am confident I will overcome the challenges with the support and assistance of the AU,” he concluded.

JOHANNESBURG, South-Africa, June 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Accelerate Performance and the Results Leadership Group today launched the maiden Results Based Accountability™ (RBA) Africa Summit 2014 (http://www.rba-africa.com) at an exclusive executive breakfast briefing. Aimed at leaders in governments and non-profit organisations (NPOs), the summit will be held at the Hyatt in Rosebank, Johannesburg from 8-10 October, boasting an impressive line-up of speakers including Mark Friedman, developer of RBA and author of Trying Hard is Not Good Enough.

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Photo 1: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1165

Photo 2: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1166

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Photo 4: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1163

For this three-day summit, delegates from government, NPOs and academia, will meet to tackle and co-create strategies on global socio-economic priorities where children and communities are concerned.

Adam Luecking, CEO at Results Leadership Group focused on the importance of data in RBA in his key note address, citing RBA is a simple yet and rigorous approach of using data to make decisions on the things we care about most, to bring precision to your passion.

“Everyone no matter where they sit, no matter what organisation they are in should be able to understand measurably what it is they are trying to help achieve at a community level, understand what it is they need day to day to have high performance within the organisation and individual work; and the third, measurably and what they need change within themselves and how they collaborate with others as it relates to making that measurable impact.”

RBA is founded on two key principles for achieving measurable results, namely:

• start with ends and work backwards to means; and

• data-driven, transparent decision making.

Luecking stressed that “Always and without exception, data is central to RBA. If you are not using data you are not using RBA.”

The use of data and rigour on how to use it enables decision makers within governments and NPOs to make transparent decisions and take better action. RBA gets them on this path by galvanising data that is meaningful to decision-making. Moreover, innovation is also introduced through RBA training to propel an entrepreneurial attitude in governments and NPOs. The absence of an entrepreneurial environment within governments NPOs means they are not performing at their full potential; whereby low productivity, high inefficiencies and ineffective use of financial resources then become common features in these organisations.

Luecking told the audience of executives and senior managers from governments, state-owned agencies and international non-profit organisations (NPOs) that “RBA methods are preventative and corrective, with the intentional focus on improving the wellbeing of children, families and communities. RBA training has successfully been delivered in over 40 US states and in countries including Australia, Canada, Colombia, Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. Data and its correct use have been key to this success. That is, by applying simple yet rigorous tools, language and approach, the use of correct data transcends to a change in policy; whereby RBA matches the organisation’s intentionality with suitable measures of the success.”

Nadi Albino, Chief of Education at Unicef South Africa agrees that the rigorous use of data and applying an outcome based accountability model such as RBA will assist their work in child-sensitive and children driven programmes.

She adds: “The challenge is we focus on the impact but don’t know how to do the right thing the right way. That’s a leadership issue as well. The other challenge is that how we interpret the data. The kind of indicators we chose and the data we collect do not help us answer the questions we seek to answer.

Therefore leadership is crucial in terms of people understanding data issues, taking that data and addressing the right things. We have a lot of data but we pick and choose which one we want to use. There is lot of data but often leadership chose indicators that tell a good story. So leadership and data are 2 critical issues; and how we use them is very important in how driving accountability”.

Frank Aswani, Vice President of Strategic Relations at Africa Leadership Academy lauded the RBA principles and a greater need for accountability in NPOs.

“In the corporate sector accountability is a lot tighter. Running an entity has the same disciplinary demands whether you are running a non-profit or not. So question then becomes how do develop the same kind of discipline in the NPO space? The answer lies within the process recommended by RBA of working backwards from the ends to the means is exactly what happens in the corporates. We need to take pride. Not just measuring activity but also measuring impact,” Aswani said in his concluding remarks.

The RBA international network has grown organically globally over the last 20 years, with highly trained RBA practitioners.

“We are proud to welcome Accelerate Performance, who are also co-hosts of the RBA Africa Summit 2014, to the global RBA network. Led by Laureen Rwatirera, Accelerate Performance has been identified as the local expert in Africa within the RBA global network. The team here is well positioned in sub-Saharan Africa and holds the local context to help governments and NPOs in Africa, while also drawing on insight from the global network, with which it has direct access and the support of.” remarked Luecking.

Accelerate Performance is well resourced with team of over 20 facilitators that are accredited for scalability across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Namibia, Lesotho and Ghana.

Registration for the RBA Africa 2014 Summit is still open. For more information on the summit, visit http://www.rba-africa.com and follow @RBAAfricaSummit

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of Results Based Accountability™ (RBA).

Issued by Ngwee on behalf of Results-Based Accountability™ (RBA) Africa Summit 2014.

For media queries:

(m) +27 72 255 4105

(e) announcements@ngweecapital.com

About RBA Africa Summit 2014

Results Leadership Group (http://www.rba-africa.com), with offices in the United States and Australia, and Accelerate Performance, with offices in South Africa, will host Results-Based Accountability™ (RBA) Africa Summit 2014 in Johannesburg South Africa. The Summit will introduce cutting edge RBA concepts to conference delegates which will comprise of leaders from government and non-profit organisations as well as experts in training and implementation in Africa.

This summit will feature introductory training from Mark Friedman, the creator of RBA and author of the book Trying Hard is Not Good Enough. There will also be live panels, break-out sessions led by leaders on the front lines, and facilitated learning sessions on how to use RBA for creating impact on what you care about most.

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has welcomed a new Egyptian decree punishing sexual harassment as a first but crucial step to tackle the growing problem of violence against women and urged other countries to do more on the issue.

The decree, issued by the outgoing interim President Adly Mansour, makes sexual harassment a crime punishable by up to five years of imprisonment. Until now, there has been no specific law defining sexual harassment in Egypt.

Since the beginning of the street protests that forced Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down in 2011, sexual mob attacks on women have been frequent. According to a UN study, nine out of 10 Egyptian women have experienced some sort of sexual assault.

“Putting an end to violence against Egyptian women will require further commitment and action both to implement this decree and to put in place measures dealing with all types of gender based violence,” says IPU Secretary General Anders B. Johnsson. “IPU urges Egypt to continue on this path to protect women from violence and inspire other countries to take much needed action.”

The Egyptian decree is a rare bit of positive news in what has been a horrifying few weeks for women’s rights around the world.

The rape and murder of two girls last week found hanging on a tree in an Indian village, the sentencing to death by stoning of Sudanese woman Meriam Ibrahim for marrying a Christian, the so-called honour killings and attacks on women in Pakistan and the abduction of 200 Nigerian schoolgirls are the latest in a running series of horrific crimes against women and girls both in these countries and worldwide.

“These shocking attacks and killings of women and girls underscore the urgent need for concerted legislation and action globally. There is no country or society that is not affected by such kind of violence and we know that legislation is a critical first step in changing mentalities and behaviour,” adds Johnsson. “There can be no excuse for inaction or poor leadership on addressing this effectively.”

IPU Members, who endorsed an IPU presidential statement on sexual violence against women in 2013, are being urged to dramatically step up their efforts to put effective legislation into place and ensure its implementation.

The 131st IPU Assembly in October in Geneva will focus on violence against women, reflecting the Organization’s move to make the issue one of its priorities. The IPU Assembly will also host the World Future Policy Awards for 2014 for the most effective policies to end violence against women.

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM Addis Ababa, in partnership with the Ethiopian government, is expanding its community dialogue facilitators’ training programme on irregular migration from Amhara Regional State to neighbouring Tigray.

The training, targeting 140 participants, will cover five of the seven zonal administrations in the southern, eastern, central, north western and western zones, 14 districts and 70 kebeles (districts).

The programme aims to raise trainee awareness of the ongoing efforts of the government to mitigate the problems of irregular migration, trafficking in persons and people smuggling.

It builds trainees’ capacity to facilitate community conversations using a set of tools and methodologies. It also aims to engage community members to encourage discussion of the issue, with a view to initiating community-led action to combat the problem.

The community dialogue training is part of a two-month IOM plan to train over 800 community conversation facilitators, including religious and community leaders and representatives of vulnerable groups, including the elderly and women.

The initial community dialogue training was launched in North Wollo in Amhara Regional State. It was designed to eventually reach 350 community groups in kebeles (districts) in five high-risk migration regions – Oromia, Tigray, Amhara, SNNPR National Regional States and Addis Ababa City Administration.

In addition to the trainings, IOM is also actively engaged in sensitizing the public to the problems associated with irregular migration, through other channels, including national and regional workshops, radio programmes and touring theatre shows with tailored messages for specific groups. In January, IOM presented a popular touring theatre show entitled Mutach in rural areas traditionally associated with irregular migration.

The training programme is funded by the European Union and the US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP).

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Southern Africa experiences all types of mixed and irregular migration, labour and forced migration, including displacement due to conflict and natural disasters. These migration flows involve over four million economically active persons, and an additional unspecified number of undocumented migrants, including many vulnerable populations such as women and children.

The IOM Regional Office for Southern Africa in Pretoria, South Africa will today launch a three-year (2014 -2016) strategy to address the complex and mixed migration challenges in the region. The launch will be attended by government leaders, IOM partners in the region, members of the diplomatic corps and donors.

The regional strategy establishes a focused and coherent framework that articulates the role of IOM in the region in the context of current and emerging migration trends. It also lays out key regional objectives in order to guide interventions by IOM and its partners in support of humane and orderly migration for the benefit of migrants, as well as migrant sending and receiving countries.

The complex and mixed migration patterns to Southern Africa from the Horn and East Africa pose a number of challenges for migrants and receiving communities alike, including humanitarian concerns, legal and human rights implications, law enforcement capacities, national and regional security, as well as strategic issues around inter-country cooperation.

The regional strategy identifies six practical key areas of intervention to address these challenges:

• Supporting better management of mixed migration flows in order to provide greater protection to vulnerable migrants.

• Strengthening systems to support well-organized labour migration, including engaging the diaspora to promote South-South circular migration.

• Enhancing protection-sensitive immigration and border management to facilitate migration through open but secure borders.

• Reducing the health vulnerability of people affected by migration.

• Building resilience and strengthening response to natural disasters and man-made crises in the region.

• Strengthening the regional response to migration management through stronger intra- and inter-regional coordination among States and Regional Economic Communities.

“Through this regional strategy, we hope to strengthen IOM organizational effectiveness by promoting a results-based culture and effective monitoring and an evaluation of IOM projects in the region. In collaboration with all our stakeholders in Southern Africa, we look forward to jointly working towards our goal of achieving well-managed, well-organized, and well-regulated migration for the benefit of all,” says Bernardo Mariano, IOM Southern Africa Regional Director.

IOM Southern Africa will continue to work with governments, regional bodies, donors and other key partners to uphold the human dignity of migrants, encourage social and economic development through sound migration policies. The regional strategy provides a holistic approach, taking into account the inter-related nature of the various migration aspects, as well as the need to tackle them from a regional level rather than a country-by-country approach.

ROME, Italy, June 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Shifting world agriculture to a “climate-smart” approach will not only help prevent future food security crises but holds the promise of sparking economic and agricultural renewal in rural areas where hunger and poverty are most prevalent, argues a new FAO publication.

On the one hand, the magnitude and scope of climate change’s impacts on agricultural systems means that boosting rural communities’ resilience and adaptive capacities is essential to safeguarding world food security, notes FAO success stories on climate-smart agriculture, released today.

Rising temperatures and an increased frequency of extreme weather events will have direct and negative impacts on crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture productivity in the years to come, as clearly indicated in the most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Vulnerable, farming-dependent populations in the developing world are particularly at risk.

But at the same time, the compelling need to deal with the challenges posed by climate change offers an opportunity to transform the way food systems use natural resources, improve agriculture’s sustainability and promote poverty reduction and economic growth, the publication adds.

Highlighting cases studies in “climate-smart agriculture” from around the globe, FAO’s document shows that many rural communities are already successfully making the transition to new forms of farming better suited to the rigors of a warmer world.

“A shift to climate-smart agriculture will not only help shield farmers from the adverse effects of climate change and offer a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but can also improve farm yields and household incomes, leading to stronger, more resilient communities,” said FAO Deputy Director-General Helena Semedo.

“We can no longer afford to separate the future of food security from that of natural resources, the environment and climate change – they are inextricably intertwined and our response must be as well,” she added.

Climate-smart agriculture

The model of climate-smart agriculture that FAO is promoting seeks to address three broad objectives:

• Sustainably increase agricultural productivity and incomes

• Help rural communities and farmers adapt to and become more resilient to the effects of climate change

• To reduce or remove agriculture’s greenhouse gases emissions, when possible.

Exactly how farmers go about tackling these goals can change from place to place, depending on local circumstances.

FAO helping make the change

FAO is collaborating with national and local partners around the globe to help them develop locally-tested solutions that work for them.

For example, in the highlands of Mount Kilimanjaro, the Organization has partnered with farmers to reboot an 800 year-old agroforestry system known as Kihamba, which supports one of the highest rural population densities in Africa and provides livelihoods for an estimated one million people.

An agro-ecosystem similar to a virgin tropical mountain forest, Kihamba maximizes the use of limited land, provides a large variety of foods all year round and maintains groundwater health, among other environmental services.

Meanwhile, a project in China is giving yak herders new knowledge and tools to restore degraded grasslands, improving the efficiency and productivity of their herds while sequestering atmospheric carbon.

In the Andes of Peru, FAO is promoting the conservation of local varieties of maize, potatoes and quinoa, each bred over centuries to thrive in specific climates and altitude conditions. Ensuring wide biodiversity of crops and animals will be critical in adapting agriculture to climate change.

Other case studies profiled in FAO success stories on climate-smart agriculture include:

• Work with Kenyan and Tanzanian farmers in on-the-ground field schools that has helped identify and develop resilient, climate-smart farming systems attuned to local conditions

• In India, a project that tapped the potential of women as agents for social change to promote climate-smart farming practices

• An initiative that supported coastal communities in Nicaragua in developing their own natural resources management plan and rural development strategy, to reverse environmental degradation and boost their resilience

• In Malawi, Vietnam and Zambia, assistance to policymakers in developing national policies aimed at promoting and supporting climate-smart agriculture

• Projects that introduced new fertilizer technologies in Nigeria and innovative approaches to land use management in Uganda’s Kagera River Basin.

PORT-LOUIS, Mauritius, June 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Breaking news in the Mauritian legal profession and the domestic business community is the strategic decision of a number of high profile and leading litigators and employment law practitioners to join ENSafrica (http://www.ensafrica.com), Africa’s largest law firm.

Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/ensafrica.jpg

Photo 1: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1154 (New team to join ENSafrica (Mauritius) – from left to right :Carolyn Desvaux de Marigny; Maxime Sauzier SC; Varuna Bunwaree Goburdhun and Jaykar Gujadhur)

Photo 2: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1155 (Piet Faber)

Photo 3: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1156 (Thierry Koenig)

In December last year, when De Comarmond & Koenig (the oldest and largest firm of attorneys in Mauritius) entered into a joint venture with ENSafrica, Africa’s largest law firm, it made shock waves in the Mauritius legal market. At the time, there were suggestions in various quarters that this development could herald the start of a major shift in a historically stable legal market, with other Mauritian lawyers following suit. However, what was not foreseen was that there would be such a major move in such short time frame.

In an unprecedented move Maxime Sauzier SC, Varuna Bunwaree and Carolyn Desvaux de Marigny (barristers) as well as Jaykar Gujadhur and Yashina Leckram (attorneys) have announced that they will be joining ENSafrica as of 1 June 2014. They are to unite forces with ENSafrica (Mauritius), previously known as De Comarmond & Koenig, an established, award winning and highly regarded Mauritian law firm. The arrival of the new team is seen as a major move in the market and is intended to consolidate the firm’s position in building up an unparalleled domestic practice in Mauritius.

Thierry Koenig SA, head of ENSafrica (Mauritius), commented: “We are very pleased that Maxime, Jaykar, Varuna, Carolyn and Yashina have decided to join ENSafrica (Mauritius). This is a major development that will undoubtedly strengthen our law practice and create an unparalleled force in the Mauritius legal market”. The current Mauritius team of ENSafrica (Mauritius) comprises of Thierry Koenig SA, Martine de Fleuriot de la Colinière, Raj Ragobur, Vanesha Babooa, Mahejabeen Chatoo, Sindhia Potayya, Rachel Wan, and Stephanie Sundanum, as well as Camille Desvaux de Marigny (Fiduciary), Xavier Koenig (Insolvency) and Pravin Barthia (Intellectual Property).

Piet Faber the CE of ENSafrica stated: “We are delighted that such high profile and leading litigators and employment law practitioners are joining the current Mauritian team. ENSafrica (Mauritius) is already a success, and has very promising future development potential. Mauritius is definitely part of the footprint that ENSafrica is establishing throughout Africa.”

ENSafrica comprises of over 620 legal, forensic, tax and intellectual property practitioners and currently operates out of its offices situated across Africa. ENSafrica (Mauritius) is a full-service law firm with expertise covering all aspects of corporate and commercial law, banking, merger and acquisitions, construction, tax, employment, litigation, intellectual property and insolvency, and is the standing legal adviser to various major public listed Mauritian companies and conglomerates.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of ENSafrica.

Media contact:

Natalie Huddle

email: nhuddle@ENSafrica.com

MAHE, Victoria, June 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday approved a three year SDR 11.445 million (about US$ 17.6 million, or 105 percent of Seychelles’ quota) arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for the Republic of Seychelles to support the authorities’ economic program. The approval enables the immediate disbursement of SDR 1.635 million (about US$ 2.5 million), while the remaining amount will be phased over the duration of the program, subject to semi-annual program reviews.

The authorities’ EFF-supported program aims to reduce the high debt levels, improve external buffers and sustainability in the face of emergent balance of payments pressures, and strengthen the economy through sustained and inclusive growth.

Following the Executive Board discussion on Seychelles, Mr. Naoyuki Shinohara, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, said:

“The authorities have undertaken comprehensive reforms since the 2008 crisis that have supported a strong recovery and improvements in fiscal and external sustainability. Growth was strong in 2013, boosted by increased tourism arrivals. Inflation stabilized at a low level. The current account deficit fell sharply, allowing the central bank to rebuild its reserves. However, debt levels and the current account deficit remain high, while some persistent structural weaknesses are holding back growth potential and economic resilience.

“The authorities’ economic program supported by the EFF-arrangement appropriately focuses on reducing vulnerabilities and containing fiscal risks while fostering sustained and inclusive growth. The authorities’ target of reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio to below 50 percent by 2018 remains an anchor for stability, while allowing the necessary investments in human and physical capital to support growth. The new monetary policy framework builds on recent progress in mopping up structural excess liquidity, and exchange rate flexibility and moderate reserve accumulation continue to facilitate adjustment to external shocks.

“The structural reform agenda is ambitious and targeted. The adoption of a Medium-Term National Development Strategy, the associated medium-term fiscal framework, and a financial sector development strategy, together constitute critical reforms needed to promote growth. Reforms also aim to strengthen the management and transparency of public finances. Building on the progress already made, it is important to enhance the oversight of state-owned enterprises to contain fiscal risks and avoid excessive expansion from crowding out the private sector.”

ANNEX

Recent economic developments

In the five years following the 2008 crisis, the Seychellois authorities have successfully enacted a comprehensive IMF-supported program of reforms – floating the exchange rate, eliminating exchange restrictions, turning fiscal deficits into surpluses, and halving the debt burden with the assistance of external debt relief. Structural reforms sought to foster long-term growth, including through simplifying the tax system and promoting the private sector.

These reforms have borne fruit in the form of a strong and sustained recovery: real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth accelerated to around 3.5 percent in 2013, boosted by strong tourist arrivals. Inflation fell to 2.2 percent in March 2014. The external position improved thanks to a boom in tourism and tuna exports, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows remain strong. Reserve coverage reached an estimated 3.8 months of imports at end-2013, up from 3.0 months at end-2012. The 2013 fiscal outturn was largely in line with the authorities’ ambitious targets, although business and income tax revenues were somewhat weaker than expected.

Nevertheless, important risks and challenges remain. At 65 percent of GDP, Seychelles’ public debt remains high, as does the current account deficit (18.5 percent of GDP), —although the latter has been largely funded by FDI. Moreover, the balance of payments faces headwinds as debt service and investment income payments rise. Sustained GDP growth will require adequate infrastructure investment and an active reform agenda to enhance productivity. At the same time, fiscal policy faces pressures, as revenue and grants have been falling as a proportion of GDP.

Program Summary

The program is designed to strengthen macroeconomic stability, reduce vulnerabilities, and support wide-ranging structural reforms aimed at laying the foundation for sustained and inclusive growth. The macroeconomic framework is anchored on the authorities’ goal of reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio below 50 percent by 2018. This requires continued fiscal primary surpluses of 3 to 4 percent of GDP over the medium term, a fiscal path which strikes a balance between the pace of debt reduction and addressing vital social and investment needs. Revenue measures under the program will focus on improving tax compliance and administration, while enhancing the quality of fiscal spending will be a core priority of the program.

The monetary policy framework aims to maintain low and stable inflation. In advance of the new program, the excess liquidity problem has been largely addressed through the issuance of medium-term Treasury bonds. The adoption of average reserve money targeting will further strengthen the policy framework, supporting the move towards a more forward-looking framework. While reserve coverage has recently reached the desirable range, maintaining it will require continued reserve accumulation in the face of balance-of-payments pressures. Exchange rate flexibility remains key to ensuring external stability over the medium term.

Sustaining growth and tackling risks to stability will require the implementation of a new generation of ambitious structural reforms, including: the adoption of a Medium-Term National Development Strategy, a medium-term fiscal framework, and a financial sector development strategy, as well as measures to combat international tax evasion. A new framework for Public Private Partnerships will support infrastructure investment and promote the role of the private sector. Establishing a registry of state assets, including land, will help protect public finances and support more efficient land use. The oversight of state owned enterprises will also be progressively strengthened, building on past progress, to contain fiscal risks and focus them on their core missions.

Seychelles: Selected Economic and Financial Indicators, 2011–19

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Prel. Est. Proj. Proj. Proj. Proj. Proj. Proj.

National income and prices

(Percentage change, unless otherwise indicated)

Nominal GDP (millions of Seychelles rupees)

13,304 15,468 16,723 18,103 19,381 20,750 22,196 23,716 25,303

Real GDP

7.9 2.8 3.5 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.4

CPI (annual average)

2.6 7.1 4.3 3.6 2.9 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0

CPI (end-of-period)

5.5 5.8 3.4 4.0 3.2 3.1 3.0 3.0 3.0

GDP deflator average

5.3 13.1 4.5 4.4 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.1

Money and credit

(Percentage change, unless otherwise indicated)

Credit to the private sector

5.2 8.5 4.5 6.8 … … … … …

Broad money

4.5 -0.6 23.7 8.3 … … … … …

Reserve money

-2.7 6.9 15.4 25.8 … … … … …

Velocity (GDP/broad money)

1.8 2.0 1.8 1.8 … … … … …

Money multiplier (broad money/reserve money)

4.5 4.2 4.5 3.8 … … … … …

Savings-Investment balance

(Percent of GDP)

External savings

27.4 25.2 16.9 18.5 17.7 16.0 15.9 14.8 14.8

Gross national savings

7.0 12.4 21.4 17.5 15.3 14.8 15.3 15.0 15.2

Of which: government savings

10.6 13.3 9.6 8.0 7.7 7.8 8.2 8.2 7.9

Gross investment

34.3 37.6 38.3 36.0 32.9 30.9 31.2 29.8 29.9

Of which: public investment

7.3 10.6 9.7 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.2 7.2 7.7

Government budget

Total revenue, excluding grants

35 34.4 32.4 31.0 30.9 30.9 30.9 30.9 30.9

Expenditure and net lending

35.2 36.2 36.6 33.1 32.2 31.8 31.2 31.0 31.6

Current expenditure

27.2 25.8 27.1 26.0 25.2 24.7 24.2 24.0 24.2

Capital expenditure (including onlending)1

8.0 10.4 9.5 7.1 7.0 7.1 7.0 6.9 7.4

Overall balance, including grants

0.9 2.2 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.5 0.9 1.0 0.3

Program primary balance

5.3 5.7 4.7 4.0 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.1 2.4

Total public debt

73.2 77.5 65.3 64.5 61.0 57.4 53.3 49.1 45.9

Domestic 2

27.7 32.2 27.7 27.3 24.6 22.5 20.2 18.2 16.9

External

45.6 45.3 37.6 37.2 36.5 34.9 33.1 30.9 29.0

External sector

(Percent of GDP, unless otherwise indicated)

Current account balance including official transfers

-27.4 -25.2 -16.9 -18.5 -17.7 -16.0 -15.9 -14.8 -14.8

Total public external debt outstanding (millions of U.S. dollars)

490 512 521 549 566 575 577 572 566

(percent of GDP)

45.6 45.3 37.6 37.2 36.5 34.9 33.1 30.9 29.0

Terms of trade (-=deterioration)

-6.3 -0.6 0.2 1.3 1.5 1.5 1.3 1.0 0.8

Real effective exchange rate (average, percent change)

-7.5 -2.4 … … … … … … …

Gross official reserves (end of year, millions of U.S. dollars)

277 307 423 455 481 506 531 555 577

Months of imports, c.i.f.

2.8 3.0 3.8 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.3

Exchange rate

Seychelles rupees per US$1 (end of period)

13.7 13.0 12.1 … … … … … …

Seychelles rupees per US$1 (period average)

12.4 13.7 12.1 … … … … … …

Sources: Central Bank of Seychelles; Ministry of Finance; and IMF staff estimates and projections.

1Includes onlending to the parastatals for investment purposes.

2 Includes debt issued by the Ministry of Finance for monetary purposes.