Kingston, Jamaica. 6 June 2024:  A delegation from the Republic of the Gambia is currently in Jamaica on a five-day study tour to gain insights into Jamaica’s public sector transformation programme.

The delegation, led by Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service, Mrs Salimatta Touray, arrived in the island on Sunday (2 June) and is being hosted by the Transformation Implementation Unit (TIU) in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service.

The Gambia is preparing a Public Administration and Modernisation Project, which aims to improve fiscal and HR management capacity for improved service delivery. Mrs Touray noted that she believes The Gambia could benefit from understudying the work that Jamaica has done in transforming its public sector generally but more specifically in implementing MyHR+ – the integrated HR and payroll system across the public sector.

Mrs Touray noted that Jamaica was chosen on the advice of the World Bank which is supporting their reform project. “On the advice of the World Bank, we were told to come to Jamaica because it has gone through its modernisation programme, and it has one of the best systems available. We’ve been learning a lot and definitely we see the vast difference the system can make to our operations in The Gambia,” Mrs Touray emphasised. She added that the tour has been very helpful in gathering insights for Gambia’s transformation programme to better serve it citizens noting that “in that vein I want to thank the Government of Jamaica for hosting us and the hospitality extended to me and my delegation and for opening up its institutions for us to learn from them and exchange ideas.”

In the meantime, Executive Director of the TIU, Ms Maria Thompson Walters observes that the study tour provides a good opportunity to share lessons with the Gambian team to enhance their chances of project success. “It has been a pleasure hosting the delegation and I believe the tour has been beneficial. It is good to know that even as we are transforming our own public service, we can be of value to countries going through similar exercises,” Ms Thompson Walters said.