Recently, a ten-strong Gambian delegation concluded a mission to the Seychelles, as the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs of Gambia readies to establish a commission for the oversight and monitoring of state-owned enterprises, like the Seychelles Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission (PEMC).
The mission, supported by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), comes after the Gambian authorities recently established a new Directorate, the State Owned Enterprises (SOE) Department, with the mandate to oversee SOEs across the Republic of Gambia.
Over the course of five days, the delegation held discussions with PEMC on the framework for oversight of public enterprises, also meeting with public enterprises and relevant authorities such as the National Tender Board, and Office of the Auditor General, with the aim of taking back home what they have gained from the experience, to strengthen the capacity of the new department.
According to the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs of Gambia, Abdoulie Jallow, the Gambia in 2016 embarked on a series of reforms, with procurement and the reform of SOEs a key part of the reform agenda.
“In the past 22 years, the operational and financial activities of SOEs were compromised to an extent that the SOEs became a liability on government. It was therefore felt necessary, that to reduce the fiscal risks emanating from SOEs, it is important that we come up with new legislation that will have a strong oversight over SOEs, and at the same time, bring some operational independence to these entities,” Mr Jallow explained.
The Gambian government is scheduled to present to its own National Assembly a Bill, establishing a commission equivalent to Seychelles’ PEMC, to exercise an oversight role over its thirteen SOEs.
Following a meeting yesterday afternoon with secretary of state in the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade, Patrick Payet, the delegation expressed their satisfaction with the mission.
Gambia is a fairly small West African territory spanning around 11,000 square kilometres and situated on the Atlantic Coast, and surrounded by the neighbouring country of Senegal.
The country has a population of 2 million inhabitants, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD ($) 1.902 billion.
