By Ebrima S. Jallow
The Directorate of Aid Coordination of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, in collaboration with the World Bank on 22nd June 2022 organised a country portfolio performance review of all projects, part or fully funded by the World Bank in the country.
In his opening statement, the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Mr. Seedy Keita explained that a Country Portfolio Performance Review (CPPR) is a robust tool used especially by the World Bank in order to monitor and manage the portfolio performance of its financed projects in a country.
He pointed out that the objective of the CPPR is to identify the progress made and the bottlenecks experienced during project implementation, as well as to find tangible solutions through stakeholder engagement, collaborations, and coordination.
The Minister seized the opportunity to welcome all participants, particularly project managers and coordinators for the time taken to converge and discuss the achievements and those important issues confronting the implementation of their projects.
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA) through the Aid Coordination Directorate has conducted several Country Portfolio Performance Reviews for all donor-funded projects in the country. This is to help the Ministry get updates on the achievements, challenges of the Project Implementation Units (PIUs) during the implementation process, and the way forward to solving the issues confronting them.
The information gathered from CPPRs helps the Ministry of Finance with its stakeholders to make decisions at the highest level on issues hindering the implementation processes; such as delays in disbursements, procurement processes, procedures, etc.
From March 15th to 16th, 2022, a Mini-Country Portfolio Performance Review was conducted to discuss and measure the financial prudence and the effective and efficient utilisation of aid resources, and the daunting challenges encountered by the PIUs during implementation. Issues affecting projects and portfolio implementations and performance respectively were presented and discussed.
To address the issues raised in both Reviews, Hon. Keita disclosed that
The Gambia Strategy Review Board (GSRB) was approved by the Cabinet in 2020. The Directorate of Aid Coordination under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs which is mandated by the Gambia Aid Policy and the GSRB would review, appraise and endorse all development project proposals consistent with the National Development Plan for possible financing in the country. were addressed.