By Ramatoulie Jawo
Honourable Sainey Jawara, the National Assembly member representing the Lower Saloum constituency, voiced his discontent with the 2024 budget during Monday’s debate, deeming it the “most boring document so far”.
Jawara emphasized his disappointment, stating, “Because I don’t see any impact of this document (budget) on the lives and livelihoods of the Gambia people, we will be struggling and continue to struggle every day. We will change nothing, and those who are rich will be richer every day, and the poor will be poorer every day,” he stressed.
The parliamentarian argued that the minister’s proposed 30% increase in wages would have negligible effects on the lives of the citizens. He urged fellow members to utilize oversight functions during parliamentary sessions to rectify issues affecting various institutions and departments.
“I guess if the members of the parliament go around for oversight functions and know the problems of the various institutions or departments, the only time to correct those things is during the budget session, but if that can’t happen, I think the way it comes in document form, they take it like that because it can’t address anything.”
Questioning the effectiveness of the budget, Hon. Jawara cited examples of security officers buying their own gear and the lack of essential drugs in health facilities.
“When the security officers are down there, even the gear they are going to put on, they will buy it for themselves to come to serve you and I. When you go to the health facilities, there are no drugs. You call that one a budget. Where is this budget going to seek to address issues, then?” Hon. Jawara asked.
Suggesting a reevaluation of the budget process, Hon. Jawara stressed, “If we say we are representing our people, I said no, this budget is the worst budget that I have ever sat on. The minister has done his job; now it is laid on us to do the better thing for the Gambian people, but we cannot do it,” he argued.
Jawara also expressed concern about the absence of other ministers and their permanent secretaries during the deliberations. He noted a departure from past practices, where ministers attended parliamentary sessions to understand issues affecting their constituencies. The lawmaker pointed out the limited presence, stating, “In the past years, we have seen all ministers coming to the parliament and listening to the members because we are representing our people on what we know and telling them what they are going to implement after passing this document. You can see the entire gallery; there is no permanent secretary, only the minister of finance, because they came to defend their document; that is why they are here.”