By Seedy Jobe
A coalition of civil society organizations on Monday voiced concerns over the government’s proposed 2026 Executive Budget, arguing that persistent gaps between fiscal intentions and actual spending threaten to undermine economic stability and public trust.
The groups—including Gambia Participates, one of the country’s leading budget-transparency advocates—said their review of the spending plan revealed a pattern of rising expenditures on travel, provincial presidential tours, and government vehicle costs. These categories, they noted, continue to grow without clear evidence of value for money.
At the same time, the organizations said, development spending remains chronically under-executed. Over the past several years, they found, less than 20 percent of development allocations were implemented annually, a failure they attributed to delays in procurement, weaknesses in project design, and limited technical capacity across key ministries and agencies.
To close the gap between planning and implementation, the coalition called for a series of reforms, including stronger public financial management rules, greater transparency in government accounts, and tighter oversight of discretionary spending. They also urged the administration to prioritize essential services and strengthen domestic revenue collection.
The groups recommended reducing allocations for what they described as non-essential expenditures—a category totaling more than 2.1 billion dalasis, or 3.6 percent of the proposed budget. Cutting these outlays, they argued, would help curb the fiscal deficit and reinforce efforts to stabilize public finances.
The recommendations, they said, are intended to promote fiscal discipline and ensure that limited resources are directed toward programs that advance national development goals.