Dictator of eating from hand to mouth
His government’s pay scale is so low that the highest paid civil servants cannot survive on their salaries for 15 days without overdrafts and shop loans.
The grade 12 salary is not more than D8000 per month for permanent secretaries, senior civil servants, Assistant directors and the likes. What about messengers, drivers, teachers, clerks, and middle to low-level staff? Below is a driver’s personal story from the Foroyaa newspaper. So much for Dictator of development. All the brutalities and rampant sackings are not justified since the average salary of a top civil servant is below a living wage. How can the big name position holders maintain their social status? The grants and Aid money to departments is now the main avenues that Yahya Jammeh gets access to foreign help. What a sorry state of affairs for our civil servants!
I cringed with pain upon reading an article on Foroyaa newspaper that after 21 years in power, The Gambia’s flamboyant and wasteful regime is not doing anything – nothing absolutely – to adjust salaries of civil servants, even though the Dalasi loses purchasing power and the inflation going over the roof. It is hard to believe that a civil servant who manage substantial budget is paid a monthly salary of D2, 500.
“If my wife knows my salary, she may look down on me” Says a Senior Driver
Salaries of the lower ranks in the Public Service
A senior driver congratulated Foroyaa for taking up the salary issue. He urged the medium to interview drivers.
When one of the drivers was interviewed, he refused to mention his salary. According to him, if his wife knew his salary she is likely to look down on him. He also expressed fear that he may not be able to keep his job if he had an interview.
This is how tight lipped civil servants are and why there is need for a Public Service Union to speak for public servants on salaries and benefits.
Foroyaa has been able to gather that Accounts Clerks receive 24,000 dalasi per annum of 2,000 dalasi a month as salary. Store clerks receive 14,000 dalasi per annum which is less than 1,200 dalasi a month.
Senior drivers are on grade 2. They receive 14,000 dalasi per annum or less than 1,200 dalasi a month. Drivers like our interviewee are on grade 1 and receive 11, 000 dalasi per annum or less than 1000 dalasi a month. Cleaners, messengers and watchmen receive the same grade and earn 11,000 dalasi per annum or less than 1,000 dalasi per month.
There is no prospect of salary review in light of a domestic debt of 19 Billion dalasi and is rising. Only a government which could improve income could fight corruption.’
Source: www.foroyaa.gm
Ends
very sad……
May God the ALL MIGHTY have mercy on Gambians.Gambians are very peaceful if not they would have torn Yahya Jammeh into pieces. With all this difficulties he brought to the Gambian people, they are still looking at him playing with their money and giving it out like if he owns the Gambia and all her resources. Yahya doesn’t understand that he is trying to change Gambians from being peaceful to become wild and angry. When you starve a nation, you should be ready for anything. But this monster doesn’t have a working brain or doesn’t care about anything affecting our people. Yahya Jammeh will not enjoy a peaceful ending INSHA ALLAH,
Suntou,this is true.In January 2014,being an accountant in one of the Department,I used to pay some of the night watchmen and caretakers who were on daily wage at that time, a monthly salary between D 500 to D 600.00. It’s is very sad. The last 10% salary increment was in January 2010.