Africa-Press – Gambia. The Minister of Information, Ismaila Ceesay, told The Standard he would not respond to criticisms made by the Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice on The Gambia’s governance standing.
In a statement shared with The Standard yesterday, EFSCRJ said it received with grave concern the findings of the World Economics Governance Index 2026 regarding The Gambia’s governance performance.
According to the centre, the report evaluates governance across four core indicators: corruption perception, rule of law, press freedom, and political rights, measured on a scale of 0 to 100.
“The Gambia’s overall score stands at 47.6, earning the country a Grade C (average). The Gambia’s scores on corruption levels – 31.6, rule of law – 38.5 – Press Freedom – 65.4 and political rights – 54.8,” the EFSCR said.
The centre argued that the relatively higher scores in press freedom and political rights indicate that the civic space remains comparatively open.
Commenting on the corruption score, the EFSCR said: “These scores are deeply concerning and reinforce findings from civil society monitoring, national surveys, and international assessments. EFSCRJ has consistently documented and raised alarms over rising incidents of corruption, abuse of office, weak enforcement of accountability mechanisms, and disregard for legal and constitutional standards. A country cannot sustain democracy where corruption flourishes and the rule of law is selectively applied.”
“We lament that while the end of dictatorship in 2017 expanded freedoms, this democratic transition has not yet produced strong, rules-based governance capable of controlling corruption, ensuring institutional discipline, guaranteeing equal application of the law, and delivering equitable development.”
The EFSCRJ urged President Adama Barrow to treat this report as a governance warning signal.
“The future of the republic depends not merely on electoral democracy, but on disciplined constitutional governance grounded in transparency, accountability, and justice,” it noted.
