MEFMI conducted a regional workshop during the period 4 to 8 October 2021, on the Private Capital Flows Monitoring System (PCMS). The PCMS is a web-based application that was developed by MEFMI in 2007 to help member countries record and process foreign private investment data for Balance of Payments (BOP) and International Investment Position (IIP) statistics and to support policy decisions in general. The system is currently used by seven (7) countries namely Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda and Tanzania.
Since 2018, MEFMI has been working on revamping the system. This was driven by the need to meet the emerging sophisticated needs of users and the incorporation of technological advancements with the aim of rolling out a more robust system to MEFMI member countries and beyond. With the revamping process of the system nearing completion, MEFMI organised a training workshop with the main objective of imparting knowledge and skills to participants on the new functionalities of the revamped system. In addition, the workshop was also expected to provide a platform for stress testing the system through the practical application of the functionalities by a wider group of users.
During the workshop, the resource team conducted a step-by-step demonstration of the system functionalities, while highlighting changes from the previous version of the system and also making reference to the user needs being addressed. Participants had a hands-on application of the system and provided feedback on their observations. Specifically, the demonstration focused on all the modules of the system which include; Static data, Survey management, Data capture, Reports, and System settings. Participants were also shown how to use the helpdesk functionality and the language-translation tool.
Looking ahead, MEFMI has planned various in-country training workshops that will take place during 2022 for all PCMS user countries to facilitate the smooth migration to the redesigned system for use in their enterprise surveys. MEFMI is also available to conduct demonstration workshops for non-MEFMI member countries that are interested in taking up the system.
The workshop was conducted virtually and was attended by 38 officials that included 15 female and 23 male participants. The resource team that facilitated the workshop included; Mr. Parag Tipnis – Project Consultant from United Business Solutions; and Ms. Vivian Namugambe – MEFMI Programme Manager.
Source: Mefmi