By Kebba AF Touray
The Minister of Finance, Seedy Keita, said the government plans to establish the Social Protection Secretariat starting with a capital of D200 Million.
Mr Keita delivered the 2025 budget speech at the National Assembly last Friday, December 13th, 2024, while reporting on the social sectors of the Gambian economy.
On Social Protection, Minister Keita reported that in 2024, the Government piloted support to vulnerable groups such as orphans and vulnerable children, PWDs, female-headed households, and older persons. To consolidate these gains, he said the first-ever direct legislation on the Social Protection Act was passed in July 2024 to demonstrate the Government’s commitment.
“In 2025, the plan is to operationalize the Social Protection Fund established by the Social Protection Secretariat with a starting capital of D200 million,” he said.
Regarding the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, he said a significant increase in enrollment across all educational levels was recorded in 2024 relative to 2023.
To accommodate the growing demand, Minister Keita said the number of Schools increased from 3,690 to 3,839 over the same period, adding that over 5,500 new classrooms with furniture and 5,000 toilet cubicles with facilities catered for the physically challenged students across madrassas and conventional Schools, were constructed as of June 2024.
“To address the challenges of timely textbook supply and replacement, negotiations are nearing completion for the procurement and delivery of lower and upper basic school textbooks,” he said.
On higher Education, he said: “Additionally, the Ministry in collaboration with the Organization of Southern Cooperation (OSC), signed a cooperation agreement to establish a multi-disciplinary research facility at the University of The Gambia Faraba Banta Campus, to provide unlimited access to online resources.”
Similarly, he said the Ministry will establish two additional training centers in Kombo South and Lower Fulladu respectively, to focus on Agribusiness and Fisheries. He said construction works at the University of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (USET) Brikama campus, are expected to finish by the end of 2024.
On Health, he said the Ministry in 2025 plans to build five new Primary Health Care facilities in hard-to-reach communities, complementing the five new health centers established earlier this year by the President.
“Contracts have been awarded for upgrading and refurbishing Brikama-Ba into a significant health center, and Bwiam General Hospital to include post-graduate training,” he said.
Additionally, he disclosed that the construction of the Emergency Treatment Center at Farato and the Food and Drug Lab in Brusubi will be scaled up.
“In 2024, the Ministry has made a disbursement to 8,400 women across three regions in the country and established a Disability Fund to provide financial support to disabled individuals,” he reported on Gender Ministry.
The Ministry, he added, is also implementing a Family Strengthening Programme (FSP) that offers monthly cash transfers of D 1,000 per beneficiary, targeting older persons, disabled individuals, orphan children, and female-headed households. He added that in 2025 the Ministry will prioritize political empowerment of women and girls by facilitating the promulgation of the Women Reservation Bill.
On Youth and Sport, the Finance Minister Keita stated that in 2025, the Ministry plans to secure better office spaces for the National Enterprise Development Initiative (NEDI) and the National Sports Council and to acquire the necessary equipment and vehicles to enhance their operational capacity. He said the Ministry will prioritize investment in youth empowerment and sports development, with a focus on expanding infrastructure and strengthening partnerships to ensure sustainable progress in these sectors.
Follow Foroyaa for a detailed report on the cross cutting sectors of the Gambian economy in its subsequent editions.
