PRESS RELEASE THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION (EC) GRANTS 260 MILLION DALASIS IN SUPPORT TO POVERTY ERADICATION IN THE GAMBIA On Tuesday 29th June 1999, the Gambian Authorities have signed with the European Commission (EC) three (3) major financing agreements totalling 21.7 million EURO, the new European currency, and equivalent to 260 million Dalasis. In accordance with the provisions of the Lome Convention, these agreements were signed by the National Authorising Officer, Mr. Dodou Bammy Jagne, Permanent Secretary, Department of State for Finance and Economic Affairs (DoSFEA) in the presence of Mr. Georges-Marc Andre, the European Commission Charge d’Affaires in The Gambia. The ceremony was witnessed by the Secretary of State for Finance and Economic Affairs, Hon. Famara Jatta, the Attorney General, Secretary of State for Justice, Hon. Fatou Bomm Bensouda, H.E. the British High Commissioner, Mr. Tony Millson, who represented the European Union 15 Member States. A special mention should also be made of the presence of Mr. Jan Van Kamp, Programme coordinator for EC funded projects, who during 8 years has worked intensively for The Gambia’s improved future and is leaving the country on 30th June. The main objective of this substantial grant is to serve poverty eradication in The Gambia. The new programmes will have duration of 4 to 5 years. The three priority sectors to be addressed are: (1) Support to Decentralised Rural Development (SDRD), which with an amount of 14.8 million EURO, equivalent to 177.6 million Dalasis, will pursue and extend the EC support to rural development in the North Bank, Upper River and Western Divisions. For the last 10 years, the EC has already funded development activities, including the VISA programme, in these 3 Divisions for a total amount of 27 million EURO (equiv. 324 million Dalasis). SDRD activities will concentrate on i) the implementation of community based projects aimed at upgrading rural production and social infrastructure, including the construction of feeder roads (such as possibly the extension up to Koina of the EC funded Basse-Fatoto road), ii) diversified income generating activities of rural poor, specifically targeting women, iii) village water supply projects, iv) reform of legal and regulatory framework for agricultural producer organisations and policy and strategy of micro-finance operations, v) strengthening agricultural research and extension linkages at national and community levels, specially addressing improved production techniques and environmental issues, and vi) enhancing management and planning capacities of local institutions with a view to support sustainable rural development. (2) Support to the Education Sector Programme (SESP), which amounts to 5 million EURO, equivalent to 60 million Dalasis. SESP will be part of the Government’s Third Education Programme, which should also benefit from other donors’ support (World Bank, DFID-UK, etc.). The EC support will focus upon rural areas of the country by providing improved access (particularly to girls) to, and quality, relevance and efficiency of, basic education (grade 1 to 9). It will also provide an effective framework for conducing demand-driven rural vocational training programmes. (3) Capacity building in the Department of State for Finance, which amounts to 1.9 million EURO, equivalent to 23 million Dalasis. In order to facilitate the dialogue between the Department of State for Finance and Economic Affairs (DoSFEA) and the EC, as well as to establish the required coordination and monitoring capacity, with the aim to improve project/programme implementation and to optimise the effective utilisation and coherence between actions funded from both external and Government resources, an EC Unit (ECU) is being created as a dedicated unit under the direct authority of the Permanent Secretary of DoSFEA. The Coordinator of this unit will be a senior Gambian who will work together with all departments and actors concerned with EC funded activities. He will also participate in the coordination among relevant donors in The Gambia. Through its support exclusively in the form of grants, the EC has become The Gambia’s most important development partner. In this context, the EC would like to recall that respect for human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law constitute an essential element (article 5) of the Lome Convention, which gears the relations between the EC and its partners from the ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) States. As agreed with the Gambian Authorities, the EC also intends to pursue its support to the re-vitalisation of the groundnut sub-sector. This implies, i) a transfer of responsibilities from Government controlled bodies to private operators, including the producers themselves, ii) to reinforce the private operators’ capacities and iii) the setting up of a privately managed price stabilisation fund. Whilst implementing these new and ongoing major programmes, The Gambia and the EC will continue preparing further funding, which should come in support to, i) decentralisation and local government reform, ii) the maintenance/rehabilitation of important sections of roads, combined with the setting up of a Highway Authority and a Road Maintenance Fund, iii) community forestry and agro-forestry and iv) research in the livestock sector through support to the International Trypanotolerance Centre (ITC). ************************** **********