Last month, 30 debt managers from The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone received advanced training designed to help them manage public debt more efficiently.
Held in Monrolivered by the Commonwealth Secretariat in partnership with the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM)
Participants honed their skills in recording, analysing and reporting debt data using Meridian, the Commonwealth’s debt management system used by all four countries.
Over eight days, they worked through a range of Meridian features designed to improve the quality of debt data and reporting, giving governments accurate information for more informed decision-making.
Better debt data, better decisions
Speaking on behalf of the Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia, Euphemia Swen-Monmia, Acting Deputy Governor for Economic Policy, said reliable debt data is central to sound debt management.
“Where debt data are incomplete, analysis is weak. Where analysis is weak, strategy is misdirected. And where strategy is misdirected, the borrowing decisions that follow expose our countries to risks we neither chose nor foresaw.
“But where the data are accurate, timely, reconciled and properly analysed, they become among the most powerful instruments a finance ministry or a central bank can hold.”
Swen-Monmia underlined that the workshop would help participants put these principles into practice using Commonwealth Meridian and make practical improvements to how debt data is managed in their countries.
Mohammed Bara Adamu, Director of Fiscal Policy, Debt Management and Regional Integration Department at WAIFEM, said:
“No debt management strategy is stronger than the data beneath it. Whether a country can defend its fiscal position before a rating agency, negotiate confidently with a creditor, or give a straight answer to its own legislature depends, in large measure, on the completeness and accuracy of the records on which those conversations rest.”
Adamu highlighted that the training would help participants use better debt data to support borrowing and fiscal decisions, while giving them the opportunity to learn from countries already using Meridian.
Better equipped
One participant, Fatou Kujabie-Bojang, Senior Loans Officer at The Gambia’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, said the training left her “better equipped” to support sustainable debt management.
She said: “The practical sessions showed me how to make better use of Meridian’s features in my day-to-day work. I am confident this will help improve how we manage public debt.”
Stan Nkhata, Debt Management Adviser at the Secretariat, said:
“Sound debt management starts with knowing exactly what you owe and where the risks lie. Commonwealth Meridian gives countries the accurate, timely data they need to see that picture clearly and make better decisions. Through this training, we hope debt managers will make full use of Meridian in their day-to-day work and strengthen transparency at the same time.”
The training is part of an ongoing series of activities organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat in partnership with WAIFEM aimed at promoting debt transparency and sustainability in the region.
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