The Social Development Fund (SDF) in partnership with the Entrepreneurship Promotion and Micro-Finance Development Project (EPMDP) last Friday concluded a six-week training workshop on result-based management, development project management and evaluation of public programmes and project for their staff at the Paradise Suites Hotel.

Speaking at the occasion, Mod K Ceesay, the director of Loan and Debt Management Department, Ministry of Finance, said that the day marks the end of a six-week long customised training on result-based management, project management and monitoring and evaluation for SDF/EPMDP staff as well as staff of partner institutions.He said the purpose of the training was to enhance the skills and expertise of staff in the key areas of project implementation as a basis for an effective implementation of the EPMDP project.

According to him, a lot of useful techniques and skills in result-based management, monitoring and evaluation and project management have been learnt during the six-week period. He therefore urged the participants to apply these useful skills and techniques in their practical work. He expressed hope that the skills and techniques learnt from this training programme will lead to a corresponding increase in the implementation rate of the EPMDP project. Ceesay thanked IDEA International for their excellent work.

For his part, George W L Thomas, a board member of SDF, said the EPMDP being funded by the ADB with modest contributions from both the Government of The Gambia and targeted beneficiaries is essentially a capacity-building project that is aimed at equipping both the people and institutions to enrich the lives of the less-privileged Gambians  both  materially and morally.  "Training is accordingly a key component of the project package for both the proponents and beneficiaries," he added.