Commonwealth Secretariat Fosters Collaboration between Governments of The Gambia and Ghana on Good Governance and Enterprise Risk Management

Commonwealth Secretariat Fosters Collaboration between Governments of The Gambia and Ghana on Good Governance and Enterprise Risk Management

Commonwealth Secretariat Fosters Collaboration between Governments of The Gambia and Ghana on Good Governance and Enterprise Risk Management

Government of The Gambia bas benefitted from an Enterprise Risk Management experience sharing and exchange learning with the Government of Ghana facilitated by the Commonwealth Secretariat from Monday 11th to Thursday 14th February 2019. The exchange learning promotes collaboration between the two Commonwealth member states in bolstering good governance through strengthened risk management. This follows on from the establishment of an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Policy for the Government of The Gambia in October 2018 by The Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Hon Mamburay Njie, the implementation of which is now being facilitated by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.

Welcoming the delegation from the Commonwealth Secretariat and Republic of Ghana respectively, The Permanent Secretariat Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Madam Ada Gaye on behalf of the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs expressed the Ministry’s appreciation to the Commonwealth Secretariat for the technical Assistance provided in establishing the ERM and further remarked that “we in Government of The Gambia, takes very serious such an ERM implementation and do connects all its events as part of a continuum, it is not a one-time event. But rather it is a process that commits us to an on-going program of continuous improvement”.

Mr. Augustus Cole, Adviser, Public Financial Management, Governance and Peace Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, acknowledged the commitment of the Government of The Gambia in promoting good governance and effective and efficient service delivery through instituting ERM in the public sector. He advised that ‘the successful introduction of ERM will require a change of mindset and paradigm shift by cultivating a risk aware culture across the public sector wherein risk management considerations are embedded in the decision-making process and in the day-to-day operations across all levels of the public service’.

The Ghana Delegation comprising Mr. Benjamin Adjatey, Director Technical and Monitoring, Internal Audit Agency Ghana and Mr. Richard Ntim, Chief Internal Auditor, GRIDCo Ghana, expressed delight at the opportunity provided through the Commonwealth Secretariat in sharing ERM experiences with The Gambia.  

Mr. Modou Ceesay, Director-General of the Internal Audit Directorate, that facilitates the implementation of the ERM by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, cited the importance of embedding the ERM across the public sector in achieving the objectives of the National Development Plan and reassured piloted Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of his Directorate’s support in providing guidance throughout the ERM implementation process.  

Twenty officials from across the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and five pilot MDAs comprising Ministries of Health; Education; Agriculture; Energy and Petroleum; Work and Infrastructure, completed a weeklong Enterprise Risk Management Foundations Training provided by the West African Insurance Institute, Banjul from 28th January to 1st February 2019, which was sponsored by the Commonwealth Secretariat.