The Continental Forum on Administrative Data began yesterday, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Casablanca, bringing together high-level representatives from African Union Member States, European statistical institutions, international organizations, and technical cooperation agencies.
A Press Release obtained from Omocto Communication Agency indicates that the forum which is organized within the framework of the Pan-African Statistics Program II (PAS II) was funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France, in partnership with STATAFRIC and with the support of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
The forum aims to strengthen the use of administrative data as an essential lever for governance based on reliable and up-to-date data. Under the theme “Harnessing Administrative Data in Africa: Breaking Down Silos to Accelerate the Achievement of Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030,” this first day provided an opportunity for an in-depth dialogue on the challenges related to the production, management, and use of administrative data on the African continent.
The discussions highlighted the structural challenges faced by many countries, including the fragmentation of administrative data sources, the absence of common standards, and a lack of coordination between institutions.
Initiatives aimed at strengthening governance and legal frameworks conducive to the sharing and use of administrative data for the production of official statistics were presented, such as Senegal’s NINEA unique identification system, and South Africa’s new statistics law, which overrides privacy laws in the production of national accounts and population censuses. The issue of strengthening cooperation between national statistical institutes and data providers was addressed by Rwanda and INSEE France, addressing aspects such as anonymization, interoperability, and secure data access.
Practical cases of using administrative data to produce official statistics were presented by several countries, including Morocco on the use of energy consumption data for economic monitoring, Ghana on the use of administrative data to strengthen local governance, and Senegal on the use of tax data for economic indicators.
These presentations and case studies gave rise to discussions among the participants. They unanimously emphasized the crucial importance of cooperation between institutions to establish interconnected administrative registers and promote evidence-based governance.
According to Maxime Bonkoungou, SAP II team leader, “Quality administrative data is the cornerstone of effective democratic governance.” They enable decision-makers to better respond to citizens’ needs and guide public policies accordingly.”
The forum’s work continues today and tomorrow, with sessions devoted to the Nordic countries’ experience in modernizing and exploiting administrative data for statistical purposes, innovation in data integration, and frameworks for assessing the quality of administrative data to make them suitable for the production of official statistics.
BY ZEKARIAS WOLDEMARIAM
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 13, July 2025
