Africa-Press – Gambia. Dr. Lamin J. Darboe, leader of the National Unity Party (NUP), urged Gambian authorities to prioritize good governance, warning that the country’s development ambitions will remain out of reach without it.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, November 25, Dr. Darboe said that promises to build schools, hospitals, and other public infrastructure are meaningless without a functioning governance system. “But I am saying without governance, you cannot do any of that,” he said. “You bring 100 million into the country, they will steal all the money and not spend it on anything.”
Dr. Darboe pointed to the decades-old Jahally Pacharr rice project as an emblem of systemic failure. Despite the investment of “millions, if not billions,” he noted, The Gambia continues to import rice. “It is the system,” he said. “Once you have no system, you cannot effect any change. It is not possible.”
He argued that the rising cost of living is rooted in the country’s heavy dependence on imports, which he described as evidence of “a weak national foundation.” Combating inflation, he said, requires tackling corruption and increasing agricultural production. He offered the price of cement as another example of inflation driven by poor governance and limited transparency.
“Governance is everything. Leadership is everything,” Dr. Darboe said. “You must change the system; otherwise, you are not going anywhere.”
Dr. Darboe also signaled openness to joining a political coalition ahead of future elections, but stressed that NUP would not align itself with leaders who lack a fundamental understanding of governance. Any potential coalition partners, he said, must demonstrate the integrity and competence needed to steer the country out of what he described as the “quagmire” it has faced since independence in 1965.
“Obviously, we will have to consider our position. We are not going to support anybody who cannot rescue this country,” he said.
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