Programme 4: Public debt management

Strengthening debt management offices

Public debt management is an integral part of the budget process. A programme on public debt management, thus, adds a critical dimension to CABRI’s work in ensuring that public spending is affordable and sustainable over the medium to long term.

The inclusion of work on public debt management in CABRI’s mission was initiated by the National Treasury of South Africa, with the decision to request CABRI to host the Centre for African Public Debt Management. After consultation with CABRI’s governance committees and negotiations with the National Treasury, the decision was taken to bring the work of the centre under the CABRI umbrella as an additional programme, with effect from 1 April 2016.

In 2015/16, CABRI took over the hosting of the 9th Forum on African Public Debt Management and Bond Markets. Most of the latter part of 2015/16 was devoted to conceptualising the implications of extending CABRI’s mission to include public debt management and bond market development within the ambit of our work.

The programme covers the following three focus areas: debt capital markets; strengthening debt management offices; and African debt statistics. The next activity will take the form of an ‘in-conversation’ workshop on cash management in the 2016/17 period, and will bring together debt officials from seven African countries (Ghana, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia) to discuss the key elements of a functional cash management system.