Alhaji Mamadi Kurang, a chartered accountant and member of the United Democratic Party, has cast doubt on the government’s portrayal of The Gambia’s reported six percent economic growth, describing it as a “growth illusion” that fails to reflect the realities faced by ordinary citizens.
Speaking in an interview with QTV, Mr. Kurang argued that while headline statistics suggest expansion, the benefits are not translating into improved household incomes, secure employment, or food security. “You can have growth, but if you really look behind the numbers, you tend to see something that is not really impressive,” he said.
Kurang did not dispute the official growth rate but questioned whether the gains were reaching enough Gambians to meaningfully improve living standards. He highlighted three areas of concern: persistent food insecurity, uneven distribution of economic activity, and the dominance of foreign ownership in key sectors.
Agriculture, which employs about 60 percent of the workforce, illustrates the challenge. Despite its central role in the economy, many farmers remain underemployed and disconnected from growth in other industries. Meanwhile, sectors such as tourism, telecommunications, and banking often cited as drivers of expansion are heavily reliant on foreign capital. Kurang warned that profits generated in these industries frequently flow abroad rather than circulating within Gambian households.
Tourism, he noted, provides livelihoods for hotel staff, juice sellers, peanut vendors, and craft traders, yet many of these workers have not experienced improvements commensurate with the growth reflected in national statistics.
For Kurang, the more meaningful measure of progress is whether Gambians themselves feel economically better off. He urged policymakers to look beyond GDP figures and ask whether households today enjoy greater purchasing power, more secure employment, and better access to food than they did five years ago
