THE GAMBIA: BUDGET 2003

BUDGET SPEECH 2003

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

Mr Speaker Sir,

79. The Strategy for Poverty Alleviation Coordinating Office (SPACO) continues to guide poverty reduction efforts in the country through its four key roles of coordination, poverty monitoring, capacity building and resource mobilization.

80. Along with the coordination of the on going National Poverty Alleviation Programme (NPAP), SPACO during the year was actively involved in guiding and facilitating the formulation of the PRSP as a sequel to SPA I. A wide range of national consultation and dialogue continued since the launching of the participatory process in October 2000 leading to the finalization of the PRSP in May 2002.

81. Following its completion, the Government launched a sensitisation and awareness campaign on the PRSP in preparation for the Donors Round Table Conference held in Geneva in September 2002. Government, through the support of UNDP presented the PRSP and its related programme to our development partners and received high commendation from various donors and partners with pledges of over $115m made. We would like to register our gratitude and appreciation to the donor community for their support and pledges made to the programme. We look forward keenly to the follow-up measures needed to be able to implement the programme.

82. In terms of poverty monitoring, the Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA) Reports for both the divisional and village levels have been produced. PPAs bring the perspectives of the people into policy and decision-making. The Gambia PPA is in its third year of implementation and the Canadian International Development Research Center (IDRC) funded PPA project has been extended to December 2002 to allow for the completion of all activities. In February this year, PPAs were conducted in 44 communities nationwide.

83. At the end of the year under review, the Social Development Fund (SDF) under DOSFEA, supported 369 community-initiated social services sub-projects across the country in line with its mandate under SPA I. Support provided under this scheme included the construction of classroom blocks, maternal, child health and day care centres, market structures and income generating activities among others.

84. In the area of micro finance, the Fund disbursed a total of over D4 million to about 11,000 individuals 70% of which were women. The Fund maintained an impressive recovery rate of 95.7%. The Fund has recently commissioned a study that is looking into the capacity building gaps within the micro finance sub-sector. A capacity building programme addressing the identified gaps will start immediately after the study.

85. A recently concluded mid-term review of the SDF concluded that it has positively impacted on the lives of its beneficiaries and has greatly contributed to the building of social capital at the grassroots level. It is in recognition of these achievements within a very short time that the PRSP calls for the expansion and further strengthening of the SDF as a permanent institution that will serve as the main focus of support to community-initiated programmes under the country's NPAP.

86. To operationalize the National Policy for the Advancement of Gambian Women, the Women's Bureau successfully developed a five year Strategic Plan with the help of all stakeholders- government, Non Governmental Organisation, (NGOs) and Community-based Organisation (CBOs). The Strategy Plan identified the goal, vision and mission of the Bureau for the period 2002 - 2006.

87. In response to commitments made in the Signing and Ratification of the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women), the first and initial report on the CEDAW was completed with financial assistance of UNICEF. Last September, The Gambia hosted the first Regional Seminar on the Role of Women in Social Development. The objective of the Seminar, co-funded by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and UNDP, was to share information and exchange experiences on the actual and potential role of African women in the National Development processes.

88. In the same vein, the Mainstreaming Poverty and Gender Project (MPGP) funded by DFID has succeeded in establishing the Focal Point Network, which has attracted a core group from Government, UN Agencies and Civil Society, who has embarked on a sensitisation programme and other activities of the public on the CEDAW.

89. During 2002, the Fight Against Social Exclusion (FASE) project funded by UNDP has also been actively supporting the current development efforts of Government particularly at Decentralisation and Local Government Reform. The strengthening of local government structures is receiving due attention in all the FASE operational areas, with emphasis on Central River Division-North. This is in recognition of the fact that local government structures are going to play a crucial role in bringing development to the people in the new decentralised system.

90. It could be recalled that the FASE project conducts its poverty programme through service providers in Government, NGOs, and civil society organisations in areas such as capacity building and decentralisation, food security, micro-finance, tourism, literacy, gender development and human resources development. The National Youth Service Scheme in particular continues to receive sustainable support from FASE in the establishment of a business development centre and in the youth apprenticeship scheme.

91. Access to the Essential Health Care Package for the population is considered by Government as one of the key pillars for poverty reduction in the Gambia, since improved access to quality health care, contributes to improvement in the quality of life of the population.

92. Over the past years, Government and our health development partners' investment in the sector was on a steady rise and this resulted in many major developments. Notable among them are the construction of new hospitals, upgrading of the Royal Victoria Hospital to a teaching hospital status to support the training of medical doctors. There has also been the upgrading and construction of several health centres to improve access to basic health services to the population. An equally significant achievement has been the high level of coverage achieved with the National Immunization Days for Poliomylities eradication, and Vitamin A coverage for the children under five years of age.

93. These developments have in no small way contributed to improvement in the national health profile. The Gambia's maternal mortality ratio has declined from 1050/100,000 in the 1990 `s to 730/100,000 in 2001. Infant Mortality Rate remains constant at 92/1000 despite the negative mitigating effects of several forces like increased poverty, and malnutrition in the population. Both indicators, though not above sub-Saharan averages, are still considered unacceptably high.

94. To contribute more effectively to a more rapid improvement in the quality of life of the Gambian population, a number of health interventions were considered priorities for poverty reduction and also to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. An important aim for the sector is to have a gradual increase in basic health service delivery points particularly for the rural community to meet the target 65% coverage by 2005 of the 15,000 people per minor health centre, and the planned expansion to meet 80 % coverage by 2005 of the 1,500 persons per village health services (VHS) standards.

95. In order to achieve these targets, strengthened planning and health management information generation at all the levels of health service delivery is required. It also demands re-organisation of the existing village health services and a transformation of the supply and management of essential drugs, vaccines and other medical supplies to increase availability.

96. To this end, The Participatory Health Population and Nutrition Project has funded the Construction of 4 minor health centres and has begun the process of rehabilitating and upgrading of 13 heath centres with the purchase of additional equipment for health centres to improve on quality of service delivery. In addition to enhancing human resource development in the sector, this Project will support the initial funding of the Social Marketing Project, which is intended to increase uptake of insecticides for malaria control and contraceptives for population management as well as for HIV/AIDS control and prevention. The project is expected to start in earnest in early 2003.

97. In 2003, The ADB funded Health Services Development Project will support the Construction of a new warehouse for Central Medical Stores and the provision of Technical Assistants to support various sectors of Health. The project will also finance the construction of a new laboratory compound to house the National Health Laboratory for setting standards for laboratory practice in the Gambia on testing food standards and to support analysis of local foods to promote their export. The National Drugs Laboratory for medicines quality control and testing of drugs will also be located in the same complex.

98. In 2003, the foundation will be laid for an effective regulatory system by supporting the review of health and health related Acts and re-organisation and strengthening of all the health regulatory bodies in line with the new health policy which is "Changing for Good".

99. A major challenge to providing quality essential health care is the availability of quality and affordable essential drugs and other medical supplies to the population. The performance of this Program Area is not totally satisfactory and hence there are plans to transform the management of Central Medical Stores to a more efficient Pharmaceuticals, and vaccines management institution.

100. A contract for a reliable provision of quality transport services has been signed with Riders for Health, it is hoped that this will result in better transport service for health and social welfare with resultant improvement in particularly the referral system. On Social Welfare, the main reforms will include, the decentralization of social welfare services to improve access, and to transform the Production Workshop to a more cost-effective investment.

101. The 2003 Population Census enumeration is planned for April 15, 2003. Major pre-census activities such as the mapping exercise are almost complete. The census will provide invaluable benchmark information on the population size, housing stock and quality as well as settlement size and distribution across the country. The information on population to be collected will include: educational attainment, employment, occupation, age, sex, literacy, etc.

102. Another major survey planned for 2003 is the Integrated Household Survey is a two-pronged statistical inquiry that will seek information on poverty levels and trends as well as information on household expenditure patterns for updating the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The results will form the essential element for the re-basing of the gross domestic product (GDP) estimate. The Poverty aspect of the Integrated Household Survey will study both wet and dry season nature of poverty. The information collected will better inform policy about poverty and its seasonal characteristics - thus, enhancing stakeholder effort in poverty reduction.

103. The Household Budget component of the survey will capture consumption pattern of households over a period of one year. This will help determine the household consumption basket of goods and services as well as establish new weighting diagram for the (CPI). The new CPI will be broader in scope in that it will be National Statistic as opposed to the current Greater Banjul Area based CPI.

Mr Speaker Sir,

104. To track expenditures in the system and direct them to policy priorities, the Education Sector Public Expenditure Review (PER) has been updated and shared with sector personnel. Within the framework of the Government's Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Department of State for Education (DOSE) has also endeavoured, during this year, to give more attention and prominence to those activities that have a direct effect on poverty reduction.

105. These combined efforts resulted in a number of achievements during the year. In the current year (2001/2002), the number of lower basic schools has increased to 371 from 331 in the previous year, while the Upper Basic Schools increased to 114 compared to 62 in 1999/2000 respectively. This translates into an enrolment of 195,373 at the Lower Basic and 68,340 at the Upper Basic which includes enrolment figures from Madrassas.

106. The combined effect of this growth in enrolment is an increase in Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) from 74% in 2000/01 to 75% in 2001/02 at the lower basic. Incorporating Madrassas, the GER at basic education level has increased from 79% in 2000/01 to 83% in 2001/02. During the same period, Girls' enrolment at Lower basic grew faster than that of boys (5.5% as opposed to 3.4% between 2000/01 and 2001/02) resulting in an increase in GER for girls, from 71% to 73%.

107. To support the increased access to basic education, teacher training at the Gambia College was maintained at about 300 Students per annum. As a result in September 2002, about 241Primary Teaching Certificate (PTC) and 299 Higher Teachers Certificate (HTC) have taken up teaching position in the schools.

108. To take education to the remote and under-served areas, over 100 classrooms have been constructed through delegated management contract with Gamworks Agency, and in collaboration with NGOs, such as Christian Children's Fund (CCF) and Future In Our Hand (FIOH). The Department Of State For Education in its drive to meet the targets set under the Third Education Sector Project has allocated over 50% of its allocations from the HIPC funds for the classroom construction programme.

109. In pursuance of our goal to improve the quality of education, several measures have been introduced to allow for quality teaching and learning. To this end, Book rental fees have been completely removed for the lower basic classes and a free Textbook scheme for Grade 1 to 6 is fully operational. Discussions on the removal of the Textbook fees at the Upper Basic level are advanced with our development partners. Repetition rates have also been reduced from 14% to 9 % in 2000/01 while School fees have been reduced at both the Upper basic and Secondary level government schools.

110. 2002 has also witnessed, through the Standard and Quality Assurance Directorate (SQAD), the successful development and introduction of learning achievement targets (LAT) for grades 3 and 5 based on the current syllabuses for the core subjects, wherein teachers have been introduced to the concept of national assessment and its place in the Education Master Plan. On Adult and Non-Formal Education, Gambia College identified and trained 33 pilot teachers for the introduction of the national languages in grades 1 and 2 of the formal system. A new project plan is also being designed to address the issue of HIV /AIDS in the education sector. This programme will lay emphasis on creating awareness for Department of State for Education (DOSE) staff.

111. In a bid to revitalise and strengthen science teaching in schools, a Junior Scientist Award Scheme has been developed for all students from secondary and tertiary education. It is also worth mentioning that a good number of the upper basic and some lower basic schools already have computer literacy programmes in place.

112. Within the context of Government's Decentralisation policy, there are plans to upgrade the Regional Education Offices to regional directorates in order to increase capacity and efficiency. At the moment directorates like SQAD, Adult and Non-formal Education (ANFED) are already represented at the regional level. A Geographic Information System (GIS) has also been developed and a series of training sessions was organised for the sector staff. This supplements the Education Management Information systems which has been operational since 1999.

Mr Speaker Sir,

113. The year 2001 witnessed the conclusion of the infrastructure works under the Brusubi Housing Project Phase 1, and the intensification of the construction works on the Lot D complete housing units, with half of them already sold by the Social Security and the Housing Corporation (SSHFC).

114. The project proposal for the Brusubi Housing Project Phase 2 has been finalised, comprising 841 serviced plots of which 200 would be utilised to construct housing units. The project estimated at more than D35 million would be financed entirely by SSHFC. Applications for the Option 1 and Option 2 plots have already closed and are currently being assessed. Similarly, tenders for the infrastructure works are being appraised with a view to awarding the contracts for the commencement of works on the project in the very near future.

115. In line with Government's decentralisation policy, efforts to acquire land in Brikama are quite advanced as the first step towards Rural Growth Centre Housing Projects. The Department of Physical Planning and Housing has embarked on the preparation of more residential layouts. The Bijilo, Brufut and Tanji residential layouts were demarcated and allocated during the early part of this year. These projects were suspended due to some problems with the allocation and government is doing its best to revive them as soon as possible.

Mr Speaker Sir,

116. Youth poverty and unemployment does not augur well with the maintenance of a peaceful society; it is in this regard, that, the Department of State expanded the mandate of the National Youth Scheme Service (NYSS) to incorporate Apprenticeship training and firmly establish the basis to assist more young men and women acquire skills that are relevant to labour market needs and provide entrepreneurial development for the youth. This will also redress government's concern of the dominance of the labour market by non-Gambians and the youth unemployment rate.

117. During the past years, efforts were made in mainstreaming youths into the national development priorities of Government. Principal among these are the National Youth Enterprise Revolving Fund and the creation of the micro-credit agencies to provide enterprise development opportunities for youths. These are real initiatives, which we hope, should contribute to the empowerment process we have been advocating for over the years for the youth population.

118. The department of state in partnership with key stakeholders have been able to mobilise funds to provide multi-purpose Youth and Sports Centres in all the administrative Headquarters of the country. Plans are also under way to decentralize sporting facilities to District/municipal leve