When the U.S. Embassy in Gambia declined to grant visas to several local officials who were planning to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York, it was met with jubilation in an unexpected quarter: Gambia.
Hundreds of Gambians posted messages of congratulations to the American officials who denied the visa requests after local news reports that two dozen officials had been rejected. They apparently were delighted that the officials would not have the opportunity to go on what they viewed as a vacation at public expense — collecting hefty per diems while posting selfies on social media.
“Thank you to the US Embassy for saving the Gambia from spending millions of dalasi in 25 air tickets, perdiem & other unnecessary expenses,” Madi Jobarteh, a prominent Gambian human rights activist, wrote on Facebook. The dalasi is Gambia’s currency.
International conferences like the General Assembly are regarded with misgiving in many African countries, whose governments often send large delegations at considerable national expense. A list of invitees for the Nigerian delegation that was seen by The New York Times included ministers, permanent secretaries and the chairs of various governmental bodies — potentially hundreds of people.
President Adama Barrow of Gambia has tried several times to restrict government officials from foreign travels to limit spending by his tiny West African country. Such travel can cost millions of dollars every year, an expense widely seen as wasteful and emblematic of corruption in a nation of fewer than 3 million people. Critics say the restrictions are not effective.
The U.S. Embassy in Gambia did not respond to a request for comment. Gambia’s information minister, Ismaila Ceesay, who was granted a visa and is in the United States, said he had no information about the refusal of other visas.
The Times confirmed several of the visa denials for Gambian officials with people close to some of the would-be delegates. It was not immediately clear why the visas were denied. Local news outlets reported that a presidential adviser and the director general of the country’s public utilities regulator were among about 25 people rejected.
Lately, the United States has attracted criticism in Africa for increasingly hostile visa policies toward the continent. Many of the countries included in President Trump’s travel ban list are in Africa.
In March, Gambia was on a “yellow” list of 22 countries given 60 days to clear up perceived deficiencies, with the threat of facing new visa restrictions if they did not comply. Recently, the United States cut the duration of visas for visitors from several African nations, including those from Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.
This time, many Gambians appeared to believe that the United States made the right call.
A nurse in the Gambian capital, Banjul, wrote on Facebook that the visa denial was “the only good move” that Mr. Trump had made since taking office. He said the move had saved the country “millions of dollars.”
Ismail Auwal contributed reporting from Kano, Nigeria.
Ruth Maclean is the West Africa bureau chief for The Times, covering 25 countries including Nigeria, Congo, the countries in the Sahel region as well as Central Africa.
Saikou Jammeh is a reporter and researcher for The Times based in Dakar, Senegal.
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