FPAC Proposes D6 Million Cut to President’s Office Budget, Seeks More Funding for Civic Education

By Fatou Sillah

The National Assembly’s Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) has proposed cutting D6 million from the Office of the President’s 2027 budget and redirecting the funds to the National Council for Civic Education (NCCE) to support its development programs and personnel costs.

The recommendation is contained in the committee’s consolidated report on the 2027 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, presented to the National Assembly on Monday by FPAC Chairman Alagie S. Darboe.

According to the report, the proposed reduction includes D4 million from the president’s office recurrent budget and D2 million from its development allocation.

“The Committee examined the Estimates for the Office of the President and proposed a reduction of the sum of D6,000,000 (D4,000,000 from the recurrent budget and D2,000,000 from the development budget) and redirected it to the National Council for Civic Education to support its development initiatives and personnel emoluments,” the report stated.

The committee also recommended reallocating D8.481 million from budget code 3111203 to code 3112118, designated for furniture and fittings, which had received no allocation in the proposed budget.

Beyond the D6 million transfer, FPAC proposed an additional D17 million in funding for the NCCE, including D14 million for operational and development needs and D3 million for personnel costs.

The proposed operational funding would support the purchase of a pickup truck and an official vehicle for the council’s chairperson, as well as the commencement of construction of its office building.

The committee also reviewed the National Assembly’s proposed 2027 budget, noting that it represents a 0.5 percent decrease from the approved 2026 allocation. The report further identified an internal reallocation of D3.5 million within the Assembly’s recurrent budget.

Meanwhile, FPAC recommended cuts totaling D39.65 million to the Judiciary’s proposed budget, comprising D12.65 million from recurrent expenditure and D27 million from development spending.

The recommendations form part of the committee’s review of the government’s proposed 2027 budget and remain subject to consideration by the National Assembly.