Rabat, 18 March 2018 (CEA) - The Economic Commission for Africa and the Ministry of economy and finance of Morocco held a joint press briefing on the conference on 18 March at the Ministry's headquarters, two days before the start of the 52nd Session of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (COM2019).
Running from March 20-26 in Marrakech, this ministerial conference of continental scope this year will have for theme, "Fiscal policy, trade and private sector in the digital era: a strategy for Africa".
More than a thousand experts are expected for the first phase of this event, whose work will focus on the various contributions of digital, both to the development of economic trade in Africa and in terms of strengthening national budgetary policies (public expenditure allocation and management) and the improvement of tax revenue collection (efficiency of collection systems and broadening of the tax base to sectors traditionally considered "difficult to tax" like agriculture, the digital economy or the informal sector).
"We are very pleased that ECA has chosen Marrakech as a meeting place and, for us, to welcome our African brothers and, I hope, the maximum of African ministers. I am confident that this work will necessarily lead to recommendations that will enable us to move forward together, hand in hand, and take on the challenges we face", said Zouhir Chorfi, Secretary General at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
"The purpose of this meeting is to explore how to use new technologies efficiently, to put in place more effective and less costly fiscal and tax policies that will enable Member States to mobilize more resources and ensure transparency in their relations with citizens, "said Lilia Hachem Naas, Director of ECA's Subregional Office for North Africa. "When you consider that in a few years Africa will represent a quarter of the world's working population, it is clear that it is an enormous potential to tap in, and digital technology has a significant role to play in this direction," she added.
COM2019 will also provide an opportunity for the continent's experts and Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to review the policies and frameworks needed to support the effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) ) and achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063.
The conference will be accompanied by some 20 side events, including the launch of ECA's flagship publication Economic Report on Africa, whose 2019 edition will discuss tax policies for sustainable development in Africa. the launch of the Fintech Network or the North African Forum on the Blue Economy.
These meetings will also focus on tax reform issues in Africa, as well as issues such as gender-responsive budgeting, digital trade, tomorrow's workforce planning, climate resilient economies, role of the private sector in the financing of the economy in Africa, financing tools for the alignment and monitoring of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda in Africa, financing of the African rail network and the fight against the problems of sustainable development and security in the Sahel.
Communication team
Economic Commission for Africa
Office for North Africa
Tel : +212 (0) 537 548 749
Email : filali-ansary@un.org; cea.an.coms@gmail.com