By Makutu Manneh
At a campaign rally ahead of the Bantanjang Ward councilorship by-election, Almameh Gibba, a member of the National Assembly for Foni Kansala, offered voters a pointed rebuttal to a message he said had long been used to sway communities: that development flows only from those aligned with the central government.
“That statement is false,” Mr. Gibba, who represents Foni Kansala, told residents gathered at the meeting. “You are the government. I am the government.”
His remarks were aimed at countering claims, often leveled during local contests, that opposition-led councils are unable to deliver roads, services, or resources. Mr. Gibba argued that such assertions were misleading and designed to discourage voters from supporting opposition candidates.
Pointing to the Brikama Area Council, which is led by the opposition, Mr. Gibba said development was not the exclusive preserve of the ruling party. “It is the government candidate who would find it difficult to work with an opposition,” he said, “not another opposition.”
The lawmaker urged voters to back Bakary M. Manga in the upcoming by-election, saying Mr. Manga would work closely with Yankuba Darboe, the chairman of Brikama Area Council, to advance development projects in Bantanjang Ward.
Mr. Gibba cited Mr. Darboe’s record as evidence that opposition leadership can mobilize resources. He noted that the council chairman provided 500,000 dalasis to councillors in his first year in office and increased that support to one million dalasis in his second year.
“If you vote for Bakary M. Manga,” Mr. Gibba told the crowd, “you will have this one million to develop your ward.”
The contest in Bantanjang Ward has become a microcosm of a broader political debate in The Gambia, where local elections often test whether voters believe development depends on loyalty to the ruling party—or on the ability of elected officials, regardless of affiliation, to work within the system to deliver results.
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