23/11/2025
A Manifesto for National Renewal: Why 2026 Must Mark a New Beginning for The Gambia.
My Personal Take on Politics in the Gambia.
By Salifu Manneh.
Saturday, 22/11/2025.
1. Introduction
We have reached a point in our national journey where, despite asking countless questions about the highs and lows of the nearly ten-year-long Barrow administration, clarity remains elusive. Where did it all start? Where are we today? And most importantly, what future awaits our country?How did we get it so badly wrong? Sadly, the answers appear bleaker than ever before.
The Gambia stands at a critical turning point. After nearly a decade under President Adama Barrow, our nation faces widespread institutional decay, deepening corruption, and an ever-widening divide between the political elite and ordinary citizens. The 2026 election is not just another electoral cycle; it is a national rescue mission.
This manifesto offers a clear, principled assessment of why the current administration must be replaced and how a meritocratic governance model can help rebuild the country. Beginning in 2027, any new administration must commit to publishing an annual balance sheet from every government department, recording all activities and financial transactions, and measuring them against each department’s development plan. These reports must go beyond finances and capture every recordable operation carried out in the year.
2. The Failure of the Barrow Administration.
2.1 Leadership Breakdown:
The government has failed to provide decisive, transparent, and visionary leadership. Ministries function in isolation, lacking direction, coordination, and accountability. Communication gaps are wide and persistent. The administration has shown no real commitment to outlining clear aims and objectives.
The systems and processes necessary to hold the machinery of central government together have either been neglected or abandoned entirely. From textbooks, we learn about various leadership models, democratic, authoritarian, meritocratic, and others. The style demonstrated by President Barrow week after week does not resemble any recognised leadership model. Instead, it is weak, inconsistent, and at times comical.
2.2 Governance Collapse:
Public institutions have deteriorated due to political interference and patronage. Civil service appointments are allegedly based on loyalty rather than competence, crippling performance across all sectors. Development plans are not monitored or adhered to.
We now have a government that exists largely in name, continually failing to deliver on its promises to the Gambian people.
2.3 Endemic Corruption:
Corruption has become normalised. Auditor General reports repeatedly reveal missing funds, unaccounted expenditures, and widespread abuse of public resources. Anti-corruption institutions are compromised and politically manipulated. The roles of the police and the Ministry of Justice in addressing large-scale corruption, often involving millions of dalasis, are questionable, particularly in light of periodically reported financial discrepancies.
2.4 Public Service Failure:
From crumbling hospitals to unsafe food markets, failing schools, unregulated private healthcare providers, and medicines unfit for consumption; the government has abandoned its duty to protect its citizens. The healthcare system is chronically underfunded, understaffed, and underequipped. Food safety enforcement is practically nonexistent.
3. A Nation in Crisis.
3.1 Economic Hardship:
Youth unemployment is skyrocketing. The cost of living has risen far beyond the reach of ordinary families. Rural communities remain trapped in poverty due to lack of infrastructure and investment.
In many homes, families speak of how difficult life has become. It is common to find a household where the head of the family does not even have fifty dalasis while being expected to provide food. Sending children to school is now a luxury because transportation is increasingly unaffordable.
Meanwhile, ministers and senior civil servants have government vehicles to ferry their children to and from school daily. Children from poor and deprived backgrounds stand no chance competing with the well-supported children of the elite. Shame on the Barrow administration, the gap between the haves and the have-nots widens daily, deepening social polarisation.
3.2 Social Breakdown:
Inequality is rising. Marginalised communities lack access to information, civic education, and participation in national decision-making. Public trust in government has reached its lowest point.
3.3 Unfair Budget Allocation:
National budgets consistently favour politically convenient sectors. Critical sectors—health, education, agriculture, and social welfare—remain underfunded. Government expenditure priorities do not reflect the needs of the people.
4. Why 2026 Must Bring Change.
4.1 A Democratic Mandate Betrayed:
The 2016 transition promised accountability, transparency, and institutional reform. Instead, Gambians have witnessed a regression into patronage politics, incompetence, and governance failure.
4.2 National Stability at Risk:
The current trajectory threatens national unity, economic stability, and social cohesion. Continued mismanagement will deepen poverty, fuel youth migration, and weaken public institutions beyond repair.
5. The Meritocratic Solution.
5.1 What Meritocracy Means for The Gambia:
Meritocracy ensures that individuals with competence, integrity, and experience lead public institutions. It rejects corruption, nepotism, and loyalty-based appointments.
5.2 Key Pillars of a Meritocratic Government
- Competence-based appointments
- A professional, independent civil service
- Transparent national budgeting and planning
- Strong, depoliticised anti-corruption institutions
- Evidence-based policymaking
5.3 Expected Outcomes of Meritocratic Reform:
- Improved public service delivery
- Stronger institutions
- Fairer distribution of national resources
- Increased economic productivity
- Greater public trust in government
6. A Vision for National Renewal.
6.1 Rebuilding the Health System:
We must invest in hospitals, clinics, pharmaceuticals, equipment, and training to create a functional healthcare system.
6.2 Ensuring Food Safety and Public Health.
Food inspection authorities must be empowered and modernised to protect citizens from contaminated and unsafe products.
6.3 Creating Economic Opportunities.
Investment in agriculture, tourism, the digital economy, and small businesses will generate meaningful employment for young people.
6.4 Reforming National Budgeting.
Budgets must reflect national needs, not political interests. Oversight mechanisms must be strengthened to prevent waste.
6.5 Strengthening Civic Education.
Citizens must be equipped with knowledge about governance, rights, and responsibilities. Civic education is key to dismantling manipulation and misinformation.
7. The Call to Action:
We all have a civic duty to correct the wrongs in the governance of our nation.
The Gambia can no longer afford leadership rooted in personal loyalty, political expediency, and incompetence. The year 2026 must mark the beginning of a national renewal based on meritocracy, integrity, and accountability.
Only through competent, ethical, and visionary leadership can we rescue our country, restore dignity to public institutions, and build a prosperous, just, and equitable society.
References:
1. Government & Governance Reports
- National Audit Office (NAO). Auditor General’s Reports on Government Accounts of The Gambia (various years).
- Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC). Final Report (2021).
- Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS). Integrated Household Survey (latest edition).
- Public Service Commission (PSC). Annual Reports.
2. International Institutions
- World Bank. The Gambia: Systematic Country Diagnostic (latest edition).
- International Monetary Fund (IMF). Article IV Consultation Reports – The Gambia (various years).
- Transparency International. Corruption Perceptions Index (annual).
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Human Development Report (annual).
- African Development Bank (AfDB). Country Strategy Paper: The Gambia.
3. Academic & Policy Sources
- Boone, Catherine. Property and Political Order in Africa. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
- Cheeseman, Nic. Democracy in Africa: Successes, Failures, and the Struggle for Political Reform. 2015.
- Sanyang, Lamin, & Jeng, Abdoulie. Governance Challenges in The Gambia (research articles, various journals).
- Posner, Daniel. Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa. 2005.
4. Civil Society & NGO Reports
- Gambia Participates. Budget Transparency and Accountability Reports (various years).
- Gambia Press Union (GPU). State of Press Freedom Report.
- Amnesty International. Human Rights Report: The Gambia.
- International IDEA. Democracy and Governance Assessment – The Gambia.
5. Health, Education & Social Sector Reports
- World Health Organization (WHO). Health System Profile: The Gambia.
- UNICEF. State of the World’s Children – The Gambia Data.
- Ministry of Health, The Gambia. Health Sector Policy and Strategic Plan.
- Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE). Education Sector Report.
Editors Note: Views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Skypower Radio and TV Services. You have an opinion article or if you know is happening, has happened or about to happen get in touch with Skypower.
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