A wave of unexpected joy swept across Gambia recently when the U.S. Embassy decided to deny visas to several government officials. These officials had been planning to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York, but their thwarted travel plans were met with public celebration rather than dismay.
Reports that around two dozen officials were denied entry sparked hundreds of congratulatory messages from Gambians directed at the American officials responsible. Citizens expressed clear delight that these government representatives would miss out on what they frequently perceive as taxpayer-funded ‘vacations,’ complete with generous daily allowances and social media updates from abroad.
“Thank you to the US Embassy for saving the Gambia from spending millions of dalasi in 25 air tickets, per diem & other unnecessary expenses,” Madi Jobarteh, a well-known Gambian human rights activist, publicly stated. The dalasi, of course, is Gambia’s national currency.
Across many African nations, major international gatherings such as the General Assembly are often viewed with skepticism. Governments frequently dispatch large delegations, incurring substantial costs. For instance, a list of attendees for the Nigerian delegation, reviewed by The New York Times, included numerous ministers, permanent secretaries, and heads of various government entities, potentially totaling hundreds of individuals.
Gambia’s President, Adama Barrow, has made multiple attempts to curb foreign travel by government officials in an effort to control spending within the small West African nation. These trips can amount to millions of dollars annually, a cost widely condemned as wasteful and indicative of corruption in a country with a population of under three million. Critics, however, argue that these restrictions haven’t been truly effective.
The U.S. Embassy in Gambia remained silent when asked for comment. Meanwhile, Gambia’s information minister, Ismaila Ceesay, who successfully obtained a visa and is currently in the United States, stated he had no knowledge regarding the denial of other officials’ visas.
Sources close to several potential delegates confirmed to The New York Times that a number of Gambian officials had indeed been denied visas. The specific reasons for these denials were not immediately clear, though local media reported that approximately 25 individuals, including a presidential adviser and the director general of the country’s public utilities regulator, were among those rejected.
Recently, U.S. visa policies affecting African nations have drawn considerable criticism, with many perceiving them as increasingly hostile. A significant number of countries previously on President Trump’s travel ban list were African.
Just this past March, Gambia found itself on a ‘yellow’ list, alongside 21 other countries, with a 60-day ultimatum to address perceived shortcomings or face new visa restrictions. Furthermore, the U.S. recently shortened the validity period of visas for visitors from several African countries, including Nigeria, the continent’s most populous nation.
However, in this particular instance, a widespread sentiment among Gambians was that the United States had made the correct decision.
One nurse in Banjul, Gambia’s capital, posted on Facebook that the visa denial was ‘the only good move’ President Trump had made during his presidency, claiming it had saved the country ‘millions of dollars.’