A direct exchange unfolded at The Gambia's National Assembly as Majority Leader Billay G. Tunkara accused fellow lawmakers of distorting facts and undermining the country's image, prompting a pointed rebuttal from Wulli East representative Suwaibou Touray, who condemned what he described as "dishonest" debate tactics.
Opening his intervention, Tunkara urged colleagues to "rely on facts" and avoid "playing to the gallery," warning against narratives that, in his view, misrepresent the country's security situation. He said, "It is very important if you are in this sacred chamber, you make sure that what you are giving out to the public is accurate and true, nothing but the truth. But it is rather misleading and disturbing [that] members of parliament take the floor of this chamber trying to play with the gallery. It is really unfortunate," he said.
He added: "When the President, in his remark, said that the Gambia has been ranked first in West Africa and the fourth in Africa in terms of' 'safetyness'. People are here attributing that or comparing that with the recent development in Cassamance. It is a misrepresentation of the facts [because] you cannot attribute what is going on in Cassamance. You are not being honest with yourself. You cannot fool everybody. We have minds. We have eyes to listen. What is going on in the border villages of Foni does not have a bearing to say that Gambia is not safe."
He went on to question how patriotic they are.
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"You are speaking here, and the whole world is watching you, and you are telling them my country is not safe. Are you a good citizen?" he asked.
"When I listen to the member of Foni Kansala saying bullets are flying over Foni, therefore we are not safe anymore. Are you a good ambassador of your country? Are you a good ambassador of the community you come from?"
He proceeded to criticise the member for Kiang West. He expressed disappointment in the Kiang representation, saying the people there are now enjoying electricity and roads thanks to the government.
"I have listened carefully when members of parliament stand here [and say] that road construction and electricity is not all," he said.
Tunkara added, "If you are truly representing the people of Kiang West in this chamber, you are telling me the road construction does not transform the lives and livelihood of your people. It is two things; it is either you do not go there to see the impact on those poor men and women plying the road and doing business from one end to the end. You stand here and tell us that the road construction does not impact your people. Do you really understand human development in terms of the GDP?"
The majority leader reiterated that since the Gambia gained independence until this regime came to power, Kiang never benefited from electricity and roads.
He said the lawmakers made a misleading statement, saying the government is not committed to fighting corruption. He pointed out that the Anti-Corruption Bill was brought to the National Assembly by the government he is criticizing and when it was passed, the President assented to it. Furthermore, the Government also shortlisted and nominated candidates and brought the names to parliament for approval, who were approved.
"You are playing politics, as the government is still not committed. It is rather unfortunate," he said.
He said some of the lawmakers spent time talking about issues outside the SONA address as if they had nothing to say about the content. He directed his debate at the member for Brikama North, who raised the issue of the lack of appointment of a Paramount Chief.
"You haven't seen anything good in this book [the SONA booklet containing the statement of the President], rather than talking about [other issues to] drift the minds of the people. You have nothing to say about this book, but talk about the appointment of the Paramount Chief. Have you not seen the economic advancement that you are enjoying today as a member of parliament?"
He expressed disappointment in the Minority Leader, who, he said, failed to discuss issues of economic advancement and progress that the current government brought us.
"President Adama Barrow is a master in rapid development. He has transformed this country."
"If this country is going astray, no development will pump in their money here."
But Touray, who also serves as Secretary General of the PDOIS, pushed back strongly, accusing the Majority Leader of constructing arguments not raised by his colleagues.
"I have not heard anyone say road building is not beneficial," Touray said. "People are creating statements and then arguing against them. That is a very dishonest way of debate."
Turning to the broader purpose of the SONA, Touray said the address should critically assess government performance while outlining policies to tackle pressing socio-economic challenges. He warned that global developments, including conflict in the Middle East, could have serious repercussions for The Gambia, particularly through rising fuel and commodity prices.
He began his address directed at the Majority Leader.
"I have not heard anyone say road building is not beneficiary. I have not heard anybody say that. I don't know where that information comes from," he submitted in response to the Majority Leader.
He said what he observed was that "people are coming up with arguments and then make statements of their own and argue against the statement and ascribe it to somebody else. That is a very dishonest way of debate."
He said the SONA is meant to review achievements, outline the policy agenda of the government as well as address the economic and social issues affecting that are confronting the people today.
He said there is an ongoing war in the Middle East, which might impact the world, and The Gambia will not be left out. He called on the government to come up with measures as a contingency to minimise the impact because it is a "crisis of its own" which is affecting the prices of fuel and goods globally.
"I believe the government should keep that in mind and take contingency measures from now so that we will be able to address the issue before it impacts," Touray said. "This might be a bigger crisis if the war in the Middle East does not go on and on."
He said the remittance was $34 million, which is more than our national budget. He added that the government needs to inject the remittances in a more proactive way so that the government and the people bringing the remittances would benefit. He stated that there are many ways of making the remittances beneficial to both the people in the Diaspora and the government. He explained that remittances have helped many countries, including Senegal. He stated that the increase in the GDP is due to the remittances, warning that "we should not joke with the remittances."
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On the cost of living, he said the government should ensure that they monitor both the retailers and importers to stabilise the prices.
"You cannot allow people to bring things and sell them anyhow by calling it a liberalised economy. That would not help us in any way," he said.
He said the Minister of Works should provide details of the source of funding for some of the roads that are not captured in the budget and also not in the SONA. He cited one example of a road being constructed covering from Sutukoba to Wellingara to Chamoi.
He proposed that the government establish a unit at the Ministry of Finance to monitor the state-owned enterprises to ensure they pay dividends to the government and also deliver their core mandates.
"If the SOEs really pay dividends to the government in the way they should pay, our budget will boost, and they will be able to carry out so many projects," he said.
"We should know that it is the government's responsibility to produce wealth and to be able to make people's lives better. If they cannot give jobs to people, take care of the disables and take care of things, we will blame them. We want change and not cosmetic change."
He said the government is claiming that they built roads and other infrastructure.
"You were given five hundred billion dalasis from 2017 to date, and you are saying I built roads here and there. You are counting your fingers. That is not progress. We should look for progress so that we do not play with our people."
