By Kebba A.F. Touray
The Judiciary and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) are among the institutions whose proposed 2027 budgets have been cut by the National Assembly’s Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC), which has reported total savings of D146.5 million following its scrutiny of government spending proposals.
The Judiciary’s budget was reduced by D39.65 million, while the IEC faced cuts of D61.91 million. The National Audit Office recorded the largest reduction, at D72.19 million, according to figures presented to the National Assembly by FPAC chairperson, Hon. Alhagie S. Darboe.
Other institutions affected by the committee’s review include the Centralised Service, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Ministry of Public Services and the Ministry of Finance.
Presenting the committee’s findings to the Assembly, Darboe said FPAC had made total savings of D146,487,557 from its examination of the proposed allocations for the 2027 financial year.
Of this amount, D41.2 million was reallocated to the National Council for Civic Education, Early Warning, the Social Protection Secretariat, the National Population Secretariat and the Public Service Commission.
The proposed cuts formed part of the National Assembly’s scrutiny of the 2027 draft Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, which were presented by the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs alongside medium-term projections for 2027 to 2029.
The budget was presented under the theme, “Deepening Economic Resilience While Enhancing Fiscal Sustainability”, with the government outlining its priorities for economic stability, domestic revenue mobilisation, expenditure management and inclusive growth.
The estimates were prepared against a background of economic recovery, fiscal pressures and uncertainty in the global economy.
According to Darboe, the Finance Minister’s budget statement reported that real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.7 per cent in 2025, compared with 6 per cent in 2024. Economic growth is projected at 5.6 per cent in 2027.
Agriculture, construction, tourism and remittance inflows were identified as key factors supporting economic activity.
“Total Government Local Funds (GLF) Revenue and Grants for 2027 are projected at D40.96 billion, while Revenue and Grants under All Funds are estimated at D56.93 billion, including project grants of D15.97 billion,” Darboe told the Assembly.
He said proposed expenditure stood at D48.5 billion under Government Local Funds and D66.7 billion under All Funds, excluding net lending.
The budget also faces substantial spending commitments, including public debt servicing, salaries and allowances, subsidies, transfers and development financing.
“Total debt service, comprising interest and principal repayments, is projected to rise from D13.46 billion in 2026 to D16.17 billion in 2027, an increase of 20.2 per cent,” he said.
Darboe also highlighted the expansion of Programme-Based Budgeting (PBB) to the whole Central Government as a major feature of the 2027 budget process.
The reform, which is aligned with the Recovery-Focused National Development Plan (RF-NDP) 2023–2027, is intended to strengthen the link between budget allocations, government priorities and measurable results.
He said the approach would allow National Assembly committees to examine programme objectives, expected outputs, performance indicators and outcomes alongside the amounts requested by government institutions.
Against this background, the Assembly’s committees examined the estimates of the institutions under their respective mandates, engaging them on funding requirements, programme priorities, budget implementation, institutional challenges and their capacity to deliver public services.
FPAC’s reported savings were drawn from seven budget entities. The breakdown presented to the Assembly showed cuts of D39,650,000 for the Judiciary, D72,188,440 for the National Audit Office and D61,907,375 for the IEC.
The other reductions were D5,141,742 for the Centralised Service, D300,000 for the Office of the Ombudsman, D1.6 million for the Ministry of Public Services and D6.9 million for the Ministry of Finance.
Darboe said D41.2 million from the savings would be redirected to five institutions, including those responsible for civic education, early warning, social protection, population matters and public service administration.
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