Donors’ Pledge to support NA’s development plan

Location of Old National Assembly in Banjul

The first ever National Assembly donors’ roundtable conference to mobilize resources and solicit donor support for the successful implementation of the Strategic Development and Investment Plan (SDIP) 2010-2014 has ended with substantial pledges from local and international donors, at the Kairaba Beach Hotel on February 16, 2011.

The pledges include private investors, central and local government institutions, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Civil Societies and individual contributions. The Donors Conference organised by the country Legislative arm of government is funded by the United Nation Development Program (UNDP) in The Gambia.

This strategic development and investment plan, if fully funded, is expected to strengthening the capacity of the National Assembly to deliver its core functions and to ensure that legislations proposed by the government are scrutinised in a transparent manner.

The pledges, which are in cash and kind including capacity building programmes and technical services to the Assembly, were publicly announced to conference by representative from local institutions and individuals.

The Bankers Association of The Gambia pledges D500, 000; Social Security and Housing Finance Cooperation (SSHFC) D300, 000; National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) D500, 000; Action Aid International-The Gambia D100, 000; Pro-Poor Advocacy Group D500, 000 for a capacity building programme for the Assembly.

Individual pledges include Minister of Justice Edu Gomez pledges D5000; Mass Axi Gai, Gambia’s Ambassador to Guiana Bissau D2000; KMC Mayor Yankuba Colley D2000 and Matarr Baldeh of Education for All Initiative D1000 for five years and promises to sell the SDIP to possible donors.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) also pledge to support the National Assembly with institutional and technical capacity in the area of information communication technology (ICT) and communication facilities through consultations with the service providers in the country.