By Adama Makasuba
The Gambia government has paid 7,200,000 dalasis to the account of Gambia Teachers Cooperative Credit Union to be used to settle the arrears Catholic Education Secretariat owed to 700 teachers.
The teachers last week launched a sit-down strike after Catholic Education Secretariat deducted their salaries and benefits. The deductions amounted to over seven million dalasis.
The government has now intervened by settling the arrears. It comes after Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education handed a subvention suspension to CES and went on to hand out one million dalalsis for the aggrieved teachers to be paid.
Meanwhile, speaking to The Fatu Network in an exclusive interview, Essa Sowe president of Gambia Teachers Union, said: “On Friday 13 of March precisely, government agreed to transfer 7, 200,000 million dalasis that was requested to the Gambia Teachers Cooperative Credit Union account.”
“And on Saturday 14, they were distributed to the relevant institutions, that is the Catholic Education Credit Union- Gambia Teachers Cooperative Credit Union and the main Union-Gambia’s Teachers Unions View,” he added.
“So presently what is happening from tomorrow, Catholic Secretariat Credit Union will now be distributing the money to various accounts,” Sowe said.
