By: Sarjo Brito
The Gambia Armed Forces has refuted allegations that they owe money to members of the Gambia Armed Forces (specifically the QRF 2 personnel) who were sent to The Republic of Turkey to receive special training, describing the allegations as misleading and malicious.
Their response came following a media publication which was followed by public condemnation that the institution has refused to pay the said personnel a promised allowance that was supposed to be paid upon their return from Turkey.
“The publication is not only misleading and malicious but also out of context and devoid of relevant facts surrounding the deployment of the said troops to the Republic of Turkey. It may be necessary to indicate that GAF Command held a meeting with the top tier of QRF 2 at the Defence Headquarters shortly before their departure to Turkey and one of the critical agenda items discussed was course allowance. During the said meeting, it was indicated that the current Terms and Conditions of Service has provisions for troops’ course or training allowance,’’ a statement from the army said.
GAF says only departure allowance is paid for trips of such nature as all other expenses including their feeding, monthly stipends, uniforms, transportation etc are all borne by the host country. The institution said all the conditions were fully explained to the officials and were fulfilled by both the host country and The Gambia Armed Forces.
“It is equally important to highlight the fact that during the farewell briefing for QRF 2 that was graced by the current Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff and Director of Finance; GAF at The Gambia Armed Forces Training School (GAFTS), the above conditions were vividly explained to the troops,” the army said.
In his remarks, the Finance Director said that GAF has sent troops to several countries including Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) and severally, others to the republic of Senegal with similar financial conditions accorded. The same conditions apply to the recent contingent (QRF 3) in the Republic of Turkey.
The GAF High Command also noted that the personnel were presented an opportunity to speak respond if they found the financial conditions unfavourable, but none objected.
The GAF High Command ended its clarification by reiterating its commitment to the welfare and financial needs of its personnel.
