The Gambia at 60: A Nation in Crisis: A Week in Review: Part III: A Nation in Crisis
By :Ndey Jobarteh
🇬🇲 60 years after independence, The Gambia remains trapped in a cycle of failure. Corruption, mismanagement, and neglect have deepened suffering, leaving Gambians without basic services, economic security, or hope for the future.
Electricity, Water, and Infrastructure
Basic utilities remain unreliable luxuries. Frequent power cuts and water shortages leave communities in darkness and without clean water for weeks. With the government failing to act, citizens are forced to fix roads, dig trenches, and install utilities themselves.
A Failing Healthcare System
Hospitals have become “death traps” due to a severe lack of essential medications, outdated equipment, and poor management. Patients are dying, not from lack of expertise, but from the government’s failure to invest in healthcare.
Rising Poverty and Inequality
The cost of living is soaring, while unemployment, especially among youth, fuels desperation, crime, and migration.Meanwhile, government spending prioritizes luxury for elites while ordinary Gambians struggle to survive.
Rampant Corruption
Under Barrow, corruption has become the norm. Audit reports expose stolen public funds, land grabbing, and shady deals like the Africa 50 and Albayrak Ports contracts, favoring foreign interests over Gambians.
State Tribalism: Dividing the Nation
Instead of uniting Gambians, Barrow’s administration has weaponized tribalism to maintain power. Political appointments and opportunities now depend on loyalty, not merit, fueling division and resentment.
State Sanctioned Poverty
The system is designed to keep Gambians struggling, with no jobs, no support, and no future, while those in power enrich themselves through foreign deals and political patronage.
In a nutshell with inadequate facilities especially power development is at a stranglehold . Without power development especially sustainable development becomes a mirage. Access to clean water 60 years post independence should not be a topic on the table.
Without adequate primary health care those who can pay opt out of the inadequate provision by government including the president , first family, ministers and top civil servants. Leaving the masses at the mercy of a failed health care system .
Poverty alievation for this government is nothing but a phrase. Development is linked to political patronage . The enabling environment for job creation by businesses , upskilling and levelling up is something we can only dream of. With The NPP threatening citizens who do not support their party that they risk being black listed for development. Food insecurity is rife , what is the agriculture ministry doing?
Real patriots don’t divide their people. As a people , country and continent we are marginalised and instead of gravitating towards what binds us together to form one strong unit due to our size in comparison to our neighbours and potential unrest’s in our west African corridor we are busy dividing ourselves along tribal lines . Instead of celebrating our cultural differences and using it to further enrich our lives we our government is weaponising tribalism hoping to exploit our differences inorder to continue to rule by division and promoting a false narrative.
What a shame.
This old lady at 60 called independent Gambia will still have to continue to toil.
