Our first feature publication on our series, The Budget is a Scam, highlights how the Gambia Government spends millions on fuel and lubricants, vehicles, and maintenance of vehicles as opposed to the amount it spends on firefighting, ambulances, rescue vehicles, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

More in this feature publication featuring inforgraphics by Askanwi Media.

On the same week of the 2025 Budget Speech, two of the highest-profile officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA) have announced that the lowest wage (take home) of civil servants will increase to D6,000 for the lowest Grade 1.1 from January 2025.

Our FactCheckers went to work and sought additional confirmation from the Ministry Of Finance and Economic Affairs Gambia - MOFEA who confirmed our figures for this publication.

Four Gambian Civil Society Advocates have filed a lawsuit against the state in the Supreme Court against the Finance Minister’s alleged failure to table the 2025 budget as mandated by the amended 1997 Constitution today, 19th December 2024.

The Gambia’s National Assembly ratified an agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 24th September 2024 on Domestic Workers Recruitment signed by the Minister of Trade, Hon Baboucarr Ousmaila Joof. Download a copy of the agreement from this article.

During the tabling of the 2025 Executive Budget, Finance Minister Hon. Seedy Keita claimed wrongly that salaries have increased by 110% during President Barrow’s tenure. Our FactCheckers have investigated this and verified calculations with a senior government official and an economist showing this to be inaccurate.

Askanwi’s latest budget analysis shows that Debt Service continues to overcrowd Government’s Expenditure in key economic areas such as health, education, agriculture, and infrastructure in 2024, with the situation expected to worsen in 2025.

This opinion piece delves into the government’s plans to increase taxes by 23% in 2025 and interrogates the National Assembly’s role in reviewing the Government’s Revenue Measures. Will Parliament debate this important issue, which will impact the cost of living next year?

During the recently concluded 15^th Summit for the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) held in The Gambia from 4^th to 5^th of May 2024, there were mixed messages published locally and internationally about the number of Luxury Vehicles purchased for the Summit.

Information received by Askanwi Media highlights that the Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA) will table the 2025 Draft Budget tomorrow 15th November requesting Parliamentary approval for over D52.9 Billion in expenditure.

Our monitoring of Parliament has revealed that the Finance Minister may have failed to comply with the Amended provision 152 (1) to table the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure sixty (60) days before the end of the year which was the last day of October 2024. Parliament is also failing its role to monitor the implementation of the 2024 Budget since the First Ordinary Session.