From: 26/07/2010
To: 30/07/2010
Location: Banjul, Gambia
In collaboration with the African Development Bank's (AfDB) regional field office (SNFO) in Dakar, Senegal, the African Development Institute (ADI) and the Governance, Economic and Financial Reforms Department (OSGE) are organizing a regional seminar on "The role of Parliaments in Promoting Good Public Financial Management and Accountability in Africa" in Banjul, The Gambia, running from Monday, July 26 to Friday July 30, 2010.
The seminar aims at examining and deepening understanding on the role parliaments play with regard to fiscal prudence and the achievement of macro-economic policies.
The participants are focusing on the AfDB's organization and operations, project cycle management, the legislature's fiscal accountability, budget comprehensiveness and coverage of the public sector, pre-budget and approval stage, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of in-year fiscal reporting, and other related issues.
During the opening ceremony, the SNFO resident representative, Mohamed H'Midouche, emphasized the importance of good public finance management for achieving development objectives. He pointed out the crucial role that parliaments could play in this regard. Mr. H'Midouche also stressed the importance of this aspect to the AfDB, and what the Bank was doing for its regional member countries (RMCs).
Speaking on behalf of the country's national assembly, Gambia's Parliamentarian, Lamine Kebba Jammeh, welcomed participants to the seminar, stressing that due to the importance of good governance, the country's president had made a strong commitment to check corruption in all sectors of the economy. He expressed gratitude to the AfDB for having chosen The Gambia to host the seminar.
The loan and disbursement director at the country's finance ministry, Mod Ceesay, who opened the seminar on behalf of the permanent secretary, cited concrete actions being undertaken by the government to check corruption. He recognized the complementary role that parliaments could play to ensure that projects are effectively and efficiently implemented to reduce poverty in African countries.
The seminar brought together some 25 participants from eleven African countries. In addition to the plenary and group sessions, participants will visit two AfDB projects and meet with the speaker of the Gambian Parliament on July 28, 2010. The meeting will enable participants to share perspectives and experiences with national parliamentarians on issues of common interest. The visit will also provide an opportunity for participants to have talks with project staff, and to gain a better understanding of challenges the projects are facing from the preparation stage and how best parliaments could help to improve their implementation with a view to achieving development objectives. The seminar is coordinated by the ADI training officer, Mamadou Kone, and OSGE governance officer, Abdul Nashiru Issahaku.
Contacts
Moulaye Idrissa Toure
