President Yahya Jammeh has said that his government is funding 98 percent of the African Union Banjul Summit and has condemned assertion made by critics that the hosting of the AU Summit is a waste of resources. The Gambian leader made these remarks at State House on Wednesday while receiving a cheque in the sum of D3,050,100 (three million, fifty thousand and one hundred dalasis) from the private sector delegation as their contributions to the hosting of the AU Summit. The delegation was led by Bai Mattar Drammeh, the president of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).

“The hosting of the AU Summit is a decision taken by the government in the best interest of the Gambian people. AU is a continental body that is supposed to bring all Africans together and lift us out of poverty. So if you think that the hosting of the AU Summit is a waste of money, means you don't love yourself, The Gambia and the African continent. It is the only body responsible for addressing the problems of Africans. The future of Africa is in the hands of the AU,” President Jammeh said.

According to him the summit is a golden opportunity for the private sector to showcase their businesses. “I am gratified to know that every patriotic Gambian and every genuine friend of The Gambia is behind the Gambian people.”

 He added “You have demonstrated your patriotism. The private sector cannot operate when they are at war with the government. My government is not hostile to the private sector,” he stressed. He then urged them to fully participate in the successful hosting of the summit.

 Presenting the cheque to the Gambian leader, on behalf of the private sector, Bai Mattar Drammeh, the president of the GCCI said “as the private sector operators, we are well placed to see beyond the landmark of the political dimension of the AU summit and to appreciate the economic dimension of it both in terms of short- and long-term positive repercussions it is going to have on the Gambian economy. It is therefore a moral obligation on us all to associate ourselves with the continental event and to commit ourselves to making it a success,” he said.

The Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Industry and Employment, Messrs Lamin Kabba Bajo and Alieu Ngum who also spoke at the ceremony thanked the private sector for their gesture, adding that they were not surprised with it.