The event, which attracted cabinet ministers and senior government officials and representatives of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), comes on the backdrop of a World Bank TAA mission to the country, during which they held series of meetings with government, ministries, departments, agencies, private sector, civil society organisations and development partners.
The visiting officials are here to access the progress on the implementation of the country’s TAA Strategy and start preparation of the TAA Annual Review for the upcoming fiscal year.
It would be recalled that on November 3, 2021, the Government of The Gambia received the World Bank management approval to access the IDA 19 Turn Around Allocation (TAA), allowing The Gambia to access 125- percent top-up of its performance-based allocation of IDA resources.
Feyi Boroffice, World Bank resident representative, spoke of the gains made by The Gambia in meeting some of the indicators.
The Gambia, she said, has actually become a model for the TAA process, as the country has demonstrated the value of extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders from government agencies, Civil Society Organisations, multilateral, development and bilateral partners.
“Last year, this committee met together with other several sectoral ministers, partner and key stakeholders to define the role in reviewing progress towards the achievement of TAA milestone.”
The move, she added, is an important role as the milestone of the Turn Around Allocation supports the country’s continued eligibility for the TAA envelope for the upcoming fiscal year.
The WB country rep further disclosed that the country’s continued access to the TAA is reviewed annually.
She equally recalled that since the country first gained access to the TAA in November of 2021, significant gains have been made on the government’s strategic role, centred around restoring trust between the citizens and the state; good governance, sustainable land management and access to basic services.
“The road to develop an inclusive and gender sensitive land policy has been completed and the formulation of the land policy is ongoing. The National Health Insurance Bill has been enacted and mass birth registration conducted including in rural areas. A Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) platform is effective, contributing to significant improvement in access and provision of basic services with a particular focus on vulnerable groups. This is an important achievement,” she said.
She however said that there is still an opportunity to intensify engagement to support the country in its pursuit for major reforms to build resilience as transitioning out of fragility is not linear and therefore there is no easy quick fixes or solutions.
Ms Mosibudi Priscillia Rampedi, United Nations Resident Coordinator i.e FAO representative, on behalf of the UN country team expressed appreciation for the unwavering commitment to the development and progress of The Gambia.
“I am pleased to highlight the ground breaking collaboration between WB and the UN, which is a result of a joint project financed by the humanitarian development peacebuilding and partnership facility.”
The innovative partnership, she went on, aims to align strategic outlook and direct resource in support of government’s priorities such as addressing any remaining gaps in governance and in the economic-social transformation.
She informed that it is significant to note that The Gambia is the first country where UN and WB are collaborating in the Turn Around Allocation process, saying that they have done so by working together through the Steering Committee, technical committee and the working group.
She assured the World Bank and government, of UN’s readiness to support the government to make better progress.
Deputising for the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Abdoulie Jallow, permanent secretary at the said Ministry, said the meeting comes on the heels of the World Bank mission that seeks to assess progress on the implementation of the TAA strategy.
The outcome of the 2023 fiscal year TAA annual review, he went on, manifests government’s significant progress in achieving the stated milestones.
“Out of the 15 indicators, 11 have been achieved and 4 are progressing steadily. None of the milestones and corresponding indicators are stagnated, thus attesting government’s commitment under the leadership of President Adama Barrow in addressing the drivers of fragility of the country,” he stated.
He assured that as a government these gains will be further consolidated and deepened, by strengthening institutions and systems and to transition and build resilience through good governance, inclusive growth, human capital and sustainable development.
