IMF Workshops highlight Challenges to the “Macrofiscal Function” in Sub-Saharan Africa

Recent years have shown that African economies face growing challenges: economic shocks, climate risks, and the need for better public services. To respond, governments must be able to look ahead, anticipate risks, and make informed budget decisions. This is where the “macro-fiscal function” comes in—it’s about bringing together economic forecasting, budget planning, and risk management so that countries can make smarter choices for the future. 

Three of the IMF’s regional technical assistance centers in Sub-Saharan Africa, AFRITAC Central (AFC), West (AFW) and South (AFS), together with the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, organized earlier this year, workshops on strengthening the macrofiscal function. The workshops—one virtual, and one in-person held in Cote d’Ivoire—sought to institutionalize this function within national budget cycles, enhance fiscal risk management, and foster peer learning among regional administrations. Nearly 70 senior officials representing 21 countries,^[1] regional commissions,^[2] and central banks^[3] participated in the event.

The workshops provided presentations on a range of macrofiscal technical and institutional issues by IMF staff. They also showcased a range of initiatives in the region that have been strengthened through technical assistance provided by AFC, AFW, and AFS missions. Most interesting perhaps were the in-depth discussions by participants on challenges countries face in strengthening the macrofiscal function and how to potentially address these. 

Successful initiatives:

• Macrofiscal committees (MFC) have been set up in all participating countries, led by the ministry in charge of budget, to coordinate macrofiscal and budget preparation processes, ensure the integration and consistency of macrofiscal functions deliverables, monitor alignment with statistics reforms, and upgrade macrofiscal forecasting models. These MFCs need to be further reinforced.
• The institutionalization of budget orientation debates in several countries to anchor budget allocation decisions in a medium-term perspective.
• Many countries have progressively integrated fiscal risks analysis and tools into their budget processes by producing annual fiscal risk statements and reports. For this, they utilize IMF tools such as the SOE Health Check Tool and the PPP Fiscal Risk Assessment Model (PFRAM) and leverage new approaches to incorporate risks related to natural disasters into budget planning (developed by FAD) to support reforms under the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) related to climate change (Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC).

Key challenges to strengthening the macrofiscal function:

• Institutional fragmentation: In many countries, macrofiscal functions are still decentralized across multiple directorates, each responsible for areas like debt, statistics, forecasting, budget programming, and risk management.
  • Insufficient data, limited tools and personnel: Without robust forecasting tools, reliable data, or enough qualified personnel (particularly with high staff turnover)—administrations struggle to elaborate realistic annual and multi-year budget plans.
  • Insufficient integration of risk management: Approximately 60% of countries lack fully operational mechanisms for fiscal risk management, heightening their exposure to economic shocks and constraining their capacity to anticipate and mitigate pressures on public finances.
  • Insufficient training and peer-learning: Increasing needs for training on IMF tools and manuals on macrofiscal frameworks and risk quantification, and for a formal regional framework to share practices and promote peer learning.

To meet these challenges, participants agreed on the following key recommendations :

• Raise awareness among senior officials about strengthening macro-fiscal functions.
  • Establish a core macro-fiscal unit, continue the strengthening and structuration of MFCs and improve inter-entity coordination.
  • Organize regular interregional workshops on emerging themes and harmonization of forecasting methods.
  • Enhance macrofiscal forecasting tools and promote country ownership through inclusive development processes. Additionally, develop and implement revenue forecasting tools (including for natural resources-based revenues).
  • Improve medium term fiscal frameworks (MTFF) by aligning with fiscal rules, budgetary frameworks (MTBF), and expenditures frameworks (MTEF) tools.
  • Improve fiscal risk quantification and support countries in conducting risk analyses.

Feedback from participants suggested that thanks to these workshops participants will be able to start applying the knowledge gained in their respective administrations. They especially appreciated the collaboration with officials from other countries on identification of capacity development priorities and operational recommendations. The IMF’s technical assistance centers in Sub-Saharan Africa will continue to support member countries in implementing these recommendations and promoting good practices adapted to regional contexts.