By: Alieu Jallow
In a recent interview on “Coffee Time With Peter Gomez,” aired on December 31, 2024, Dr. Demba Sabally, the Minister of Agriculture and First Deputy National President of the National People’s Party (NPP), delivered a blistering critique of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and its leadership.
Dr. Sabally accused the UDP of being “the most vile party” in The Gambia’s political landscape. He specifically targeted UDP municipal leaders, alleging that they have failed to adequately serve their constituents and have neglected their responsibilities toward taxpayers.
“The area councils that are led by UDP mayors and UDP chairpersons are not bent on development because the mindset they have is that any development you give credit to the central government. If they collect refuse, people are going to be happy. If they are happy, they are associated with them, but it’s going to be associated with the government. If they ensure the drainage is functioning well, and there are no floods, it is a credit to the government, but they are not bent on development. They are bent on petty politics.”
Dr. Sabally further criticized the leadership in the West Coast region, specifically mentioning Yankuba Darboe. “We have seen the worst with the West Coast, anyway, Yankuba Darboe. He is the worst in terms of engaging in petty fights, and his intention is to be as chaotic as possible. That’s why he partook and led the 3 Years Jotna to create as much chaos as possible. They are just looking for a scenario where the environment will be ungovernable, just as dictated by their leader Ousainou Darboe, who said he would make the country ungovernable. This is all part of their grand-style package.”
“When Ousainou Darboe said he would make The Gambia ungovernable, he is not going to bring the sky down. Whether it’s Talib or Yankuba Darboe, they are bent on making The Gambia or these municipalities as chaotic as possible as a means of distracting the population from their core function. Their core function is collecting the trash. They know their roles, and I assume they know their roles, but they intend on being as dysfunctional and as chaotic as possible so that people are focused on that and blaming the Barrow administration for everything,” he asserts.
On October 24, 2024, Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda announced the initiation of a significant infrastructure project aimed at enhancing the municipality’s road network. The project, valued at over D300 million, is set to construct 16 roads within the KMC, marking it as the council’s largest undertaking to date.
However, Dr. Sabally took a swipe at Talib Ahmed Bensouda’s project, claiming that such a project is not realistic. He criticized the Mayor for being unable to implement just a kilometre of road if he is unable to implement a 10 km road.
“If you fail to do the basics—80% of the residents of KMC are paying donkey carts to collect their trash—if you cannot handle that, how can you claim you will handle millions of dalasis in projects? You are talking about municipal buses, talking about very grandiose issues.”
The minister’s remarks come amid escalating tensions between the NPP and the UDP, particularly concerning the contentious issue of a potential third term for President Adama Barrow. Dr. Sabally criticized opponents of a third term, suggesting that their resistance is politically motivated rather than based on constitutional principles.
This is not the first instance of Dr. Sabally expressing strong opinions about the UDP. In August 2024, he suggested that the NPP has a significant task in protecting President Barrow from what he described as Lawyer Ousainou Darboe’s “sinister” plans, urging NPP supporters to ensure that Darboe does not attain any position of power.
Dr. Sabally’s recent comments are likely to intensify the ongoing political rivalry between the NPP and the UDP as the country approaches the next electoral cycle. He further claims that the population of KMC and the West Coast region regret voting in a UDP-led council, stressing how ineffective they are. He alleges that their actions are a microscopic view of what Gambians should expect when a UDP party comes into power.
