Following the presentation of the 2008 Appropriation Bill (Budget Speech) before members of the National Assembly last Friday by the Secretary of State for Finance and Economic Affairs, Hon. Musa Gibril Bala Gaye, the national mobiliser of the ruling APRC party cum Secretary of State for Fisheries and National Resources, Yankuba Touray, and some members of the National Assembly gave their views on the subject.

Speaking to reporters shortly after the budget presentation, Mr. Yankuba Touray, who doubles as the Secretary of State in charge of National Assembly Affairs, said that Gambians ought to know that every country has its distinctive advantages, noting that not all countries could depend on production. “In The Gambia we have a lot of advantages in terms of the service sector. It is not like we are not developing the productive side of the economy. Listening carefully to the speech by the Secretary of State, productive sectors like agriculture are doing very well because there is an increase in industrial growth,” Secy Touray inferred.

According to him, government would not only rely on tax collection but would diversify and, in future, reach their targets.

Secy Touray also expressed his belief that the 2008 budget would be appreciated by Gambians for the mere fact that confirms the appreciation of the dalasi against other currencies. He added that by 2008 the appreciation of the dalasi would reflect in commodity prices.

In his reaction to the budget, Hon. Sidia Jatta, National Assembly Member for Wuli West constituency and a bigwig in the opposition National Alliance for Democracy and Development, said: “It’s interesting basically but there are still fundamental questions to be answered by the Government,” adding that the statement about the stability of micro-economic fundamentals have given rise to the question as to how the budget could be composed of tax, either directly or indirectly.

In the opinion of the Wuli West Parliamentarian, however good the economy of a country may be, there is bound to be problems if it depends mainly on tax for its income. “There is not a single question about the need to increase salaries, particularly pensioners, some of whom are earning 80-100 Dalasi a month after having worked all their lives in this country. Still there is no attempt to address the issue of salaries which are a fundamental issue of survival,” he observed.

He wondered aloud that if the government portrays a significant growth in the country’s economy why there was no question of increasing salaries even though it has become undeniable that living standards are at an all time low. “They are contradicting themselves by saying the economy is growing. Any economy that is enjoying buoyant economic growth will have an improvement in peoples living conditions. We don’t have that here.”

On the way forward for government, Hon. Jatta urged government to have an economy that is capable of generating revenue and not just depending on taxation.

For his part, Hon. Modou Lamin Sanneh, Minority Leader of National Assembly and a stalwart in the opposition United Democracy Party, had this to say: “So far I have taken my notes and will surely react to the areas in which I am not satisfied. I expected that something would be captured in key areas but my expectations have not been met.”

He concluded by saying: “Many Gambians were expecting a salary increment this time but to our utmost disappointment, nothing was mentioned about it. As of now I am not satisfied with the budget.”