By Seedy Jobe
ANM Ousainu Darboe, the party leader and secretary general of the opposition United Democratic Party, has pledged to overhaul the country’s civil service if elected in 2026, promising a system of recruitment and promotion based strictly on merit and professional qualifications rather than political connections.
Speaking in a video message posted Wednesday on the party’s official Facebook page, Mr. Darboe said civil service reform would be a central priority of what he described as a single-term agenda. He said the goal would be to restore professionalism and independence within the public sector.
“Gambia had been a country where to be a civil servant was the greatest pride,” he said, arguing that the system once functioned with greater institutional autonomy and respect for technical advice.
Mr. Darboe emphasized that past civil servants had advised their ministers professionally, and their politicians in those days never took civil service advice as political advice.
Mr. Darboe said that in earlier periods of the country’s administration, civil servants were able to advise ministers without political interference, and that their guidance was generally treated as professional rather than partisan input. He added that this tradition had, in his view, helped strengthen governance and had at times drawn international interest in how the system operated.
He argued that a future UDP government would seek to re-establish that model, emphasizing that civil servants should be insulated from political considerations in appointments and promotions. “A competent, apolitical civil service is what this country deserves,” he said, adding that public servants should experience “job satisfaction” rather than pressure tied to political cycles.
Mr. Darboe also said that civil servants today were seeking more than remuneration, arguing that they wanted their professional advice to be respected and implemented where appropriate.
At the same time, he accused the current administration of engaging in politically motivated positioning of civil servants ahead of elections, particularly within key ministries. He suggested that such practices were intended to secure political advantage, though he provided no direct evidence to support the claim.
He specifically referenced the ministries responsible for regional administration and the interior, alleging that personnel decisions within those institutions could influence local governance structures and, in some cases, security operations in rural areas. “We suspect that this scheme is going on right now,” he said.
Despite those allegations, Mr. Darboe sought to reassure civil servants that they would not face retaliation under a UDP government, even if they had previously worked under or been perceived as aligned with the current administration.
“No reprisals will follow,” he said, adding that any future personnel decisions would be guided solely by competence, productivity, and professional conduct rather than political affiliation.
He said marginalization in the civil service would not be tolerated on political grounds. “Marginalisation in the civil service can only be on account of competence,” he said.
Mr. Darboe also appealed to historical memory, urging older Gambians to recall earlier eras of public administration that he said were marked by stronger institutional standards and less political interference.
He called on voters to support a reform agenda that, in his words, would restore pride in public service and strengthen the integrity of state institutions.
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