By Tabora Bojang
Finance Minister Seedy Keita on Wednesday told the National Assembly that government is seriously challenged in implementing this year’s (2024) national budget ‘because there is no substantial budget support from development partners up to this hour’.
The minister made this revelation in response to members during the debate on the report of the Finance and Public Accounts Committee on the D52.9 billon budget estimates for 2025.
It also came after several lawmakers complained that monies earmarked for sectors in this year’s budget, example the education sector, are not adequately disbursed, hampering the operations of the School’s Improvement Grant SIG among others, with most NAMs blaming the Ministry of Finance for this. Minister Keita, in response, said it is true that sectors are complaining of not getting their expenditure but it has to be clear that government “cannot give what it did not have.”
“This year is an exceptional year of challenges in terms of implementing the budget. We had shocks on all sides of the budget, the expenditure and revenue sides, and the combination of that was a very difficult balancing act we have to play,” the minister said.
He further explained that on the side of revenue, the budget support comprises more than D3 billon but as at now, ‘we have executed the budget up to this hour without receiving any substantial budget support yet.’
“The budget supports are at advanced stages of discussion by the partners and I think the World Bank will go to the board on 6 December, and for the EU, discussions are ongoing in Brussels and we are following up. As a result of all these, we have not realised any budget support to date materially.
Even the budget support that was deemed to have come from the African Development Bank was re-prioritised to the REWARD program of the Ministry of Agriculture. So, we as a government have been on our own throughout this year. The sectors and the National Assembly should understand that it is not the wish of the Ministry of Finance, neither the Minister or the Executive, to deny them resources when resources are available to be spent. But we could not give what we don’t have,” Minister Keita explained.
The finance minister further disclosed that government has now surpassed its net domestic borrowing target of D2 billion, and it has now jumped to D7 billion, exceeding the target by almost D4 billion.
“Our challenge is how to bring that down. So, we are doing a very difficult balancing act. From next year, we want to do an overall review of government expenditure, and we have specifically requested the International Monetary Fund to do a public expenditure review exercise to ensure that value for money expenditure is what we will be doing in our budget implementation,” Keita disclosed.
Lower Saloum lawmaker Sainey Jawara used his contribution to criticise government for what he calls “over reliance” on grants and loans from development partners to fund national development.
He frowned at the Minister’s explanation that the budget estimates were lately submitted to the parliament due to discussions between the government and its development partners over salary increment.
“We have resources in this country and our focus should be how to effectively mobilise those resources without relying on external support. I want the minister to tell me where in Africa did IMF and World Bank operate and help those countries develop? Negotiating with these partners should not stop the minister from tabling the budget estimates at the right time. We need to work on ourselves. We need to break the eggs. I am part of people who made this change possible when some of you are not in this country so nobody can deter me from speaking the truth,” Hon Jawara said
However, Minister Keita responded that he was not “unaware” of the constitutional clause that calls for the tabling of the budget estimates 60 days before the end of year but it was done out of “supreme national interest.”
“We consulted this Assembly. The authorities here were consulted. We were not unaware of it. It was not that we did not know the time table and as such we mistakenly slipped it through our hands. Both the executive and the authority of this National Assembly concur that yes there is a constitutional provision but the greater good is the salary increment for the entire Gambian civil service. I apologise to this Assembly on Friday just due to humility but it does not mean that I wasn’t aware of it,” Keita stated.
