By Omar Bah
A recent Afrobarometer survey report has indicated that 62 percent of Gambians disapprove of President Adama Barrow’s performance. This discontent stems from perceived failures in governance, particularly regarding economic management and anti-corruption efforts, which have not met public expectations. The combination of economic challenges and a lack of significant reforms have led to increased public disillusionment with the Barrow administration.
According to the report shared with journalists yesterday, a majority of Gambians disapprove of the way the president (62%), members of parliament (65%), and local government councillors (60%) have performed their jobs over the past 12 months.
It revealed that more than three-fourths (77%) of Gambians say the country is heading in “the wrong direction,” a 48 percentage point increase since 2018. The report added that only about two in 10 Gambians (19%) described the country’s economic condition as “fairly good” or “very good,” a 39-point drop since 2018 (58%) while more than two-thirds (68%) believe peace and security in the country have deteriorated.
However, majority of Gambians report improvements during President Barrow’s tenure with regard to freedom of speech (80%), youth participation in politics (69%), women’s participation in politics (67%), respect for human rights (65%), and preservation of law and order (55%).
Health, increasing cost of living, crime and security are the top three most important problems that citizens want the government to address.
According to the report, citizens believed that the economic situation of the country has worsened compared to 2018 and called for swift intervention by government.
