The National Assembly of the Republic of the Gambia doubles its commitment to the progress of the African Network of Parliamentary Budget Officers (AN-PBO) with a new task to stir as the Vice Chair of the Governing Council.
The office of the Clerk was represented by Naffissatou Njie, Principal Budget Officer, at the 5th Conference held in Harare, the Capital City of Zimbabwe in August 2022.

The African Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices (AN-PBO) is a platform for African Parliamentary Budget Offices and similar institutions established in 2016 to share ideas and experiences on strengthening support for parliamentary fiscal oversight.

Ms Njie, the new Vice Chairperson, was elected together with the PBO’s Chairperson from South Africa; Secretary General from Kenya; Deputy Secretary General from Uganda; Treasurer from Zimbabwe; Deputy Treasurer from Malawi and Council Members Zambia, Ghana and Sierra Leone.

As a conference action point, Budget Principals in Africa are expected to adopt the AN-PBO Charter later this year.
The Gambian budget specialist considers it a call to duty by the organisation which seeks to strengthen the human and institutional capacity of Members of Parliament.

The 2022 An-PBO conference was attended by parliamentarians from various African countries to discuss ways to support parliaments in carrying out their oversight role on fiscal expenditure by their governments.

The Clerk of Parliament of Zimbabwe, Mr. Kennedy M. Chokuda, said during the official opening of the conference highlighted knowledge and experience sharing on good practices, concepts, challenges, and opportunities as worthwhile business of PBOs in Africa.
He delivered on the topic “The Role of parliamentary oversight in an environment of Geopolitical uncertainty, global economic downturns, and in emergencies like COVID-19 in relation to the 2063 development agenda.”