By Bintou Waggeh
The Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) Wednesday convened a one-day stakeholder engagement workshop on statistical data compilation and improving on its quality.
The meeting which was held through CBG’s Economics Research Department also focused on the production and utilisation of reliable economic data for policymaking.
The workshop, held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre, brought together representatives of government institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), academia and other key stakeholders to discuss ways of improving the quality and consistency of official statistics.
Speaking at the opening, Dr. Foday Joof of the CBG’s Economics Research Department described timely, accurate, complete and consistent data as a strategic national resource that underpins the credibility of the Central Bank and supports evidence-based policymaking.
He says high-quality external sector statistics are essential for monetary and fiscal policy formulation, exchange rate management, investment decisions and monitoring external sector vulnerabilities.
Dr. Joof also stressed the need to strengthen statistical compilation to keep pace with evolving international standards, including the IMF’s new Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM7). He called for closer collaboration among institutions involved in producing and using official statistics.
The workshop featured panel discussions led by representatives of the IMF on international statistical standards, cross-country comparability, capacity building and the role of quality statistics in policymaking.
Participants also heard presentations from Mr. Lamin L. Dibba of the Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS) on the production of official statistics, data quality assurance, data sharing and meeting users’ information needs.
Additional presentations were made by representatives of the University of The Gambia and Mrs. Mary P. Mendy, Deputy Director of Customs and Excise at the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA).
Senior Statistician Macodou Njie of the Central Bank and Patrick Gitton of the IMF reiterated the importance of timely, accurate and reliable data in supporting sound policy decisions.
The engagement reaffirmed the Central Bank’s commitment to strengthening collaboration among data producers and users to improve the quality, reliability and use of official statistics in support of informed decision-making and sustainable economic development.