Online Reporter
Gibson Nyikadzino [email protected]
THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) has called on member states to strengthen fiscal discipline and prioritise spending on sectors that generate sustainable development returns amid limited public resources.
The call was made during an intensive three-day training programme in Johannesburg, South Africa, which ended on Tuesday and was attended by more than 170 senior government officials from across Southern Africa.
The programme, organised by SADC in collaboration with the Copenhagen Consensus Center, exposed participants to approaches that governments can use to systematically compare competing priorities, including investments that save lives, generate economic returns and improve people’s wellbeing through cost-benefit analysis.
Chief Director for Evaluation and Learning in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Mr Taona Chaparadza, who attended the programme, said the approach would be important in informing future policy decisions.
“Cost-benefit analysis has unpacked another perspective in the policy ecosystem. The knowledge that we have acquired here is definitely going to be very instrumental in influencing future policy decisions,” Mr Chaparadza said.
The programme brought together officials from ministries responsible for finance, planning, health, education and infrastructure, as well as representatives from presidents’ and prime ministers’ offices and central banks.
Head of the Copenhagen Consensus Center’s Africa Directorate, Mr Ralph Nordjo, said the interest shown by participants in using evidence to determine government priorities demonstrated the potential for governments and international organisations to achieve greater social and economic returns from limited resources.
“It has been inspiring to see more than 170 officials from so many countries embrace cost-benefit analysis. The discussions made here were thoughtful and the engagement was exceptional,” Mr Nordjo said.
The Copenhagen Consensus Center works with governments across Africa to expand the use of evidence-based policy prioritisation.
