Do you know why staff in Gambia’s foreign embassies are acting the way they have been, especially recently? Ask yourself what exactly is it they do that is extremely necessary for such a poor country that even defrauds its impoverished farmers? How much money does The Gambia spend on running all these foreign embassies we seldom need? How much do we spend on too many ministries with very little benefit to our people and economy? In Africa alone, we have about eight embassies/consulates. In Europe, we have 20 diplomatic missions, we have five in Asia, four in the Middle East, three in North America, and one in South America. We have about 43 diplomatic missions worldwide in 36 countries. For what?

In each embassy usually, we have an ambassador, deputy ambassador, consular officer, director of information, financial officer/attache, sometimes cultural officer; sometimes we have protocol and welfare officer for big embassies such as Washington, etc. Each of these Gambians go to all these embassies with their families (if married), their tickets and container costs shouldered by the Gambia government.

The Gambia gov’t also pays the rent of the embassy buildings, as well as the residences of the staff. And what exactly do these people do? Isn’t that why they have all the time for gossip and idle—some dressing like they were going to night clubs while others fist-fight? Is that why the U.S had to kick out some of our embassy staff due to undiplomatic behavior and conduct?

How much money would we save if we cut down all these redundancies and keep only very important geo-strategic sites like USA, Russia, China, only one in the whole of Europe, one in the Middle east, one in South America, and only one in one strategic African country?

And for ministries, we need only Agriculture, Health, Education, Justice, Defence, and Foreign affairs. Each ministry has its own accounts department. So, we don’t need ministry of finance. Imagine how much money we will save on fuel coupons alone! How about multi-million Dalasi cars in numbers for each of these useless ministries?

Do we need Minister of Gender? Or Minister for Climate? We can’t even manufacture a candle. What exactly can we do with the climate or somebody’s gender? Change or alter them? We did publish a scathing article here when Barrow’s Trade’s minister once said on record that Gambia needed to use Senegal’s port for imports. He called that a blessing. Is that why they killed GPA? Then why do we need trades’ ministry?

We can use the rest of the money to invest robustly in health and agriculture to invite mechanized farming and animal husbandry. When that happens, no Gambian will have to import any eggs or milk from Holland! Hunger will be reduced! We write these for Gambians with common sense. Those with the IQ of a fish would keep arguing.

As for per-diem payments, Gambia needs to stop them immediately! Also, in serious countries, the foreign secretary or minister or his delegates are the ones who usually travel for foreign missions. Think of the U.S Secretary of State! Only one man! That’s it! But today’s world has zoom and digital connections. Still, Gambians will crawl on ice to create foreign travel chances for per-diem or decoration of passport with foreign visas in case they leave office!

We spoke to anonymous government officials and were told the average per-diem is $300 (Three hundred Dollars) a night for each traveller. That’s different from air ticket. And what exactly are such travels bringing back to the already financially-drained country that can’t even pay salaries on time? Remember, some farmers still not paid, even after the government taking their produce from them? Isn’t this gangster behavior and we refuse to call it such simply because the men perpetrating it against our poor rural farmers happen to dress in suits and ties or some expensive “Kaftaans”?

Per diem remunerations cost our gov’t millions. Yet, we are yet to see what exact benefit the country gets from such endless travels. Remember, Ebrima Sillah’s confrontation with a Gambian in Brussels while boarding his “business class” flight? What exactly did Ebrima travel for that couldn’t be carried out by written or digital correspondence?

Remember the National Assembly member Amie Colley who was overseas, but responding to calls for her to clarify if she did really succumb to Barrow’s inducements. Why are our NAMs travelling this much? Is their legislative building located outside Gambia?

These all aside, remember our debt-to-GDP ratio at 67.48%? Does the average Gambian know what this means? It means out of everything produced within the borders of Gambia and converted to money, the gov’t spends 67.5 Dalasis out of each D100 to pay loans they borrow. And we told you before that Jawara’s thirty years incurred $422 million external debt while Jammeh added $153 million to that. And here is the myocardial infarction to our economy and future: BARROW ADDED $1.6 billion Dollars to both Jawara and Jammeh’s, bringing our external debth to a colossal total of $1.7 billion! 

Why aren’t our journalists asking questions about these? Why aren’t our NAMs ditto?  Are we possessed by some demon not to ask these serious questions? And we continue to run these super-useless embassies, consulates, ministries, departments,  per diem, etc?

Life expectancy in Africa is 63.6 yrs. Life expectancy in the rest of the world is 71.4 yrs. Here is the kicker: Life expectancy in the Gambia under Barrow is 62 yrs, below the African average! Worse, our rank in the Human Development Index is another funeral! HDI is used by the United Nations to measure the progress of a country. Gambia is 174th out of 193 countries! This means we are ahead of only 19 countries! Then why are we wasting our money on per diem, useless travels, foreign embassies and consulates, etc?

Do you know why Gambians are dying so young, and from diseases unheard of back in the 80s and 90s (diseases like diabetes, hypertension which is high blood pressure), stroke, etc.,? We did away with our traditional meals of less triglycerides,  transfat, etc. We rely a lot on imported staples with genetic modification. 

According to WHO, stroke accounts for about 56.9% of deaths in the Gambia, HIV 51.6%, and lower respiratory tract infections 49.9%. Lower respiratory tract infections include pneumonia, bronchitis, bronchiolitis, etc. So, the biggest killer is stroke which, simply put is: “a loss of blood flow to part of the brain, which damages brain tissue. Strokes are caused by blood clots and broken blood vessels in the brain. Symptoms include dizziness, numbness, weakness on one side of the body, and problems with talking, writing, or understanding language,” according to the U.S National Cancer Institute.

Eating poor diet of “Bread and butter or mayonnaise” increases chances of stroke. These are high in transfat. What we are doing in this piece is the job of the ministry of health. Dr. Samateh, what is difficult in sitting at GRTS or any platform on a weekly basis to discuss these? Wouldn’t it be far better than endless travels and exorbitant allowances and per diem? The problem with Africa isn’t poverty. It is appointing the worst of us to positions of national future and our children and their grandchildren’s thoroughfare. Please look below:

 22 CABINET MINISTERS/MINISTRIES

22 PERMANENT SECRETARIES AND STAFF

22 DEPUTY PERMANENT SECRETARIES AND STAFF

22 DIRECTORS AND STAFF

22 SUB-DIRECTORS AND MISCELLANEOUS STAFF

AFRICA (8 diplomatic missions)

 Ethiopia (Addis Ababa Embassy)

 Guinea-Bissau (Bissau Embassy)

 Mauritania (Nouakchott Embassy)

 Morocco (Casablanca Consulate General)

Rabat (Embassy, Morocco)

 Nigeria (Lagos Consulate General)

 Senegal (Dakar Embassy)

South Africa

ASIA (5 diplomatic missions)

 China (Beijing Embassy)

 India (New Delhi High Commission)

 Indonesia (Jakarta Consulate General)

 Japan (Nagoya Honorary Consulate General)

 Thailand (Bangkok Consulate General)

Central America and Caribbean (2 diplomatic missions)

 Bahamas (Nassau Consulate General)

 Cuba (Havana Embassy)

EUROPE (20 diplomatic missions)

 Austria (Vienna Consulate General)

 Belgium (Brussels Embassy)

 Cyprus (Larnaca Consulate General)

 France (Paris Embassy)

 Germany (Cologne Consulate General)

Berlin (Consulate General)

Munich (Consulate General)

 Greece (Athens Consulate General)

 Hungary (Budapest Consulate General)

 Italy (Milan Consulate General)

 Luxembourg (Luxembourg Consulate General)

 Norway (Oslo Consulate General)

 Russia (Moscow Embassy)

 Spain (Madrid Embassy)

Girona (Consulate General)

 Sweden (Stockholm Consulate General)

Malmo (Consulate General)

 Switzerland (Zurich Consulate General)

 Turkey (Ankara Embassy)

 United Kingdom (London High Commission)

MIDDLE EAST (4 diplomatic missions)

 Qatar (Doha Embassy)

 Saudi Arabia Jeddah Consulate General)

Riyadh (Embassy)

 United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi (Embassy)

NORTH AMERICA (3 diplomatic missions)

 Canada (Toronto Consulate General)

 Mexico (Mexico City Consulate General)

 United States (Washington Embassy)

SOUTH AMERICA (1 diplomatic mission)

 Brazil (Sao Paulo Consulate General)