By Ramatoulie Jawo
Hon. Fatou Kinteh, Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Welfare, informed the National Assembly Members that a total of D46,105,751.48 has been recovered under the Women Enterprise Fund, accounting for 69.5 percent of the disbursed amount.
She disclosed this during the question and answer session at the National Assembly, responding to a question posed by Hon. Modou Lamin Bah, the National Assembly Member for Banjul North.
Hon. Abdoulie Njai, representing Banjul Central, asked on behalf of Hon. Bah for an update on the disbursement and recovery status of the Women Enterprise Fund since its inception.
“From its inception to date, a total of D66,320,000. 00 has been disbursed to women groups across the country, and in all the regions and a total of D46,105,751.48 has been recovered so far, accounting for 69.5 percent of the amount that has been disbursed,” she informed the Parliament.
She emphasized the fund’s pivotal role in empowering women in The Gambia, particularly those in the entrepreneurship sector.
In his supplementary questions, Hon. Njai asked why the remaining funds were still unrecovered.
Minister Kinteh explained that some groups reported that members had paid, but their group leaders failed to deposit the money into the bank account.
“For some of the members, there was a misunderstanding of the payment mode, even though our staff in the field visit them to coach and mentor them. In fact, as a result, we have decided that come next year, we are going to hire more staff who will be responsible for the loan recovery of the fund,” she said.
“The PMO and Finance Ministry have given approval, and come next year, they will hire additional staff for the loan recovery of the funds.
Hon. Njai further asked the Minister to explain the strategic approaches lacking in the Ministry for loan recovery.
The Minister responded that their staff are still following up to ensure the loans are repaid into the account.
“In fact, once the amount is placed into the account, they signed a contract with us, and in that contract, the mode of payment is clearly stipulated there,” he said.
Hon. Alhagie Babou Ceesay, representing Sabach Sanjal, requested the Minister to share the list of women’s groups that benefited from the Women Enterprise Fund from 2021-2023. The Minister replied that she is prepared to provide this information at a later date.
Hon. Fatou Cham, representing Sannementerg, advised the Minister to reconsider hiring more staff for recovery purposes, suggesting it might affect the unrecovered funds.
Minister Kinteh assured that hiring more staff would not affect the funds, since the salaries for the new staff would not come from the fund.
Nominated Member Fatoumatta K. Jawara also asked the Minister to provide a list of groups defaulting on their payments. The Minister responded that her ministry would provide the necessary information, including the outstanding balances.
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