The National Assembly has received recommendations for additional funding and budget adjustments across education, health and social welfare as lawmakers debate the proposed 2027 national budget.
The recommendations are contained in the consolidated report of the Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC), tabled by its chairman, Alhagie S. Darboe, on behalf of the committee.
For basic and secondary education, the committee recommends D99 million in additional funding for priorities including school feeding, educational facilities and support for the National Library Service.
The proposed allocation includes D80 million to increase the school feeding allowance from D8 to D20 per child, D12 million for science laboratories, technical workshops and water points, and D7 million for a generator and an operational vehicle for the National Library Service.
The report describes the National Library Service as being in a dilapidated condition and highlights the need to strengthen educational infrastructure.
In the health sector, the committee recommends using D25 million from proposed FPAC savings to support the purchase of ambulances and supplement personnel costs at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital and Kanifing General Hospital.
It also proposes reallocating D2 million from the Ministry of Health’s recurrent budget to training and D3 million from its development budget to personnel costs for the Medical and Dental Council.
For the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, the committee recommends an additional D10 million to support vulnerable children, survivors of gender-based violence and other social welfare activities.
The committee further proposes reallocating D200,000 from the Disability and Rehabilitation budget line to the Welfare of Gambians Programme, leaving the disability allocation at D4 million.
These recommendations form part of a wider report on the 2027 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, which records D1.146 billion in proposed budget savings and D482.36 million in additional funding requests from ministries and government agencies.
The report also raises concerns about delayed releases of approved funds and weaknesses in programme targets, urging stronger accountability and better monitoring of public expenditure.
The recommendations have not yet been approved. Lawmakers are considering them alongside the proposed 2027 estimates as the National Assembly debates the budget.
