By Omar Bah
The National Assembly Member for Jeshwang, Sheriff Sarr, has told Star FM radio that the decision to suspend government official travels is a job well done by the president.
Hon. Sarr was asked about his views on the directive in an interview where he also said all Gambians should agree with the decision as it will save the economy from unnecessary expenditures. “It is a bold move meant to ensure some discipline and control in spending. The ministries and government institutions should make sure that the order is followed to the letter without exemption,” he said.
Also commending the government on the issue, UDP campaign manager Momodou Sabally, said: ”We must commend President Barrow for the bold move of temporarily suspending all overseas travel by government officials for the rest of 2023.
The declaration that this includes the president himself and his vice president makes it even more commendable because the two of them are the most expensive to fly around the world.
This is just the kind of move I have expected from this government and I have consistently advised them accordingly: to curb government expenditure; in order to stabilise the economy”.
Sabally said the rate of travel of top government officials has been unprecedented.
“While travelling out of the country a few months ago, I was in the same plane with the senior management of at least two key ministries of this country. More than a dozen key management staff of an entire sector left this country together. There is no way anyone can justify that in any serious country,” Sabally said.
He said Barrow’s own top officials and advisers are taking him for a ride because they feel that he would never understand their plots.
“There seems to exist a top-level cabal in government conniving to outsmart the president and abuse state resources for their personal gain. Therefore, whatever this presidential directive is worth, the intention and signal is worth commending. Hopefully it will make a dent in their expenditure overdrive inflation rises further to unprecedented levels in this generation,” he said.
