Background Information - Ghana Multi Country Office (GMCO)
GMCO is responsible for managing strategic and operational risks associated with a subset of the regional portfolio of engagements, developing and delivering cost effective services contributing to partners’ sustainable results and achievements of UNOPS management results in The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
The core functions of the Operational Hub are to:
- Liaise and develop engagements, and deliver services responding to partner needs.
- Leverage advice and integrate delivery modalities of the three Delivery Practices and the Global Partner Service Office.
- Maintain appropriate arrangements and capacity for direct transactional support for delivery of the sub-regional portfolio.
Background Information - Gambia
The Gambia has one of the fastest urbanisation rates in sub-Saharan Africa, with the GBA already accounting for 68% of the total population. This has resulted in several environmental and socio-economic problems including deforestation, soil erosion, pollution and waste generation, as well as stress on health, education and employment services. These have been exacerbated by the lack of an urban master plan for Banjul (which has not been updated for nearly 20 years) and the absence of a planned response to the growing economic activity of the city. Likewise, the absence of an updated cadastral map and insufficient data on taxable properties in the Greater Banjul Area has resulted in the municipalities being able to collect only a small portion of their potential revenue from property taxes. With inadequate funding available from the central government, there is increased pressure on the municipalities to explore innovative revenue generation mechanisms to effectively deliver basic services.
Despite these challenges, the investment climate in The Gambia is growing in attractiveness to investors and is expected to improve with accelerated investments via the next prospective flagship project of the Port Expansion and the current opening of the new trans-Gambian bridge. It is imperative that the city has the proper instruments in place to prepare for increased urbanization, traffic flows and vulnerability to climatic change.
Background Information - Job Specific
To respond to this potential and address these issues, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has affirmed its support to the Government of The Gambia for the development of a comprehensive, digitized master plan for the Greater Banjul Area. The overall aim of the Greater Banjul Area: Sustainable Urban Development Programme 2020-40 (GBA-SUDP) is to put in place innovative mechanisms to support an increase in local revenue generation and collection, improve the delivery of basic services and roll out the decentralised approach as stated in the National Development Plan (2018-2021). The project can be defined in two main service lines (a) Urban Master Plan Development and (b) Technical Assistance to institutional capacity development; covering 6 main outputs:
1. A digital master plan for the Greater Banjul Area, integrating the Port and linking it with the immediate area of Barra Esau (opposite the River Gambia)
2. 5-year urban development investment plans for the 3 municipalities in Greater Banjul Area
3. Study tour to Senegal for bench marking
4. Technical Assistance (TA) and capacity building, including training, for 3 municipal governments and the Ministry of Land and Regional Government
5. Institutions’ (GPA, BCC, KMC, BAC and MoLRG) staff trained in project management
6. Procurement of ICT and office equipment to support the facilitation of municipal management
Working under the direct supervision of the Institutional Capacity Building Team Leader, the National Municipal Expert will review and analyse existing policies, strategies and plans of the Municipality to which he/she is assigned and identify capacity gaps to guide institutional strengthening. He/She will work closely with the Municipality to plan system reforms needed to manage and implement the GBA Vision and Plan which include improvements in the delivery of basic services and local revenue collection. The National Municipal Expert will report to the Institutional Capacity Building Team Leader on a day-to-day basis and to the Infrastructure Specialist at the Hub level.