Dr Ceesay Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services
By Fatou Sillah
The Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, has rejected claims that public funds are being used to finance the National People’s Party’s (NPP) D50 million Success Women Enterprise Fund, insisting that the initiative is privately raised and managed by the party.
Speaking in an interview with West Coast Radio, Dr. Ceesay said the fund is an internal party initiative aimed at supporting women members of the NPP and does not involve state resources.
“The NPP is not using state funds. Let anybody bring me proof,” Dr. Ceesay said. “You cannot even use it the way our public finances are, you cannot do it. It is not possible, our public finances today, the reforms we have done nobody can use state funds for private ends.”
He added that political parties are entitled to establish welfare or empowerment schemes for their members, noting that similar initiatives exist across the political landscape.
Dr. Ceesay cited the United Democratic Party (UDP) as an example, referencing scholarship programmes reportedly offered to some of its members abroad.
“If UDP today says that we are going to have a scheme, an initiative to support UDP women, who has the right to say something like that? I just saw recently that they gave scholarships to UDP militants to study in Finland,” He Said.
Addressing criticism surrounding the NPP initiative, the minister said such reactions were politically motivated and not unusual in a competitive political environment.
“What is wrong with that? If it were done by other political parties nobody would say anything about it. NPP is a political party as long as government funds are not used, taxpayers’ money is not used, it is the NPP raising money to support their women,” He Said.
Dr. Ceesay also spoke on concerns about transparency in political party financing, noting that Gambian law does not currently require political parties to disclose their sources of funding.
“There is no law which requires political parties to tell us where they get their funds from, If that law is available yes. What is important is that the NPP as a political party has facilitated its women to benefit from a scheme that is going to benefit their supporters. Who has anything to say about that,” He Said.
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