This research explores the remuneration pay scale of The Gambia government public service,
focusing on the link between salary increment and corruption level. The results provide essential
information on improving the government’s remuneration policies regarding the salary for public
servants to reduce the extent of corruption and bribery in the public service. The literature about
the current issues will review various dimensions and aspects of institutional commitment showing
readiness for a new revised PayScale. A theoretical foundation on the salary-corruption link will
be provided, followed by an empirical application of the principles, econometric issues posed by
the study, findings, and policy implications. The research will show that it is possible to establish
a wage policy based on the concepts of qualification and fairness by assuming that civil officials
are not simply interested in maximizing their salary.
This research paper also presents data on corruption and remuneration, as well as difficulties in
determining relevant standards for comparison. Furthermore, even if an empirical link between
remuneration and corruption is established, the direction of causality may remain ambiguous.
Corruption may result in reduced compensation rather than higher pay because it reduces the
public resources available to compensate public officials1. An inefficient public service creates
more opportunities for rent-seeking, bribery, extortion, and corruption. As such, some argue that
higher pay may worsen corruption in certain circumstances by crowding out other funding required
for quality service delivery, undermining the efficiency and productivity of public service
delivery2. There is widespread agreement that low government wages in developing countries
reduce public sector efficiency and productivity while also providing incentives and opportunities
for corruption and mismanagement of public resources. Most studies3, however, agree that raising
wages without establishing effective control and monitoring systems, as well as enforcing
appropriate sanctions, is unlikely to impact corruption. Salary levels in The Gambia civil sector
are widely acknowledged to be too low. Salaries have not kept pace with rising costs. In the last
two decades, there has only been two ten percent compensation raises across the board. The lowest
classes can barely afford a sack of food with their monthly earnings. Grade 1 employees earn an
average of 1,200 dalasis (US$ 24) per month, or 1,500 dalasis (US$30) with allowances, whereas
a bag of rice costs roughly 1,600 dalasis (US$ 30).