Banjul Mayor urges stronger legislative focus on local government reform

Banjul Mayor Rohey Malick-Lowe has issued a reflective public commentary calling for deeper legislative seriousness in The Gambia, arguing that past parliamentary majorities missed an important opportunity to reform laws that could have strengthened local governance and democratic development.

In her remarks, the mayor said recent proceedings in the Senegalese parliament had prompted her to reflect on how legislative majorities can be used more effectively. She suggested that Senegal’s lawmakers appear to be balancing reforms that serve both institutional priorities and the wider public interest, describing it as the kind of democratic multitasking that should inspire thoughtful learning across the region.

Turning to The Gambia’s own experience, Malick-Lowe pointed specifically to 2017, when she said there was both the numerical strength and public mandate to undertake major reform of the Local Government Act. According to her, that law — amended more than 50 times — was already in urgent need of coherent and comprehensive review, yet the opportunity to address it meaningfully was not taken.

The mayor stressed that the issue was not a lack of ability among parliamentarians, but rather a shift in priorities. In her view, attention moved more toward benefits for lawmakers themselves than toward structural reforms that would have improved governance at the community level. She cited adjustments to salaries, gratuities, land allocations, and vehicle entitlements, arguing that while such matters are not inherently wrong, they should not have overshadowed more urgent institutional work.

Her criticism was accompanied by a note of recognition for former lawmaker Alagie Jawara, whom she praised for sponsoring a private bill aimed at securing the position of former Chairman Sherifo Sonko. She described that move as principled and said it showed that, even in systems often criticized for self-interest, there are still public figures willing to act on conviction.

Malick-Lowe also recalled earlier efforts by Hon. Fatoumatta Njie to increase the number of women in parliament, describing that push as another reform effort that failed to gain traction despite favorable political conditions at the time.

The broader thrust of the mayor’s statement was a warning against wasted mandates. Her argument suggests that when elected bodies fail to act on major reform opportunities while they have both the numbers and legitimacy to do so, the consequences can return later in the form of institutional weakness, political blame, and avoidable national frustration.

She reinforced that point with a Wolof proverb: “What you failed to do yesterday will return to confront you tomorrow.”

Beyond its criticism, the statement carries a larger democratic lesson. Strong parliamentary majorities are not only moments of political advantage; they are also moments of responsibility. How they are used can shape whether a country moves toward stronger institutions or toward recurring cycles of postponed reform.

In that sense, the mayor’s reflection is not only about the past. It is also a call for present and future lawmakers to ensure that legislative power is used not merely for political comfort, but for durable public value.