He cited that the government is placing priorities on areas that do not deserve so much attention. He said the official rate of inflation stands at 18%, but in reality, the “market tells a consumer that the rate of inflation is much higher than 18%.” He said that the 18% inflation rate is misleading to the Gambian people.
The UDP leader disagrees with specific allocations to the Office of the President as D872.6 million, Foreign Affairs D1.7 billion, Finance and Economic Affairs D2.05 billion and Infrastructure’s D2.6 billion among host of others.
“It is obvious that government is placing priorities on areas that do not deserve that side of attention. The D872.6M allocated to president’s office, for what purpose?”
Lawyer Darboe was speaking on Thursday at a press conference held at the UDP Bureau in Manjai.
Darboe revealed that the president has recently announced a series of service tax increments which he said will further fuel the hardships Gambians continue to face, taking into account that ordinary Gambians are struggling to make ends meet. “There is hunger and deprivation in the country due to the high cost of living, unemployment and poverty.”
“Your land rents are going to be increased, the cost of your passports are going to be increased so that the ordinary person will not be able to have access to these services because of the increase in the rate,” he alerts.
Dwelling further on the budget allocations, Darboe said “our national debt as at 2023 was D110 billion. The interest payment on our national debt increased from D3.5 billion to D7.5B which is more than the combined allocations for Health, Education and Agriculture.”
Darboe pointed out that “Yahya Jammeh in 22 years, left us with a national debt of D48 billion while President Barrow has increased our debt to D62 billion. Why D62 billion in 7 years? He asked.”
He observed that the country’s youth population is about 60% with tourism as key foreign exchange earner, these sectors should be reflected in the budget allocations as priority sectors together with Health, Education and Agriculture.
