Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs

ABDOU KOLLEY
Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs

CURRICULUM VITAE

NAME:	Abdou Kolley
CURRENT TITLE:	Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs
CURRENT DUTY STATION:	Banjul, The Gambia
CURRENT PHONE NO:	Office: 220-420-1432
PLACE/DATE OF BIRTH:	Kembujeh, 01 January 1970
NATIONALITY:	Gambian

SUMMARY OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

GOVERNMENT OF THE GAMBIA – CABINET APPOINTMENTS

Re-assigned to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs – 16th April 2012 to date

Appointed as Minister of Fisheries and Water Resources
– 6th February 2012

Re-appointed as Minister of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment – 14th April 2011

Re-assigned to the Ministry of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment – 27th January 2011

Re-assigned to the Ministry of Finance – July 21st 2010

Minister of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment – March 2010 - July 2010

Same duties and responsibilities as the first Cabinet appointment, except for the portfolio of Industry which was transferred to a new Ministry of Economic Planning and Industrial Development.

Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs – Jun 2009 - Mar 2010

With overall responsibility for the portfolio of Finance and Economic Affairs, other responsibilities include:

Continued to serve as Member of the National Planning Commission of The Gambia.
Served as Governor of The Gambia in the following institutions: ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID); Banque Sahelo-Saharienne pour l'Investissement et le Commerce (BSIC); World Bank Group; International Monetary Fund (IMF); African Development Bank (AfDB); Islamic Development Bank (IDB).
Served as Chairman of the Governing Council of the West African Insurance Institute headquartered in Banjul , The Gambia.
Served as Chairperson of the Africa Constituency Group I in the World Bank and IMF.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Employment – Feb 2007 - Jun 2009

With overall responsibility for the portfolio of Trade, Industry and Employment, other responsibilities performed at the national level included:

Served as Member of the Cabinet Subcommittee on New Bills responsible for reviewing and vetting draft bills prior to their submission to Cabinet for consideration and adoption before transmission to National Assembly for enactment.
Served as Member of the National Planning Commission of The Gambia with the responsibility of ensuring a more coordinated response to meet the socio-economic development objectives of the country.
Served as Member of the National Nutrition Council chaired by the Vice President and responsible for providing policy guidance on nutrition.
Served as focal point and responsible for matters relating to World Trade Organisation (WTO), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and International Labour Organisation (ILO).

As Minister in Charge of Integration and matters relating to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), effectively

Served as Governor for The Gambia in the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development – EBID (Mar 07-Jun 08) completing the Bank's restructuring process and handing over governorship to Ministers of Finance.
Served as Member of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, the oversight body over all ECOWAS institutions and organs, responsible for advising the Authority of Heads of State and Governments on all matters affecting the sub-regional integration process.
Served as Member of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee responsible for overseeing and providing guidance on the negotiation of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between West Africa and European Union.
Took part in other continental forums such as Conference of African Ministers of Industry (CAMI), AU Conference of Ministers of Trade, and Conference of African Ministers in Charge of Integration (COMAI).

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME, BANJUL

Economic Analyst, Strategic Policy Unit – Nov 2004-Feb 2007

Under the direct supervision of the Economic Advisor, assisted in the administration and management of UNDP technical cooperation in The Gambia to ensure a successful implementation of programmes and improve the general image of the United Nations, including participation in resource mobilisation and aid co-ordination.

Analysed, assessed the socio-economic and political environment and maintained continuous dialogue with partners to provide development advisory services, identify catalytic areas eligible for UNDP support and intervention, and develop programmes / priorities in the light of national priorities and UNDP strategic focus areas;
Effectively participated in aid coordination and resource mobilization efforts by leading and also contributing in drafting project proposals (Trac II- $984,610, UNDEF-$350,000 EC for elections-E500,000), and provided substantive advice to government on the Round Table process;
Advocated the MDGs and Human Development concepts, and assisted in the preparation and validation of the MDGR and the NHDR, including drafting of concept notes, terms of references and coordinating the work of consultants. Played active role in MDG sensitisation campaigns including for media, National Assembly Members, civil society organisations;
Overseen and coordinated CO's support to MDG planning processes, including drafting of TORs, recruitment of consultants, training on use of Millennium Project costing methodologies, and formulation of the MDG-based PRSP 2007-2011, while ensuring technical quality;
Substantively contributed to the formulation of the Common Country Assessment 2005, United Nations Development Assistance Framework 2007 -2011, UNDP Country Programme Document and led the formulation of the Country Programme Action Plan 2007-2011 in collaboration with the Programme Team.

GAMBIA DIVESTITURE AGENCY

Senior Economist, Principal Economist, Director – 2000-2004

As member of the management team of this newly created agency involved in ensuring that agency is put on a sound footing, including formulation of job descriptions for staff, scheme of service and staff service rules, as well as putting in place proper financial rules and procedures.

Prepared terms of reference for consultancies and monitored all technical matters undertaken by consultants, necessary to prepare public enterprises for divestiture.
Participated in the formulation process of the Gambia's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 2003-2005 (PRSP I) and was part of the select group for the final drafting and editing of the document.
Involved in formulation of policies, review and analysis of budgets and financial statements of public enterprises as representative of the Permanent Secretary on the various Boards of Directors.
Participated in monitoring and evaluation of public enterprise performance, and ensuring compliance with government policies in line with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and led the review of the MOU and the annual setting of indicators and performance targets.

MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

Economist – 1997-2000

Major achievements included:

Reviewed private sector development issues for the purpose of developing and stimulating private sector initiative; reviewed and analysed a number of investment/project proposals from both the public enterprises and the private sector for government support and possible donor funding;
Attended proceedings of the Major Tender Board and participated in the Board's tender evaluation sub-committees;
Successfully coordinated the initial stage of the World Bank funded Capacity Building for Economic Management Project by assisting beneficiary institutions in preparing concept papers, coordinating the recruitment of consultants, drafting terms of reference for relevant sector studies;
Effectively contributed in the formulation of Gambia Divestiture and Regulatory Strategy, and establishment of Gambia Divestiture Agency and Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to divest government assets and interests in public corporations and to regulate public utilities, respectively.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

MASTER'S DEGREE IN ECONOMICS, major: ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, with honours, Jean Monnet University , Saint-Etienne, France, 1997
BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN ECONOMICS, major: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Jean Monnet University, Saint-Etienne, France, 1996.
DIPLOMA OF GENERAL UNIVERSITY STUDIES, major: ECONOMICS, with honours, Jean Monnet University, Saint-Etienne, France, 1995.
ADVANCED FRENCH LANGUAGE DIPLOMA, Jean Monnet University, Saint-Etienne, France, 1992.
GENERAL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION ADVANCED LEVEL (GCE "A" Level), Saint Augustine's High School, Banjul, The Gambia.
GENERAL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION ORDINARY LEVEL (GCE "O" Level), Saint Peter's Technical High School, Lamin, The Gambia.

PAPERS/PUBLICTIONS

The Gambia's Divestiture Strategy, Economic Watch, Volume 1, Issue1, December 2001 Published by Department of State for Finance and Economic Affairs – The Gambia.
The Need for a Capital Market in the Gambia, Economic Watch, Volume 1, Issue 2, June 2002 Published by Department of State for Finance and Economic Affairs – The Gambia.
Cash Budgeting and PRSP/Poverty Reduction Strategies: A Review of Case Studies and Lessons for The Gambia, March 2005, unpublished.

LANGUAGES
Read, write and speak excellent ENGLISH (official language of The Gambia) and FRENCH. Speak fluently the Jola, Mandinka and Wolof local languages.

COMPUTER SKILLS
Proficient in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint

DISTINGUISHED AWARDS

Awarded "2008 Partner to the Private Sector" by the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry during its Annual Business Awards Dinner held on February 6, 2009.

Awarded the insignia of Officer of the National Order of the Republic of The Gambia (ORG) on the occasions of the 45^th Independence Anniversary and the 15^th Anniversary of the July 22 ^nd Revolution, January 2010.