By Mustapha Jarju
Madi Ceesay, National Assembly member for Serrekunda West Constituency has defended the one hundred thousand dalasis clothing allowance for each lawmaker, while Gambian electorates differ on the allowance scheme for MPs.
“Currently there is lots of chaos about the D100, 000 clothing allowance, but what people don’t understand is that this clothing allowance covers the whole five-year term of the National Assembly members,” he said in a report monitored of SEN FM Radio recently.
The lawmaker also defended the one million dalasi vehicle loan for National Assembly members, saying each MP will pay 500, 000 dalasis and the government pays balance 500, 000 dalasis.
“I don’t see any problem with that. This is different from the issue of the former MPs, because the government will not give you a driver or fuel and will not give you maintenance but they are going to provide us loan and pay half of the vehicle price which is one million Dalasis, for me I don’t think there is anything wrong with that,” he said.
Meanwhile, he urged the government to leave the pickup vehicles for lawmakers who lost the past parliamentary election, adding they had spent lots of money on maintenance and fuel.
He said: “If the government has provided drivers to the former MPs, give them fuel and make maintenance for them, then when they are leaving the position, they should return the vehicle. This was not happening, giving vehicle to the National Assembly Members is not a big thing without giving them any maintenance, nor driver nor fuel, what that person will spend is more than the vehicle price.”