By Lamin B. Darboe
Director, Finance Administration and Revolving Loan Scheme at the Personnel Management Office (PMO) has revealed that despite its limited funds, the Civil Service Revolving Loan Scheme (CSRLS) in 2022 managed to disburse D4, 830,000 to 52 personal loan beneficiaries within various Ministries and Departments across the Civil Service.
Baboucarr Sarr recently made this revelation to the Gambia Daily where he mentioned that these beneficiaries are qualified loan applicants, whose applications were approved by the CSRLS Board.
He added that the Scheme has managed to disburse D6, 500,000 to 14 Car Loan beneficiaries from various Ministries and Departments across the Civil Service.
“We are currently disbursing D2, 000,000 to 4 Housing Loan beneficiaries from various Ministries and Departments across the Civil Service. The CSRLS has been endeavoring in meeting its main function of providing and effectively managing car, housing and personal loans to eligible civil servants since its inception in 2014,” Mr. Sarr explained.
According to Director Sarr, the total number of loan applications annually fluctuates; adding that this year the Secretariat received a total number of 83 applications.
The 83 applicants, He explained is one of the lowest compared to previous years while informing that 305 and 317 applicants were received by the Secretariat in 2020 and 2021.
He described the impact of the Loan Scheme within the Civil Service as very positive, adding that the Loan Scheme contributed tremendously in the lives of civil servants in terms of improving their quality of lives and social status.
“Many civil servants are now able to have cars of their own and build houses ranging from bungalows to storey buildings. The loan we give may not be able to complete their entire building as some argued, but helps up to some level,” he said.
The Finance Director further disclosed that “1,207 civil servants benefited from the Personal Loan of the Loan Scheme, 200 civil servants benefited from the Car Loan and 140 benefited from the Housing loan’’.