In The Gambia, pensioners have had to get employment or engage in profitable business to compensate for the low income they receive. Up to the time the National Assembly received the proposal to increase government pension by 100 percent the pensioners we spoke to were receiving about D250 per month. If this is increased by 100 percent the person will now be receiving about D500 per month which is about D17 per day, which is not enough to buy the cheapest tin of milk costing D18.
What is therefore needed is to establish a Commission on salaries and pensions so that a comprehensive evaluation could be done on the sources of government revenue and the demands for better income by employees. If this is not done percentages will give the impression that the quality of life of pensioners is improving when the fact remains to indicate the very opposite of what is claimed.
