The Public Account Committee PAC and Public Enterprise Committee of the National Assembly Monday adopted the annual report and financial statement of the Management Development Institute (MDI).
Senior officials from the MDI and officials from the Auditor General Office were in attendance during the presentation of the financial statement at the National Assembly House in Banjul.
Presenting the institution’s annual report and financial statement before deputies, Dr Jainaba M.L. Kah, Director General of MDI, said she was honoured to submit the annual report of the Management Development Institute (MDI) for the 2012/2013 financial year.
She said that during the period under review, the decision to return to their core mandate of training the public service is to contribute towards improved public service administration in The Gambia.
“We are also cognizant of the fact that we have to prepare graduates with new skills, a broad knowledge base and a range of complex and interdependent world,” she said.
She said that to focus on energies on their core mandate which had become dilated in the last decade and a half, the work of the institute was guided by the following strategic priorities, to improve service delivery quality and access, to put in place effective system, structures and processes, leverage information communication technology as a strategic resource and improve efficiency of Human Resource Management.
Madam Kah informed the PAC/PEC that the MDI’s role has become critical in building the capacities and competences of public servants who are supposed to move the public service machinery.
MDI has become more important because The Gambia Government Public Sector Reform places at its forefront the task of building a capable development state, she added.
“The public sector reforms argument is premised on the fact that the future of our country is intrinsically linked to the successfully repositioning of the public service. This reform asserts that unless we fix the public service, realizing our developmental objective, hopes and plans would be more difficult because the public service is the engine of the state,” Madam Kah stated.
If the engine was dysfunctional, she stated, the movement of the vehicle would be slow and that their developing economy would not grow as fast as they envisage.
Hence in 2012-2013, MDI sought to develop a stronger market proposition by leveraging collaborations with both public and private organizations to build valuable partnerships and strengthen inter-agency relations, she said.
“We worked with Ministries and projects, to customize or co-develop training programmes, co-organize events, collaboration in research projects, and provide them with consultancy service in various areas,” she revealed.
Director Kah told National Assembly Members that MDI, invigorated by the renewed commitment and hope the people of The Gambia have in the institution, continues to spearhead a major transformation in management development in The Gambia and has made giant strides in equipping her clientele to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Hon. Sainey Mbye, member for Lower Saloum, in his comments, thanked the Management of MDI for making this nation very powerful in capacity building.
They are contributing immensely to improving the services of this country, he said.
He therefore called on the committee to advocate for more funds for MDI so they would be able to carry out their mandate, adding that MDI integration with the UTG, Gambia College and GTTI is very important because all these institutions are established by an Act of Parliament.
Hon. Abdoulie Jawula, member for Kantora, commended MDI for training most of the people in the civil services, who he said are doing very well in improving the civil service of the country.
