Gambia’s Local Government Minister Hamat Bah recently criticised local government councils for their lack of initiative in generating revenue.
Speaking during a National Assembly session, Bah highlighted that many councils engage more in political discussions than in delivering services to the people.
He urged them to be more proactive, stating that councils should go beyond merely talking about politics and instead focus on fulfilling their responsibilities once elected.
Bah stressed that local councils should adopt innovative methods to raise revenue, offering examples such as building houses on government-provided land.
He criticised them for not taking advantage of such opportunities, instead spending time on social media discussing future elections. The minister emphasised that the councils need to “wake up” and do their job.
Lawmakers, however, raised concerns about the central government’s role in limiting councils’ revenue streams by transferring key revenue sources, such as livestock fees, billboard charges, and sand mining collections, to government institutions like the National Roads Authority (NRA), Gambia Livestock Management Agency (GLMA), and Geology Department.
Members also highlighted the government’s failure to fulfill its legal obligation to contribute 25 percent to their development budgets.
In response, Minister Bah admitted that the Gambia government had not provided the full 25 percent contribution, though it had allocated D4 million to each council for the 2024 fiscal year.
He attributed the shortfall to differences in budget cycles between the councils and the national government but promised that reforms would be introduced to address this issue.
On the councils’ revenue losses, Bah explained that agencies such as the NRA and GLMA had taken over certain responsibilities, like livestock vaccination and highway light maintenance, justifying the transfer of revenue collection to these bodies.
Nevertheless, he called on councils to be more innovative in finding ways to generate income independently.
