Publication: The Gambia - Improving Civil Service Performance : Public Service Pensions Policy Reform Note
Loading...
Published
2010-02-03
ISSN
Date
2012-03-19
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
There is a general consensus that The Gambia's civil service has a number of key capacity weaknesses. Pay is too low to hire, motivate and retain key technical and professional staffs. Staffs are not managed to achieve results, neither rewarded for good performance nor sanctioned for poor performance or breaking the rules. Frequent removals and transfers of Government officials have undermined job security and institutional knowledge. The main objective of this report is to outline the results of the analysis of civil service capacity constraints. Based on the analysis, the report presents options to consider for the proposed civil service reform program which the Government plans on preparing. The Personnel Management Office (PMO) drafted a reform strategy in August 2007, the 'public sector reform sector strategy paper 2007-2011,' which can be further developed by incorporating the findings of report. The expected goal of this strategy is to build the capacity of the civil service to formulate policies and allocate resources to implement those policies so as to ensure effective delivery of public services. This report is organized as follows: chapter one identifies the overall capacity constraints in the civil service; chapter two analyzes civil service pay and benefits; chapter three assesses human resource management; chapter four focuses on the education and health sectors; and chapter five summarizes the major findings and proposes reform options and the next steps.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2010. The Gambia - Improving Civil Service Performance : Public Service Pensions Policy Reform Note. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2849 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Strengthening Caribbean Pensions : Improving Equity and Sustainability(World Bank, 2010-03-03)This report aims to provide additional insights to existing analyses of public pension and social security schemes in the Caribbean. Such analyses have been undertaken with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, the Canadian International Development Agency, the Economic Commission for Latin America, and the Caribbean and the International Social Security Association. By making cross-country comparisons within the region and across the world, this report will review fiscal vulnerability, sustainability, labor market efficiency, migration, financial market development, and other pension-related areas. Finally, governance and investment management should be strengthened by: (i) strengthening the governance structure, including authority and accountability of Board members; (ii) improving governance mechanisms with the assistance of external oversight and improved information disclosure; (iii) introducing codes of conduct for the governing body and management; and (iv) introducing a number of measures to strengthen the investment policies, investment strategy, asset allocation, and performance evaluation.Publication Afghanistan Public Sector Pension Scheme : From Crisis Management to Comprehensive Reform Strategy(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-06-24)After years of dealing with pension policy in crisis management mode, the Government of Afghanistan has begun the process of formulating a national pension policy based on a long-term vision. Until very recently the Government had been focused on short-term policy actions to alleviate growing pressure on the budget. While these measures were necessary, pension policy must take a long term view. Recently, the Government has developed a comprehensive reform package and initiated the process of legal drafting. A reformed system must have clear objectives, be fiscally sustainable, and address needs of various population groups. The final choices will need to be made as to mandate and design and administrative arrangements of the reformed system. The challenge is to ensure that the measures taken in the next few years do not make it more difficult to pursue certain preferred policies later. This paper shows that, according to the financial projections, there is now a window of opportunity for implementing a reform of the system.Publication Kyrgyz Republic Public Expenditure Review Policy Notes : Pensions(Washington, DC, 2014-05)Today, the Kyrgyz pension system plays a major role in poverty alleviation of the elderly but this role is diminishing fast due to low coverage of working age population. The system currently provides pensions to more than 90 percent of the population over age 65 thus being a significant buffer against poverty. Over time, though, the poverty reduction effect of the pension system is expected to weaken substantially as the current low coverage rates among the working age population translate into much lower coverage rates of about only 60 percent for the future old age population. As a result, poverty rates among the old-age population will grow and government spending on social pensions will increase dramatically. The structure of this chapter is as follows. The next section provides an overview of the current pension system and the main issues facing it. Section three presents the results of the financial projections for the current system assuming a no-reform scenario and the implications of doing nothing on the finances of the Social Fund, the cost to the government and the expected benefits (baseline projections). Section four considers several broad reform options and their impact with respect to the financial sustainability and affordability of the system as well as adequacy of benefits. Section five outlines the issues remaining beyond the scope of this study which require further analysis. Annex one summarizes the main parameters of the current pension system and annexes two provides a brief description of the main assumptions used in the projections and the projection methodology. The diagnosis of the current system and the evaluation of the reform options presented in this chapter are based on the simulations produced with the World Bank Pension Reform Options Simulation Toolkit (PROST) model.Publication Mongolia : Pension Policy Challenges and Reform Options(Washington, DC, 2008-04-21)Mongolia inherited a pay-as-you go public pension system providing universal coverage and high levels of benefits (relative to pre-retirement income), consistent with the state provision of all forms of social insurance. The system was reformed in 1995, including the introduction of contributions for pensions and other social insurance, but it remained dependent upon Government transfers. The reforms improved the existing scheme but failed to achieve financial sustainability or address a number of weaknesses in the existing scheme's design, which created weak incentives for contributing to the system and benefit inequities between different groups of workers/cohorts. This policy note responds to this request, and it is part of an ongoing broader collaboration with the Government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on pension reform that includes: (i) supporting the development of the policy framework for pension reform; (ii) improving the pension policy making capacity; and (iii) assisting in the identification of the institutional development needs to support the new pension system. This note identifies a number of challenges in the design and implementation of the current social insurance system that would need to be addressed to strengthen the system's ability to provide consumption smoothing and old-age income security for Mongolia's population.Publication Republic of Niger : Towards an Integrated and Sustainable Pension System(Washington, DC, 2009-06-30)This report was prepared at the request of the Government of Niger to: (i) provide a comprehensive assessment of the Nigerien pension system, (ii) analyze current reform initiatives and recommend possible refinements and alternatives, and (iii) examine implementation challenges. To this end, the report develops a set of general guidelines to assess reform options in terms the adequacy of benefits, security, financial sustainability, redistribution, incentives, and administrative efficiency. The core of the report is organized in three chapters. After providing a summary of the background (chapter one), chapter two develops the policy framework and updates the assessment of the mandatory pension systems. The assessment looks at the financial situation of the schemes but also discusses other problems that had been previously overlooked in terms of the adequacy of benefits; the type of redistribution; as well as issues related to incentives. Chapter three reviews Government ongoing reform initiatives, summarizes the international experiences that are relevant to Niger, and, presents recommendations to strengthen current policies by outlining the components of a multi-year reform program, and developing a road map towards implementation.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Morocco Economic Update, Winter 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03)Despite the drought causing a modest deceleration of overall GDP growth to 3.2 percent, the Moroccan economy has exhibited some encouraging trends in 2024. Non-agricultural growth has accelerated to an estimated 3.8 percent, driven by a revitalized industrial sector and a rebound in gross capital formation. Inflation has dropped below 1 percent, allowing Bank al-Maghrib to begin easing its monetary policy. While rural labor markets remain depressed, the economy has added close to 162,000 jobs in urban areas. Morocco’s external position remains strong overall, with a moderate current account deficit largely financed by growing foreign direct investment inflows, underpinned by solid investor confidence indicators. Despite significant spending pressures, the debt-to-GDP ratio is slowly declining.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.