{"id":92021,"date":"2025-12-14T19:09:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T19:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/udp-leader-criticizes-barrow-governments-spending"},"modified":"2025-12-14T19:35:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T19:35:13","slug":"udp-leader-criticizes-barrow-governments-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/udp-leader-criticizes-barrow-governments-spending","title":{"rendered":"UDP Leader Criticizes Barrow Government’S Spending"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Ousainu Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party, sharply criticized President Adama Barrow\u2019s administration on Saturday, accusing it of wasteful public spending and promising a more development-oriented approach if his party returns to power.<\/b><\/p>\n

Addressing supporters at a political meeting in Niani Kunting, in the Central River Region, Mr. Darboe took aim at the cost of the president\u2019s nationwide tours, arguing that the money could be better spent on sectors that directly benefit ordinary Gambians, particularly farmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe before the government takes D40 million to tour the country, they could have taken D30 million and invested it in something that would benefit the farmers and used the remaining D10 million for the tour,\u201d Mr. Darboe said.<\/p>\n

He contrasted the current spending levels with those of previous administrations, saying that under former President Dawda Kairaba Jawara, the constitutionally mandated \u201cMeet the People Tour\u201d cost less than D2 million, while under Yahya Jammeh it did not exceed D6 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Adama Barrow came starting with D10 million, and ever since it has been increasing until now it is D52 million,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Darboe said a UDP-led government would not spend what he described as \u201chuge\u201d sums on presidential tours. While acknowledging that the Constitution requires the tours, he accused the current administration of using them primarily for political purposes.<\/p>\n

Instead, he said, a UDP government would channel such funds into education, agriculture, and health care. He urged voters to support him in the 2026 presidential election, saying that development would only be possible through collective effort between the government and citizens.<\/p>\n

Mr. Darboe also outlined proposals aimed at youth employment, particularly in coastal communities. He said a UDP administration would invest in aquaculture as a way to curb irregular migration by creating sustainable livelihoods at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will help our youths stay in the country, earn a decent living, and remain with their families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Turning to agriculture, Mr. Darboe pledged to prioritize rice production, arguing that with serious investment and support for farmers, The Gambia could achieve self-sufficiency in rice within three years and eventually export to neighboring countries.<\/p>\n

He said such progress would require what he described as a compassionate government, accusing the current administration of neglecting farmers. He pointed to stagnant groundnut prices, saying they had not changed for three consecutive years.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly a UDP government can do this for you,\u201d he told the crowd. \u201cIt has the ambition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Darboe also criticized recent increases in salaries for senior government officials, saying that while the president, ministers, and deputies had seen their pay rise, farmers continued to struggle with low commodity prices. He claimed that the president now earns about D500,000 per month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe price of basic commodities is the same for everyone,\u201d he said. \u201cBut your earnings and theirs are not the same. They do not care about that. They only care about themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Barrow administration has previously defended its spending and salary adjustments as necessary for governance and national outreach, though officials did not immediately respond to Mr. Darboe\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. Ousainu Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party, sharply criticized President Adama Barrow\u2019s administration on Saturday, accusing it of wasteful public spending and promising a more development-oriented approach if his party returns to power. Addressing supporters at a political meeting in Niani Kunting, in the Central River Region, Mr. Darboe took […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":92020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-92021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nUDP Leader Criticizes Barrow Government'S Spending - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ousainu Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party, sharply criticized President Adama Barrow\u2019s administration ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/udp-leader-criticizes-barrow-governments-spending\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UDP Leader Criticizes Barrow Government'S Spending\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ousainu Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party, sharply criticized President Adama Barrow\u2019s administration ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/udp-leader-criticizes-barrow-governments-spending\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-14T19:09:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-14T19:35:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/sm_1765728192.052595.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1318\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"741\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/udp-leader-criticizes-barrow-governments-spending#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/udp-leader-criticizes-barrow-governments-spending\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"UDP Leader Criticizes Barrow Government’S Spending\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-14T19:09:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-14T19:35:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/udp-leader-criticizes-barrow-governments-spending\"},\"wordCount\":529,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/udp-leader-criticizes-barrow-governments-spending#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/sm_1765728192.052595.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/udp-leader-criticizes-barrow-governments-spending#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/udp-leader-criticizes-barrow-governments-spending\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/udp-leader-criticizes-barrow-governments-spending\",\"name\":\"UDP Leader Criticizes Barrow Government'S Spending - 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