By Kaddy Jawo
A delegation of parliamentarians from over twelve countries are on a project sites visits in The Gambia. The projects are funded and implemented by the World Bank.
The parliamentarians are from donors and recipient counties all over the world and they are here to seek firsthand information on those implemented World Bank Projects.The projects are targeted to solve problems confronting the most vulnerable people in the society especially women and children.
Naye Anna Bathily, the Director of Global Parliamentary Engagement told journalists at a press briefing that they are here to see how the projects are progressing and to speak with the members of communities on the impacts these projects are having on their livelihood.
“Sometimes the projects are small but the impact they are making is very huge,” she said while also expressing that she is impressed with the implementation of the projects.
Hubert Julian, French Member of Parliament said the World Bank has a good reputation when it comes to implementing big projects. “We realize that all the projects that the world bank is implementing in Senegal and Zambia is as impressive as the ones in The Gambia.”
Cornelius Mweetwa, Zambia Member of Parliament said all the projects in The Gambia are incredible because of the impact the projects are having on the livelihood of the people. He said it’s not about the size of the infrastructure that matter but the impact the projects have on the communities.
Muso Komma, Country Director for Child Fund International said she is very impressed with the site visits and said as a developing nation ‘if you get such funding from organizations like the world bank you have to implement it properly to pave way for more projects.”She expressed delight in the way all the projects are being implemented.
She called on the government of The Gambia and Civil Society Organizations to support in the area of human capital development because there is limited human capital and that is really affecting productivity in those project areas.Human Capital Development is one of the core areas in the country’s 2018-2021 National Development Plan (NDP).
World Bank supports The Gambia in the areas of education, community-driven development, public resource management, health sector, and agricultural crop protection amongst others.
Yesterday, the Government of The Gambia and the World Bank signed a Social Safety Nets project in the amount of $31 millionto support The Gambia government in safeguarding the welfare of the poor and vulnerable in the country.
These monies will support the government to put in place a Social Protection Secretariat and a Social Registry as a contribution towards the government’s goal to establish and strengthen the leadership, coordination, and implementation mechanisms of the National Social Protection system.
Across Africa, evidence has shown that social safety net programs can provide equity, resilience and opportunity for the poor and vulnerable. The World Bank Group will provide a $30 million grant, approved by its Board of Directors on May 24, 2019.