By Fatou Sillah
Former Trade Minister Boubacarr O. Joof has cautioned that The Gambia risks losing hundreds of potential employment opportunities in Europe after 33 Gambian seasonal workers absconded in Spain.
Speaking during a question-and-answer session at the National Assembly on Wednesday, Joof revealed that out of 39 Gambians deployed to Spain for farm work, only six have returned, while the remaining 33 remain unaccounted for.
“All these opportunities are being squashed by the behavior of 33 Gambians who were properly educated,” Joof lamented.
According to the former minister, the Spanish consulate has given the absconded workers until October 6, 2025, to voluntarily return. Failure to comply, he said, will lead to their permanent exclusion from the program. Their visas and work permits have already been revoked, rendering them irregular migrants in Spain.
Joof further disclosed that 50 workers were shortlisted and interviewed to travel to Spain this September, but their deployment has now been suspended.
“At the moment we are jittery; that is the reality. We have 50 people shortlisted, interviewed, and supposed to leave for Spain this September, but at the moment that batch is hanging; we are not sure what will come out of it,” he told lawmakers.
The situation, he added, also threatens wider labor mobility prospects within the European Union.
“As we speak, we have a request on our desk for 500 workers to go to Poland, but remember, this is the EU. It is a block of countries with 500 extra workers; we are supposed to be traveling to Poland by the end of this month,” he said.
He described the Spanish farm program as highly favorable, noting that employers provided accommodation, transport, washing machines, bicycles, and regular wages, with workers contributing only €20 monthly toward food.
“As far as I know, this was the best and the safest landing that they could have received in a foreign land,” he said.
Joof appealed to the absconded workers to return before the October deadline, stressing that compliance would open pathways to permanent residency in Europe within four years.
“We expect them to reconsider their positions and return before the 6th. Because this is the way that within four years, they’ll be given permanent residence in Europe,” Joof told the Assembly.
On the future of the absconded workers, Joof admitted the decision rests with Spanish and EU immigration authorities. However, he confirmed that the six returnees are already scheduled to resume work in Spain by March 2026.
“I definitely don’t know what will happen to them; that will be an issue for the Spanish and European immigration officials now. But the six that are here have been assured already that come March of 2026, they will be back in Spain to work for the same farmer,” he said. “That has been confirmed by the Spanish authorities because their requirement was when they arrived in the Gambia, they should report to the Embassy of Spain and report that we are back and their passports are stamped again. They are ready for departure in March,” he said.