Gambian soldiers taking part in United Nation’s led peacekeeping missions will now receive their wages in the local currency- Dalasi and not Dollars, the country’s military has announced.
Gambian security officers who took part in various UN peacekeeping mission around the world used to get their wages in American Dollars, which has helped to improve their livelihoods.
With the average Gambian security personnel taking home less than D5,000 a month, many rely heavily on UN peacekeeping missions to provide for their families.
But the military said the decision to scrap the payment of peace keepers in Dollars stems from an incident in 2017 where authorities experience difficulties in making dollar payments to a contingent of peace keepers who served in Sudan’s troubled region, Darfu.
“A precedent was set during the last 22 years to pay our troops in hard currency, but we understand there is a central bank policy that regulates payment in hard currency at home,” Major Lamin K. Sanyang, media officer of the Armed Forces told the independent newspaper, The Point.
“If the troops were to be paid in Darfur, then they will be paid in hard currency but when they are in the country, they should be paid in local currency because all countries pay their troops in their local currencies.”
Major Sanyang said the army came to clearly realise the difficulties after the 2017 episode and to correct it, the ministries of Finance, Defence and the Accountant General Department briefed the departing UN peacekeepers to Dafur about the changes of payment before they left Banjul.
He added: “We told them the fact so that before they return they can know that they will be paid in Dalasi, using the exchange rate.”
He added explained as part of the new policy, a contingent of UN peacekeepers who returned to Banjul last week will receive 50 per cent in Dollar and 50 per cent in Dalasi with the higher exchange rate in the market.
“This will be the last time UN contingents will be paid in Dollar,” he said.
“What we pay our soldiers is the highest paid rate in the world because some of the countries give their troops half payment.”
Three pounds a day is poor wages indeed for the risk/ Who is saying they are paid the highest wages in the world ? Switching from Dollars to Dalasis would over 12 months indicate a cut in wages/ As the dollar rises and the Dalasi remains at risk of falling. It will however, increase the amount of foreign currency held by The Central Bank/ This will greatly assist The Gambian Government/ Jollofnews should interview the soldiers for informed opinions/ and reactions. This is only half of the story.
If the contract were to be paid by UN in dollars lets them get their paid in dollars. The only thing government can get is taxes.
This decision does not seem to be something that will please the serving military and may open the window for distrust and discouragement among those on the receiving end (soldiers and their dependants- families, friends and loved ones).
Secondly, the statement that other countries pay their soldiers in their respective local currencies tend to mean just copying others, but the statement failed short of stating any country at least as an example let alone state how much is the normal monthly salary those countries pay their soldiers and what is the cost of living in those countries and compare all of that with the pay for other civil servants in the countries referenced in the statement then compare the findings with Gambian situation.
After all, since the government of The Gambia is not the provider of the fund for the job done, I wonder why it disturb anybody or any law to just handover the pay check to those it is meant for and keep the government out of it all which will prevent another allegation of official greed, official corruption, disregard of the welfare of a section of the civil service whose commitment/dedication the country need to stamp out increasing crime rate. What is wrong with giving the soldiers their hard earned money right at the location where the job is done if bringing it home to handover to them will clash with any of the domestic arrangements? Above all, if the constitution can be altered so quickly (before the recommended review and without any form of public consultation or a referendum) just to cater for a set age to enable a certain candidate to take the post, why can’t those laws governing payment systems be changed to harmonise the situation and let the ordinary citizen genuinely benefit from their sweat and improve their lot on The Gambian soil?
I think the government has already got enough issues to sort out to improve the lot of the population so as to encourage its citizens that they can make it at home rather than looking for every opportunity to cut down what is seen by many as bridging the gap (at least for the security sector) between the pay national scale and the real life cost of living!!!
With the recent strike by Teachers and Doctors due to bad working conditions which undoubtedly include enumeration, I don’t think this decision sends the right signals and sadly, many of us will soon take on the soldiers should they show any sign of dissatisfaction with the way the are being treated. Instead of restoring, hope in the system are being eroded and very fast, very sad!!!
Correction: with apologies !
First word line 2 last paragraph: remuneration.
Paragraph 4, last line: national pay scale.
Tafel,
Better you keep your mouth shut. How many times have you condoned/supported the continuous misconduct, corruption and corruptible conducts of this INEPT and EGOCENTRIC administration?
Anyone who knows CDS Masaneh Kinteh, knows an INDEFATIGUABLE CORRUPT IMP! He’s corrupt to the teeth. The decision to give dalasis to the peace keeping troops is simple: he would change the dollars at BLACK market rate, deduct his “change” after deducting the difference at official bank rate which he will pocket and give the dalasi balance to the poor peace keepers. Barrow knows that! This CORRUPT administration is here to maintain CORRUPTION, ENRICH themselves……!
Babu soli; I am a Libra I am not bias, I tell the truth without fear or favoured. Right is right, wrong is wrong. I will not wrong rights and I will not right wrong, I hope you understand what I mean. If your man does wrong tell him man I think you are wrong, don’t try to right him when in fact he is wrong. Just think about your self what you been saying along since the fall of Yahya Jammeh.
Babu Soli
It is time you also shut your smelly mouth. Going around insulting and accusing everyone of being corrupt when you couldn’t see any wrongdoing on the part of Jammeh and his administration show what a classless lying dishonest double standard cunt you are. You are nothing but a disgruntle idiotic two time looser, who lost his privileged position of power and orgies, and is willing to lie to his rotten teeth in the defense of the indefensible. Where are the evidence of CDS Kinteh’s corruptibility? What happened to your ”i am a democrat i can’t comment on the issues coming out of the commission regarding Jammeh’s abuse of power and financial mismanagement of our sovereign wealth? You dishonest lying pompous beast. You have nothing to offer Gambia and Gambian people but insults and ill-will. You can rant till eternity but the tribal hegemony brought by Jammeh will never be entertained again on the soil of our birth and evil men like you shall always be defeated by the stealth of righteousness.
Is the Gambia Government responsible for the wages of UN Peace Keepers or not? I can understand the difficulties if Government is responsible and has to pay soldiers in US Dollars, but where the Government is not responsible, I cannot see any justification for this policy. If the UN is responsible for the wages of its Peace Keepers, and I think it is, the Gambia Government should not face any difficulties, as the funds would have been provided by the UN in full.
those US shopping trips need cash dollars.
Tafel,
I respect your verdict but do not share it. I have NEVER on one single occasion heard/read you say a single good thing that President Jammeh did in 22 years. You may exonerate yourself but are you therefore truthful?
Do you honestly share his enemies’ opinions that he has never done anything good in The Gambia? Tell me your mind!
Babu Sol; I will repeat my self again, I once said if Yahya Jammeh didn’t involved killing unlawfully and did not create groups like junglers who’s mission are going out there killing, today Jammeh would been a private citizen just like jawara.The Problems for gambian people is killing, no body don’t want it, even your enemies can only be kill if engaged in a struggle or combat, otherwise if your surrender you shouldn’t killed unlawfully. That’s my whole point.
Bax,
Stop the kidding. You fully well know that all peace keeping missions are under UN or EU purview. That the contingency of forces and their remunerations are decided by those bodies. No country from Africa receives money in her currency.
CDS Kinteh the most corrupt official( ask those who were with him at the time of President Jammeh) has his machinations to corrupt the poor soldiers’ money. He is savagely CORRUPT, WICKED and SELFISH.
Nasty Dreadful Natty Dread,
You STUPID and IDIOTIC IMP. You are so reactionary, so neocolonialist that you cannot see beyond your IDIOTIC and STUPID head.
What do you know about the Gambia, you FOOL? The only bloody and useless argument is the President Jammeh argument. Beyond that you have no clueds. No issues, nothing absolutely to say.
I bet to come back very heavily on you again since I have realised that you haven’t stopped your NAUGHTY, STUPID and IDIOTIC insults of Babu. Babu is here to do away with the moratorium. Expect VERY HARSH language from hence! YOU STUPID IDIOT!