Essa Faal Promises $50 Million a Year for Youth, Casting Investment as Antidote to Irregular Migration

ESsa Mbye Faal, APP- Sobeyaa Party Leader

By Fatou Sillah

Essa Mbye Faal, the leader of the opposition APP Sobeya party, says he would commit at least $50 million annually to youth development if elected president, arguing that large-scale investment in skills, jobs, and civic values is the only durable way to curb irregular migration from The Gambia.

In an interview with West Coast Radio, Mr. Faal said young Gambians continue to risk dangerous journeys abroad because the opportunities they seek—employment, skills training, and economic security—are more readily available in Europe than at home.

“Young people are leaving because what they are looking for is not here,” he said. “If they want Gambian youth to remain in the country, they should do what the Gambian youth are looking for abroad.”

Mr. Faal said an APP Sobeya-led government would dramatically expand technical and vocational education and training, or TVET, describing current efforts as insufficient in scale. The proposed $50 million annual investment, he said, would transform skills training into a nationwide program aligned with labor market needs.

“We will invest a massive 50 million dollars on Gambian youths every year,” he said. “You see this TVET education? They are doing it on a minor scale, but we are going to do it on a massive scale.”

Beyond skills training, Mr. Faal outlined plans for a compulsory national youth service scheme, also to be funded at $50 million annually, aimed at instilling discipline, civic responsibility, and patriotism alongside vocational skills.

“And we are going to do a compulsory national youth service scheme that we will put 50 million dollars into annually. The first objective is to change the mindset and orientation of Gambian youth and teach them patriotism so after that they will not allow anybody to steal their money and spoil the country,” he said.

Mr. Faal also said his party would seek to align Gambian training programs with international standards, enabling young people to access legal employment opportunities abroad. Such an approach, he argued, would reduce irregular migration while allowing workers to travel and return safely, sending remittances home.

“If we have a program that the standard is international and enhances the quality so that the Gambian skilled worker is comparable in skill level to those in Europe, they will take them there so that they will go the front way and be going in and out and making good money,” he said.

Framing youth investment as both an economic and moral imperative, Mr. Faal said the future of the country depends on creating opportunities at home that rival those abroad—and on preparing young Gambians to defend public resources and democratic values.