By: Kemo Kanyi & Binta Jaiteh
Madi Ceesay, a Lawmaker for Serrekunda West, has hinted that the 2025 increased expenditure burden will be on ordinary Gambians because 29% of the budget estimates depend highly on loans and grants.
In an exclusive interview on Thursday, he revealed that the government is expecting D12, 643,000,119 (twelve billion, six hundred and forty-three million, one hundred and nineteen thousand) in grants.
He stated this found 23% of the budget, and for a country with current debts standing at D118 billion, depending on grants for 23.9% of its budget is quite dangerous because the same budget indicates that D11 billion is earmarked for debt servicing.
‘’The saddest part of our current situation is that our loan stands at D118 billion and to service this loan, D11 billion will be going into servicing the loan. This situation is what is holding The Gambia back and it’s really unfortunate. We need a serious government to address this menace. This government keeps opening up the expenditure. Recently, it has created a new ministerial portfolio in the cabinet and the source of our income remains the same. If the government wanted to address the situation of debt burden, it could have merged some ministries. The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education could be merged with the Ministry of Higher Education while the Ministries of Information and Digital Economy could also be merged and the Ministry of Environment can also be merged with another ministry to cut down government spending,’’ Hon. Ceesay told The Voice in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
Hon. Madi Ceesay accused the government of turning a blind eye to this economic misappropriation which is a persistent burden on ordinary Gambian citizens.
‘’I think the government is doing nothing to control the deficit. As it stands right now, the burden will be going back to the ordinary Gambians. The 2025 budget has increased by D10 billion compared to the 2024 Estimates. The government can’t increase expenditure and expects citizens to live a good life. That’s not possible. Taxes must rise and this will place more burden on Gambians,’’ NAM Ceesay argued.
He added that there are some unnecessary expenditures he spotted in the 2025 budget estimates, which he described as ‘’unfortunate spending’’. Hon. Ceesay said over half a billion is proposed for travel in 2025.
“Unfortunately, some expenditures are unnecessary, especially certain travels. In the 2025 estimates, D583, 800,000.00, is put aside for travels alone. Another worrying expenditure is the allocation of D70, 404,000.00 for miscellaneous expenses, and another allocation of D559, 452,000.00 for operating costs. These three allocations total D1, 173,656,000.00. This must be scrutinized and the minister must explain this,’’ Hon. Madi Ceesay emphasized.
