GM-Budget Support -DPL (First in the series)

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The main objective of the First Economic Governance Reform Grant Program for Gambia is to strengthen transparency, accountability and efficiency in public financial management, to improve public management in the agriculture, education, and energy sectors, and to promote competition in the telecommunications sector. This program document is the First Economic Governance Reform Grant to the Republic of The Gambia in the amount of SDR 3.9 million (US$6.0 million equivalent). The grant is the first in a series of two such Development Policy Grants (DPGs) covering the period 2012 to 2013. It will support the implementation of the country's Program for Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE), which aims at improving the living conditions of the Gambian population by implementing cross-cutting reforms to diversify the economy and thereby reduce its vulnerability to external shocks. It is organized around the five pillar of the new development strategy: (i) accelerating and sustaining economic growth; (ii) improving and modernizing infrastructure; (iii) strengthening human capital stock and enhancing access to social services; (iv) improving governance and increasing economic competitiveness; and (v) reinforcing social cohesion. Therefore, the program document for this operation is being presented alongside the joint staff advisory note on the program for accelerated growth and employment. The grant will also provide urgently-needed assistance to deal with the recently-announced crop failure. Along with the rest of the Sahelian countries of West Africa, The Gambia has suffered from inadequate and erratic rainfall in 2011. The full impact is now becoming apparent and the government has officially requested emergency assistance from the international community.