In Gambia we led one project and trained several practitioners. See below for country related content.
Projects
In April 2017, BSC began a two-year engagement with the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI), an intergovernmental organization based in South Africa, to build capability for Public Financial Management (PFM) reform in Africa.
Teams from Central African Republic, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and The Gambia participated in this program.
Building PFM Capabilities in Africa
April – December, 2017
The team from The Gambia focused on:
Problem: Misallocation of resources leading to weak implementation as a result of high debt burden, high level of arrears and high volume of virements.
What was done: The team established guidelines and templates for budget reporting to strengthen M&E of the budget. The team had arrears verified and authenticated by the Internal Audit to ensure arrears are legally incurred and to avoid the settlement of fraudulent invoices. Finally, the team trained and sensitized vote controllers, accountants and procurement officers on budget reporting and fiscal risks related to arrears.
What was learned: Consistent behavior is key to team discipline. Engaging and collaborating with others made it a “we” problem and made things less of an imposition. Once you can demonstrate the importance of issues, you are likely to get the required support.
Project-Related Posts
Building PFM Capabilities 2017 Cohort: Closing Workshop
My PDIA Journey by Awa Touray
Team Photos
