CBMT Holds Dialogue on Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Public Development Projects

By Seedy Jobe

The Center for Budget and Macroeconomic Transparency (CBMT) on Monday, January 5, 2026, convened a day-long dialogue aimed at advancing transparency and accountability in public development projects. The event was held at the Association of Non-Governmental Organizations in The Gambia (TANGO) Hall and brought together representatives from various media institutions.

The dialogue sought to promote informed public scrutiny of budgetary allocations to key sectors, including energy, water, agriculture, and the wider economy, with a focus on improving oversight of public development spending.

Speaking at the event, CBMT Executive Director Mr. Lamin Dibba presented findings from the organization’s analysis of national budget data. He argued that the National Assembly is often provided with an incomplete picture of the national budget, undermining its ability to make well-informed decisions.

“The picture that the National Assembly is supposed to be most interested in is incomplete,” Mr. Dibba said. “How do you expect them to make informed decisions when the information they are meant to base those decisions on is incomplete?”

He further highlighted what he described as the government’s overreliance on domestic revenue to finance recurrent expenditure, at the expense of development projects.

“Our domestic resources, the government takes and puts them in the recurrent expenditure,” he noted. “If it is D32 billion that we make, all of it is going into recurrent expenditure.”

Mr. Dibba also raised concerns about transparency in public finance management, questioning whether inadequate disclosure may be linked to mismanagement of public funds.

“Are they hiding information? They’re receiving money, but they’re hiding the information because they are mismanaging our funds.”

Referring to the Public Finance Act, Mr. Dibba emphasized that the Ministry of Finance has the legal authority to ensure that all public revenues are fully and accurately reported in the national budget. He questioned, however, whether these provisions are being effectively enforced.

“The Public Finance Act guarantees them all the powers to ensure that every single public money received is reported in the budget. Are they enforcing it? No,” he concludes.

The day-long dialogue concluded with an interactive group exercise, during which participants engaged in discussions and responded to questions related to budget transparency and accountability in public development projects.