President Barrow told his cabinet to cooperate with the newly established Department of Strategic Policy Delivery as he monitors the implementation of the National Development Plan. Presiding over a Special Cabinet session on Friday, 17th May 2019, he emphasized that with capacity, commitment and honesty, the team should ensure that decisions taken are executed to realize the promise made to Gambians. The President urged the Strategic Policy Delivery Department to maintain professionalism in allowing change to take place. President Barrow reminded Cabinet of its responsibility to ensure that they succeed when they are call on to account to the Gambian people in 2021, while encouraging them to unite, coordinate and communicate in making results visible. The President commended the initiative and thanked the Tony Blair Institute for the technical support and applauded UNDP for supporting a Gambian expert as adviser to the department.
Chairing the presentation, Secretary General and Head of Civil Service, Hon. Ebrima O. Camara said the new expansion at the Office of the President is to translate the political ambitions into action by rebalancing policy and implementation.
Introducing the presentation, Special Adviser to the President on Governance and Policy, for strategic political oversight, Honorable Ahmad Fatty explained that the need for a broader range of technical tools to better understand the quality of progress being made, and the desire to improve overall management of government.
The initiative is a performance management reform intervention mechanism at the centre of government. It places high priority on problem solving, improving civil service performance and securing sharper focus on government priorities.
Director General, Mr. Alhagie Nyangado led the presentation detailing out the core functions of the department in bringing visibility on the priority issues, follow up on cabinet conclusions and policy advise on the economy through coherent coordination with the sectors to ensure evidence based decision making on the implementation of the NDP. He was supported by Permanent Secretary, Muhammed Jallow, along with other support staff.
The inspiration to transform the Policy Analysis unit to a department came from the experience of African countries like Rwanda. The idea was first introduced by Mr. Tony Blair as Prime Minister of the UK some twenty years ago. Today, several governments around the world have created delivery units at the centre of government in order to accelerate performance and improvement.
Amie Bojang-Sissoho
Director of Press & Public Relations
Office of the President, State House, Banjul
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