The secretary of state for Finance and Economic Affairs, has disclosed that all the recent World Bank (WB) funded projects in The Gambia are "successfully progressing," as planned.

Mousa Gibril Bala Gaye said this is the first time   that none of the WB projects in the country has an unsatisfactory rating, in contrast to those in late 1990s and early 2000s, when one third of the projects were rated satisfactory.

Secretary of state Gaye made these remarks on Thursday, while delivering a statement at a two-day Country Portfolio Performance Review (CPPR) seminar, at the Corinthia Atlantic Hotel, Banjul.

The review exercise was aimed at assessing the state of the projects, discuss key constraints of the portfolio implementation, as well as making recommendations to help address the challenges in order to achieve better results.

He described the importance of the country portfolio review as an important evaluation and monitoring exercise, adding that it createed a forum where both the government and the WB review the progress of the projects, it highlight the major shortcomings, it discusses and agrees on the proposed solutions to achieve the approved programmes and project objectives.

The Finance and Economic Affairs secretary of state also highlighted the more than a decade-long collaboration between the government and WB, spanning across all major sectors of the economy, notably agriculture, health, education, infrastructure and decentralisation.

For his part, Madani M Tall, the WB country director, said there are five active projects in the portfolio with a total commitment of US$55.9 million, half of which is yet to be disbursed.

He added that in order to ensure a high disbursement rate, it is important to pay attention to certain cross-cutting issues, such as procurement, financial management and monitoring and evaluation.

"Equally vital is the need to have and retain the relevant capacity necessary for successful project implementation.

This calls for the strengthening of national systems in conjunction with a rigorous civil service reform," he emphasised.

Mr Tall further highlighted that the portfolio review is taking place in the frame work of the newly approved Joint Assistance Strategy, prepared by the African Development Bank and WB.