PBF PROGRAMME REVIEW & LEARNING WORKSHOP OPENING REMARKS BY UN RESIDENT COORDINATOR – Ms. SERAPHINE WAKANA

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

It’s my pleasure on behalf of the UN Systems in the Gambia to extend a warm welcome to you all to this august gathering. I feel delighted to join you once again this morning to make some remarks as you converge to review the Peacebuilding fund (PBF) country programme. The PBF programme is a critical component of the global UN support to the Government and people of The Gambia as it continues to strengthen democracy in the work after years of autocratic rule.

Let me first express my gratitude to the government of the Gambia through the Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service, Mr. Noah Touray, for the continued collaboration and cooperation on the PBF Portfolio that is coordinated through the Department of Strategic Policy and Delivery. This is a clear demonstration of government’s commitment to sustain peace, stability and facilitate the achievement of the National Development agenda. The strides that we are making towards the peacebuilding initiatives funded by the PBF could not have gone far without the technical and moral support provided to the government ministries and agencies participating in the programme delivery.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

The theme for this Review and Learning Workshop is apt “Learning together to harmonize Peacebuilding initiatives for better results” With a growing PBF portfolio in the country supporting interventions in various sectors, coming together to collaborate and support individuals and communities that need it most. I encourage you all to participate actively, review and reflect on your work as well as challenges with open and constructive conversations. This may require having difficult but constructive conversations, ask critical questions on the benefits of the interventions to the communities we serve and on the partnerships we have. Equally, share and celebrate your success stories and do renew your commitments to improve the programme delivery in 2022 for better results on beneficiaries.

As the frontline officials who directly implement and interact with the institutions and the community members, I wish to congratulate you on the work you do and encourage you to keep it up. The peace and stability of the country depends a lot on our collective efforts and our commitment to work together to maximize our results and successes.

You could recall that, since the dawn of the democratic transition in 2017, and with the support of the UN Country Team’s ongoing support to the Gambian people, the UN Peacebuilding Fund was one of the first respondents to support the Government in its aspirations towards democratic reforms and transitional justice. From 2017 to date, the PBF has approved an investment envelope of $26m covering thirteen (13) projects in the areas of transitional justice, security sector reform, institutional strengthening, resolution of land conflict, women and youth participation in decision making, reintegration of returning migrants, rule of law and community policing, youth against political violence, climate change, support for the implementation of the Post TRRC recommendations, support to psychosocial services to SGBV survivors and a cross border cooperation between Gambia and Senegal.

This is a manifestation of the UN Secretary-General’s commitment to support the Gambia as declared in 2018 during a donor conference held in Brussels. The Gambia is now one of the eligible countries to access PBF funding and thus the result of this approved envelope.

It is worth noting that the PBF funded projects are designed annually and approved after consultative engagement with national partners and beneficiaries to ensure that identified interventions are relevant with peacebuilding effects. I must say that the needs and aspirations of the country are broad across various sectors, but unfortunately, the PBF is not in position to support all the needs.

However, the unique feature of the PBF fund is its ability to support critical peacebuilding interventions which many mainstream donors do not fund. Therefore, I encourage you all as technical persons and beneficiaries working in the projects to enhance the visibility of the positive results of the initiatives to attract interest and catalyse more support from other donors to sustain the peace and stability of the country. I equally request the government to mainstream some of the peacebuilding initiatives in the workplan of sectors to sustain peace and security, which will eventually support the achievement of the core development agenda.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

The UN Resident Coordinator’s Office – that is my office – has the in-country mandate on the side of the UN to ensure that PBF projects are aligned to national priorities as outlined in the NDP, UNDAF (which will now be called Cooperation Framework) and the SDGs,  are collaboratively delivered to achieve the desired outcomes. As the PBF portfolio grows and expands to reach beyond the Gambia, I am happy to welcome our colleagues from Senegal, some of whom are here today with us while some are connected virtually. They are joining the team to participate in the delivery of the cross-border project starting this year to enhance cross-border cooperation in selected border communities in West Coast, Lower River and Central Reiver Region bordering with Southern Senegal.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

At this juncture, I wish to appreciate the efforts of the UN agencies for their partnership and technical support provided to the government and CSOs partners to implement the programme activities. I once again extend our profound gratitude to the government of the Gambia and its relevant ministries and agencies and the Civil Society Organisations for the continued partnership for the delivery of the PBF programme. The UN could not achieve much without your dedication and participation. On this note, I wish you all fruitful deliberations in the coming days

Thank you for your kind attention!