‘Nafa Quick’ boosts shopkeeper’s economy

Muhammed as he is referred to; pointed out that so many people came to his shop to buy food items after receiving their ‘Nafa Quick’ cash.

According to him, some people came to his shop immediately after receiving the money to buy items including bags of rice, gallons of cooking oil, among other food items.

A total of USD10 million initiated by Gambia government and supported by World Bank is being shared amongst 83, 000 households across the country.

All households in Upper River, Central River, Lower River Regions, Foni and Sabach Sanjal District in North Bank Region are each receiving three thousand dalasis (D3,000) for the first round.

The National Nutrition Agency (NaNA), Department of Social Welfare and Department Community Development are implementing the ‘Nafa Quick’ cash transfer meant to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Most people bought two bags of rice while others even bought three bags”, he stated, saying beneficiaries really patronised them.

He remarked that with so many people buying two or three bags of rice and other food items for continuous two days he asked what was happening and was told that they received money to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

He said the ‘Nafa Quick’ is not only beneficial to direct recipients but also shopkeepers and other food item sellers.

“The ‘Nafa Quick’ has really boosted our economy and sales these days,” he further said.

He observed that families especially rural families suffer a lot during this period of the year, noting that this kind of initiatives are really helpful and should be maintained.

Mr. Babou said even though he was not a direct recipient of the money he benefited from it.

Dawda Jallow, a native of Njoro Buba Njie, who bought two bags of rice from his ‘Nafa Quick’ money said the money was really beneficial to them because they bought food items from it for the sustainability of their families.

He added that the money is not given to them to be wasted but for their family use and therefore urged all to utilize it for their family use.

Bakary Fofana, senior lecturer at Rural Development Institute, who is part of the team from Department of Community Development, called on people to ensure they have valid national documents.

He added that the money is to mitigate the impact of covid-19 and build household resilience, adding that if one is not infected with the virus the person is affected by its impact.

He urged beneficiaries to make best use of the money.

Meanwhile, after the completion of the first phase, implementing partners are expected to embark on a second phase where each household will again receive three thousand dalasis (D3,000), making a total of six thousand dalasis (6,000) for each household within the 30 districts.