Projected aid needs will rise to US$195 billion by 2015

Alieu Ngum, the executive chairperson of the National Planning Commission (NPC) has said that the current indicative figures has put the projected aid needs for developing countries at US$135 billion in 2006, and is expected to rise to US$195 billion by 2015, which represents 0.54% of donor countries’ national income.

“Since the Millennium Development Goals were agreed to in 2000 by the General Assembly, increasing attention has been devoted to calculating and defining the level of resources needed to allow countries to reach them by 2015, and to mustering the necessary support from the international community. Such attention was based on the premise that adequate, predictable and more effective aid flows are critical to reaching the MDGs”, he added.

Mr Ngum made these remarks yesterday, during the opening ceremony of a three-day conference on sectoral consultation on aid coordination, as well as the preparation for donor consultative meetings, held at the Seaview Garden Hotel in Kololi.

The objectives of the conference are; to lay the frameworks for sustainable Aid Coordination Database Management, to create mechanisms for effective aid coordination including reporting systems for projects and to lay the ground for a donors conference to be held at a later date.

Mr Ngum highlighted some countries’ experiences of aid flows and its impact on their development initiatives. He cited Uganda as one of those countries that experienced significant aid flows.

“While learning from the experiences of other countries in responding to aid flow problems and accepting the fact that The Gambia highly needs development aid and assistance, the National Planning Commission in collaboration with DoSFEA will pursue the national aid coordination agenda and in providing answers to the questions asked, will build strong relationships with the donor community (by involving them in all processes) to ensure that development aid is designed to address and stabilise growth and national development priorities”, he emphasised.

The NPC executive chairperson also spoke at length, on the developments and management of the National Aid Information Management System (NAIMs) and its importance.

For his part, Modou Secka, permanent secretary at the department of state for Finance and Economic Affairs, who delivered the official opening remarks on behalf of Mousa Gibril Bala Gaye, secretary of state for Finance and Economic Affairs, thanked the UNDP on behalf of the government of The Gambia, for funding this conference through the National Planning Commission.

According to PS Secka, the conference will lay the framework for sustainable Aid Coordination Database Management and create the mechanisms for effective Aid Coordination including reporting systems for projects and programmes in The Gambia. The department of state for Finance and Economic Affairs, he said, has been working hard to ensure that the five principles of the Paris Declaration, namely; ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability, are deeply integrated into aid effectiveness programmes especially the ones that are already linked to the national budget.

According to him, the importance of Aid Coordination is to administer procedures and processes through which resources are mobilised under different conditions, from different partners and utilised within pre-established frameworks for the achievements of development goals.

Mr Secka finally called on all stakeholders concerned, to actively participate to make this conference a success.