Executive Summary

This PEFA assessment of gender responsive public financial management (GRPFM) is the second part of a two-part PEFA assessment exercise commissioned by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA) of the Government of the Republic of the Gambia (GoTG) in September 2022.  The first and main part of the exercises comprises the assessment of the public financial management (PFM) system and preparation of a PFM performance report (PFM-PR) using the updated 2016 PEFA framework.  The second aspect is this exercise, which is an assessment of the gender responsiveness of the public financial management system using the Supplementary Framework for Assessing Gender Responsive Public Financial Management (GRPFM) 2020.  The Africa Development Bank (AfDB) is sponsoring both assessments under The Gambia’s Inclusive Growth Promotion Institutional Support Project (IGPISP), which the Bank supports, coordinated by the Project Coordinating Unit (PCU) of MoFEA.

The objectives of the GOTG PEFA 2022 exercise are to provide a basis for further strengthening the PFM system and “help guide policy interventions to improve PFM systems, establish synergies amongst partners’ support for these interventions, and build capacity for the PFMD Staff.”  These are in addition to the traditional objectives of PEFA assessments, which include these three, i.e., to provide a snapshot of PFM performance at a point; assess extent of PFM support for attainment of the three fiscal and budgetary goals of aggregate fiscal discipline, strategic resource allocation, and efficient service delivery; and assess the extent of PFM support for achieving development goals and objectives, including the SDGs 2030.

The objective of the PEFA GRPFM feeds into these overarching goals.  Specifically, this Gender Responsive PEFA assessment seeks to is collect information to help the government assess the extent to which the PFM system is promoting and contributing to gender equality and addressing different needs of men and women and their various subgroups.  The PEFA GRPFM assessment will provide a benchmark of performance in this regard, identify opportunities to make the PFM more gender-responsive, and facilitate use of public financial management to narrow gender inequality gaps.  The exercise applies the PEFA Supplementary Framework for Assessing Gender Responsive Public Financial Management (GRPFM), which is a set of supplementary indicators that builds on the PEFA framework to collect information on the degree to which a country’s public financial management system addresses the government’s goals with regard to acknowledging different needs of men and women, and different subgroups of these categories and promoting gender equality”.  The PEFA GRPFM Framework is a set of nine indicators of a total of 12 dimensions.  Figure 1.1 in the main PEFA report (reproduced above) graphically illustrates the objectives of the main PEFA assessment and how the Gender-Responsive PEFA assessment fits into it. 

This PEFA assessment was at the instance of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA), represented by its Public Finance Management Directorate (PFMD).  The PFMD was, therefore, the main government counterpart in this exercise, and it managed, facilitated, and coordinated the entire process on behalf of the ministry and the government.  The directorate interfaced with the expert assessors outfield, and hosted them infield, including by providing them an office and internet access; organized sensitization sessions (including a training workshop) with government agencies and development partners (DPs); liaised with them for the collection of documentary evidence, and arranged face to face meetings between them and the experts during the field work.  The directorate also participated in more than 40 PEFA meetings held infield, i.e., with government departments, and DPs, and civil society groups.

Development partners collaborated and supported MoFEA to organize this exercise.  The main development partner for this exercise is the African Development Bank (AfDB), which bankrolled it through its Inclusive Growth Promotion Institutional Support Project (IGPISP) implemented through MoFEA PCU.  Other development partners with in-country offices in the Gambia also supported the exercise by participating in reviewing the concept note (CN)/terms of reference (ToRs), granting access to other appraisal reports, and granting meetings.  These include the European Union (EU), The World Bank (WB), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The external assessors analyzed the data and evidence sourced from government departments and development partners; the gathering of which the PFMD facilitated and coordinated.  The assessors also drafted the report and submitted it to the government through the PFMD for critical quality assurance review.  The government and its development partners reviewed the review the drafts and provided comments for incorporation into the report.  The government submitted the revised draft report to the PEFA Secretariat for the final PEFACheck review protocol. 

The scope of this gender PEFA assessment is the same as the main PEFA assessment.  This means that the assessment applies to the national central government of The Gambia, including its budgetary and extrabudgetary units, to the exclusion of local governments and public corporations, except as otherwise defined as applicable in the assessment framework.  The assessment does not apply to social security funds because of its classification as a public corporation by the government and limitations of nonavailability of information on it, as described in the main PEFA assessment.  The assessment excludes the Central Bank of the Gambia (CBG), which is a financial public corporation, according to GFS 2014 classification.  The effective (cutoff) date of this PEFA assessment is November 30, 2022.