Embrace new technologies for digital collection methods for timely and relevant statistics – DPM Temesgen

Addis Ababa, October 30, 2024 (FBC) – Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Temesgen Tiruneh has challenged African policy makers to build robust data and statistical systems that support development.

Officially opening the 9th Statistical Commission this week, Mr. Temesgen decried traditional statistical approaches, saying they were no longer relevant to meet new demands for data and statistics. Instead, he stated, “Africa must embrace new technologies and innovation in digital collection methods to ensure statistics are timely and relevant.”

“The world is changing, and Africa must be ready to ensure it participates in the digital economy,” said Mr. Tiruneh, noting that using geospatial data in decision-making was “critical to helping pinpoint where development was happening or lacking thereof.”

For his part, ECA African Centre for Statistics (ACS) Director, Oliver Chinganya said Africa was facing huge economic development challenges that demanded innovative solutions, and modern statistical systems were key, in this regard.

Speaking on behalf of the ECA Executive Secretary, Claver Gatete, Mr. Chinganya said, “Africa must invest in the transformation and modernization of statistical systems to accelerate sustainable development and economic growth,” he told delegates at the Statistical Commission being held under the theme, ‘Unleashing the potential of African innovation in statistical Development’.

“The SDGs demand new data acquisition and integration approaches to improve the quality timeliness and disaggregation of data. Any national SDG implementation would be suboptimal without strategies and frameworks to integrate geospatial information into the measuring and reporting processes,” he added.

The ECA has developed and approved a Roadmap for African countries to transform and modernize their data and statistical systems. African countries have made commendable progress in adopting the 2008 System of National Accounts, and a majority of countries have adopted or are in the process of adopting the SNA, which, according to Chinganya, “demonstrates a commitment to improving the quality and relevance of statistics, which are vital for policy making.”

He stressed that quality data and statistics were key in enhancing Africa’s economic integration and the ability of the continent to formulate evidence-based trade, contributing to inclusive growth under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.

Fitsum Assefa Adela,  Minister of Planning and Development, Ethiopia mentioned that Ethiopia has embarked on a digital transformation geared towards improving data quality, enhancing accessibility and strengthening data systems.

Colleen Zamba, Secretary to the President and Cabinet in Malawi said accurate and reliable data was the foundation of effective governance and management in Africa.

“Without strong data, we are navigating in the dark; we must drive proactive sustainable growth to achieve reliable predictive analysis and response to the changing world,” she said.

Ms. Zamba also stressed the need to discuss Africa’s poor collection and retention of data and find effective ways to collect and disseminate data.

Maroale Chauke, Chair of the Regional Committee of United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management for Africa, underscored the importance of geospatial information underlining that many SDG indicators require geospatial data “because it can be analyzed and visualized spatially.”

“We can all acknowledge that linking people, business and the economy to a place, to a geographic location, can result in a fuller understanding of social, economic and environmental issues,” said Ms. Chuke, explaining that the integration of statistical and geospatial information should be seen in the context of a broader integration of data from various sources, reflecting today’s data-driven society.