By Tabora Bojang
The government has submitted a bill with a certificate of urgency for the National Assembly to amend the National Security Council Act to provide for the imposition of a national security levy to finance the country’s Security Sector Reform (SSR) process.
The bill intends to impose a levy of 1.5 per cent of the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value of all goods imported in The Gambia. The Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) will collect the levy and pay it to the National Security Sector Joint Operations Fund.
Providing justifications, Vice President Muhammed Jallow said the amendment seeks to provide a clear and enforceable legal framework for financing The Gambia’s security sector reform process and operations of National Security Sector Joint Operations Fund.
VP Jallow explained that the implementation of SSR in The Gambia continues to face “structural and resource related” constraints due to inadequate financing with most activities “heavily dependent on external donor support”.
According to the vice president, the overarching objective is to secure predictable and sustainable financing for the security sector reform process adding that a previous provision in the NSC Act 2025 was not enforceable since the levy on insurance premiums conflicts with the income and value added tax Act.
“This amendment will ensure the National Security Sector Joint Operations Fund is robustly financed through a sustainable domestic revenue mechanism thereby reducing over reliance on external donors and enhancing national ownership and enabling long term planning for logistics, infrastructure and training programmes in the security sector. It will also strengthen accountability by aligning enforcement with existing tax laws and provide penalties for non-compliance,” he told deputies.
Following the VP’s submission, several lawmakers welcomed the amendment. But there was no debate following a motion by Foñi Kansala representative Almameh Gibba for the bill to move to the consideration stage without a debate.
Gibba’s motion, seconded by Samba Jallow of Niamina Dankunku was put to a vote with 28 members voting in support while eight voted against.
However, during the consideration stage, Member for Baddibu Central, Sulayman Saho raised concerns about the impact of the levy on prices of goods. He warned that placing extra tax on importers who will pass it on to consumers. Saho noted that the government has pocketed millions of dalasis from donors on SSR since 2017 and said there is need to clarify how those funds were spent. However, Speaker Fabakary Tombong Jatta ruled out the statement saying Saho was going out of topic. The amendment was subsequently passed.
