The Gambia -- financial and private enterprise support project, contract no. 635-2037-C-00-2381-00 [i.e. 635-0237-C-00-2381-00] : a study on evaluation of donor assistance to The Gambia

Individual sections treat: (1) the reforms enacted under the ERP; (2) the economic environment in which the ERP was enacted, along with the sequencing and rightness of the reforms; (3) the nature, role, and implementation of USAID and other donor conditionalities, together with the respective roles played by the government and donors in designing and implementing the reforms; (4) the relation of the reforms to the political decisionmaking process; (5) the impact of donor assistance on Gambian development, along with the difficulty of sustaining the reforms in light of the suspension of donor assistance as a result of the 1994 military coup; and (6) the importance of including stakeholders in the design of any future assistance projects. The study concludes that donor assistance has played a very important role in the success of the Gambian ERP. It has helped to stabilize the economy, shore up international reserves, restore some sense of pride in all Gambians, and bridge the investment-savings, foreign exchange, and technological gaps. Although the comprehensive complementary institutional reforms were not undertaken in tandem with the structural economic reforms, some progress has been made in training Gambians in overseas institutions and TA is helping to develop local capacity. The inexperience of Gambian economists and technicians during negotiations has caused some problems with conditionalities and the capacity to implement so many reforms in so short a time; nonetheless, the experience gained has been valuable. In the medium term, as the country begins to diversify its economy, foreign aid will become even more critical in institutional and capacity building. Donor assistance will be crucial in improving the legal and regulatory framework, and the government will have to show greater determination in rooting out corruption. To facilitate program implementation, the government should be encouraged to continue with the collaborative and interactive approach of preparing projects and should be allowed to play a more decisive role in the design of conditionalities and sequencing. The recommendations and conclusions reached should form the basis of negotiations and donor support to the country. (Author abstract, modified)