By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT
The Gambia’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs released a summary of expenditure incurred by the Ministry of Health (MoH) to fight the Corona Virus Pandemic in The Gambia. The 11-item list includes funds spent by the MoH by 1st May 2020.
As of 12th May 2020, the MoH has declared a total of 22 positive Covid 19 cases of which 11 are still active. The single causality is by one Bangladeshi male aged 70 while 10 people who tested positive have recovered.
National Assembly FPAC Meeting “D512 Million to Address Covid 19 Health Pandemic”
According to the first three items on the list, the Government has committed D500m to “address Covid 19 Health Pandemic”. However, at a Covid 19 press conference held on 24th April 2020, Finance Minister, Mambury Njie told the media that “based on the request that we received from the Ministry of Health, the budgeted amount just to remind you for Covid from our own local fund is D512m”. This leaves a difference of D12m according to the latest expenditure list. Is the MoFEA providing D500m or D512m from its Government Local Fund towards the MoH’s Corona Virus war chest?
Watch the video here “D512 Million Dalasis”.
The table below is the rest of the 11-item expenditure list totalling D41.6m spent by the MoH of which less than 1% was invested on Medical Equipment. This ranks Medical Equipment as third lowest expenditure, sandwiched below Food (8th) and above Office Equipment (10th). On the higher scale is expenditure on Hotels and Vehicles amounting to a whopping D27m, 65% of the total amount.
Below is the MoH’s Expenditure List published by the MoFEA.
D100 Million Medical Equipment Procurement Pending
Although the amount spent on Medical Equipment appears negligible the Finance Minister told the National Assembly’s Finance and Public Accounts Committee that “D100m is purposely and purely to supplement the money that the World Bank used to procure Ambulances and Medical Equipment. Watch the video here. https://youtu.be/XqbHNQBqoc8?t=83
This procurement is mentioned in a new report published by Gambia Participates titled “Corona, The Gambia and the Millions”. The report which focuses on “tracking funds for Covid-19” highlights that “Gambia requested $12m from World Bank but only $10m was granted. To fill the gap of $2m, The Gambia government from its (D512m) emergency response fund withdrew D100m ($2m) to add it on the $10m grant to procure medical supplies.”
This was further reinforced at a MoH Covid-19 press conference held on 24th April, where the Accountant General told the media that out of the D160m allocated to the MoH Covid-19 response fund “the D100m is relating to a procurement process which is still ongoing”. This means that around $12m (D600m) worth of Medical Equipment is due to arrive in The Gambia after the procurement process has been concluded and the equipment transported to the Gambia.