Africa-Press – Gambia. Momodou K. Dibba, Executive Director of the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA), has called for the strengthening of The Gambia’s Social Protection Fund, emphasizing the need to increase budgetary allocations across key ministries.
Mr. Dibba made the remarks during the International Social Protection Conference held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center from October 20 to 23, 2025.
He cautioned that expenditures from the Social Protection Fund should not be used to finance mainstream activities that fall under the purview of line ministries.
“You cannot finance school feeding from the social protection fund because that is already a mainstream activity of the Ministry of Education,” Dibba stated.
He explained that the overarching goal of the fund is to enhance service delivery across various sectors, enabling citizens to access quality healthcare, education, and other essential services. According to him, this ensures that cash transfers from the Fund are not diverted to cover basic services that should be the responsibility of respective ministries.
Mr. Dibba further underscored the importance of collaboration between the Ministry of Finance and other government ministries to guarantee a minimum expenditure threshold for social protection. Such coordination, he said, would help prevent duplication of efforts and ensure efficient use of public resources.
“As a low-income country, there are competing challenges that confront us. We are cognizant of this fact, but we push to keep the momentum. So for us, we keep advocating and guaranteeing minimum expenditure for social protection,” he added.
Highlighting institutional progress, Mr. Dibba revealed that the agency has evolved from a secretariat into a fully-fledged institution with two core departments and a project management unit that coordinates interventions across sectors.
Regarding program implementation, he noted that the agency’s flagship initiative—the Nafa Cash Transfer Program—has already made a significant impact and will soon expand to additional districts.
He proudly announced that The Gambia is the only country in Africa to achieve 100 percent social registry coverage, encompassing every community “from Kartong to Koina.”
“In terms of how much it has been used, the World Bank ranked it as number three, I think only behind Senegal and another country. Our neighboring country has had its social registry for over 10 years, and we have had it only for four years. Again, what I kept saying is we will probably overtake them over time based on the speed at which we are going. So in terms of coverage, we are number one. In terms of usage, we are number three in Africa. So we hope to continue with that,” he said.
Looking ahead, Mr. Dibba said the NSPA’s priority is to develop a dynamic social registry capable of automatic updates through advanced technology. He added that the agency also plans to integrate its systems with the civil registry and national ID database to enhance interoperability and strengthen the country’s social protection framework.
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