By Kebba A.F. Touray
The National Assembly Member for Foni Jarrol, Kebba Tumanding Sanneh, has said The Gambia cannot achieve sustainable development by relying on borrowing, citing the country’s debt obligations and concerns over public spending and accountability.
Sanneh made the remarks on 12 October 2026 during the National Assembly debate on the 2027 estimates of revenue and expenditure.
He said the national budget depended on three main sources of financing: taxes, grants and borrowing. However, he questioned the reliability of these sources and the country’s ability to meet its budget targets.
“That’s why a budget is just a plan and a guide because even the tax that we budget or that we’re going to depend on is just an estimate,” he told lawmakers.
Sanneh also argued that some grants came with conditions, meaning the government could not always use the funds without restrictions.
He said borrowing had contributed to the country’s growing debt burden and questioned how the government would meet its financial obligations while funding public services.
The Foni Jarrol lawmaker referred to savings identified through the work of the Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC), saying the committee had been able to make savings of D146 million through expenditure cuts.
However, he noted that some government institutions were still requesting additional funds.
He cited the Ministry of Interior as seeking an additional allocation of D482 million, questioning how the government would meet such demands while managing limited resources.
Sanneh also raised concerns about revenue collection, saying the government could not be certain that the taxes projected in the budget would be collected in full or that borrowed funds would be available when needed.
Turning to public audits, he criticised what he described as a lack of accountability over money reported missing or diverted from public institutions.
He said audit exercises had repeatedly raised concerns about substantial sums of public money, but he questioned whether those findings had resulted in action against the people responsible.
“The government is not ready to fight because no one is held accountable and things remain like that,” he said.
Sanneh further argued that people suspected of responsibility for missing public funds continued to move freely while engaging in political activities.
He linked the country’s debt obligations to the government’s ability to improve public sector salaries.
“We can never develop this country through borrowing,” he said. “Look at now, this year, they cannot increase salaries because this is why they cannot increase salaries. It’s because we are paying D16 billion in debt.”
The debate took place as lawmakers considered the government’s proposed revenue and expenditure estimates for 2027.
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