Kenya (Commonwealth Union):Senior government officials from countries across Eastern and Southern Africa took part in a hands-on training program on how to manage their public debt with the use of the Commonwealth’s new debt management system. The Commonwealth Secretariat, in collaboration with the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute for Eastern and Southern Africa, provided training in Mozambique this month and educated 25 officials from eight nations on recording, evaluating, and reporting debt data with the use of the new debt management system, Commonwealth Meridian.
Officials from ministries of finance and central banks participated in a five-day training on Commonwealth Meridian to learn how to utilize the web-based software to monitor compliance with debt plans, manage operational risks, and maintain data integrity. Debt officials from Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia, and Tanzania, all of which recently transitioned to Commonwealth Meridian, also discussed the advantages of utilizing the new program and strategies to reduce post-transition difficulties. During the training, authorities lauded the Secretariat for supporting its member nations in managing their debt portfolios, which, according to the officials, was beneficial to financial stability.
Domingos Lambo, Permanent Secretary of Mozambique’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated in his opening remarks that the training comes at a time when the globe is struggling with a multitude of problems and that these changes have increased public debts in many developing nations. He added, “The knowledge and skills you gain from this training will help you to maintain comprehensive, accurate, and timely public debt databases in your countries, as this is a prerequisite for efficient debt management operations.”
According to Senior Debt Management Officer Salim Mwabundu of Kenya, the country has utilized the Secretariat’s debt management system for over three decades. He added that Meridian has simplified their work by providing pre-built templates for the recording of financial instruments. In Mozambique, the Secretariat’s debt management system has been employed as an important aspect of macroeconomic management and is used for budgeting, debt analysis, and many other things.