The Barrow-led government has once again demonstrated to Gambians that wastefulness and a disregard for public finance accountability have become its modus operandi. The recent inauguration of the Niumi Hakalan Road on Saturday, followed almost immediately by the president’s return to Banjul and the launch of a so-called D52 million dalasis Nationwide “Meet the Farmers” Tour, is yet another shameful display of poor planning, financial recklessness, and political hypocrisy.
Why the rush to inaugurate a single road only to set out again days later on a costly tour that could have easily included the event? The answer is simple: politics over prudence. Instead of acting with foresight and saving public resources, the president and his team continue to treat national events as personal and party political campaigns—funded, of course, by taxpayers’ money.
It is even more troubling that an advance party had to be deployed as early as Friday, 7th November, with many forced to stay on the ground until the 10th, when the tour officially began. This means that accommodation, fuel, and allowances, all paid for by the state, were needlessly wasted simply because the president refused to coordinate his schedules responsibly. This is not leadership; it is carelessness at the expense of the Gambian people.
Defenders of this government will no doubt try to justify the waste, claiming the president did not want to “mix politics with the tour.” But let’s be honest: these tours have always been political—used as platforms to praise loyalists, attack opponents, and secure votes, not to address the plight of farmers genuinely.
Mr President, Gambians are tired of this pattern of financial indiscipline and political showmanship. The people’s money should be used to improve lives, not to fund photo opportunities and party propaganda. Leadership is not about endless tours and grand ceremonies; it is about responsibility, humility, and respect for the nation’s limited resources.
It is time for President Barrow to put the nation’s interest at heart, stop the waste, and remember that every dalasi squandered on political vanity could have built a classroom, a clinic, improved our electricity, or provided a clean water facility for the people he claims to serve.
The message from the people is clear: enough is enough. How much longer shall we endure this while Gambians go to bed hungry or NAWEC struggles to provide electricity to Gambians?.
By Ensa A B Ceesay.
