The government is projected to spend D257.29 million on vehicles in 2027, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs' 2027-2029 Programme-Based Budget (PBB) submitted to the National Assembly.

The projection comes as the Ministry warns that government spending on vehicle purchases, fuel and maintenance has reached a level that requires a clear policy to control costs. The Ministry said actual expenditure on vehicles stood at D1.17 billion in 2025, while D852.20 million was approved for 2026. The projected allocation for 2027 is D257.29 million.

"These represent significant investments in this asset class, and the trend may continue unless constrained," the Ministry said.

It said there was an "urgent need for a policy to curb the substantial resources allocated to vehicles", covering the purchase, fuel and maintenance of government vehicles.

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The disclosure forms part of the government's wider effort to strengthen fiscal management and link public spending more closely to national priorities through Programme-Based Budgeting.

The Ministry also reaffirmed the government's position on borrowing, saying it would continue to avoid non-concessional loans, including for development projects.

"The Government will continue to refrain from entering into non-concessional borrowing agreements (including for projects) and instead follow a borrowing strategy focused on concessional terms," the Ministry stated.

Under the government's fiscal consolidation programme, the gross budget deficit for 2027 is projected at GMD87.351 billion, which the Ministry puts at 0.04 per cent of GDP. The Ministry said the deficit would be financed in line with the Medium-Term Debt Strategy, whose objective is to meet the government's financing needs at the lowest possible cost while maintaining a prudent level of risk. The figures on government vehicles are contained in the 2027 PBB, an approach the government says is intended to change how public resources are planned, allocated and assessed.

The Gambia introduced Programme-Based Budgeting in 2014 and extended it to all ministries, departments and agencies in 2017. Since 2018, ministries, departments and agencies have been required to prepare and submit PBB statements to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. For several years, however, the statements were not routinely used in reviewing budget submissions and were not submitted to Cabinet or the National Assembly to support the approval of budget estimates. That began to change in 2025, when the government started strengthening the implementation of PBB as part of commitments under the Recovery-Focused National Development Plan 2023-2027.

The Ministry said the 2027 budget addendum marks the third year of the enhanced initiative, with PBB statements now being applied more systematically during the budget review process and presented as part of the government's budget documentation. The system is designed to move the focus of budgeting away from inputs such as fuel, stationery and wages and towards outputs and outcomes, including the services delivered to citizens. The Ministry identified four main objectives: improving the allocation of public resources, strengthening accountability, measuring programme performance and ensuring that spending is aligned with national development priorities.

The government's implementation of PBB has expanded gradually. The first year of the enhanced initiative, in 2025, focused on four selected ministries, alongside high-level summaries showing how national priorities were linked to budget entities. In 2026, the pilot was expanded to 15 ministries, departments and agencies, giving the government a broader test of the framework. The 2027 budget represents a further expansion, with PBB statements presented for all MDAs. The Ministry acknowledged that implementation remains a work in progress.

"The preparation of PBB statements has progressed since 2018 but remains a work-in-progress," it said.

The Ministry said the publication of the condensed PBB statements was another step towards linking the national budget with government priorities and improving the quality of budget decisions. It also noted that performance indicators would continue to be refined and that target values might not be available in every case. Against that broader reform, the projected D257.29 million allocation for vehicles places the government's spending on transport assets under renewed scrutiny, particularly as the Finance Ministry itself calls for a policy to control the resources committed to vehicle purchases, fuel and maintenance.