The Member for Kiang West, Hon. Lamin Ceesay, has criticised the Office of the President over its reported expenditure of D75 million by July 2026 against an approved allocation of D50 million in meet the people’s tour, questioning the government’s commitment to fiscal discipline as hospitals struggle with bed shortages and students face difficulties reaching lectures.
Speaking after the laying of papers and reports on the Consolidated Report of the Finance and Public Accounts Committee on its consideration of the 2027 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, Ceesay said the government must ensure that budget allocations translate into services that improve people’s lives.
“We have welcomed the budget execution rate but the disbursement is not delivery,” he told the National Assembly.
Turning to public expenditure, he said the National Assembly approved D50 million for the Office of the President in the 2026 budget to meet the people but expenditure had reached D75 million by July, excluding the current ongoing meet the peoples tour.
“D75 million against D50 million where is fiscal discipline? Where is example? Where is control?” he asked.
He also questioned the effectiveness of parliamentary budget debates, arguing that ministers could transfer hundreds of millions of dalasis between ministries without sufficient control.
Ceesay cited an audit report that, he said, highlighted transfers made without the consent of budget entities or the approval of the relevant ministers. He called for legal amendments to strengthen oversight, insisting that a budget is a law that must be respected.
He linked spending priorities to conditions in health facilities, saying two women who had recently given birth shared one bed at Jammeh Foundation, while patients at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital were lying on the floor because of bed shortages.
He said that while lawmakers were reviewing government spending, students travelling to the University of The Gambia’s Faraba campus continued to struggle to find transport and arrive on time for lectures.
The lawmaker also raised concern over open defecation in riverine communities, saying some households could not afford to construct septic tanks. He called for government funding to help protect public health and human dignity.
On fisheries, Ceesay cited the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources as saying that 90 per cent of fish caught in the country’s river were landed in Senegal because Banjul lacked a usable landing site.
He argued that investment in fisheries infrastructure could help reduce the country’s deficit, criticising spending on what he described as divisive political rhetoric instead.
Ceesay urged lawmakers to focus on the country’s pressing needs, warning that their statements and decisions would ultimately be judged by the public.