Until we stand up to address the many endogenous and exogenous problems
that are manifested in the current budget and are hampering our whole
budgetary process, we might as well read Famara Jatta's budget as just
another familiar fairy tale. As long as these problems or deficiencies are
not addressed, we cannot rely on the budget as a tool for economic
development and policy reform in the Gambia. The major deficiencies,
among many, that become obvious from examining the current budget include:
(1) Persistent lack of adequate, accurate and reliable statistics.
(2) Clear patterns of repetitive budgeting.
(3) Lack of adequate expenditure control and accountability.
(4) Poor linkage between budgeting and planning.
Given the extremity of the current political and economic situations back
home, these problems are almost predictable. The efficient allocation and
utilization of scarce resources is harshly undermined by consistent
executive interference while the role of budgeting as an important tool for
attaining accelerated economic development is gradually diminishing.
Therefore, it is not surprising to read from the current release that there
exists an acutely deficient system where funds are not (a) spent for the
purposes they are intended for, (b) adequately accounted for, accurately
forecasted to facilitate maximum use and distribution of resources, and (d)
appropriately programmed to avoid bottlenecks.
Meanwhile, we will have to endure extreme conditions of underdevelopment,
widespread and absolute poverty, deficient industrial and infrastructure
development, inadequate technological resources, bureaucratic ineptitude, a
less diversified economy, high and rising levels of unemployment, low and
stagnant levels of agricultural and industrial output, extensive levels of
corruption and mismanagement, severe balance of payment and international
debt problems, increased dependence on foreign assistance, and high rates
of inflation. It should not take an expert to realize that inefficient or
non-existent production, virtually no exports, stagnant per capita income,
and high government budget deficits - caused by gross ineptitude among
other factors - are the major culprits of our predilection to further
economic doldrums. It is obvious from the current budget that we have
registered weak economic performance while exposed to enormous external
debt crisis.
Before delving into the budgetary deficiencies, let me briefly talk about
what is expected of those entrusted with the affairs of the state - the
government. Part of governments budgetary responsibilities include: Control
and monitoring of public expenditures; revenue estimation; fund collection
and disbursement; debt management; establishment of tax and spending
policies; maintenance and proliferation of accountability; management and
direction of flow of financial resources toward attainment of predetermined
goals; mobilization and allocation of resources; transformation of
development objectives into projects, programs, and related activities;
proper control of expenditure; and improvement of efficiency and
effectiveness in a stable or fairly stable environment. Unfortunately, we
are yet to have a government in place that will stand up to these
responsibilities in total.
(to be continued)
-BambaLaye
==============================================
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
====================================================
"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have
acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence
of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible
for evil to triumph."
-Haile Selassie I
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