Now that people have shown some interest in SOS Jatta's budget speech, I
have resumed posting the rest. Thanks for the interest Sophie.

Have a good day, Gassa.

PROGRAMME BASED BUDGETING FOR EFFICIENT RESOURCE ALLOCATION AND USE WITH A
POVERTY REDUCTION DIMENSION

X. GOVERNANCE ISSUES

Mr, Speaker,


The Gambia’s increasing attention to issues of governance is an important
part of our efforts to promote equitable and sustainable development. We are
cognisant of the fact that good governance is an essential complement to
sound economic policies. As defined by the World Bank: "Good governance is
the manner in which the social and economic resources of civil society are
managed".


Governance is vital for economic development and certainly government has
not turned a blind eye to good governance, accountability and transparency,
as evident in the establishment of the office of the Ombudsman, the IEC,
coupled with mutual settlement with West Coast Air inherited from the
previous government, and the settlement with Alimenta.. However, there is
still some room for improvement. As one commentator puts it: "There is a
time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see, yet small
enough to solve" (Mike Leavitt). Therefore, the role of our development
partners, donor community, civic society and NGOs, is crucial and highly
desirable to creating a conducive environment. We cannot do it all alone,
that’s why we need the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders in societal
development.

Mr, Speaker Sir,

174. In keeping with Government’s declared objective of bringing justice
closer to the majority of Gambians, the Department of State for Justice and
the Judiciary this year established and inaugurated the Divisional High
Court in Brikama. I am pleased to inform this august body that plans are
well advanced for the construction of a High Court and residences for Judges
in both Brikama and Basse.

175. This will, in addition to taking justice to the doorsteps of our people
save much needed human and financial resources on the part of the majority
of Gambians who have hitherto had to travel long distances and spend
valuable resources to gain access to justice in Banjul, particularly during
the rainy season. The benefits to accrue both to Government and the people
in terms of poverty alleviation are immeasurable.


Mindful of the growing need for revenue generation to match the increasing
need for public expenditure, Government has embarked on a re-structuring of
the Registrar General’s Department into a semi-autonomous business-oriented
organisation as opposed to its present service-oriented activities. The
functions of the Registrar General’s Department include the registration of
business, Deeds, Titles and Agreements among others.


Presently, the services provided for businesses and individuals are grossly
under-valued and therefore subsidized from Government revenue. Therefore,
the service of a consultant has been requested to revamp and restructure the
Registrar General’s Department into a semi-autonomous and revenue-generating
Department. The revenue to be generated in the future will no doubt be
substantial.


In the pursuit and in preparation for decentralisation, we embarked on a
series of activities, through the Poverty Alleviation and Capacity Building
Programme including the identification of properties in growth centres of
Local Government Areas. The identification process will facilitate a
valuation exercise of rates to be properly assessed, with a standard
national framework in order to enhance the finance resource generated by the
Municipalities and Local Government Administrations. The process is now
complete and a total of above nineteen thousand properties have been
identified in Banjul City Council and the various local councils across the
country.

i. Civil Service Reform


Through the Personnel Management Office (PMO) we strive to develop and
sustain a well-trained and highly professional civil service that is
efficient, productive and responsive to national goals and objectives. This
we are pursuing through the divisions of Personnel Management, Management
Service, Human Resource Development, National Records Services (NRS), and
the Human Resources Information Systems Units. The ADB funded Capacity
Building Project in this vein complements the efforts of EMCBP and CBEMP
towards an efficient civil service.


On the development of human resources, we have tried to train as many civil
service staff as possible from the centralize vote; and supplement this with
multi-sectoral and bilateral donor agencies principally the Commonwealth
Fund and Technical Cooperation (CFTC) in the receipt and dissemination of
training awards. We intend in the coming year to develop a Training Policy
for the Civil Service and commence English Language and Office Practice
courses for Secretaries on an annual basis.

XI. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)

Mr Speaker,


Over the year, the number of NGO’s operating in the country has increase
immensely, primarily in response to the need of the society, particularly
the poor and the under privileged in socio-economic development and in the
vital areas of health, education and environment. Their pioneering role in
complementing the effort of the government in achieving national development
objectives has been greatly recognised and appreciated. So far, one hundred
and one NGOs, comprising international and local organisations, have been
granted approval for registration out of which, 3 organisations have phased
out.


The NGO Affairs Agency is in the process of compiling a comprehensive NGO
Directory, which will go a long way to facilitate information sharing and
serve a useful purpose to potential NGOs and the general public.


XII. PUBLIC ENTERPRISES (PEs)


Turning to the performance of PEs, the sector continues to contribute
significantly to the overall development of the country. Although not all of
the PEs have their accounts for 2000 audited at the time of preparing this
report, the sector registered a gross turnover for the year of about D1.042
billion, representing an increase of about 10% compared to 1999. An
individual analysis of the PEs shows that Gambia Telecommunications Company
Ltd. registered D344.6 million (33%), National Water and Electricity Company
Ltd. D212.1 million (20%), Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation
D181.2 million (17%) and Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) D129.1 million (12%).
In relative terms, Gamtel’s turnover represents a 4% increase over 1999,
NAWEC a 4.6 % decline, SSHFC an increase of 3%, and the GPA a decline of
0.8%.


Contributions to turnover by the other PEs include Gambia Public Transport
Corporation D71.5 million (7%), Gambia Civil Aviation Authority D57.4
million (6%), and Gambia International Airlines D44.3 million (4%). In
relative terms, the proportion of each of these three enterprises remains
unchanged when compared to 1999. The sectors turnover for 2001 is estimated
at D1.1 billion representing an increase of 7% from the 2000 figure. The
order of magnitude in terms of individual PE contribution to this figure
remains virtually unchanged.


In terms of contribution to total domestic revenue, which relates basically
to repayment of loans lent to PEs by Government as well as dividends paid by
PEs to Government, a total of about D57.3 million has been collected in
2000. This amount is expected to increase to D62.1 million in the year 2001.
The only regular company when it comes to dividend payment is the Gambia
Ports Authority, which has paid D2 million in 2000 and D1 million in 2001.


The total investments of the public enterprise sector, which were held
mainly by SSHFC and GPA, as at the end of 2000 stood at D794.6 million. Out
of this amount, the SSHFC accounted for D722.3 million or 91% of total
investments, while the Gambia Ports Authority held D72.4 million or 9%.

i. The Divestiture Strategy and Regulatory Framework

Mr Speaker, Sir,


In the context of the divestiture strategy, the Gambia Divestiture Agency
(GDA) has been established by an act of the National Assembly with the
mandate to implement government’s divestiture programme and serve as the
secretariat for the process. The agency has since prepared and submitted to
the HILEC a divestiture implementation framework which, when endorsed by the
Cabinet, will pave the way for the divestiture of public enterprises. In
terms of the legal and regulatory framework for public utilities, the
National Assembly will be forwarded a Public Utilities Regulatory bill for
enactment. Given our previous experience with public enterprises, government
is hereby informing parliament of the need for private-public partnership to
ensure greater synergy in our future privatisation process.


The Denton Bridge and Kaur Facilities have been handed over to the GDA in
preparation for their divestiture before the 2002/2003 groundnut-trade
season. A consultancy carried on the Facilities demonstrated the strategic
importance of the river transport fleet in the success of groundnut
marketing. In fact it was stressed that without barges there will be no
groundnut season. Given the poor state of the barges of the river transport
fleet and their vitality in assuring the success of the coming trade season,
the GDA has entered into agreement with a Senegalese firm for the full
repair of 22 barges for the period November 2001 to March 2002.




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