Africa-Press – Gambia. Halifa Sallah, Secretary General of the People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), has accused parties allied with the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) of losing their independence and effectively becoming subordinate to the party’s authority.
In an interview on Coffee Time With Peter Gomez, Sallah was asked whether opposition parties might be better positioned to influence change from within the government, as some had joined the administration following the NPP coalition’s rise to power.
“Well, you must evaluate what happened to those who went in and what they are today. Obviously, they are marginalized; they do not have parties anymore. Look at those parties that say that they are part of the coalition,” Sallah said.
He stressed that joining a government entails collective responsibility, warning that members cannot distance themselves from a government’s failures. “You cannot just join a government that way and then depart. Whatever is wrong with that government, you have been a part of it,” he noted.
Sallah specifically pointed to the National Reconciliation Party (NRP), National Convention Party (NCP), and Gambia Party for Democracy and Progress (GPDP), asserting that these parties have been reduced to underlings of the NPP, with the ruling party exerting supremacy within the coalition. “So NPP is supreme to their coalition,” he stated.
However, he later apologized for naming the parties, saying that PDOIS should not comment on the actions of other political organizations. “I should not have mentioned them, and I apologize for mentioning them. It is not fair. What is important is to focus on our party. Our party’s trajectory is to change the country, and to change a country requires that you have your principles,” Sallah said.
He highlighted PDOIS’s guiding principles, which are enshrined in its constitution and manifesto. Sallah emphasized that national development should benefit all citizens, with the budget allocated to promote productivity rather than mere consumption-based welfare.
“If you look at the government budget this year, the ministry for those people who are in vulnerable groups they have allocated D200 million. Divide D200 million by half the population who are living in absolute poverty, they will end up with D200,” he said.
Sallah also pointed to the high rate of informal employment in the country. “Look at the statistics; it is telling us 81 percent of the population that is productive is in the informal sector. Not in a formal sector, not in industry, not in government. So people are just moving from hand to mouth, so that is the type of economy we have,” he said.
For More News And Analysis About Gambia Follow Africa-Press
