Africa is faced with multiple economic shocks precipitated by effects of soaring interest rates and escalating debt vulnerabilities, Principal Secretary of the National Treasury Chris Kiptoo has said.

The economic shocks include geopolitical tensions, global inflationary trends and increased costs of servicing debts.

The principal secretary said that extreme climate change effects and other environmental stressors have emerged as key drivers of elevated cost of living in Africa.

In a speech read on his behalf by Michael Kahiti, Director of Planning and Head of the Africa Division of National Treasury, during the opening of the 2025 Africa Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Public Financial Management (PFM) Flagship Training Programme organised by the African Development Bank in Nairobi, Dr Kiptoo said these persistent shocks have constrained the fiscal space, depressed the international financial flows and increased the cost of borrowing.

He added that the flagship training programme could not come at a better time when strategic policy options and priorities for development need to align to African countries’ fiscal, natural, business, financial and human capital capabilities for sustainable and inclusive development as well as maintaining high degrees of accountability and transparency.

To attain this, however, the principal secretary pointed out that much emphasis in budgeting, accounting, reporting and auditing needs to be pivotal in public finance management, and these are the primary focus of the PEFA assessment.

“The knowledge in PEFA Assessments will help African countries strengthen their PFM systems that will ensure that the policies of the government are implemented as intended and achieve their objectives,” he noted

Kiptoo noted that the knowledge in PEFA will further help governments to formulate public financial management reform strategies, determine priorities, set targets, design interventions and allocate responsibilities that win public confidence.

“I have no doubt that this training will equip and strengthen our trainees into agents who embody and lead proper public financial reforms as well as championing the PFM transformational agenda,” Kiptoo expressed optimism.

Legesse Eshetu Yimer, Division Manager of the Financial Management Division for the East, Southern Regions and Nigeria at the African Development Bank, said the training will be much more than a technical exercise and is about building capacity to use PEFA assessments not just as reports on shelves, but as living tools that inform policy, strengthen accountability and shape reforms.

“By empowering you with knowledge and skills, we are strengthening the foundations of fiscal discipline, effective service delivery and public sector performance. When country systems are strong, development outcomes are sustainable and when professionals like you are empowered, Africa is better equipped to mobilize and use resources for the benefit of its people,” Yimer added.

AfDB Director General for East Africa Regional Office Alex Mubiru said the event comes at a critical juncture when the bank recently adopted its ten-year strategy (2023-2032), which places governance, accountability, and institution-building at the heart of efforts to accelerate inclusive growth and foster sustainable development.

“The strategy is clear: Africa will not achieve its goals unless we succeed in mobilising resources effectively, managing them transparently and channelling them into the programs that improve lives,” Mubiru said in a statement read by Bubacarr Sankareh, Lead Operations Advisor, East Africa Regional Office.

The 2025 three-day capacity-building training that will cost $112,600 will upgrade the skills of financial management specialists (FMS) and procurement, governance, climate change and gender officers in the East Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office (RDGE).

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Wangari Ndirangu