Africa-Press – Gambia. Lamin J. Darboe, leader of the National Unity Party (NUP), has said that a president’s legacy should be assessed on the quality of governance rather than the completion of development projects.
Speaking during an interview on The Brunch, a weekly public affairs programme hosted by Kerr Fatou, Darboe said his party seeks to encourage citizens to evaluate leaders beyond infrastructure achievements such as road construction.
He described such projects as national undertakings financed with public funds, not personal accomplishments of the president.
“To illustrate, if your brother in the UK sends you money to build a house for him in The Gambia, you cannot claim that you built the house for him. It is his money that was used for construction,” Darboe said.
He stated that while the president has the responsibility to implement projects for the public, the true measure of leadership lies in establishing durable systems of governance.
According to Darboe, voters should base their support on a president’s ability to ensure transparency, accountability and adherence to the rule of law, rather than on visible infrastructure alone.
“People should examine legacies—whether a president can create a system of government accountable to its citizens. Without that, no amount of projects constitutes real achievement,” he said, adding that development initiatives are funded by national resources and do not personally belong to the government.
Darboe described governance as a central challenge facing the country, noting that sustainable development depends on strong institutions and respect for the rule of law.
He further said that the administration of Adama Barrow has fallen short in this regard, contrasting governance standards in Western societies with local practices.
