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Claim: Brikama Area Council Chairperson Yankuba Darboe has claimed that the council used to collect from D60 to D80 million annual revenue in the previous years.
Verdict: Misleading. DUBAWA checks indicate that the Brikama Area Council received over D80 million in revenue in the 2020 and 2021 financial years.
Full Text
Yankuba Darboe, the chairperson of the Brikama Area Council, has alleged that the council, under his predecessor, Sheriffo Sonko, never collected more than D80 million in revenue.
He made this statement on Monday, August 4, 2025, at the council while commissioning a new fleet of waste management trucks acquired by the council.
Darboe took charge of the council in 2022 under the ticket of the opposition United Democratic Party after defeating the incumbent candidate, Sheriffo Sonko, in the 2022 Chairperson election.
Brikama Area Council is the country’s largest council, located in the western region.
“This council’s annual revenue collection was between D60 million, D70 million, and D80 million, but I am pleased to announce that we have collected D103 million from January 1 to June 30, 2025,” he stated.
This implies that the council under the previous administration only reached a peak revenue of D80 million.
Darboe attributed this achievement to his proactive leadership in combating corruption and implementing new revenue collection strategies.
His claim has attracted a lot of responses, the majority of which were a chorus of praises.
“This man is proving himself beyond measure …..leadership is by example. Unlike the others who are embezzling and diverting funds for personal gain,” said Alpha Muhammed Jallow.
A screenshot of some of the comments
DUBAWA decided to investigate this claim due to the potential to mislead.
Verification
Our research through various news sources uncovered a 2020-2021 audit report on the Brikama Area Council by The Gambia’s National Audit Office, which indicated that the highest revenue collected was D88 million in 2020. Further investigations also revealed that in 2019 and 2020, the council’s annual revenue was over eighty million dalasis. This 100-page audit report is found here on page 13.
DUBAWA attempted to determine if the council generated as much as D103m in the first six months of the year, but these efforts were unsuccessful.
Conclusion
Based on the available information, the claim that the Brikama Area Council’s annual revenue collection in previous years ranged from D60 to D80 million under Sheriffo Sonko’s leadership is false, as multiple audit reports indicated that the council’s highest revenue collections were D85 million and D88 million in 2020 and 2021 under the previous administration.
