Speaker Matches VP’s Salary as NAMs Overtake Ministers After 50% Pay Rise

Members of the Sixth Legislature © Askanwi

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT

Our enquiries with a National Assembly Member confirm that members of the Sixth Legislature have approved a 50% basic salary increase, which will cost Gambian taxpayers an additional D18.5 million. This amount does not include the 50% salary increase proposed for Parliamentary staff.

This proposal is included in Cabinet’s 2026 Draft Budget and is completely separate from the National Assembly Salaries and Pensions (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which passed its Second Reading on 27th November 2025. The Bill seeks to create new classes of beneficiaries of gratuities paid under the Act and related matters.

Currently, when a serving member passes away, their next-of-kin does not receive their gratuity, which is a significant amount. The Bill aims to change this by ensuring that the next-of-kin of a member who dies before completing their term but has served at least one year will receive a gratuity. The Bill also seeks to ensure that if a member resigns or is recalled after serving more than a year, they will be entitled to a gratuity. Similarly, a member who completes the residual term of one who dies, resigns, or is recalled will also benefit from a gratuity.

Hon. Bakary Badjie of Foni Bintang opposed both the 50% salary increase for Parliament and the aforementioned Bill. After receiving public praise for opposing the pay rise, he came under criticism from his peers for opposing the Bill. It is important to note that the Bill is different from the 2026 Draft Budget proposal to increase the basic salaries of Parliamentarians and their staff by 50%.

Basic Salaries of Top Government Officials © Askanwi after Manpower Budget

Speaker and Deputy Salary Increases

Turning to Cabinet’s 2026 Draft Budget, it is important to highlight that Parliament did not benefit from salary increases last year. The 2025 Budget introduced basic salary increases of approximately 30%, based on a new salary pay scale. Under the new structure, salaries at the lowest grades increased by 75%, while those at the top increased by 22%.

Instead of a 30% basic salary increase, Parliamentarians and their staff will now benefit from a 50% increase. Currently, the Speaker earns a monthly basic salary of D100,000, which will rise to D150,000 per month, totalling D1.8 million annually. This brings the Speaker’s salary in line with that of the Vice President, which remains at D150,000 per month.

The Deputy Speaker’s basic salary will also rise from D70,000 in 2025 to D105,000 in 2026. This means the Deputy Speaker will now earn more than the Chief Justice, whose salary remains at D78,487.50 per month. The Deputy Speaker will take home D1.26 million annually, compared to the Chief Justice’s D941,850.

Basic Salaries of Top Government Officials © Askanwi after Manpower Budget

Other NAMs’ Salary Increases

According to the parliamentary hierarchy, the Majority Leader’s salary will increase from D58,650 to D87,836 per month, while the Minority Leader’s salary will rise from D55,250 to D82,875 per month. This means both leaders will leapfrog the Auditor General, whose annual salary is D706,250.

The Majority Leader’s new salary will also surpass that of the Chief Justice, amounting to D1.054 million per year compared to the Chief Justice’s D941,850.

Ordinary Parliamentarians currently earn D52,000 per month, which will increase to D78,000 per month. This means all 54 Parliamentarians will earn more than around 20 Cabinet Ministers, who currently receive D65,000 per month.

In total, the basic salary increases for 58 Parliamentarians alone will cost taxpayers D18.5 million—excluding increases to allowances and other incentives.

Increase of Parliamentary Staff Monthly Salaries © Askanwi after Manpower Budget

Allowances Also Increase

The 2026 Draft Budget also outlines the Cabinet’s plans to increase some allowances for Parliamentarians. A new allowance has been introduced for the Speaker: a Professional Allowance of D240,000 for the year. Although the Speaker’s Responsibility Allowance has been reduced from D540,000 to D360,000, the addition of the Professional Allowance means the Speaker will now receive D600,000 in combined allowances. This year, the Speaker received D540,000 in Responsibility Allowance amongst others like Robbing Allowance and Telephone Allowance.

However, as seen in the screengrab of the Manpower Budget, many other allowances for Parliamentarians are not included in the D18.5 million increase.

Notable increases include Responsibility Allowances for Nominated Members, which will rise from D1.26 million this year to D2.1 million in 2026. The Deputy Speaker’s Responsibility Allowance, however, will decrease from D480,000 this year to D300,000 in 2026.

The Manpower Budget also details other increases expected to impact Parliament.

Screengrab of First Page of Man Power Budget for Parliament © MoFEA