Ebrima S. Jallow
Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs on Wednesday, 7th September 2020 met the Office of the President and its satellite institutions (SIS, NAS, NCCE, NaNA, OVP, NPCS, FSQA, NDMA, and ECOWARN) on its final session of the 2023 budget bilateral engagements with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the government.
In his introductory statement, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, Mod A.K Secka made reference to the current economic situation the world is grappling with. He stated that due to high prices of energy and the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities, the government is conditioned to subsidize fuel and other basic commodities to ensure affordability. These, he said led to the formulation of a revised budget of over D2 billion in July for several sectors of the economy.
Regarding the 2023 budget preparation, Secka stated that the budget ceilings are informed by constraints caused by macroeconomic instabilities in the economy.
Chief of staff, President’s Office, Mod Ceesay said the government’s primary responsibility is to be responsible. He reiterated that the country is going through major challenges leading to many reforms and that the functions of the Secretary-General have been widened and offices increased as well as responsibilities. These, he added will be difficult to manage with mega resources as per the current budget.
Mr. Ceesay noted that this has constrained them in a serious way. He further stated that they inherited insufficient budgetary allocations which have made resource management very difficult. He opined that apart from sectors of the country like the army and the police, the Office of the President is the widest and most complex to run in the government. He declared that the office has expanded and that whatever budget they would be given has been partly used due to existing contracts as well as the building of controlled technologies that have recently become a norm in all Presidential Palaces the world over.
Citing the need to upgrade the technical equipment used in the office of the president, Ceesay briefed that procuring and fixing satellites that would facilitate the president’s communicate with the outside at any given situation as very important.
The Permanent Secretary Office of the Vice President, Dawda Ceesay outlined operational cost details of the different offices under the office of the Vice President. He informed the gathering that another office (ECOWAS Warning and Response Network) will soon be inaugurated. According to him, this is affiliated with ECOWAS demand to have this in place to help the bloc make a strategic decision in terms of disasters or emergencies. He cited the operational cost as a challenge.
“The incessant floods and other disasters should be a consideration to better prepare for in relation to the budget,’’ he concluded.
