Ebrima S. Jallow
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs on, recently conducted its annual budget consultation workshop at the SDKJ-CC with stakeholders (MDAs, CSOs, and subvented institutions). This workshop is one of the key consultation activities for the Fiscal Year 2023 budget formulation process.
The workshop was used as a platform to discuss policy matters including the overall medium-term macro-economic framework and issues pertaining to key budget reforms.
Presentations of the workshop were reflected on the Recovery-Focused NDP (RF-NDP) and how MDAs’ budgets should be linked to the RF-NDP; 2023 Macro-economic framework; budget preparation and execution process; 2023 Workforce (manpower) planning and budgeting, etc.
The Forum was chaired by one of the Permanent Secretaries of the Ministry, Mod A.K. Secka, who said the annual budget consultative forum was intended to provide an opportunity for MDAs to engage with the Ministry of Finance to explain to them the guiding rules for formulating and preparing the 2023 national budget. Secka added that the Ministry of Finance and Economics Affairs recognised that such forum will promote a collaborative approach to budgeting and have a positive impact on the budgeting process, leading to a credible budget and stimulating inclusive growth, employment, and development.
As part of efforts to reform the traditional budgeting process, the Ministry has begun, in recent years to engage non-state actors including the private sector, local government authorities, and civil society groups. This is expected to achieve an inclusive budget and to better align the annual budget to policies and strategic plans.
The PS reported that the global economy is expected to grow 3.2% in 2022 before slowing to a 2.9% GDP rate in 2023, marking a downgrade of 0.4 and 0.7 percentage points, respectively, from April as forecast by IMF. These, he said, are as results of soaring global inflation and the Ukraine war, among others. Being part of the Global economy and vulnerable to its happening, The Gambia is not spared from the downside risks outlined.
To conclude, the former Higher Education PS implied that economies need to adjust policies and plans and better prioritise available resources to mitigate and adapt to the current shocks that will sustain the country’s economic recovery efforts in the medium and long term.
