The culture of workshops and allowances is a significant obstacle to the development of The Gambia. Public officials, including Members of Parliament, have normalized prioritizing personal benefits over meaningful engagement. Invite an MP to a meeting, and the first questions are often: How much is the transport refund? And which hotel is booked? These individuals already receive taxpayers’ generous salaries, transport, and clothing allowances. Yet, they still demand transport refunds and, in some cases, negotiate for higher payments.
Workshops, festivals, and travel opportunities have become the lifeline of many government officials, civil society organizations (CSOs), and even young people. They often serve as avenues to make easy money rather than platforms for meaningful development. This culture is pervasive and cuts across all sectors.
Take the National Youth Conference and Festival (NAYCONF), for instance. Since its inception two decades ago, it has been hard to identify any meaningful policy recommendations or impactful projects implemented due to NAYCONF. Yet, millions of dalasi—taxpayers’ money and bilateral funds intended for development—are spent on this youth festival every two years.
Misplaced Priorities
This year, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Youth Council allocated 250,000 dalasi to every region for NAYCONF. Area councils have donated up to a million dalasi to their youth committees for the event. These funds could have been better utilized to develop youth-friendly infrastructure or skills centers. For example, the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) has access to millions through the Kanifing Environmental Transformation Program (KETP), yet the Buffer Zone remains undeveloped. Meanwhile, Kotu, Bakau, and Manjai youth and community parks are deplorable. This country has no standard multipurpose center available for young people.
The situation is no better in other regions.
Brikama Area Council: Over a year into their administration, they have not constructed any meaningful youth or child-friendly center for young people on the West Coast.
Banjul City Council: Mayor Rohey Lowe failed to deliver youth-friendly infrastructure in her second term. The delayed Banjul Nawettan is a glaring example of misplaced priorities. The GFF Banjul Sports Committee’s rehabilitation of KG5 was a disaster. Yet, the Mayor’s office has not stepped in to rehabilitate other city fields, such as the football field at St. Augustine’s High School.
Mansakonko Area Council: In Kiang and Jarra, taxpayers do not construct any youth-friendly infrastructure beyond the UN-funded hospitality training center.
– Other regions—Basse, Janjanbureh, and Kuntaur—paint the same grim picture.
The Real Needs of Young People
Instead of spending millions on festivals and conferences that yield no tangible results, why can’t government and area councils invest in production centers where young people can acquire practical skills? Such centers could teach trades and crafts that address community needs and contribute to economic growth.
The endless cycle of workshops and conferences has become an unproductive norm, even embraced by UN agencies and other development partners. Projects are initiated but rarely monitored or evaluated. A year or two later, the supposed infrastructure becomes derelict, often becoming a shelter for stray animals.
A Grim Reality for Youth
Despite these conferences, the challenges facing young people in The Gambia remain dire.
– The number of young people risking their lives on the perilous backway journey to Europe continues to rise.
– Drug abuse is rampant, destroying the lives of many young people and tearing communities apart.
– Corruption permeates society like cancer, with even judges—supposedly the bastions of justice—being implicated in corruption scandals.
A Call for Reflection
As a country, we must look at ourselves and reflect on our misplaced priorities. Are we committed to developing our youth, or are we content with the superficial optics of festivals and workshops? The situation will only worsen until we confront this reality honestly and firmly.
Gathering 2,000 young people every two years to spend millions in a few days is not a sustainable path forward. Looking closely, you will see that most of the participants are unemployed. It is time to shift our focus from conferences and festivals to long-term investments in skills development, infrastructure, and policies that genuinely improve the lives of young people in the Gambia.
The future of our country depends on it.
