By Fatou Sillah
Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Seedy Keita expressed confidence this week that President Adama Barrow will secure re-election in 2026, arguing that the president’s record of governance has earned him broad public trust.
Speaking in an interview with West Coast Radio, Mr. Keita said the outcome of next year’s vote would hinge less on the recently tabled national budget and more on Gambians’ assessment of Mr. Barrow’s performance since taking office.
“What I am saying is the president is not only going to win on the basis of this budget, but the president is going to win in the confidence the Gambians have in him over his track record of delivery,” Keita said.
Mr. Keita cited what he described as significant achievements under the Barrow administration, including expanded electricity coverage, subsidized health services, agricultural support programs, and reduced travel times due to new road infrastructure.
Despite the political stakes of an election year, the minister said the 2026 budget reflects what he called “fiscal discipline,” noting that it projects the lowest deficit the country has recorded in more than a decade.
“In fact, that’s a reduction of the deficit. Even though critics have sought to put that in your mind, it is not there; the numbers are out there. It is the lowest deficit in 10 years. In an election year, nobody would have expected that,” he said.
He added that the administration’s accomplishments extended beyond budgetary matters, highlighting broader gains in economic growth and social development that he said have reinforced public confidence.
“If we had only a latitude of a deficit of 5%, every wish for him as president of the republic would be fulfilled. Because we would be on a borrowing spree, do what people think we’re going to do, but I think the president is not only going to win on the basis of the budget; I think this budget is just a dot on the successes of the president,” he said.
Mr. Keita also defended the government’s handling of civil service wages, noting that salaries have risen by 110 percent over the past nine years. He argued that the country’s growing debt burden was driven primarily by investment projects rather than recurrent spending.
“The increase in the debt is not predicated on the salary increase. Most of the debt has gone into investment in the form of expansion,” he said.