The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission has commenced a regional training programme for statistical leaders from member states and Mauritania, seeking to strengthen national statistical systems and improve the quality, credibility and accessibility of official data across West Africa.

The five-day training, which began in Monrovia, Liberia, on October 5 and ends tomorrow, is bringing together managers from National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and National Statistical Systems (NSSs), as well as officials of the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) and technical staff of the ECOWAS Commission.

The programme is being implemented through the World Bank-funded Project for the Harmonisation and Improvement of Statistics in West and Central Africa (HISWACA), against the backdrop of growing demand for timely, reliable and comparable statistics to support economic policymaking, development planning and regional integration.

The training is designed to equip statistical managers with modern leadership and management skills to enable them to navigate an increasingly complex data environment, lead teams effectively, improve institutional performance and respond to emerging challenges, including digital transformation and the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

At the opening ceremony, the Director General of the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), Richard Fatorma Ngafuan, described the initiative as an important step towards strengthening leadership within National Statistical Systems.

Ngafuan, who highlighted the longstanding partnership between LISGIS and ECOWAS in statistical capacity building, said statistical institutions required leaders capable of maintaining professional integrity while managing institutional change and technological transformation.

He stressed the need for statistical managers to uphold statistical integrity, improve institutional performance, embrace digital transformation and the responsible use of artificial intelligence, while communicating effectively with policymakers and the public.

According to him, stronger statistical leadership remains critical to building institutions capable of producing reliable, credible and trusted statistics for evidence-based decision-making and improved development outcomes.

Also speaking, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Liberia, Ambassador Mohammed Kenewui Konneh, said effective leadership was indispensable to building strong, credible and professional National Statistical Systems.

Konneh noted that although ECOWAS had made progress in harmonising statistical frameworks and methodologies across the region.

Several challenges persisted, including inadequate leadership capacity.

Shortages of human and technical resources, difficulties in data production and accessibility, and the politicisation of official statistics.

He said competent statistical managers were required to translate regional standards into effective national implementation, while protecting the independence and integrity of official statistics.

The Director of Research and Statistics at WAMI, Sherif Torey, said reliable, timely and comparable statistics were indispensable to sound economic policymaking and regional integration.

He said the responsibilities of National Statistical Offices had expanded significantly, requiring managers to combine technical competence with leadership, effective resource management, innovation and strict adherence to professional standards.

Representing the ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, DehpueYenpea Zuo, the Director of Research and Statistics, Samson Bel-Aube Nougbodohoue, said strong leadership and effective management were central to developing credible, responsive and professional statistical systems across West Africa.

He said increasing demand for quality data required statistical leaders to strengthen institutional capacity, embrace innovation and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, while safeguarding the professional independence and integrity of official statistics.

Nougbodohoue urged participants to translate the knowledge gained from the training into institutional reforms, stressing that the success of the programme would ultimately depend on its impact after participants returned to their respective institutions.

“The success of this workshop will ultimately be measured not only by what we learn here, but by what we do with that knowledge when we return to our institutions,” he said.

The training also coincided with the launch by Liberia of its Country Report on the Dynamics of Socio-Economic Performance, Food Security, and the Challenges of Regional Integration in ECOWAS.

Opening the report launch, Liberia’s Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Augustine KpeheNgafuan, represented by the Assistant Minister for Economic Policy, Henry D.Z. Yanquoi, described the report as an important instrument for evidence-based policymaking and regional development.

He outlined Liberia’s efforts under the government’s “ARREST Agenda” for Inclusive Development, particularly in fiscal management, revenue mobilisation, infrastructure, agriculture, governance and human capital development.

He urged stakeholders to use the findings of the report to guide investment decisions, public policy and development interventions.

“The launch of this report is only the beginning. Its true value lies in how we use it,” he said, urging stakeholders to translate its findings and recommendations into concrete actions capable of advancing inclusive and sustainable development in Liberia.

The twin focus on statistical leadership and the Liberia country report underscores the growing importance of credible data to ECOWAS’ efforts to address economic, food security and development challenges while deepening regional integration.

For a region seeking greater policy coordination and economic integration, participants at the Monrovia training are expected to strengthen the capacity of national statistical institutions to generate data that can be trusted by governments, businesses, development partners and citizens.