By Makutu Manneh
Demba Sabally, the deputy national president of the ruling National People’s Party, said this week that no Gambian government has ever invested public money in the party’s accounts, pushing back against questions about how the party has financed recent gifts of motorbikes and vehicles to its supporters.
Mr. Sabally, who also serves as a government minister, made the remarks in an interview with QTV when asked about the source of the party’s funding.
“We, as party members, raise our own funds. We contribute from our pay to our national account,” he said. “There are also genuine Gambians who want to donate to the party’s cause, and they donate to the party. We and those donors are the primary funders of the National People’s Party.”
Mr. Sabally said the party has not received a single dalasis from the government, adding that ministries, departments, and agencies are barred from purchasing fundraising tickets, gala dinner tables, or anything else tied to political activity. He said no government institution has ever paid for a table at an NPP fundraising event, noting that such transactions could not be processed through the Accountant General’s Office in any case.
He acknowledged that he sometimes buys tickets personally, in his capacity as a minister, and distributes them to ministry staff or other party supporters so they can attend NPP events. But he said this represented private, not public, spending and that no government funds have gone into the party’s accounts.
Mr. Sabally said the NPP’s financial backbone remains its own members and ordinary Gambians who choose to donate voluntarily to support the party’s activities.
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