This is a press release from the Open Society Platform the Gambia (OSPG) on their efforts to improve transparency and accountability in the Gambia. The press release was issued on 5th August 2021.
Background
The presidential election in 2016 and subsequent legislative and local government elections marked a significant shift in the politics and governance processes in The Gambia. It ushered in the end of 22 years of dictatorship and the emergence of a new democratic dispensation. The current dispensation initiated a series of commendable reform processes such as the setting up of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRRC), the Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC), the Janneh Commission to investigate the assets of the former president and his associates; the setting up of the National Human Rights Commission, as well as the security sector reform processes. No doubt, these reform processes have heightened citizen’s expectations from the government. The economic mismanagement and massive corruption by former President Jammeh and his associates remain serious challenges for President Barrow’s Government. This is evident by the International Budget Survey (IBS) conducted in 2019 aimed to assess open governance in countries around the world. The assessment covered four main pillars and this includes but is not limited to: (i) Fiscal Transparency, Anti-Corruption mechanisms, (ii) Access to information, (iii) Timely publication of Audit Reports, (iv) Public Official Disclosure of Assets and creating the enabling environment for CSOs. It is worth noting that international organizations like the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative has a membership of over 78 countries leading international efforts in promoting open governance. The OGP is established to promote accountability and transparency. The country assessment results were used by OGP to assess eligibility for membership to join the global open governance initiative as well as supporting critical reforms on accountability and transparency. From the 2019 country assessment, the Gambia scored 33% below the 75% 75% threshold to be qualified to join the OGP initiative. And in 2020 Gambia gained only 2 additional percentage points. This demonstrated the slow pace of transparency and accountability reforms after the change in government in December 2016.
Introduction
The Open Society Platform The Gambia (OSPG) is a national network of 5 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), individuals and grass-roots social movements. It is a membership-based non-profit organization with representation in all seven regions in The Gambia. OSPG is a founding member of the Anti-Corruption Coalition (ACCG), a Civil Society Organization (CSO) in The Gambia that comprises like-minded CSOs working in the transparency and accountability space to support the local community, particularly disadvantaged communities in the Gambia to hold public officials to account. Since its inception, OSPG and its partner institutions have been working to promote the principles of open governance and combating corruption through a citizen-centred approach.
In partnership with the National Democratic Institute, the Open Society Platform -The Gambia is implementing a project titled “OGP Accelerator Project-Promoting Accountability and transparency in The Gambia”. This project aims to promote reforms to increase government openness and transparency in The Gambia, and invariably position The Gambia for eligibility into the Open Government Partnership Initiative. The project is being implemented with collaboration from the Office of the Secretary-General and Head of Civil Service, 3 key ministries including; the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Information and Communication Infrastructure and National Assembly. Other partners include the Office of the Ombudsman and the National Audit Office.
The project implementation approach is anchored on advocacy engagement and dialogue with relevant state institutions via face-to-face and virtual meetings as well as radio sensitizations and campaigns to reach large constituencies of the population. However, the main target beneficiaries are the policy-makers including National Assembly Members and public servants as well as CSOs to initiate relevant policy and administrative reformers that will enhance open governance in the Gambia.
Project Activities
To achieve this, OSPG and its partners have been using a combination of advocacy tools and strategies to engage both the CSOs and government partners within the three arms of the government and have, to date accomplished a number of feats, as follows:
- 10 advocacy engagements with relevant state institutions– To build political support and lay the foundation for the establishment of the Intra-government Coalition on OGP Initiative which will drive the necessary reforms within the government to improve, OSPG successfully organized a total of 8 advocacy engagement visits to various government ministries and departments such as Directorate of Strategic Policy and Delivery Unit at the Office of The President, Ministry of Finance & Economic Affairs, National Audit Office, Ministry of Justice, Office of the Ombudsman, National Assembly and other relevant government stakeholders. These engagements successfully helped to build political support to drive necessary reforms on key areas such as fiscal transparency, citizen engagement, asset declaration and access to information within the government to improve The Gambia’s eligibility into the OGP initiative.
- 9 Live Phone-in Radio Panel Discussions on CSOs Support for Transparency and Accountability Reforms in The Gambia –OSPG and its partner CSOs organised a series of radio panel discussions on the OGP initiative and benefit for the Gambia. The public is the main targetted beneficiary of this activity and it aims to raise awareness of the OGP initiative, its benefit for The Gambia and the results of its eligibility. Topics for the radio program included the Status of Freedom of Information Bill, Status of the Enactment Process of the Anti-Corruption Bill, Fiscal Transparency: Importance of publishing, Executive Budget Proposal and Audit Report, Citizen Engagement in The Gambia: Gaps and Opportunities, Importance of Public Asset Disclosures Related to Elected Public Officials, OGP eligibility criteria, Benefit for The Gambia to join the OGP Initiative, etc. Representatives from the Intra-Government Reform Coalition were invited to speak on specific reform priority areas.
- Training of Media Practitioners and Journalists on Open Government Initiative – In December 2020, OSPG successfully hosted a training of 15 journalists on the open government initiative. The training strengthened the capacities of the Gambian media to monitor and report ongoing reforms on open governance in the Gambia that would foster stronger government commitments to implement critical open governance reforms. Additionally, this would contribute to improving the Gambia’s eligibility criteria to be qualified for the OGP initiative.
- National Summit on Open Governance and Accountability Reforms – In June 2021, OSPG organized a National Summit on Open Governance and Accountability Reforms. The summit contributed to the creation of a national network of OGP Champions across Government Ministries, Departments and/or Agencies as well as within CSOs and from Media. The networks aimed to establish a broader coalition of like-minded reformers from state and non-state actors with media to play a leading role in educating as well as improving public awareness and public participation to create an open society in the Gambia. In addition, strengthen the capacities of CSOs and the public to hold the government accountable through sustainable monitoring and reporting mechanisms.
To amplify this initiative 11 institutions from the government, CSOs and media participated in a two-day open governance summit in June 2021. The summit concluded with the formulation of a national Communique with critical observations that need urgent attention from the stakeholders. The stakeholders further agreed that resolving these reform areas will contribute to setting a clear roadmap for Gambia to improve its OGP eligibility scores. In turn, the initiative outcomes will prepare the Gambia to join neighbouring countries in global efforts to institutionalize open governance in the Gambia. The thematic areas identified included as follows; (i) political commitment on open governance (ii) existence of OGP priority reform areas like fiscal transparency, anti-corruption mechanisms (iii) citizen participation in the budget process (iv) Public Finance Management (v) National Assembly budget process (vi) National Audit process (vii) Asset Declaration and, (viii) Access to Information.
To address these critical reform areas, the summit outlined the following recommendations to be executed through the leadership of the government of the Gambia and key allies including OGP champions within and outside the government;
- The government is urged to demonstrate a stronger political commitment to pursue all ongoing accountability reform initiatives to improve the Gambia’s chances to become a member of the OGP.
- The government is urged to constitute a National OGP Steering Committee to drive the Gambia’s push for OGP membership drawing from regional and international examples
- Government institutions are urged to work more with CSOs during all the phases of the budget process particularly at the MTEF, and budget approval and implementation stages which are presently lacking;
- Regular and inclusive dialogues are needed to promote citizens’ engagement at the budget preparation and implementation stages;
- The National Assembly is urged to communicate and engage more with the public about its activities particularly by publishing budget-related information, on a timely basis.
- CSOs should be more proactive and coordinated in engaging in the pre and post-budget processes
- Government departments are urged to communicate more about the government’s policies to citizens in a more timely fashion to bridge information gaps and stimulate citizens’ participation.
5. Development of FAQs for the Ministry of Finance & Economic Affairs (MOFEA), 30th July 2021– OSPG in partnership with MOFEA, and with technical support from NDI has developed a comprehensive, citizen-friendly online database of frequently asked questions around the national budget, government revenue and expenditure. This is part of initiatives to close the information gap between government and citizens and to encourage citizens’ participation and awareness in budget-related issues.
In conclusion, OSPG recognizes the important role CSOs play in state-building, and, through this project, will continue to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure improved democratic governance as the country slowly transitions into a more democratic dispensation. In the upcoming phase of the project which is expected to end in July 2022, OSPG will continue to work with government Ministries and other Civil Society partners to promote inclusive and transparent governance that will ensure the meaningful participation of citizens and create avenues through which citizens can hold government officials and institutions accountable. As part of these efforts, OSPG plans to constitute the OGP Working Group which will lead the development of a National Action Plan which will inform the country’s activities in its efforts to become eligible for OGP membership.