THE GAMBIA

The Republic of The Gambia is governed by a multi-party presidential system. The country’s current Constitution was adopted in 1997. In 2021, an attempt to enact a new Constitution did not go through because it did not meet the legal threshold of votes to pass in the national assembly. The president of the Republic is elected in a single-round process by universal suffrage for a renewable five-year term. The unicameral parliament consists of 58 members among which five are appointed by the president of the Republic. National assembly elections are held about four months after the presidential election. The current parliamentarians were elected in 2017 and the next election is scheduled to take place in April 2022.

In The Gambia, the alkalos (village head) and chiefs (district traditional head) commonly known as seyfolu represent the traditional authorities in the governance process. The role of the seyfolu has been purely traditional since British rule, as representatives of the British government in the protectorate. Even after independence, these traditional structures have been maintained but with diminished responsibilities.

In The Gambia, the intent to decentralise emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Decentralisation gained momentum with the 1997 Constitution making provisions for the devolution of government functions and stating that “local government administration in The Gambia shall be based on a system of democratically elected councils with a high degree of local autonomy”. This legislative advance was followed by the enactment of the Local Government Act in 2002 and the Local Government Finance and Audit Act in 2004, which, together, form the legal basis of decentralisation in The Gambia.

Since 2004, some progress has been made towards decentralisation, with the creation of local authorities and the election of local councillors through universal suffrage. In addition, local government areas (LGAs) have been developping their own strategic plans through participatory processes to address the needs of their people. This has increased the powers of local councils to independently manage their affairs and initiate development projects.

Local government authorities are governed under the purview of the Ministry of Lands, Regional Government and Religious Affairs and are expected to cooperate and implement central government policies. The Gambia Association of Local Government Authorities (GALGA) was established in 2002 with the goal to ensure and enhance good governance, accountability and transparency in local administration in The Gambia. GALGA is the mouth piece of local authorities in The Gambia and works with the national government and stakeholders to make sure that the interest of local authorities is brought on board the national development agenda. The association is composed of representatives from all the area councils.

TERRITORIAL ORGANISATION
MUNICIPAL LEVEL	INTERMEDIATE LEVEL	REGIONAL LEVEL	TOTAL NUMBER OF SNGs (2021)
2 municipalities (Banjul and Kanifing) 6 local government areas
Average municipal size: 275 000 inh.
8			8

OVERALL DESCRIPTION: The Gambia is divided into eight local government areas (Banjul, Kanifing, Brikama, Mansakonko, Kerewan, Kuntaur, Janjanbureh and Basse). The Local Government Act of 2002 establishes municipalities and area councils for administrative purposes. There are also 43 districts (sub-municipal level administrations) over which each of them shall have jurisdiction.

The Kanifing area and Banjul have been designated as munipalities and are governed by municipal councils, whilst the rest of the territory consists of six local government areas governed by area councils. The two municipalities are also referred to as local government areas.

MUNICIPAL LEVEL: In The Gambia, according to provisions of the 1997 Constitution, municipalities and local government areas are self-administered by local councils elected by universal suffrage every five years. The last election was conducted in 2017 and the next will take place in 2023. While municipal councils are headed by mayors, area councils (bodies charged with the administration of the six non-municipal local government areas) are governed by chairpersons. Both mayors and chairpersons are also elected by universal adult suffrage.

According to results of the Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS) 2013 Population and Housing Census, the 1.9 million population of The Gambia was distributed in the following manner: 1.7% in Banjul, 20.3% in Kanifing, 37.1% in Brikama, 4.4% in Mansakonko, 11.9% in Kerewan, 5.2% in Kuntaur, 6.7% in Janjanbureh and 12.8% in Basse. Kanifing and Brikama counted the largest share of the national population because they are destinations for domestic and foreign migrants and because most economic activities take place in these areas, where employment opportunities are concentrated.

In The Gambia, public functions are apportioned between central and local government authorities. The central government is responsible for national defence, national fiscal policy, foreign affairs, the criminal justice system, higher education and key administrative functions.

According to Section 194 of the 1997 Constitution, the functions, powers and resposibilities of local government authorities are as follows: the infrastructure and development of the area within the authority’s jurisdiction; support to commercial enterprises; involving the inhabitants in the development and administration of the area; provision of essential and other services; the raising of local revenue; the management, control and oversight of its finances under the oversight of the Auditor-General; the making of by-laws; the preservation of the environment; the promotion of Gambian traditions and culture; and the control of financial and other resources allocated by the central government. Issues of local policy and administration are also to be decided at the local level.

The Local Government Act (2002) goes further in defining local government area boundaries, local government governance structures, election processes and issues related to their functions. The Act also identifies the qualifications of persons applying for office in councils and respective functions. The responsibilities of the regions in the table below refer to those of the six local government authorities.

Main responsibility sectors and sub-sectors
SECTORS AND SUB-SECTORS	Municipal level
1. General public services (administration)	Administration and operation of general services (non-assigned to specific functions)
2. Public order and safety	Firefighting; Civil protection
3. Economic affairs / transports	Road networks and facilities (urban and regional roads); Support to local enterprises and entrepreneurship; Tourism; Commerce
4. Environment protection	Parks & green areas; Nature preservation; Noise abatement; Air pollution; Soil and groundwater protection; Climate protection; Waste management (collection, treatment and disposal of waste); Sewerage (waste water management); Street cleaning
5. Housing and community amenities	Housing (subsidies, construction/renovation and management); Urban and land use planning; Town planning; Regional planning
6. Health	Primary healthcare (medical centres); Preventative healthcare; Public health services
7. Culture & Recreation	Sports and recreation; Libraries; Museums (discretionary service); Cultural activities (botanical gardens, parks and open space etc.)
8. Education	Pre-primary education; Primary education; Secondary education

Scope of fiscal data: 2 municipalities and 6 local government areas (expenditure data missing for 2 local government areas: Kuntaur and Mansakonko)

SNA 2008

Availability of fiscal data: Medium

Quality/reliability of fiscal data: Medium

GENERAL INTRODUCTION: According to the findings of an assessment conducted on local governance in 2020 by the Gambian Association of Local Authorities, local government autonomy is curtailed in various areas. Local government areas (LGAs) do not have powers to set their tax rates, fiscal arrangements lag behind and they are under-funded to deliver on their mandate. For instance, local councils have traditionally collected taxes in the tourism sector but these have been assigned to the National Revenue Authority and consequently led to a reduction of the councils‘ tax base. Moreover, LGAs lack adequate capacity to mobilise resources for their development projects.

Subnational government expenditure by economic classification
2020	Dollars PPP / inhabitant	% GDP	% general government	% subnational government
Total expenditure	8	0.3%	2.0%	100.0%
Inc. current expenditure	8	0.3%	2.3%	100.0%
Compensation of employees	3	0.1%	3.0%	38.1%
Intermediate consumption	1	0.04%	0.9%	10.9%
Social expenditure	0.01	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%
Subsidies and current transfers	0.2	0.01%	0.2%	2.1%
Financial charges	0.04	0.0%	0.1%	0.5%
Others	4	0.2%	18.4%	48.4%
Incl. capital expenditure	-	-	-	-
Capital transfers	-	-	-	-
Direct investment (or GFCF)	-	-	-	-

EXPENDITURE: Staff expenditure accounted for 38.1% of subnational government expenditure in 2020, intermediate consumption for 10.9% and subsidies and current transfers for 2.1%. Only 0.5% of expenditure was destined to paying financial charges and 0.1% on social expenditure. Most subnational government expenditure is dedicated to the category “other items” (48.4%). The percentage increase in expenditure in 2020, compared to 2019 was estimated to be of 24%, a change largely attributed to an increase in personnel costs based on the figures provided by the Ministry of Local Government.

DIRECT INVESTMENT: Councils do not engage in any form of direct investments.

ⓘ No detailed data available for this country

Subnational government revenue by category
2020	Dollars PPP / inhabitant	% GDP	% general government	% subnational government
Total revenue	11	0.5%	3.2%	100.0%
Tax revenue	7	0.3%	2.7%	62.1%
Grants and subsidies	1	0.04%	-	8.0%
Tariffs and fees	3	0.1%	-	29.7%
Income from assets	0.03	0.0%	-	0.3%
Other revenues	-	-	-	-

OVERALL DESCRIPTION: Local government authorities are required to raise their own revenues from service fees, property rates, market rates/duties and other taxes. According to a study commissioned by GALGA in 2020, inadequate revenue collection mechanisms result in the fact that revenue collection arrears due to unpaid rates and taxes by individuals and companies mount up every year.

Revenues collected by local governments increased by 17.7% over the period 2019-2020 according to data from the Ministry of Local Government and Lands, reaching 3.2% of general government revenues and 0.5% of GDP in 2020. Of all subnational government revenues in 2020, 62.1% were collected through taxes, 29.7% through tariffs and fees and 8.0% is were received in the form of grants and subsidies. Other revenue sources which constitute about 0.3% of total revenue for 2020, consisted of revenue generated through income from assets.

TAX REVENUE: Section 131 of the Local Government Act of 2002 empowers all local councils to levy rates and taxes as prescribed by the National Assembly, in order to offset their liabilities, whether of a general or special nature. Tax collection, which represents the largest share of local council revenue, includes rates on properties, capital gain tax on proceeds of sale of landed properties and rates charged on compounds.

GRANTS AND SUBSIDIES: Since local government authorities are expected to make provisions for infrastructural development of the area within their authority’s jurisdiction, the law provides that councils are allocated funding from central government budgets for this purpose. Section 128 of the Local Government Act of 2002 stipulates that “the central government shall provide 25% of the councils‘ development budget”. However, findings of research in this area indicate that in practice, this support from the central government does not always reach local councils. In 2020, grants and subsidies represented 8.0% of subnational revenues. The non-adherence of the central government to this constitutional provision has created a local fiscal gap and thus affected the service delivery levels of the local governments.

OTHER REVENUE: Tariffs and fees represent 29.7% of local council revenues. All vendors who sell their produce at the weekly markets pay duties to the local government officials assigned to the respective markets.

ⓘ No detailed data available for this country

DEBT: No debts were reported by subnational governments. According to provisions under the Public Finance Act of 2014, with authorisation of the Ministry of Local Government and Lands, local government authorities may borrow resources and create debt. The Act empowers said minister to prescribe annual borrowing limits for local government authorities based on their capacities to repay and any other conditionality deemed fit by the minister. Probably due to the limited capacity of councils to borrow, no data is available on their borrowings.

TERRITORIAL MANAGEMENT OF THE CRISIS: Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in The Gambia on 10 March 2020, the infected population gradually increased, although at a slower pace than in other African countries. Initial measures instituted by the government to curb the spread of the virus included the suspension on all public gatherings with an immediate closure of all schools, other tertiary institutions and madrassas (centres of higher learning). This was followed by the extension of the State of Public Emergency (SoPE) on 27 March 2020.

The national COVID-19 response was led by the Ministry of Health (MoH) both at the national and regional levels through Regional Health Directorates. The government of The Gambia activated the National Health Emergency Committee (NHEC) to ensure a comprehensive preparedness and response to the COVID-19 outbreak with a focus on strengthening coordination at the national and regional levels, through Regional Health Directorates, devolving responsibilities to the regional health teams and intensifying active surveillance (UNFPA-Gambia, COVID-19 Response Plan). The COVID-19 national response programme was supported by UN agencies and other development partners who provided financial, technical and material support to both control the spread of the virus and mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the livelihood of the population. A National COVID-19 Coordination Office was also established. This office brings together stakeholders working on the national response programme. At the regional level, officials representing their respective sectors coordinate the COVID-19 response activities and report to the central level: these officials emanate from the Regional Directorates that manage the affairs of key ministries such as the Ministries of Health, Education and Agriculture in the regions. UNFPA-Gambia has been supporting surveillance and contact tracing to control the spread of the virus. In addition, UNFPA has been supporting national efforts aimed at ensuring continuity of sexual and reproductive health services and also the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, which were noted to have increased since the onset of the pandemic.

EMERGENCY MEASURES TO COPE WITH THE CRISIS AT THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT: To stop the spread of COVID-19, authorities in The Gambia introduced preventive measures and initiatives aimed at strengthening economic resilience, supporting the private sector and protecting vulnerable groups. UNICEF provided support to local water and sanitation authorities to ensure continuity, quality and affordable access to WASH services for the poorest and most vulnerable families. A student relief fund was launched to support Gambian students abroad and a GMD 800 million (USD PPP 45.7 million) nation-wide food distribution program was set up, aiming to benefit 84% of the households. Finally, 2 000 tons of fertilizer were distributed to support the needs of farmers to improve food security. Local councils were engaged in the distribution of these relief packages at the local/regional levels.

External grant financing has played an important role in supporting the COVID-19 containment efforts. Since 2017, The Gambia has had greater access to, and relied on inflows of foreign aid from multilateral organisations and the international development community. In 2020, the country received USD 19.4 million from the European Union and USD 13 million from the African Development Bank. The support provided has been used to mitigate the immediate effects of the pandemic on the wellbeing of communities but also to support communities to restore their economies after the effect of the pandemic. Additional and accelerated disbursements of grants for social projects amounting to USD 21.6 million, including the Health Fast-Track Facility, a frontloading of the Social Safety Net Project and the Education Sector Response Project, were received from the World Bank in April 2020. In April 2021, the World Bank approved a grant equivalent to USD 8 million to help finance the COVID-19 vaccine supply and rollout in the country, covering 40% of the population.

IMPACTS OF THE CRISIS ON SUBNATIONAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE: To meet the cost of the planned interventions, the National Assembly approved a supplementary appropriation in July 2020 and included GMD 2.3 million (131 428 dollars PPP). In addition, the government reallocated GMD 500 million (28.6 million dollars PPP or 0.6% of GDP) from the current budget to the MoH and other relevant public entities for containment measures to prevent and control the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, when compared to Ivory Coast that invested 5% of GDP in support of the national COVID response, the funding unlocked in The Gambia is relatively minor.

Economic losses caused by the partial lockdown and closure of international borders have been felt by all sectors of the economy. At the subnational level, rural regions that are largely dependent on agriculture experienced losses in earnings when the markets for their produce constricted as a result of the partial lockdowns. For local government authorities, the closure of the weekly markets (‘Lumos’) abruptly impeded any revenue collection for said period. According to findings of an assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on ‘Lumos’ published in 2021, 57.1% of councils experienced a loss of revenue compared to 2019.

The partial closure of hotels and limited business activities in the tourism industry also contracted the revenue base of councils. With the government‘s decision to ease some of the COVID-19 restrictions related to the opening of businesses/markets and the recent lifting of the closure of international borders, it is expected that businesses will pick up and give councils the opportunity to collect more taxes. The decision to ease some COVID-19 restrictions was made following the opening of the international borders on 16 October 2020 and the opening of the airport to international travels on 30 October 2020.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL STIMULUS PLANS: A COVID-19 response plan has been put together by the MoH to curb the spread of the virus and limit the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic. In addition, a Socio-Economic Response Plan (SERP) was developed by UN agencies in The Gambia. This plan identified measures to ensure that the virus and the pandemic do not significantly harm the country, its people, businesses and economy. Specific sectors have developed response plans aligned to the health sector plan to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the education response plan has the objective of ensuring that children and their families have access to relevant and timely information on COVID-19, to protect themselves from infection and to reduce the transmission rate within their communities among other things. The SERP aims to strengthen health services and systems during the crisis. In the area of social protection, the response sought to support key actions aimed at securing sustained learning, maintaining essential food and nutrition services and ensuring continuity of water and sanitation services.