The Gambia has emerged from a very difficult economic situation and a political crisis created by a dictator’s refusal of democratic process. The economy was stalled with no IMF program, failed rainy season and a completely flopped tourist season.
Over the period, 2017-2019, when UDP was part of the Coalition government, the party’s representatives served in various positions in government, ministries of foreign Affairs, Lands and Regional Integration, Finance and Economic Affairs and then the Vice President, Agriculture and Trade, Industry, Employment and Regional Integration. Gambians will look back and have no regret in having UDP in government affairs seeing their track record whilst in Government.
Just to remind you a few of its achievements for The Gambia, our homeland, let me list a few impactful developmental and transformative efforts of the UDP members in Government:
v Bringing back Gambia from isolation into the community of nations –rejoining the Commonwealth, the ICC, bringing back the IMF programme after years of disengagement, qualifying Gambia for the Threshold Programme of the Millennium Challenge Corporation and opening the way for higher Gambia-US development cooperation, leading the preparation and marketing of the NDP 2018-2021, successfully worked on the Gambia Development Donors Conference in May 2018 and secured pledges of $1.7 billion above all our expectations, negotiated the road map for the electricity modernization of the country with our partners, including the electricity lines from Senegal and the Hydro-power from Guinea through Soma in LRR, Solar power for all schools and health centres and upgrading the transmission and distribution lines.
We and all Gambians are grateful for every single butut from the launching of this party to this day and we look forward to the continued support to the party to sustain the party’s goal of deepening and maintaining democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the country and to usher in a transformative economic development giving rise to prosperity for all citizens. In here, may I acknowledge the invaluable support and financial contribution of the diaspora to the UDP from its inception to date. I, personally can attest to this having directly received funds from the diaspora for financing various party activities. As National Treasurer and on behalf of our UDP party leader and Secretary General, the national executive and all members of the party, I thank the diaspora and pray that we continue to work together for the interest of the country and not for the interest of individuals.
I also want to acknowledge here, every individual’s contribution in cash or kind to the party, whether one butut or one million. Your one butut contribution is worth more than a billion dalasis value today, having contributed to the freedom and establishment of democracy in The Gambia and also .
Financial Highlights
The party raised funds from 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2019, a total of D5,202,624. This comprises of Contributions of D3,939,382, Fund Raising programmes of D563,736 and Donations of D698,506.
The Contributions figure of D3.9 million comprises of D668,000 NAMs contribution, D3,266,882 contribution from the Diaspora and D4,500 from executive members. It can be clearly seen that Diaspora contribution amounts to 62.80% of total party income for 2019. This is a clear manifestation that the hearts and minds of the UDP family in the diaspora are with us and their unflinching desire to make Gambia a better home to come back to and for their families to live and work and prosper in.
Lets give the Diaspora a round of applause for being the strong and dedicated patriots that love their country, despite some people saying that they sponsored the 2016 Presidential Election and the Diaspora did not contribute anything in it. As a witness working in the UDP National Treasury since 1996 to date, and I am sure all those who worked with the Treasury or the Executive, know the tremendous contribution in campaign materials and in funds for the UDP to establish democracy, peace, progress and justice in The Gambia that we can all smile at. And not smile only at the coast bit in the agricultural fields all around the country from Banjul, KMC, Kombos, Fonis, Badibus, Kiangs, Jarras, Saloums, Niaminas, Nianis, Fulladous, Jimmaras, Samis, Sandus, Tumanas and Wulis.
However, significantly absent from these income figures are the huge and invaluable support to the party in hiring of vehicles, funding regional, constituency and ward programmes. This if quantified, will amount to millions of dalasis, which is an indication of the love of Gambians for their country and the unquenched thirst for democracy, rule of law, end to corruption, lack of transparency in public procurement of large Government projects, abuse of office, discrimination in the civil service and state-owned enterprises, use of tax payers’ funds to finance unproven and unfit personal political campaign officials in the false pretense that they are advisers to The Gambian Presidency for sectors they have scarcely any semblance of knowledge to move this country forward.
UDP party members, well-wishers and all fellow Gambians, lets support the party for The Gambians. Every butut contributed to the party, every party membership card purchased, you be rest assured that it is for the interest of The Gambia, and the UDP is:
*the party for the development of the Gambia,
*the party for establishment of true democracy, human rights, rule of law, and
*the party that will ensure that the new revised Constitution that reflect these values is passed through the National Assembly and Gambians have the opportunity to vote on it as a charter that will govern their country.
*the party for the effective and dedicated transformation of the socio-economic tragedies of the last regime and continuing in the later part of this current Barrow Regime since the arrival of NPP (National Poverty Programme).
*the party that will ensure that beneficial Civil Service Sector Reform that will manage and execute with effectiveness and efficiency the Government’s development agenda and not individual’s personal self-agrandisement agenda.
*the party that will ensure that Security Sector Reforms are carried out in the interest of The Gambia as a nation that will enable us to meet the security requirements of the country and ensure the total respect for the rule of law and the unshakable observance of the human rights of the citizens.
Fellow delegates, our party spent D4,511,634 in operations and programmes during the year 2019. Administrative Costs for the year amounted to D1,687,163; Campaign and Organising Costs amounted to D1,659,971 and Political Rallies amounted to D1,164,500.
Campaign and Organising Costs expenditure includes regional tours of D381,707, campaign materials of D68,400, victim support of D133,705, support to student wing of D40,000 and party leaders welcoming from his diaspora tour of D642,600.
The party accumulated assets of D7,051,235 of which motor vehicles and motor cycles amount to D5,467,235; furniture and equipment for the party head office and bureaus amount to D1,584,000. We acknowledge the invaluable assistance of all in sponsoring the party to achieve its goals for the Gambia.
These party activities create awareness on the party’s programmes, development agenda for the Gambia with a UDP Government and also importantly to dispel the false promises, misleading information for political self-agrandisement to our beloved citizens.
Personally, I wish you all a fruitful UDP Congress.
Amadou Sanneh
National Treasurer
United Democratic Party
18th -20th December 2020