By Madi Jobarteh
The purpose and scope of the Ceprass National Opinion Poll were clearly defined by the pollsters and well understood by the public. Yet the Government chose to issue a lengthy supposedly “analytical” response that ultimately said nothing of substance. Caught flat-footed by the findings and unwilling to confront its failures, the Ministry of Information resorted to denial, rejection, and diversion.
The poll examined specific governance issues, and the findings relate strictly to those areas. For the government to argue that the survey was not “a total judgement on government performance” is both meaningless and misleading. No one made such a claim. This caveat serves only one purpose, i.e., to undermine the poll, cast doubt on citizens’ voices, and deflect responsibility. The issues raised such as corruption, unemployment, trust in leadership, governance, and democratic performance are legitimate and central to the lived realities of Gambians, who rated government performance poorly on these fronts.
Corruption: Institutions without enforcement
The government claims it is taking concrete steps to combat corruption, citing the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). As if anyone expected mob justice, the Ministry went on to lecture the public on how corruption investigations should be conducted. This was unnecessary and evasive.
With or without the ACC, the Constitution and laws of the Gambia are already more than sufficient to combat corruption. What is missing is enforcement. For example, mandatory asset declarations under Section 223 of the Constitution remain ignored. Annual audit reports by the National Audit Office repeatedly reveal gross mismanagement and embezzlement of billions of dalasi, yet there are no recovery of stolen funds and no accountability. The National Assembly has produced reports and passed resolutions on corruption that remain unimplemented. Presidential inquiries, police investigations, and even damning investigative journalism rarely lead to consequences.
In this context, government claims about fighting corruption amount to little more than diversion, distortion, and deflection.
Job creation: Excuses are not employment
On employment, the government asks citizens to consider global economic challenges and points to investments across sectors. This is excuse-making, not leadership. The Gambia is not the only country facing global economic headwinds, yet many governments regularly publish employment data and announce new job figures. The Gambian government does not because it lacks reliable data and measurable outcomes.
Despite years of claimed investments, unemployment, especially youth unemployment, remains alarmingly high. The lived experience of Gambians tells a clear story which is that government efforts are grossly inadequate and have not translated into meaningful improvements in people’s lives.
Social media and the hypocrisy of “misinformation”
On social media, the government urges citizens to fact-check information. This would be laughable if it were not tragic. The most consistent sources of misinformation and disinformation in the Gambia are political leaders and their supporters, and among whom the government, the NPP, and their allies are prominent. The irony is even more stark when one considers that the Minister of Information is arguably the most fact-checked individual in the country. Lecturing citizens on misinformation while officials routinely distort facts only deepens public distrust.
Trust in the president: A governance failure
The government claims that declining trust in the president is “conditional” and not a sign of democratic failure. This is false. Low trust reflects failures of leadership and governance. Citizens distrust President Barrow because they experience poor service delivery, entrenched corruption, and governance that serves private and partisan interests over the public good.
Why are officials adversely mentioned in corruption scandals promoted, redeployed, or left untouched? Why has the ‘Meet the People Tour’ become an NPP partisan exercise? Why do government contracts consistently go to businesses aligned with the president? Under such conditions, how can citizens trust the president or believe that democracy works for them?
The perception that President Barrow is worse than his predecessors is not a social-media illusion. It is grounded in lived experience. As the saying goes: he who feels it knows.
Democracy survives despite, not because of, government
The government’s portrayal of an open civic space and respect for rights as its legacy is deeply misleading. Democratic resilience in our Gambia exists because citizens, civil society, the media, and development partners have consistently resisted democratic backsliding.
Since 2017, the Barrow administration has repeatedly delayed, diluted, or derailed democratic reforms. We have witnessed arrests of activists, protesters, journalists, opposition figures, and ordinary citizens for exercising constitutional rights often followed by bogus charges. Media houses have been closed. Meanwhile, abuse of power, corruption, and violations of the rule of law by public officials go unpunished. These actions do not strengthen democracy; they undermine it.
How many recommendations by the National Human Rights Commission have been ignored by the government? How many requests for information under the Access to Information Act have been denied or ignored by public institutions?
Term limits: Rewriting history will not work
Finally, it is disingenuous for the government to blame the National Assembly and the opposition for the failure of constitutional reform. The only legitimate draft constitution, i.e., the 2020 draft was actively undermined by the Executive and killed by 23 allies of the president in the National Assembly. The opposition overwhelmingly supported that draft, which would have ushered in the Third Republic and imposed a clear two-term presidential limit.
After sabotaging the 2020 draft, the government produced the so-called 2024 draft – the Barrow Papers – which is not only illegitimate but conveniently weakened term-limit provisions. By failing to specify when term limits would begin, it opened the door for one individual to rule for 20 years or more. This was a dangerous and deliberate maneuver, and a proven recipe for conflict as experienced in many countries across Africa.
Conclusion: Citizens spoke, listen to them
The government’s response to the Ceprass poll is a thinly veiled attempt to reject citizens’ voices and deny its governance failures. Instead of hiding behind distorted rationalizations and logical fallacies, the government should take the findings seriously and begin correcting course.
Citizens who participated in the poll were neither drunk nor delusional. They spoke consciously and honestly about their lived realities. No press release, no matter how long and flamboyant, can convince a hungry person that they are not hungry.
Give the people food, jobs, justice, and accountability first. Then talk.
For The Gambia, Our Homeland
