On Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in Brazzaville (Republic of Congo), the Minister of Economy, Planning, and Regional Integration, Ludovic Ngatsé, representing his colleague Christian Yoka, Minister of Finance, Budget, and Public Portfolio, and current Chair of the AFRITAC Central Steering Committee, opened the 27th meeting of the Committee. The ceremony was attended by several prominent figures, including Philippe Egoumé, Director of this technical assistance arm of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In his opening remarks, Ludovic Ngatsé indicated that this meeting is taking place at the beginning of the 2026 fiscal year, before announcing the three themes that will be discussed over two days, until Wednesday, June 18, 2025, by the participants.

"This meeting, which marks the Republic of Congo's first term as Chair of the Steering Committee, will be organized in a new format. These two days of meetings will be devoted to panel discussions on current issues that affect all our member countries. The various panelists will discuss three themes: "Digitization of the Tax Administration for Better Mobilization of Domestic Resources"; "Program Budgeting"; and "Implementation of Risk-Based Supervision," said Minister Ludovic Ngatsé. He added that, "given the importance of discussions regarding the Center's financing, a session is planned to present an inspiring model of cooperation between a member country and its development partners."

For his part, the Director of Afritac Center reviewed his institution's activities for the 2025 fiscal year. "At the end of fiscal year 2025, the Center's work program includes 187 activities, representing an overall implementation rate of 82%. Aware of the need for increased support, particularly for the so-called FCS (Fragile and Conflict-Affected States) countries in the region, the Center continues to allocate increasing resources to these countries." Fiscal year 2025 is characterized by a significant increase in resource allocation to FCS countries, with 90% allocated, compared to 84% in 2024.

For example, the Republic of Congo, host country of the 27th Steering Committee meeting, has made significant progress thanks to Afritac Central's support. These include the reorganization of information and communication technologies within the General Directorate of Customs and Indirect Taxes (DGDDI); monitoring the computerization of the process for developing and implementing commitment plans via the Integrated Public Finance Management System (SIGFIP); finalization of the final national accounts for 2022; and ongoing support in the implementation of the program budget.

The Communication Unit of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Public Portfolio