By: Ousman Saidykan
Economic Expert Nyang Njie has said government should have embarked on a comprehensive civil service reform before leaping for a salary increment; an increment he referred to as “inequitable”.
“We have ghost workers on the payroll. We haven’t tidy-up our civil service. Once there is a civil service reform, we can now pay people properly,” Njie told The Fatu Network on The News Review programme.
The economist continued that if the government was “hell-bent” on increasing the salaries of civil servants, they should have first looked at equity.
“What is equity? Not everyone should get 30%. Because if you look at the total payroll of the government, it is fat up top and, on the bottom, it is empty. And 75% – 80% of government workers fall below the D7, 000 thresholds.
“So, what did the government do? Something that is not equitable, and government should ensure an equitable social contract – and first and foremost, it should start with the civil service,” Nyang said.
The increment was a promise made by the government but would only materialise if the review budget was passed, which was done by the parliament on the 28th of July 2021.
The increment received criticisms from some quarters who believe it is discriminatory. They say it enriches the rich and impoverishes the poor.
“This was a political promise. And this political promise is now costing lives and livelihoods of Gambians and that is why political expedience – this is where our technocrats should always not be willing to be strange bedfellows with politicians,” economist Njie added.
