MoFEA, ADB ink US$3.2M financing agreement
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Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA) Wednesday signed a
financing agreement with the African Development Bank (ADB) valued at US$
3.2 million, earmarked to support the activities for the improvement of
economic and financial governance in The Gambia.

Signed on behalf of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs by Mod
Secka, the permanent secretary MoFEA, and Leila Mokadem, the ADB’s resident
representative for the West African Region, the agreement aimed among other
things, to enhance macro-economic policy analysis and debt management, as
well as strengthen transparency and accountability in the public financial
management.

The grant agreement is directed to target the Finance Ministry, the National
Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly. In
the face of this grant, the above mentioned institutions would be provided
some technical assistance, notably training and IT upgrades, thus enabling
them to better efficiently manage the public finance.

As part of the grant, partnership has been reached between MoFEA and ADB to
harness the services of local training institutions and NGOs to deliver part
of the capacity support envisaged through the project.

It is indicated that particular attention would be given to ensure that
female and young professional staff in these institutions benefit from the
training programmes to promote their career development.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mamburey Njie, the minister of Finance and
Economic Affairs, highlighted the aim of the project, saying it is meant to
address the human and institutional capacity constraints and weaknesses in
the public financial management that would help in the establishment of
efficient, effective and accountable use of public resources, as basis for
stable macro-economic environment and improved wellbeing of Gambians.

“The project is to be executed in three years and the key beneficiaries are
the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, the National Audit Office and
Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly,” he explained.

He then commended the ADB regional representative for sparing her time in
visiting The Gambia, and also hailed the institution for approving such a
grant to The Gambia.

For her part, Leila Mokadem said the grant agreement is a three-year project
aimed at supporting the government of The Gambia with the implementation of
her Public Financial Management Reform Strategy, with an overarching goal of
establishing the effective and accountable use of public resources as a
basis for a more vibrant and stable macroeconomic environment,
socio-economic advancement and the improvement of the welfare of Gambians.

“More specifically, the project focuses on enhancing on macro-economic
policy analysis and debt management, as well as strengthening transparency
and accountability in the public financial management,” she outlined.

She noted that through this support, the government of The Gambia would have
the additional capacity and tools to better implement its reform agenda and
manage public resources more efficiently.

The ADB regional representative further dilated on the support her
institution has been rendering to The Gambia in terms of her policy and
institutional reforms since 1984.

According to her, the Bank Group has recognised the firm commitment and
progress achieved by the Gambia government in advancing reforms in public
financial management.

She disclosed that in recent years, under ADF-11, the Bank has provided to
The Gambia over US$ 8.5 million in the reform of general budget support and
the institutional support to strengthening economic and financial
governance.

“This support has contributed to improved budget planning and management,
with increased allocation to pro-poor spending in sectors such as health,
education and agriculture as well as improve revenue collection,” she said,
adding:

“It is the aspiration of the bank to continue to consolidate and advance
these achievements in close collaboration with the government and other
development partners.”
Author: *Bekai Njie*

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GOD BLESS THE GAMBIA.
LET US JOIN HANDS AND SUPPORT SHEIKH PROFESSOR DR. ALH YAHYA JAMMEH (NASIRU
DEEN) TO BUILD OUR COUNTRY. *


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