By Binta Jaiteh Kaba
Honorable Yaya Menteng Sanyang, National Assembly Member for Latrikunda Sabiji has urged President Adama Barrow to sack the Minister of Youth and Sports, Honourable Bakary Badjie for authorizing the payment of his wife D180,000 per-diem to travel with him out of the shore of the country.
The lawmaker informed The Voice Newspaper reporter saying “I will talk to my fellow National Assembly members to utilize section (75) (1b) of the Constitution to dismiss this minister for abuse of office and misconduct. We need to start setting examples or else the poor people will continue to suffer. The civil society organizations especially those in the sports sector should sue the minister and his wife for embezzlement of funds and set an example for others.”
Honorable Sanyang reiterated that; this is utterly unacceptable and the only remedy is for the president to sack the minister and order them to return the money to the state coffers.
He said market women and taxi drivers are paying taxes without benefiting from the tax paid adding that the minister is paid salary and per-diem he should use that to cater for his wife not for her to be paid separately.
“His wife is not entitled to any per diem or payment from the government, poor Gambian taxpayers cannot be used to pay a minister’s wife,” he said bitterly.
He added “It is very sad that ministers’ salaries were increased to D200,000 just one month ago. I advised President Barrow to sack this minister to show Gambians that he is ready to take up responsibility.”
He stressed that President Barrow and his ministers should stop taking Gambians for granted because it is high time for Barrow and his cabinet to manage the state resource properly.
