Introduction - UNDP The Gambia

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
• lack of incentives, motivation and
commitment resulting in increasing
attrition levels
• lack of resources
• poor utilisation of technical assistance
personnel
• lack of effective coordination of policy
and programmes
• institutional bottlenecks and rigidities
• non-adherence to strict governance
practices
• absence of result-based management
which relates pay and incentives to
performance and output.
2.6.1 Lack of Incentives, Motivation
and Commitment
The erosion of the earning power of the
average public servant, coupled with an acute
sense of insecurity of tenure, seriously
undermines commitment, motivation,
productivity and adherence to an ethical code
of conduct. An examination of “Civil Service
Pay Scale”, ie total remuneration package
(pay and allowances) reveals that for many
years the level of increase has been well
below the mounting cost of living
index. Table 7 establishes a comparison of
the first four grades of the structures of the
public enterprises and the civil service.
Table 7: Comparison of civil service and parastatal pay scales
Grade Civil Salary Grade Public Differential
Service after 20% Public Enterprises
Award Enterprises Structure Salary
D D D
1 base point 6804 p.a SS III base point 10, 200 3396
top of grade 8232 p.a top of grade 12, 900 4668
2 base point 8388 p.a SS III base point 10, 200 1812
top of grade 9816 p.a top of grade 12, 900 3084
3 base point 9960 p.a SS II base point 13, 200 3240
top of grade 11,640 p.a top of grade 18, 200 6960
4 base point 11808 p.a SS II base point 13, 200 1392
top of grade 14832 p.a top of grade 18, 600 3768
Note: PA means salary per annum
Table 7 shows wide disparities between
parastatal and civil service pay, with the third
grade in the latter almost corresponding to the
lowest grade in the former. The disparities at
the remaining grades are even wider. When
compared to salary levels in the private and
NGO sectors, the disparities become even
much wider.
Apart from increasing salary levels
substantially through a reduction of
vacancies, wastage and redundant labour,
Government needs to introduce measures to
enhance productivity, instil security in tenure
and promote career development.
The erosion of the earning power of the
average public servant, coupled with an acute
sense of insecurity of tenure, seriously
undermines commitment, motivation,
productivity and adherence to an ethical code
of conduct.
Several African countries have increasingly
adopted the “New Public Management”
(NPM) approach to stimulate productivity
and high quality performance. The NPM is
seen as a body of managerial thought based
on ideas generated from the private sector and
imported into the public sector. The
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Building Capacity for the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in The Gambia National Human Development Report 2005
21