Zim implements IMF’s data dissemination system

With the successful launch of a new data portal, Zimbabwe has implemented a key recommendation of the IMF’s Enhanced General Data Dissemination System (e-GDDS) to publish essential macroeconomic and financial data.

The e-GDDS is the first tier of the IMF Data Standards Initiatives that promote transparency as a global public good and encourage countries to voluntarily publish timely data that is essential for monitoring and analysing economic performance.

The implementation of the e-GDDS recommendation and the launch of the data portal—the National Summary Data Page — are a testament to Zimbabwe’s commitment to data transparency, the IMF said.

The National Summary Data Page will serve as a one-stop publication for disseminating the data recommended under the e-GDDS, covering national accounts and prices, government operations and debt, the monetary and financial sector, and the external sector. The National Summary Data Page will facilitate access for data users in Zimbabwe and abroad, including policymakers, financial sector, private investors, think tanks and the media.

“More broadly, having data in line with the e-GDDS means it should be accessible in a standardised way to facilitate analysis of economic trends across countries and to provide an early detection of risks to help avert economic crises, thus supporting sustainable economic growth and development.

Thanks to the National Summary Data Page, Zimbabwe’s information has become easily accessible in both human- and machine-readable formats for users, resulting in greater data transparency,” said the IMF.

It is hosted on Zimbabwe’s national Open Data Platform (ODP), which is provided by the African Development Bank, and utilises a modern data publication technology. A link to Zimbabwe’s National Summary Data Page is available on the IMF’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board. The data is provided by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

Bert Kroese, chief statistician and data officer and director of the IMF’s Statistics Department, welcomed this major milestone in the country’s statistical development.

“I am confident that Zimbabwe will benefit from using the e-GDDS as a framework for further development of its statistical system,” Kroese said. The benefits, including better sovereign financing conditions for countries participating in the e-GDDS, have recently been reviewed by the IMF Executive Board in the context of the Tenth Review of the IMF Data Standards Initiatives.

The launch of Zimbabwe’s National Summary Data Page was supported by an IMF technical assistance project financed by the Government of Japan.-ebusinessweekly