THE GAMBIA: BUDGET 2003

BUDGET SPEECH 2003

PROGRAMME BASED BUDGETING FOR EFFICIENT RESOURCE ALLOCATION AND USE WITH A POVERTY REDUCTION DIMENSION

Mr Speaker Sir,

223. In providing an enabling environment for the smooth implementation of decentralisation, Government has, this year, passed into law, a new Local Government Bill. This Act formed the basis on which fresh local government elections were held on April 25th 2002, indeed a novelty in Gambian history. With this law and other policy instruments in place, it will be possible to enhance the process and the production of the target outputs of the decentralised programme satisfactorily at all levels. The Department of State for Local Government and Lands (DOSLGL) has recently initiated a sensitisation campaign countrywide on the rules and functions of the newly reconstituted local Government Authorities, all of which have now been inaugurated.

224. The sector worked closely with UNDP, The European Community (E.C.) and the World Bank to address critical concerns of the democratisation process and human development in support of the decentralisation programme. It is worth noting that with the assistance of the E.C., through Support to the Decentralised Rural Development (SDRD), The UNDP through the support to Decentralisation and Local Empowerment Initiatives Project (SDLEIP), and the World Bank through the Poverty Alleviation and Capacity Building Project (PACABP), satisfactory progress has been achieved at all levels of the Local Government system.

225. Government has yet again attained another milestone by approving the Integrated Basic Services Project, which is an integral part of the UNICEF/Government of The Gambia programme of cooperation, 2002 to 2006. The project will enhance and strengthen integration of the social sectors of Health and Nutrition, Education, Water and Environmental Sanitation Programmes.

226. During the year the Judiciary continued to undertake and implement activities and programs designed primarily to enhance the administration of justice and its delivery system, as well as support policy objectives of Government in key areas, such as governance, private sector development and decentralisation, all within the wider poverty alleviation objective of Government.

227. The Department of State for Justice (DOSJ) has started to benefit from the Capacity Building for Economic Management Project (CBEMP) financed by the World Bank. In this regard, office equipment and furniture have been supplied to the Department and plans are underway for the training of both professional and support staff. Other developments under the CBEMP include the computerization of the DOSJ and the creation of a networking system between the Department and the Judiciary.

228. The Department, in conjunction with the Judiciary, is working towards setting up an Alternate Dispute Resolution system (ADR) mechanism in the High Court. Consultative Meetings have been held and a framework agreed upon ADR will have the combined effect of providing an easy avenue for speedy dispute resolution and reducing the congestion in the courts.

229. The Department of State for Interior and Religious Affairs (DOSIRA) is the custodian of internal security, which involves the protection of life and property and the promotion of peace, harmony and religious tolerance within the country. It is also committed to providing efficient security cover to the nation thus creating an enabling environment for meaningful investment in the country.

230. The Gambia Police Force has expanded over the years to meet its priority programmes of addressing security issues such as community policing, crime investigation, and resource utilization in addition to general policing. The development of the Strategic Development Plan (SDP) by the police is a laudable achievement. The concept of community policing will be the guiding principles for the effective implementation of the plan. The concept recognises that achieving a safe and secure environment relies upon the development of a close and effective relationship between the police and the community it serves.

231. In support of global efforts in ensuring peace and stability worldwide the government of the Gambia is participating in the area of peace keeping around the world by contributing troops for the military and civilian police duties in Sierra Leone, East Timor, DRC etc in conformity with her international obligations.

232. The Immigration Services has been restructured by transforming the current structure into two new mission centred divisions - one for Immigration services and the other for Immigration law enforcement, each with a distinct chain of command but operating within the same agency.

233. The introduction of the new passport system marks a milestone in the history of the Interior Department. The new passport is machine-readable and is fully compatible with international standards. In fact the new system incorporating the latest technological innovations which, would allow for the printing of other sensitive documents such as our National Identity Cards, Licensing Certificate, Service and Diplomatic passports.

234. Vocational training, which contributes greatly to self-reliance of Juvenile Offenders, is well established in the prisons to develop their skill in tailoring, carpentry, gardening and in sports recreation. It is worthy to note that this Juvenile Wing at Jeshwang was established a year ago to cater for the increased number of juvenile offenders. The establishment of the wing has completely eliminated the past problem of mixing in the same cells of adult and young offenders and its negative implications.

Mr Speaker Sir,

235. The Government of the Gambia regards the human resources who put its policies and intentions into effect as the most important and critical resource. In this regard short and long-term training programmes have been made available to public servants, private sector and NGO personnel. This was achieved mainly through the use of Government resources and those of donors, especially the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC), UNDP, DFID, The World Bank and the Pan-African Institute for Development (PAID), and the ADB through their recently concluded Country Assistance Strategy. The training of personnel in the Administrative and Accounting Cadres continues to be a priority.

236. Other training strategies have focused on senior management training. Recent collaboration between the Government and CFTC has brought about the training of Permanent Secretaries and Deputy Permanent Secretaries in the area of economic management processes, strategic management and planning, and performance improvement.

237. During the course of the last academic year, 27 officials from across the civil service benefited from long-term overseas training in addition to several short-term courses. All these measures have been undertaken to ensure that the Civil Service will always able to respond to the needs of the Gambia people, within the limits of financial and economic policy.

238. In accordance with the PSC Act 1991, The Personnel Management Office (PMO) continues to be involved in staff inspection exercises. The aim of these is to ensure that the resources in the civil service are used efficiently and effectively and for obtaining better value for money.

239. In the area of information systems, our main objective is to provide accurate information to assist in decision making, proper planning, and monitoring of civil service personnel. One of the priorities of the PMO is to improve the quality of the data and also establish stronger linkages with similar units in other Departments of State to achieve. This can only be achieved if databases within the civil service have a high degree of compatibility.

240. Since the establishment of the National Records Service (NRS) of The Gambia in 1993, several Records Offices have been restructured to enable them provide efficient and reliable service to the whole civil service. With assistance from DFID of United Kingdom, the NRS has been involved in a successful restructuring of personnel, judicial, and hospital records of Government. At the last stage of the project period much emphasis has also been placed on managing the transition between electronic and manual records to speed up decision making by using the former.