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An UNCTAD-led training mission took place in Antananarivo, Madagascar, from January 10 to 19, 2024 at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). The activity was organized and financed as part of the "PREGODI" project, funded by the African Development Bank, aimed at strengthening governance through digitalization.
Madagascar has been using DMFAS since 2001, when it was initially installed at the Central Bank. In 2014, the MEF took over responsibility for debt data management with the creation of the Public Debt Directorate (DDP) as the government's main debt management entity.
The DDP manages external and domestic debt and participates in all loan negotiations. In accordance with Law n°2014-012 of 6 August 2014 on “governing public debt and debt guaranteed by the Central Government”, the MEF maintains the DMFAS system and the database for the management of external, domestic public debt and loans guaranteed by the Central Government. The MEF and the Central Bank of Madagascar coordinate their actions in accordance with an agreement between the two institutions, setting a clear functional separation and describing in particular, the Central Bank's role in the management of treasury bills.
Over a two-week period, some twenty participants- both experienced and new users - were trained in the use of DMFAS to record domestic and foreign debt instruments managed by MEF, and produced a series of statistical tables. The DMFAS users who were already familiar with the system were able to deepen their knowledge in the use of DMFAS, for example for the recording of operations on capitalized interest and maturity rescheduling, as used by Madagascar under the debt service suspension initiative from which Madagascar benefited from in 2020-2021.
The training participants also documented operational procedures for the recording and production of reports in DMFAS. Ten thematic sheets were thus produced, together constituting Madagascar's DMFAS operational manual.
"DMFAS contributes to improving the reliability and completeness of the debt database. It helps us on a day-to-day basis by enabling the reliable recording of debt data, the production of statistical reports, and the efficient management of the various stages linked to public debt," said Mrs. Ioby RASAMIRAVAKA, Director of the DDP.
Transparency of debt data is a priority for the Malagasy government, hence effective management of the DMFAS database is essential, as is the production of statistics in line with international standards. The collaboration between MEF and UNCTAD is part of a long-term engagement.