Gambian embassies raise D176M in 5 years as MPs question returns

“The total amount of revenues raised by the embassies for the period 2021 to 2025 amounted to D176,781,591.32,” he said.

According to the minister, the money collected by the embassies forms part of the national budget approved by the National Assembly and is used to fund government operations.

“These revenues form part of the annual budget appropriation approved by the National Assembly for funding the national budget. Hence, all these funds were used in funding the government operations,” he explained. 

Mbowe, however, sought clarification on how the revenues are handled. He asked whether the money collected by embassies is deducted from their allocations or whether they remit the full amount to government before receiving their funding.

In response, the minister said the Accountant General takes into account the revenue raised by embassies when processing remittances.

“The accountant general, in remitting funds, takes cognizance of the self-raised revenue and will net off the overall remittances to take into account the revenues raised on-site,” he said.

Hon. Lamin Ceesay Member for Kiang West also pressed the minister to identify which embassy generates the highest revenue. 

He told the Assembly that the Gambian embassy in Dakar has performed the best.

“Dakar has performed significantly overall. The best performance in the collection is Dakar with D36 million,” the minister said.

He explained that embassies collect money for different services, including attestations, visas and other categories of revenue they are entitled to charge.

The Member for Central Badibou questioned whether the revenue generated by the country’s numerous embassies might actually be on the low side.

The finance minister responded that the collections were “within expectations”.

In a separate question also raised by Mbowe, the finance minister disclosed that the mining sector generated D747,300,000 between 2021 and 2025.

He said the details are contained in a table submitted to the Assembly showing the revenue generated by licensed mining operators during the period, including royalties paid to communities where mining activities take place.

However, the minister said details of taxes paid by the companies were not yet available.