Minister of Information and Broadcasting Dr Ismaila Ceesay said reducing the President’s salary alone would not meaningfully address national problems, arguing that the President’s salary is only one component of government expenditure.
“Because the president’s salary is just one component of government expenditure, what we would expect from Darboe is to tell us serious fiscal reform programme that he wants to implement when he comes to power,” Dr Ceesay said during Coffee Time with Peter Gomez.
He said any serious fiscal reform programme should address procurement, air servicing, subsidies, the wage bill and state-owned enterprises.
“What will he do with the wage bill? What will he do with state-owned enterprises?” Dr Ceesay asked, pointing to reforms he said the government had already undertaken.
“And the more I listen to him, the more I am convinced that UDP is not ready for government,” he said.
Dr Ceesay also challenged Darboe’s proposal to reduce the President’s household expenses, saying the issue requires a clear distinction between personal and official expenditure.
“The legitimate question here is, which expenses are associated with the household?” he asked.
Presidential expenditure can include security, protocol, official hospitality, official residences and other functions, which he said cannot simply be treated as ordinary household expenses.
He said Darboe should explain which expenditures are official and which are personal.
Dr Ceesay also disputed the presentation of a D1 billion figure as being solely presidential household expenditure. He said the amount includes the President’s Office, the Vice President’s Office, State House and agencies under the Vice President’s Office, including social protection and early warning.
“The manner in which it was put, this D1 billion is only for the president’s household expenditures, which is not the case,” he said.
The minister said the President’s salary should not be the measure used to judge his performance, but rather what he is delivering to Gambians.
He said leaders seeking to govern must understand the budget and provide practical solutions to national challenges, rather than focusing on the President’s salary as a campaign headline
