Until we stand up to address the many endogenous and exogenous problems that are manifested in the current budget and are hampering our whole budgetary process, we might as well read Famara Jatta's budget as just another familiar fairy tale. As long as these problems or deficiencies are not addressed, we cannot rely on the budget as a tool for economic development and policy reform in the Gambia. The major deficiencies, among many, that become obvious from examining the current budget include: (1) Persistent lack of adequate, accurate and reliable statistics. (2) Clear patterns of repetitive budgeting. (3) Lack of adequate expenditure control and accountability. (4) Poor linkage between budgeting and planning. Given the extremity of the current political and economic situations back home, these problems are almost predictable. The efficient allocation and utilization of scarce resources is harshly undermined by consistent executive interference while the role of budgeting as an important tool for attaining accelerated economic development is gradually diminishing. Therefore, it is not surprising to read from the current release that there exists an acutely deficient system where funds are not (a) spent for the purposes they are intended for, (b) adequately accounted for, accurately forecasted to facilitate maximum use and distribution of resources, and (d) appropriately programmed to avoid bottlenecks. Meanwhile, we will have to endure extreme conditions of underdevelopment, widespread and absolute poverty, deficient industrial and infrastructure development, inadequate technological resources, bureaucratic ineptitude, a less diversified economy, high and rising levels of unemployment, low and stagnant levels of agricultural and industrial output, extensive levels of corruption and mismanagement, severe balance of payment and international debt problems, increased dependence on foreign assistance, and high rates of inflation. It should not take an expert to realize that inefficient or non-existent production, virtually no exports, stagnant per capita income, and high government budget deficits - caused by gross ineptitude among other factors - are the major culprits of our predilection to further economic doldrums. It is obvious from the current budget that we have registered weak economic performance while exposed to enormous external debt crisis. Before delving into the budgetary deficiencies, let me briefly talk about what is expected of those entrusted with the affairs of the state - the government. Part of governments budgetary responsibilities include: Control and monitoring of public expenditures; revenue estimation; fund collection and disbursement; debt management; establishment of tax and spending policies; maintenance and proliferation of accountability; management and direction of flow of financial resources toward attainment of predetermined goals; mobilization and allocation of resources; transformation of development objectives into projects, programs, and related activities; proper control of expenditure; and improvement of efficiency and effectiveness in a stable or fairly stable environment. Unfortunately, we are yet to have a government in place that will stand up to these responsibilities in total. (to be continued) -BambaLaye ============================================== "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." -Martin Luther King Jr. ==================================================== "Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph." -Haile Selassie I ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~