2nd CABINET MEETING OF 2021 HELD ON THURSDAY 4th FEBRUARY

2nd CABINET MEETING OF 2021 HELD ON THURSDAY 4th FEBRUARY

These are the conclusions of the 2nd Cabinet Meeting of 2021 held on 4th February:

Cabinet discussed and adopted a paper presented by the Ministery of Transport, Works and Infrastructure on the revised scope of the Banjul rehabilitation project of roads, drains and sewerage systems (Addendum 2).

The proposed scope of work will cover a total of 17 streets in the older parts of the city and four additional streets in the Tobacco Road area. These works will be attended by an equal refurbishments of drainage and sidewalks.

It is also proposed that the major outlet drains on Cotton Street, Kent Street, Kombo Street, Grant Street, and Albion to Box Bar, are to be covered in order to curtail the prevalence of dumping of solid waste in them which has been choking the drains system. Built in the 1950s, the walls of these drains are either weak or have collapsed in sections and hence the need to reconstruct them in order to support the covers.

The required additional works are complementary to the ongoing roads, drainage and sewerage works in Banjul and are in line with the need to have uniform quality and standards for the city’s infrastructure.

Cabinet also discussed and adopted a paper presented by the Hon Minister of Health for the increment of allowances to medical hierarchy……Doctors and PhD holders within the Ministry of Health.

Cabinet was informed that over the past years, the Ministry of Health has been finding it difficult to attract highly qualified medical doctors from hospitals to work at the central mainstream Ministry because of the sharp difference in salary and take home between medical doctors at the central Ministry of Health and those of their counterparts in the hospitals.

The difference in incentive packages offered by the different arms of the same Ministry is a source of disincentive to strike the right balance in terms of moving the relevant high caliber staff around to serve where they are considered needed from time to time.

As part of efforts to bring in efficiency and synergy in the incentive packages within the Health sector, Cabinet approved the proposal to increase the allowances payable to medical doctors and PhD holders at the central level of the Ministry of Health to be comparable to their colleagues in the hospitals and other government agencies.

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice also presented a paper on the Elections Bill which was discussed and approved by Cabinet. The paper details the general conduct  of elections in The Gambia to engender and enhance an electoral process which is free, fair and credible. The Elections Bill will regulate the conduct of future elections in The Gambia. Following an exhaustive discussion, Cabinet directed the Attorney General to present the Elections Bill to the National Assembly for enactment into law.

Cabinet also discussed a report of the Taskforce established by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice into the circumstances surrounding the trafficking of 38 Gambian women returnees from Lebanon.

It would be recalled that between 2014 and 2020, a number of women were recruited to work in Lebanon under contract terms. Upon arrival in Lebanon, the women were asked to sign contracts which were written in Arabic, a language they could not read or understand and have no idea of the conditions of work. Their passports, identity cards and mobile phones were seized by their employers and some where also abused.

In September 2020, 38 Gambian women in Lebanon returned to The Gambia through a support from a Swedish based NGO called Action for Humanity. The returnees claimed they were trafficked to Lebanon. The Attorney General and Minister of Justice requested the National Human Rights Commission to lead investigation in…