Youth sector is the most vulnerable when it comes to budget allocation’

Former Secretary General and presidential affairs minister, Momodou Sabally said Gambia’s youth sector is the most vulnerable when it comes to budget allocation.

Mr Sabally said young people are active contributors to national development.

He cautioned the government to focus on development programmes and projects that could create jobs, particularly for the youth folk.

“If we do not address youth issues, we will continue to witness expulsions like the recent boat tragedy of which over 60 Gambian youth died,” he said.

Sabally said the government is not taking youth issues seriously, saying that the sector received the least allocation in the 2020 budget.

He believes that the government of the day is confronted with financial challenges and as a result it looks into its priority programmes and give allocation based on that, saying that was why some ministries get their budgets cut.

“This is a signal for us to know that the government is crippling to pay debts, salaries and other expenditures,” he added.

He said this is why the government need to focus more on development programmes.

‘‘To avoid fatalities like the recent boat tragedy, government should allocate good budget and provide opportunities for youth to prevent them from using the back-way,’’Sabally said.

He revealed that if government allocate inadequate budget to youth; they will continue to use back-way to reach Europe to better their living conditions.

He said if government allocate adequate budget to youth it would prevent them from using the back-way to Europe in search of greener pasture.