A Special Cabinet Meeting convened on Tuesday 5th November 2019 discussed and approved the 2020 budget estimates as well as the government’s development plans and priorities, including a National Health Insurance Scheme that will guarantee easy and affordable medical health care for vulnerable families.
The meeting was urgently convened pursuant to Section 152 of the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia, which requires the government to submit to the National Assembly the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditures for the following year at least 30 days before the end of the Financial Year. The Budget is pro-poor and demonstrates the giant strides being undertaken by the Barrow government to respond to the social and economic needs of Gambians.
With the Health Insurance Scheme in place, there will be guarantees that vulnerable families will have medical attention as and when the need arises. To ensure proper implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Cabinet has tasked the Ministry of Finance to critically analyze the process for the benefit of the citizenry.
The Draft Financial Year 2020 Budget Estimates has been generated based on the objectives of the National Development Plan (NDP), which took into consideration detailed forecasts including growth, inflation, projected revenues, and specified strategic priorities and policy goals of the government. It, therefore, outlines key priority activities to be funded in 2020 and their source of funding.
Cabinet also discussed and approved a paper presented by the Honourable Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs on the Medium Term Economic Fiscal Framework 2020-2024. This document outlines expenditures reflecting the government’s key fiscal policy priorities over the medium term, which are aligned with the National Development Plan.
The Medium-Term Economic Fiscal Framework 2020-2024 will serve as a policy tool to guide budget realities, investment and public procurement options, debt strategies and borrowing plans of the government and key reform priorities necessary for macro-fiscal sustainability.