By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
Ebrima Tabora Manneh, the Secretary-General and party leader of the People’s Alliance Party (PAP), has said that the Gambia has failed as a country under the leadership of President Adama Barrow, describing the Gambian leader as “not a good leader” and opined that his leadership is not beneficial for The Gambia.
Mr. Manneh, whose candidacy to contest against President Adama Barrow in the 2021 presidential election was rejected, said that the country is heading in the wrong direction because of the high rate of unemployment, and ineffective delivery of basic services by the state institutions. He equally questioned the leadership style of President Barrow.
Manneh, however, said he has enormous respect for Barrow as a president.
“I respect him as a president but as a leader, he is not a good leader. His leadership style is not good for the country.
“The country has failed. The issues we were complaining about then, are the same issues we are complaining about now. Nothing has changed. I said this before.
“The way the government of my brother [President Barrow] is going about in business, I am afraid if he is not careful, this country will fail,” he told The Fatu Network in an exclusive interview.
The PAP leader said the country is experiencing a high rate of unemployment, ineffective delivery of services by state institutions including the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC), and the high cost of healthcare services for Gambians, which he said is expensive for the average Gambian.
“You get many people who graduated from school, and they have no employment. That’s one issue. And then we are decrying NAWEC. Electricity is a problem. Water is a problem.
“There is no improvement in the road network as well. In the health sector, the services are not good enough. And the cost of healthcare is far too expensive for the average Gambian.
“If you go to the public hospital, hardly you get medication. So, you will be referred to private hospitals which mostly do business,” the PAP leader said, backing his assertion that the country has failed under President Adama Barrow’s administration.
According to him, for far too long, the Gambian people have been taken for a ride but leaders. He said that what Gambians have accepted from the government, can only happen in the Gambia.
He further explained that the rise in the country’s debt is a clear indication of the trajectory of the country. He said that since President Barrow came to power in 2017 to date, he has doubled the country’s debt, almost more than the country’s debt during the presidency of the late Sir Dawda Jawara and exiled former President, Yahya Jammeh.
