The day-long engagement was held at the Bakadaji hotel in Kololi.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Tabou Njie Sarr, Country Director of Westminster Foundation, spoke on the importance of the convergence.
“WFD works around the world with the belief that democracy can solve the problems that matter to people. However, it does not thrive on its own. WFD supports people around the world in order to strengthen democracy in their countries,” she postulated.
Commenting on the significance of the forum, she said, “the initiative is to build the capacities of lawmakers with a view to enable them better scrutinize the financial expenditure of the government and taxpayers' money, ensuring transparency and accountability within government, and making recommendations to ensure taxpayers receive best value for money on governments' spending.”
“The training will also better help the parliamentarians to also examine all associated financial records, including reports given by the Auditor General, but also have the mandate to hear spending from state-owned enterprises,” she said.
“FPAC and PEC also hold government institutions accountable for the use of public monies and resources. Therefore, they are the watchdog for public sector spending as it has the role to scrutinize the budget, government plan for spending on basic services for the citizenry both before and after it’s passed through Parliament.”
Marabi S. Hydara, the Director of Committees of the National Assembly, said: “As elected representatives, you are entrusted with the critical responsibility of overseeing public finances, and your role in ensuring transparency, accountability, and effective utilization of national resources cannot be overstated.”
He added: “This training we believe, has been meticulously designed to enhance your capacities in exercising this vital function. We are confident that the knowledge and skills you will acquire today will significantly contribute to your ability to hold government accountable, thereby fostering good governance and promoting judicious use of public funds for the benefit of our citizens.”
Honorable Alhagie S. Darboe, Chair of the FPAC spoke at length on the importance of the training, saying: “The one-day training on the national budget is very timely, in the sense that by next month we are going for the budget session.”
“Therefore, this training will definitely enhance our capacity towards the budget. Every year, we have been doing very well, but we always expect to improve in our budget scrutiny,” he emphasised.
Concluding, he said: “Westminster is recognized as one of the most important partners as far as National Assembly is concerned. And we have to thank them so much for being partners with the National Assembly and focusing on this very important area that is engaging FPAC and PEC.”
