By Dr. Ousman Gajigo
The Ministry of Finance has released the figures for the 2027 budget. As in previous years, there is much to criticize. For now, I will focus on the allocations to the Ministries of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs to illustrate the misplaced priorities and waste that have become standard practice under the Adama Barrow administration.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of agriculture to the Gambian economy. Most of the population of this country depend, directly or indirectly, on the agricultural sector for employment and basic sustenance. Yet the sector remains stagnant. For instance, we import about 90% of the rice we consume, and our groundnut production is lower today than it was 40 years ago. Productivity in all agricultural sub-sectors remains dismal.
This sad record is due to poor leadership. It is partly manifested in the appointment of an incompetent minister such as Demba Sabally. It is also evident in the Minister of Finance’s decision to prioritize less important sectors over more important ones. Nothing illustrates this pattern more clearly than the respective allocations to the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in this latest budget.
The 2027 budget allocates D2.232 billion to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and D1.762 billion to the Ministry of Agriculture. Let us consider the implications carefully. It makes no sense for a country such as The Gambia to give its Ministry of Foreign Affairs an allocation this high given the country’s income level, and it is sheer insanity for that ministry to receive more than the Ministry of Agriculture. Foreign affairs is important, but the significance of a sector must be weighed against the country’s broader development needs. The reality is that The Gambia has too many overstaffed embassies that provide little value. Indeed, the average Gambian learns of the existence of many of these embassies only through scandals that diminish rather than improve the country’s image.
By contrast, the centrality of the agricultural sector is undeniable. Food insecurity in The Gambia today is high because agricultural productivity is low. This feeds directly into the current high cost of living and, in turn, rising poverty. Because the country imports almost all consumer goods, the resulting trade deficit puts constant downward pressure on the dalasi, which drives persistent inflation in most goods, including food.
Apart from the relative size of the allocations, another major problem is the split between recurrent and development expenditure. Recurrent expenditure covers a ministry’s day-to-day operating costs, while development expenditure finances assets that support long-term development. With that in mind, note that about 94% of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ allocation is for recurrent expenditure. This suggests that virtually all of the money goes to paying a bloated staff and maintaining embassies that bring little value. Many of these staff are political appointees who are recycled through the ministry when there is no need for them elsewhere in government.
For the Ministry of Agriculture, only 1% of the total allocation is for development expenditure. This negligible share is provided despite the country’s badly needing irrigation infrastructure, which is essential if we are to increase domestic cultivation of key agricultural commodities. Land development, particularly for rice cultivation, also requires attention but the 1% of the ministry’s budget allocated for development expenditures ensures that no improvements will be registered in this area.
When pressed on this problem, the Minister of Finance or the Minister of Agriculture often responds that the allocation is low because the sector receives support from development partners such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank. That response simply illustrates the ministers’ incompetence. External support is meant to complement, not substitute for, government investment in key sectors. Even if development partners are generous, the government’s decisions should be guided by results on the ground. Given the importance of agriculture and the sector’s continued poor performance, its budget allocation should reflect the priority it deserves. Put differently, competent government officials know that a country should take the lead in important sectors, with development partners providing support along the way, not the other way around.
To compound the above misallocations and lack of prioritization, there is little credibility in budget projections from this government since actual expenditures end up differing significantly from what the Minister of Finance presents to the National Assembly. Specifically, in almost every year of this administration, actual expenditures from the ministries deviate towards greater expenditures for recurrent expenditures than initially projected, which means less for development expenditures.
So, here we are. Through its budget allocations, the Adama Barrow regime is essentially saying that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is more important than the Ministry of Agriculture. If this does not indicate massive incompetence or indifference to the country’s development needs, I don’t know what does. It would be madness to allow this government to remain in power for another term.
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