By Nelson Manneh
The Gambia Government has received the sum of five hundred and five million dalasis from the European Union as budget support.
Mr. Buah Saidy, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs said the budget support grant will be used to mitigate the impact of COVID 19 in the country.
PS Saidy said the information they got from the Ministry of Health concerning the developments surrounding the situation of the virus in the country, shows things are changing rapidly.
“Since our last address to the nation, not only did the number of infections rise significantly but also the volume of corresponding activities such as contact tracing, sample taking, quarantining, treatment, among others have risen sharply,” he said.
Saidy said the disbursement of funds to the Ministry of Health, which is the spending authority on all COVID 19 related matters, has also been increased.
“As of 1st May 2020, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs has so far allocated one hundred and sixty million (D160,000,000) dalasis out of the five hundred (D500) million dalasis COVID-19 Emergency Fund to the Ministry of Health to spend on the fight against the Pandemic,” he noted.
