By: Momodou S Gagigo
Prince Ebrima Sanyang, leader of the newly established Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), says widespread frustration over the high cost of living, unemployment, poverty, and underdevelopment drove him and like-minded Gambians into politics.
Speaking on The Final Take with MK, hosted by Alkamba Times Editor Sainey MK Marenah, Sanyang said the EFF was formed in August 2026 in response to mounting economic hardship affecting households nationwide. The party, he explained, was founded on an ideological basis to contribute to The Gambia’s democratic process and advance a more sustainable and inclusive path to socio-economic development.
“We came together; we established a party purely coming from an ideological standpoint,” Sanyang said, describing the EFF as a movement that has now been launched and is moving forward.
Sanyang, whose professional background spans development economics, structured financing and engagements with multilateral institutions and sovereign governments, said the decision followed roughly three decades of work in the country’s socio-economic development. He cited experience in infrastructure, energy and aviation, but concluded that contributing from outside formal politics was no longer sufficient.
“We felt that our participation in complementing the government wasn’t enough. We had to have a larger stake in the affairs of the country to be able to chart a way forward,” he said.
He pointed to the daily struggles of ordinary Gambians, particularly unemployment and the absence of sustainable household income, as central concerns. He also highlighted continued irregular migration through dangerous routes as evidence of lost hope.
“People have lost hope, because where there is hope, there is suddenly going to be employment, and where there is employment, there should be sustainable income,” Sanyang said.
He argued that household economic difficulties should not be reduced to partisan debates and that leaders have a responsibility to address citizens’ basic needs. Many families, he noted, can no longer afford the traditional three meals a day.
“Nowadays, if you are lucky to have a lunch and a dinner and a breakfast, you will be from a very lucky family,” he said, framing the situation as a reflection of prolonged hardship. He added that the government has a duty to fulfill its social contract with citizens.
Sanyang said his approach to development has never rested on promises alone. “My position has always been that it has never been premised on promises. It has always been deliver first, and the Gambian see it, and we move forward,” he said. The EFF, he maintained, seeks a paradigm shift toward sustainable and inclusive growth.
He described the public response as encouraging, saying many ordinary Gambians share the frustrations that motivated the party’s formation. “The reaction of the population, obviously, is self-manifested. The manifestation is that we share the same frustration,” he said. Challenges, he added, cannot be solved by “sugarcoating” them; leadership must confront realities and pursue practical solutions.
Sanyang announced that the EFF is scheduled to submit its nomination credentials to the Independent Electoral Commission on 11 November 2026 between 2:30 pm and 3:30 pm. The party’s lawyer and agent, Barrister Farba Kari Jango, will handle the registration process.
