On 19 April 2024, we had the pleasure of hosting a visit to our offices by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which was set up by its South Africa Office. Mr Kurokawa and Ms Janet Mc Grath were joined by Dr Kawakita, who is visiting from Japan. The meeting was fruitful and focussed on areas of strategic importance to both JICA and CABRI in the development of public financial management (PFM) systems in African countries and South Africa, particularly pertaining to delivery in key sectors like for quality water provision, the sustainable development of secondary cities, to name a few.

Central to the conversation was the type of reform approach needed in interventions, including the methodologies that CABRI continues to use and refine, to ensure that reforms bring true change that can be demonstrated with evidence of improvements to citizens and government. We look forward to the further discussions that will focus on future country support in Africa.