On, Tuesday, 6 August 2024, I listened to an interesting segment on the West Coast Radio morning show. Lamin Cham of the Standard Newspaper read an article by former information minister Demba Ali Jawo. In his piece, Jawo criticized President Adama Barrow for violating his own recently established moratorium on non-essential foreign travel for government officials, which was supposed to be exempted only under special circumstances.
While I agree with Mr. Jawo’s questioning of the President’s sincerity and the apparent disregard for this directive during the President’s recent trip to the inauguration of Mauritania’s newly elected president, I believe Jawo’s criticism misses the mark by not offering a viable solution to the underlying issue: the chronic abuse of government travel as a means of earning extra money in dubious ways.
Mr. Jawo, like myself, likely benefited from this travel scheme during his tenure as a senior government official. From my own experience as the Gambia National Army commander, I often traveled abroad on official duties fully funded by the host country. Despite having no personal expenses, I still received the usual per diem for the duration of my stay. I recall being part of President Jammeh’s entourage to Mecca for the religious Umra pilgrimage, where the Saudi government provided accommodation, meals, and transportation. Despite these provisions, our government paid us per diem for the entire trip and for every stop we made before and after our departure.
The abuse of government per diem remuneration was so rampant during Jammeh’s tenure that he eventually imposed numerous embargoes against it, at one point deciding to personally vet the eligibility of every prospective traveler. Ironically, whenever his mother, who was frequently ill, needed medical treatment abroad, he would either charter a private plane or book first/business-class seats on commercial flights for her, accompanied by guards and maids. Each member of her escort team received full per diem payments, despite the government covering all their sustenance and medical bills upon arrival.
To address this problem, Gambians must first acknowledge that the per diem scheme has been a longstanding money-making mechanism, originating during President Sir Dawda Jawara’s days. Who can forget the frequent travels of former President Jawara, who often traveled with a large entourage of officials, including wives, children, guards, orderlies, protocols, and technocrats? All were paid per diems without justifiable reasons, as their sustenance while abroad was pre-paid by the government or host nations. Even during President Jawara’s private annual leaves, mostly to England, his large entourage was paid per diems.
The solution to this pervasive issue lies in transitioning to a digital economy. By leveraging digital tools and platforms, we can enhance transparency, accountability, and efficiency in managing government funds and travel expenses. This would not only curb the misuse of the per diem system but also ensure that government officials’ travels are truly essential and cost-effective.
The per diem system has long been an open cash cow for government officials to augment their already bloated salaries. I remember a GNA officer serving as an aide-de-camp (ADC) to President Jawara once expressing his wish to extend his two-year posting by another year to complete his family house, funded by per diem payments.
This practice has been normalized since our independence in 1965. The question now is how to stop this pervasive money-making scheme that drains the economy and benefits only a few at the expense of the majority of taxpayers.
My suggestion is to transform our economy into a modern digital one. Government travelers on any mission abroad should be paid their per diems through government-owned credit or debit cards. With such a system, every “butut” spent would be accountable, and any remaining balance could be retrieved. This change would eliminate the incentive for government officials who spend significant time searching for trips online to make easy and quick money, effectively ending this problematic practice.
