Africa-Press – Gambia. Almameh Gibba, the National Assembly member for Foni Kansala, sharply criticized the government’s proposed 2026 budget on Monday, calling it “a failed budget” that neglects critical sectors including education, health, and agriculture.
Speaking during the Assembly’s debate on the estimates, Mr. Gibba said the budget offers little support to the country’s productive sectors. “The said budget that we are to debate, it’s a pity,” he told lawmakers. “When you look at the productive sector of our economy, you realize that this is a failed budget, a very failed budget.”
Mr. Gibba pointed to what he described as a widening funding gap in higher education. He said the Ministry of Higher Education currently owes 208 million dalasis in scholarship arrears to institutions including the University of The Gambia, the Gambia College, the Management Development Institute, and USET, yet has been allocated only about 100 million dalasis for scholarships in 2026.
“One hundred million minus 208 million—that is like paying your debt and still having debt,” he said, warning that the allocation was insufficient even to clear existing arrears. “Come 2026, higher education will have zero budget line for scholarships; your daughter, my daughter, cousins and aunts, brothers and sisters of Gambia will not benefit from a single scholarship.”
He also faulted the budget’s health-sector provisions, saying that critical infrastructure and services remain underfunded. “It is sad when you go to the health sectoral areas. Ndemban is a dead road; you cannot even determine to be in Ndemban,” he said.
Turning to basic and secondary education, Mr. Gibba noted that allocations for food and related services had been marked at zero. “You will see they have a lot of schools that are not even benefiting, and is that fair?” he asked.
Mr. Gibba further argued that defense and other essential sectors were being left without sufficient resources. “Today we can tell you they are only relying on us for us to put something in, and we call this a budget 2026,” he said.
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