Africa-Press – Gambia. Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, Gambia’s Minister of Information, has accused the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) of attempting to shift public attention away from alleged corruption and malpractice within some of its own councils by focusing criticism on the Kerewan Area Council, which is led by the ruling National People’s Party (NPP).
The minister’s remarks came in response to a recent statement by the United Democratic Party (UDP), which criticized the Kerewan Area Council for what it termed “irresponsible spending.” The party pointed to the council’s expenditure of 7.6 million dalasis on vehicles and an additional one and a half million dalasis on overseas travel, including attendance at a conference in the United States. The UDP argued that such spending is unjustifiable, especially when residents of the North Bank Region are reportedly facing shortages in essential services.In a media appearance, Dr. Ceesay dismissed the UDP’s criticism as a political maneuver designed to distract from the findings of the ongoing Local Government Commission of Inquiry, which he said uncovered “massive corruption” in several councils administered by the UDP.
“What I see Tombong doing recently is a deflection. The local government commission of inquiry is unearthing a lot of malpractices and corruption in some UDP-led councils, and they’re not talking about that,” he said.
While distancing himself from direct responsibility for the Kerewan Area Council, Dr. Ceesay defended its leadership, suggesting that the UDP’s criticism targets councils that are “working hard.”
“They are going after councils that are working hard. I’m not a spokesperson for the council, and I’m not an information minister for the council. The council at Kerewan will deal with that. I think they have a befitting response to the statement. But what I can say is that the fact that now the government is being dragged into this, I can say there is a deflection. What they should be talking about is the massive corruption unearthed in some UDP-led councils through the commission of inquiry; I think that should be the issue here,” he said.
When asked whether he was concerned by allegations that 7.6 million dalasis in taxpayer funds were used to purchase two vehicles as part of the Kerewan council’s spending, Dr. Ceesay replied that such decisions fall within the purview of individual councils.
“I think every council does what they think they need at a time. I cannot speak for the council. The council will respond to that. What I can say is that the term used—the terminology used to describe the government—is not befitting. I shouldn’t expect that to come from a serious opposition political party,” the Minister responded.
Reiterating his central message, the minister concluded “Well, like I said, I’m not the spokesperson for the council. They’ll respond to that with the appropriate time. What I can say is that the UDP and the person who is writing this statement should also talk about the corruption that is being unearthed and the UDP-led councils.”
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