President Adama Barrow Receiving the RF NDP from the Finance minister, Seedy Keita
By Fatou Sillah
The Gambia government, on Friday, unveiled its new development plan for the next four years at the State House in Banjul. The plan, called “YIRIWAA”, which means Development in Mandinka, aims to strengthen democratic governance, foster a green economy, and social transformation, and enhance resilience to shocks and crises.
This is the second development plan initiated by President Barrow’s administration since he took office in 2017. The plan seeks to improve accountability, partnerships, and resource mobilization for effective development delivery, as well as to consolidate achievements and address gaps in governance and socio-economic transformation.
The plan has seven national priorities, namely: community resilience, governance reforms, macroeconomic stability and growth, human capital development, agriculture, environment, natural resources and climate change, empowerment and social inclusion, and energy, infrastructure, and ICT/digital connectivity.
During the unveiling ceremony, President Barrow said that Yiriwa represents a transformative journey towards sustainable and resilient development and that its successful implementation will not only meet the country’s medium-term development aspirations but also contribute significantly to the achievement of the global and regional goals, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union Agenda 2063.
“While implementing the previous Plan, my government employed numerous measures to stabilise the economy, restore public confidence, and strengthen democratic institutions. Despite this, we recognise the urgency to do more, especially in terms of resilience building, thus the formulation of the Recovery-Focused National Development Plan to foster sustainable and resilient development,” He said.
The president went on to say that the goal of the YIRWAA plan is to gain and strengthen Democratic governance
“The goal of the YIRWAA Plan is to consolidate gains in democratic governance, accelerate green economic and social transformation, and build resilience to shocks and crises. Implementing it will be organised around seven pillars. Each pillar represents a critical facet of our national development, with green recovery integrated into every aspect of the framework.
“Through these pillars, my government aims to lay the foundations for resilient communities, while addressing the most pressing economic and social challenges that confront us. With its robust accountability framework, the Plan is designed to respond to the government’s commitment to focusing on tangible results, implementing strong monitoring and evaluation processes, and strengthening engagement with the Gambian citizens in the country and the Diaspora,” He said
The Finance and Economic Affairs Minister, Seedy Keita, said that the RF NDP will support green recovery and resilience, and enable the country to meet its recovery needs in the short and medium term, based on green recovery and resilience. The plan will also boost growth, lower poverty and inequality, tackle gender gaps, strengthen resilience, and create more jobs for the youth.
The plan will also address the three major development challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and the risk of debt distress, and help the country achieve its global and regional goals, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union Agenda 2063.