By Mammy Saidykhan
The Accountant General’s Department and the Central Bank of The Gambia recently sensitized journalists on their various roles and functions in the national budgeting process and public finance management.
The virtual briefing session with the Accountant General’s Department was held on 15th October, and the Central Bank of The Gambia on 16th October 2020. Both sessions were attended by a total of 20 journalists from the print, broadcast and online media houses across
the country.
The two sessions were organised by the Gambia Press Union as part of efforts to get journalists au fait with national budget development, execution and oversight processes. It is part of a project supported by the International Republican Institute (IRI) geared towards promoting fiscal transparency and accountability in The Gambia.
GPU Program Manager Lamin Jahateh said the sessions with the Accountant General’s Department and the Central Bank were organised to serve as a platform for the two national institutions to explain their roles and responsibilities in the entire national budget development and execution processes.
Similar engagements were organised with the Ministry of Finance, and National Audit Office in September. The main objective, he said, is to enhance the understanding of journalists and increase the coverage of budgetary issues.
Apart from the briefing sessions, Jahateh said the IRI project is also supporting the GPU to provide financial and technical support to journalists to report on the national budget with a view to increase the dissemination of public information on the budget.
Lamin Singhateh, deputy Accountant General, said the department’s mission is to ensure judicious, accountable, and transparent management, utilization and reporting of government funds.
In doing this, Singhateh said, the Accountant General Department establishes a proper system of accounting and reporting for government and also provides guidance and supervises heads of departments and vote controllers in their fiduciary duties.
