UDP Youth President Says Government Has Fallen Short on Jobs, Skills Training and Youth Financing

By Seedy Jobe

Hagi Suwaneh, the national youth president of the opposition United Democratic Party, has criticized the government’s record on youth employment and skills development, arguing that it has largely maintained existing programs without addressing the obstacles that prevent young Gambians from turning training into sustainable livelihoods.

Speaking on QTV, Mr. Suwaneh said access to financing and the quality of technical education remain among the biggest challenges confronting young people.

“They only maintain what they have already found there,” he said.

Mr. Suwaneh pointed to the transformation of the Gambia Technical Training Institute into the University of Applied Science, Engineering, and Technology, or USET, arguing that the change has not been accompanied by sufficient improvements in employment prospects for graduates.

He also questioned the government’s emphasis on expanding technical and vocational training centers without, in his view, paying enough attention to the quality of instruction, curriculum, and employment outcomes.

Training in trades such as carpentry, plumbing, and auto mechanics has existed in The Gambia since the era of former President Dawda Jawara, Mr. Suwaneh said. The more persistent problem, he argued, comes after graduation, when many young people lack the money needed to buy equipment, establish workshops, or start businesses.

“Young people need to have that confidence that after TVET, I can access funding,” he said.

Mr. Suwaneh said a UDP government would seek legislation establishing a youth and women’s empowerment financing scheme that would provide low-interest loans to people seeking to start businesses after completing vocational or technical training.

He said the proposal would not necessarily involve creating a new bank. Instead, the government could establish a financing entity or work with existing financial institutions to provide capital alongside business mentorship.

The objective, he said, would be to create a clearer path from training to employment or entrepreneurship.

Mr. Suwaneh also called for greater attention to the digital economy, identifying the cost of mobile internet as an impediment to young Gambians seeking to earn money online. He compared data costs in The Gambia with those in countries such as Senegal and Nigeria, arguing that lower tariffs could expand opportunities for digital entrepreneurship and content creation.

Platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok, he said, should become tools through which young people can generate income rather than primarily arenas for political arguments.

Asked how the UDP’s proposals differed from those of President Adama Barrow’s National People’s Party government, Mr. Suwaneh said the distinction would lie largely in implementation.

He cited the digital economy and agricultural mechanization as areas in which he said the UDP would pursue a different approach. He also referred to €50 million in French agricultural support that he said was secured during the period when the UDP was part of the coalition government that came to power in 2017.

Mr. Suwaneh said political participation should ultimately offer young Gambians more than a role at rallies and campaign events.

Young people, he said, should not simply be expected to “dance and clap” for politicians but should be given the skills, financing and opportunities necessary to build sustainable livelihoods.