By Seedy Jobe
A new national opinion survey by the Center for Policy, Research, and Strategic Studies (CepRass) paints a largely critical picture of public sentiment toward the government’s engagement with the Gambian diaspora while also revealing significant concern over the issuance of national identity cards abroad.
The findings, part of CepRass’s second series, “What Gambians Are Saying About the Country’s Direction,” indicate that a majority of respondents view the government’s support for the diaspora as inadequate. At the same time, nearly seven in ten expressed fears that issuing national ID cards outside the country could increase the risk of such documents being obtained by non-citizens.
According to the report, public perception of diaspora engagement is “predominantly negative and characterized by considerable uncertainty.” Only 3 percent of respondents rated the government’s support as “very well,” while 16 percent said “fairly well,” bringing the total positive rating to 19 percent.
In contrast, 18 percent described the government’s performance as “fairly bad” and 34 percent as “very bad,” resulting in a combined negative rating of 52 percent. An additional 22 percent said they “do not know,” a response CepRass attributed to limited awareness or engagement with diaspora-related policies.
“Overall, the findings indicate that diaspora engagement is perceived as a weak area of government performance,” the report stated, noting the economic importance of remittances and diaspora investment. “This represents a critical policy gap.”
Regional disparities were pronounced. Kuntaur recorded the most favorable assessments, with 47 percent of respondents rating diaspora support positively, followed by Basse at 37 percent. Brikama emerged as the most critical region, where 61 percent rated the government’s performance poorly, including 43 percent who described it as “very bad.” Kerewan also showed strong dissatisfaction, with 57 percent expressing negative views. In Banjul, uncertainty was highest, with 37 percent of respondents indicating they did not know how to assess the government’s performance.
Gender differences were relatively modest but notable. Nineteen percent of men rated diaspora support positively, compared to 18 percent of women. However, 55 percent of men expressed negative views, compared to 49 percent of women. Women were more likely to report uncertainty, at 25 percent versus 19 percent for men, suggesting lower levels of engagement or access to information on diaspora-related issues.
The survey also examined public perceptions of the government’s policy of issuing national identity cards abroad, focusing specifically on perceived risks rather than service delivery. Respondents were asked whether they agreed that issuing ID cards overseas increases the likelihood of non-Gambians obtaining them.
Nationwide, 36 percent said they “strongly agree” and 33 percent “agree,” amounting to 69 percent expressing concern. By comparison, 15 percent disagreed and 7 percent strongly disagreed, while 3 percent remained neutral and 5 percent said they did not know.
CepRass emphasized that the findings reflect “strong public concern about the integrity of the process rather than approval of the practice,” underscoring broader anxieties about identity management and national security safeguards.
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