Participants - Pix: The Point |
Sound
procurement and contracting, good public accounting and transparency are
important aspects of good governance which
can help build the trust between government and its people, according to Nicola
Neuss, an EU delegation representative to The Gambia.
“This
is particularly important in the current global economic situation where people
want to know how their hard earned money is being spent by governments, said
Neuss in her remarks during a nine-day training of stakeholders on the 10th
European Development Fund (EDF) procedures held at a local hotel at Senegambia,
Kololi.
The
training is meant to expose the participants to management best practices,
programming and financing, procurement of services and works, basic rules
applicable to grants, call for proposals, co-financing and among other
financial dealings.
And
Neuss noted the EU observes strict rules in managing public finances. On
Tuesday, she urged the participants to derive maximum knowledge and benefits
from learning the rules and procedures for managing programmes under the 10th
EDF.
Over
the years, the EU has worked towards enhancing the economic development of The Gambia
through a series of initiatives carried-out under The Gambia-EU Cooperation.
Hence, the EU remains a critical development partner to the tiny West African
nation and the Cooperation has been growing steadily over the years.
When he
took his turn, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Mr
Mod A.K. Secka said “the EU has funded huge capital intensive projects in the
areas of water supply, transportation, rural development and livelihood
enhancement, direct poverty reduction programmes, among others”.
The
EU’s huge developmental support to the country compelled Mr Secka to note his government’s
commitment to strengthening the “long fruitful relationship” between The Gambia
and the EU.
“It
provides us the opportunity as stakeholders of the Gambia-EU cooperation to
engage more closely with a view to comprehending and improving our requirements
for implementing, reporting, monitoring and evaluating EU-funded projects that
are being implemented or about to start by our various organizations,” added Mr
Secka, who is also the deputy National Authorising Officer of the National
Authorising Officer Support Unit (NAOSU).
He
told the participants drawn from various government ministries and parastatals,
and non-state actors, to use the forum as a platform to share ideas, best
practices and challenges with implementing organizations.
The
training is expected to enhance the capacity of the participants and improve
the performance of the Gambia-EU cooperation towards the realisation of the
aspiration of the poverty reduction strategic paper two (PRSP II), the millennium
development goals (MDGs) and Gambia’s blueprint development plan (Vision 2020).
Author: Modou
S. Joof for The Voice Newspaper
No comments:
Post a Comment
The views expressed in this section are the authors' own. It does not represent The North Bank Evening Standard (TNBES)'s editorial policy. Also, TNBES is not responsible for content on external links.