Presenting the report before deputies, Nyakassi M.B. Sanyang, Statistician General of GBoS, said GBoS continued with its routine activities related to ad hoc studies.
The activities undertaken include data collection, processing, analysis and dissemination of statistics on consumer prices, producer prices, government finance, national accounts, trade and transport, he added.
He said with the ad hoc studies, the Bureau continued implementing the post enumeration activities of the 2013 population and housing census and the 2013 demographic and health survey in 2014, as well as implement the first phase of the 2014/15 economics census.
Mr Sanyang said that during the first quarter of 2014, the national accounts unit continued with it routine task of producing the annual gross domestic product, estimates both in current prices and at 2004 constant prices.
The unit embarked on collecting, compiling and analyzing revised data for 2013 to update and the 2013 preliminary GDP estimates which was produced in November for the 2014 budget speech.
He also said that in February 2014, the head of the national accounts unit attended a three-day meeting of the African Group on National Accounts (AGNA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the implementation of the 2008 system of national accounts (2008 SNA).
Sanyang further told the committee that the meeting was jointly organised by the African Union Commission and Africa Development Bank.
Representatives from 45 African countries, as well as regional and international organisations and development partners attended the meeting to discuss the roadmap and prepare an action plan for the implementation of the 2008 SNA.
“As capacity building is ongoing activity, four personnel from the unit also attended a training workshop on national accounts at the West Africa Regional Technical Assistance Centre established in Accra, Ghana.”
The workshop was part of the national accounts module of the five-year Enhance Data Dissemination Initiative (EDDI), supported by the UK Department for International Development.
The training workshop focused on specific issues related to GDP compilation and the programme included lectures, presentations by countries, discussions and interactive sessions based on practical cases.
The workshop was organised by the International Monetary Fund and lasted from 24 to 28 February 2014.
According to Mr Sanyang, a proposal was made and a concept note was prepared to conduct a census of the Gambian economy, to strengthen the data collection framework for the compilation of national accounts to produce revised and reliable GDP estimates with 2013 as a new base year which is also in compliance with the 2008 SNA.
The government of The Gambia and the World Bank through the Integrated Financial Management Information System additional financing project, under the Ministry of Finance and Economics Affairs, provided technical and financial support for the conduct of an economic census in The Gambia in 2014 and an establishment survey in 2015.
GBoS is expected to report back to the National Assembly today for consideration of their report.
