By Fatou Sillah
The Gambia’s Minister of Works, Transport, and Infrastructure, Ebrima Sillah, said the government is delivering on commitments made to voters during the 2021 presidential campaign, pointing to what he described as strong performance across multiple sectors.
Speaking in an interview on the “For the People by the People Show,” Mr. Sillah said the administration had remained focused on implementing the pledges outlined ahead of the election won by President Adama Barrow.
“One of the most amazing things about this country is that all sectors are doing phenomenally well; this is what we promised,” Mr. Sillah said.
Mr. Sillah, a senior member of the governing National People’s Party, also rejected accusations that the party relied on fear or ethnic divisions during the campaign. He said the party instead centered its message on the record and policies of Mr. Barrow.
“NPP campaigned on a very clean slate,” he said. “We went out there and talked to people based on the record of the president, based on what he was doing for the people of this country, and based on the manifesto as clearly spelled out.”
According to Mr. Sillah, the party used a wide range of media materials to communicate its policies and achievements to voters during the campaign period.
“We produced videos, we produced audios, we produced newspaper clips, and everything to tell people what we are coming to do for them, what we have done for them, and what this era will mean for The Gambia,” he said.
Addressing allegations that the party promotes tribal politics, Mr. Sillah said the claim does not reflect the composition of the NPP, which he described as broadly representative of the country’s ethnic groups.
“When you say tribalism, tribalism against whom?” he asked. “In NPP, you have all the tribes — Mandinkas, Wolofs, Jolas, Sereres. NPP is more diverse than any political party in this country.”
He added that speaking to voters in their local languages during political campaigns should not be interpreted as ethnic mobilization.
“When you go to people based on their ethnolinguistic languages, you speak to them in those languages so you can relate to them; that does not mean tribalism,” he said.
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