By Omar Bah
The ruling National People’s Party (NPP) has strongly condemned what it describes as “misleading and unfounded statements” by former Vice President Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang, accusing her of peddling half truths and distortions about the Barrow administration and the party’s women empowerment initiatives.
Speaking at the Refela conference on women’s representation last week, former vice president Jallow-Tambajang strongly criticised the NPP’s D50 million Women Enterprise Fund calling it discriminatory against Gambian women.
She framed the initiative as voter buying scheme and claimed that European Union–linked resources or public funds are being diverted for partisan purposes.
Madam Jallow-Tambajang also accused President Barrow of failing to deliver the promises and pledges made under coalition 2016 to spur gender equality and women empowerment in all decision making processes.
The Fund launched by President Barrow in January provides zero interest loans to NPP women’s groups only. The party said it aimed at strengthening women’s economic empowerment.
Reactions
Reacting to the former vice president’s allegations yesterday in a statement signed by its deputy spokesperson Seedy SK Njie and shared with The Standard, the NPP dismissed the remarks as “misleading,” “baseless,” and “unfounded,” stressing that the D50 million women’s fund is sourced from private and party contributions, not from public coffers or EU budget lines.
The party argue that her portrayal of the fund as a government sponsored vote buying scheme is an attempt to destabilise public confidence in the administration and to discredit the party’s gender inclusive economic agenda.
“These assertions are disingenuous, factually incorrect, and calculated to spread misinformation regarding the “NPP Women Interest-Free Fund.” We wish to clarify that this fund is powered exclusively by the contributions of NPP members and supporters, with our partner financial institution providing the remaining balance. Madam Jallow-Tambajang’s suggestion that the European Union (EU) finances this initiative is a non-event; we remind her that the EU does not maintain programmes or funds designated for political party loans.
The launch of the NPP Women Enterprise Fund was conducted with total transparency during a mass rally. It was clearly stated by both the NPP leadership and Salam Financial Services that the party provided 50% of the capital, while Salam Financial Services provided the matching 50%.”
It added: “Furthermore, we wish to highlight the following: As of today, no EU funds have been made available to the Government of The Gambia for such a loan scheme. Given her former stature as Vice President, Ms Jallow-Tambajang could have easily performed due diligence—if her intentions were sincere—by consulting the Ministry of Finance or the EU Country Office. Any individual with a basic understanding of international relations and financial institution partnerships knows that international partners do not fund specific political party enterprises.”
The NPP added that the government operates on the principles of transparency and accountability.
“It is these very values that have won the confidence of our international partners, who continue to support the nation’s economic and developmental growth. The NPP Women Enterprise Fund does not utilise a single dalasi of public money. It is 100% financed by party faithful under the stewardship of President Barrow. This fund is designed to uplift the economic status of women within the NPP and our partner parties—a central pillar of our party’s manifesto.”
The Party added that it remains ever grateful to President Barrow for his visionary leadership in women’s empowerment.
“We recommit ourselves to his mission of uplifting the welfare of all Gambian women through prudent economic policies and legal frameworks that have earned the trust of global financial institutions.”
