New cutting edge technology, developed by the Commonwealth, could help governments in Eastern and Southern Africa to manage their debt.
New cutting edge technology, developed by the Commonwealth, could help governments in Eastern and Southern Africa to manage their debt.
Delegates to a regional workshop, co-organised with the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI) in Harare, Zimbabwe, were among the first to use the new system, called Meridian.
“Meridian is our new web-based public debt management system which has been designed and developed to support a modern debt management office,” said Commonwealth systems specialist, Joanne Allin. “It improves governance through more operational controls and reporting features as well as catering for a much wider spectrum of financial instruments. It also has a more enhanced module to assess and manage contingent liabilities.”
The workshop helped to improve the tool’s usability and effectiveness. Participants commended Meridian’s innovative web-based technology and new features, while also making recommendations for improvement.
Meridian has been tested in India with debt managers and experts from across the Commonwealth. Piloting began in Barbados last month, with several more countries in line to pilot the software before its expected rollout in the first quarter of 2019.
The new system will replace the Commonwealth’s flagship software tool CS-DRMS, which is currently used by more than 60 countries, including half of sub-Saharan Africa as well as non-Commonwealth members.
