EU Announces Further Support for Public Financial Reform

Delegation to the Republic of The Gambia is pleased to announce the commencement of further support by the European Union to the implementation of Public Financial Management reforms in the area ofpublic procurement in The Gambia. The specific objectives of this new program are to (i) review the legal and regulatory framework, (ii) support improvement of Gambia Public Procurement Authority capacity in order to strengthen monitoring and controls, (iii) revise procedures, and (iv) support capacity building at the level of the procuring organisations. This Long Term support funded by the EU commenced on the 26th January 2015 and will continue to end December 2016. The contractor is the UK company WYG. WYG as a specialist in Public Financial Management has been working with the Government of The Gambia since 2002 on various programmes including Budget, Treasury, Accounting and Audit reforms. This project is part of the wider EU funded “Governance Programme in The Gambia” of €10 million (equivalent to GMD 500 million) which includes: (i) Access to Justice and Legal Education, (ii) Journalism and the Media, and (iii) Public Financial Management. Overall EU support to the Public Financial Management reforms started in 2012 by supporting the introduction of the VAT and a Medium Term Budget Framework. A Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessment was also financed and contracted in 2014 with the objective to identify strengths and weaknesses in the Government of The Gambia’s Public Financial Management system at the central government level. Short term expertise has been hired by the EU from September 2014 to March 2015 to provide a firm base for further procurement reform in The Gambia. The recently arrived long term technical assistance team consists of team leader Mr Olivier Barnouin, who is a procurement expert and Mr John Auma who serves as the training advisor. The consultants are working closely with GPPA and the short term consultancies include delivering training workshops, the revision of procurement regulations and standard bidding documents, and the provision of advice to ensure a smooth transition. A kick off meeting on the 26th February 2015 served as part of the ‘hand-over’ between the EU funded short and long term procurement consultancy teams. Press Release from the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of The Gambia]]>