Banjul North NAM Asks
By Kebba A.F. Touray
The Member of the National Assembly for Banjul North, Hon. Modou Lamin B. Bah, has questioned why the 2027 national budget makes no specific allocation for the nutrition fund despite the enactment of the National Nutrition Act, which he described as the first of its kind in Africa.
Speaking during the National Assembly’s budget debate on Monday, 12 October 2026, Bah challenged the government’s approach to funding nutrition programmes, warning against continued dependence on donor partners.
“As we are speaking, even though there is a nutrition programme under the Ministry of Health, it was us here who enacted a law called the National Nutrition Act, which was the first ever nutrition act in Africa,” he told the Assembly.
He added that the absence of a dedicated allocation for the nutrition fund raised questions about how the country intended to implement its nutrition commitments.
“As we are speaking, this particular budget does not even have a single [allocation] when it comes to nutrition funds. We want to depend on donor partners for what?” he asked.
Bah said funding for nutrition should be considered alongside other essential health services, including the provision of medicines and medical supplies to hospitals.
He argued that building hospitals was not enough if healthcare facilities lacked the supplies needed to treat patients.
“Even though we have the structures in terms of our hospitals, we need medications and medical supplies to run these hospitals, which is indeed very important,” he said.
The Banjul North lawmaker also raised concerns about the country’s dependence on external financing, pointing to the size of the 2027 budget and the government’s reliance on loans and grants.
Referring to the overall budget of D66.7 billion, Bah said the government expected to mobilise about 73 per cent of the funds, while the remaining 27 per cent would come from loans and grants.
He warned that the country could be forced to borrow more if expected grants failed to materialise.
“D144 billion is a concern, Honourable Speaker,” he said, referring to the national debt.
Bah also questioned the D60 million allocated to the national health insurance scheme, arguing that the programme was important to ordinary citizens and public officials alike.
“We cannot be playing with this health insurance scheme, knowing fully well that it is what will benefit all of us, including us as members of parliament, with our families,” he said.
“What is 60 million towards the health insurance scheme? I think this is a very big concern,” he added.
He further highlighted the need to adequately fund other health priorities, including mental health services.
Beyond healthcare, Bah raised concerns about the state of sports infrastructure and the absence of a dedicated maintenance fund for the country’s main stadium in the 2027 budget.
He said sports development was among the issues young people had raised with him and questioned how Gambian teams could compete internationally without adequate facilities.
“We all know that even Old Trafford is older than the stadium, our own stadium. Old Trafford is older than our stadium. But how is Old Trafford still standing and surviving?” he asked.
Bah argued that the lack of a stadium maintenance allocation was inconsistent with the country’s ambition to achieve better results in football.
“In this budget, there is no maintenance fund for the stadium. And we want to win games. We want to win football games on behalf of The Gambia. How do we expect that to happen?” he said.
He also pointed to the absence of an indoor court for volleyball and basketball, saying local athletes were disadvantaged when competing in facilities they rarely used at home.
Referring to a recent international competition, Bah said the national team struggled to adapt to an indoor court.
He also questioned the lack of suitable training grounds, recalling that when Somalia visited The Gambia, the visiting team was taken to Boyo Field.
“Even a training ground we don’t have in this country. When Somalia came, we took them to Boyo Field. What are we thinking?” he asked.
Bah said greater attention should be given to sports facilities and maintenance if the country expected its athletes to improve their performance in international competitions.
His budget intervention covered nutrition funding, medical supplies, national health insurance, public debt and sports infrastructure, with calls for greater attention to essential services and the needs of young people.