Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, minister of health has strongly defended over eight- million dalasi deal of Gambia government and Riders for Health. An investigation report shows that the government is paying millions of dalasis annually to the privately owned company.
However, health activists started expressing dismay over the deal as they call on the ministry of health to reverse the deal to better ways. The activists said the amount of money paid into the accounts of Riders for Health “can better be utilized to buy enough ambulances for all the public health facilities across the country.”
They argued that the ministry of health can buy ambulances for the one hundred and forty (150) public health clinics and health centre across the country.
A health administrator who spoke to Voice on condition of anonymity said: “the deal between the ministry of health and Riders for Health is not healthy on the path of the government. the ministry of health is spending close to twelve million dalasi monthly to Riders for Health which could be better utilized for the sustenance of the health sector.”
The source said often times their calls are being giving a deaf ear by drivers of Riders For Health unless authority is given to them from their main office, adding the company is charging the health ministry per kilo meter which is very expensive compared to when government was in charge of its own fleets.
“I think government should look critically into this Riders For Health issue because is not favourable to our dying health sector. What baffles my mind is, this very deal was stroke during the time of Yahya Jammeh and we all knows how deals are been done during his time,” the anonymous health administrator disclosed.
The source challenge the health ministry to put forward the various agreements they entered into with Riders for Health, disclosing that Riders For Health and few individuals who stroke the deal are benefitting at the behest of the Gambian people.
