By: Alieu Ceesay
Brikama Area Council (BAC) Chairman Yankuba Darboe has strongly denied circulating online reports alleging that the council failed to pay staff salaries for December 2025, describing the claims as “lies and misinformation.”
In a statement issued by Darboe late monday, he asserted that BAC has fully paid all staff salaries for every month of 2025, from January through December, without resorting to loans—a departure from what he called a “tradition” of financial struggles in previous years.
“As far as I am aware, BAC is not owing any staff an unpaid salary for 2025,” Darboe declared. “We paid all our salaries for 2025 without incurring any loans just to pay for salaries. We also did not limp this year, like it used to be the tradition at BAC.”
The chairman highlighted the council’s improved financial position, noting that BAC entered 2026 with a surplus exceeding 2 million Dalasis. He attributed this stability to better revenue management, while noting outstanding debts owed to the council.
Darboe pointed out that the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) owes BAC nearly 4 million Dalasis, promised since December 2025 but still unpaid. Additionally, companies such as AREZKi Construction and Global Properties are in arrears for their 2025 operational license fees.
“Thus, for the records, we do not have any salary crisis at BAC,” he emphasized.
The allegations of salary delays surfaced in some online reports amid broader discussions on local government finances in The Gambia. Historically, BAC has faced challenges, including reliance on loans for payroll and revenue-collection issues, as noted in prior audits. However, Darboe’s administration has been credited with reforms, including higher revenue collections in 2025.
Challenging critics, Darboe invited media outlets to compare BAC’s performance with the country’s other eight councils. “If any media house cared to assess our performance in terms of salary payments for 2025, we challenge them to investigate all the other councils to see if BAC was not probably the only council that did not struggle with salary payments of staff in 2025.”
The statement comes as BAC continues efforts to enhance service delivery in the West Coast Region, The Gambia’s most populous area.
