LocationsBy Martin Namasaka
The Quiet Work of Institutions: Sainey Ceesay on Trust, Reform and Accountability
July 27, 2026
When I met Sainey Ceesay, I expected a conversation about governance. Instead, the discussion quickly became something deeper: how nations are built through institutions that earn people's trust. There is a conviction in the way Sainey speaks about governance. For him, it is not simply a profession or a portfolio of programmes, but a lifelong commitment to building institutions that uphold democracy, accountability and lasting peace. From the dusty streets of Kandahar in Afghanistan to villages across The Gambia, his journey has been shaped by experiences that deepened his belief that strong institutions are the bedrock of a stable and prosperous society.
Today, as UNDP’s Governance Programme Specialist in The Gambia, Sainey leads some of the organization’s most significant governance initiatives, spanning security sector reform, transitional justice, electoral support, public accountability and local governance. His work places him at the heart of The Gambia’s democratic journey, supporting reforms that strengthen public institutions, expand civic participation and reinforce trust between citizens and the state. In this interview, he reflects on the defining moments that transformed his career from chartered accountant to governance leader, the lessons he has learned along the way, and his hopes for The Gambia’s future.
Every career has a defining moment. Looking back, was there an experience, a person, or even a single conversation that convinced you your life's work would be helping buildstronger democratic institutions and more accountable governance?
For almost half of my professional life, I lived in the world of numbers. I trained and worked as a chartered accountant, managing public finances, teaching accounting at home and abroad, and finding comfort in the structure and precision that numbers bring. I genuinely loved that work.
But over time, I began to ask different questions. Who benefits when public systems function well? Who carries the cost when they fail? I found myself increasingly interested in the systems behind the numbers rather than the numbers themselves.
That curiosity led me to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management at the University of London. It changed how I saw the world. I came to understand governance not as policies written on paper, but as something people experience every day. Good governance determines whether a child can go to school safely, whether a woman can seek justice without fear, and whether families trust the institutions meant to serve them.
The real turning point came when I joined UNDP in Afghanistan.
I was entrusted with managing the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA), a multi-million-dollar, multi-partner trust fund supporting payroll administration for more than 150,000 Afghan National Police officers and 7,700 prison personnel. It was demanding work in an extremely complex environment, where systems, security and public service intersected under constant pressure.
That experience, along with my later role as Acting Head of the Governance Cluster, gave me the confidence to fully embrace governance as a lifelong career.
Yet it was not the scale of the programme that changed me most. It was a conversation in Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan.
I was standing with a senior police officer when he said quietly:
“We want to serve our people, but the system around us is broken.”
Those words have never left me.
In that moment, I realised institutions are what stand between people and despair. When they fail, ordinary people carry the burden. When they work, they create safety, dignity and hope.
That was the moment I knew this was the work I wanted to dedicate my life to, not because institutions matter for their own sake, but because people do.
You lead some of UNDP's most significant governance initiatives, from security sector reform and transitional justice to public accountability and elections. Yet behind every programme is a human story. Can you share an encounter with an ordinary Gambian that has stayed with you and changed the way you think about this work?
One conversation I often return to happened during a monitoring visit to the Essau Model Police Station, supported under our Access to Justice project.
After touring the facility, we sat with members of the community. Among them was a woman, Fatou Takko Sonko.
Looking at the new station, she said:
“This police station has come to help the women. It will make it easy for us to raise our families.”
She was not speaking about infrastructure. She was speaking about dignity, safety and the ability to live without fear.
What struck me even more was what followed.
The Assistant Inspector General of Police for Operations, Mr. Pateh Jallow, representing the Inspector General, said:
“We are here to enforce the law, not to enforce fear.”
Hearing those two perspectives in the same moment captured something essential about reform. It is not only about institutions changing their procedures, but it is about rebuilding trust between citizens and the state.
Another moment that remains vivid took place in Yallal Ba, near Farafenni, during a visit under the Programme for Accelerated Community Development (PACD).
There, we inspected a solar-powered borehole and 32 stand taps now serving nearly 4,000 people. The system had already been taken over by a community committee responsible for its upkeep.
As we walked through the village, life was unfolding around the water points, children playing, women collecting water, conversations happening in calm rather than urgency.
Then Mai Bah told us:
“We used to quarrel and fight in queues for water, but now everyone is living in happiness.”
Another woman added:
“Before, we spent hours looking for empty containers just to fetch water. Now we don’t have to.”
These may sound like small improvements, but they are deeply transformative.
They remind me that governance is not always experienced through grand reforms or policy announcements. Sometimes it is felt in the quiet disappearance of daily struggle.
Much of your work is about rebuilding trust between citizens and institutions, communities and security services, and people and democracy itself. If these programmes succeed, how would an ordinary Gambian experience that change in their everyday life?
If we succeed, most people will never speak about governance reform.
They will simply notice that life works better.
A woman in Essau will enter a police station and feel respected and heard.
A survivor of past violations will receive reparations through a transparent and fair process.
A farmer in Kiang will resolve land disputes through dialogue rather than violence.
A mother in Yallal Ba will no longer spend hours searching for water.
That is what success looks like.
One initiative I am especially proud of is the EU-UNDP The Gambia's Responsive and Accountable Democratic Transition (GREAT) programme.
Through town halls and civic dialogue during the 2024 constitutional reform process, we reached more than 300,000 Gambians. Citizens were able to engage directly with leaders, ask difficult questions and participate in shaping national discussions.
Although the draft Constitution did not pass, I do not see the process as wasted.
It expanded civic space, strengthened democratic participation, and reminded citizens that their voices matter.
I am also proud of contributing to the design of the INSPIRE—Inclusive Support for Participation, Integrity and Resilient Elections project.
INSPIRE is about strengthening the foundations of electoral democracy so that every Gambian feels their voice matters and their participation counts.
Ultimately, success is when people feel seen, heard and protected by the institutions that serve them.
What keeps you awake at night when you think about The Gambia's future? Is it the fragility of democratic gains, the upcoming elections, declining public trust, or something else entirely?
Several things weigh on me.
I think about the fragility of democratic gains if they are not protected and institutionalised.
I think about public trust and whether institutions are evolving fast enough to meet rising expectations.
I think about upcoming elections and the responsibility we all share in safeguarding their credibility.
But most of all, I think about young people.
If young Gambians lose faith that democracy can improve their lives, everything we are building becomes fragile.
Democracy cannot survive on institutions alone. It also depends on hope.
That is why creating space for youth participation and meaningful engagement is so important.
The Gambia has come a long way since the democratic transition, yet the journey is far from over. As someone who has a front-row seat to this transformation, how do you see the country's governance and development trajectory? Where have we made the greatest progress, and where must we be careful not to lose momentum?
The Gambia has come a long way.
Transitional justice has moved from truth-telling into reparations and institutional reform. Security sector reform is now a national priority. Public accountability is growing through initiatives such as the Peacebuilding Fund project on ‘Strengthening Citizen Trust and Public Accountability for Peaceful Coexistence in The Gambia’. The initiative seeks to create more opportunities for constructive dialogue between citizens and institutions by supporting access to information, protecting civic space, promoting evidence-based public dialogue and strengthening citizen engagement.
Local governance is becoming more participatory through programmes like GREAT. Peace infrastructures are helping communities resolve tensions before they escalate. Community development is improving lives through PACD. And electoral integrity is being strengthened through INSPIRE.
These are meaningful gains.
But progress must be safeguarded.
We must ensure reforms are institutionalised so they endure beyond political cycles.
We must strengthen oversight bodies so accountability becomes embedded in governance systems.
And we must continue investing in social cohesion, because no development can thrive in a divided society.
When people look back ten years from now, what do you hope they will say about UNDP's contribution to Governance in The Gambia? More personally, what do you hope they will remember about the role you played in helping shape that story?
I hope they will say:
“UNDP helped build institutions people trust.”
Not just perfect institutions, but institutions that listen, respond, and improve.
As for me, I hope they will remember that I served with integrity and that I never lost sight of the people behind the programmes.
I do not need recognition. I simply hope the work contributes to a more peaceful, just and accountable country.
As the conversation comes to an end, Sainey reflects on the police officer in Kandahar who spoke of a broken system, on Fatou Takko Sonko in Essau who spoke of safety and dignity, and on the women in Yallal Ba who described how something as basic as water had reshaped their daily lives. These are not distant memories for him, they are anchors that continue to ground his work in the realities of the people institutions are meant to serve.
For Sainey, governance has never been about programmes alone. It has always been about the people those programmes are meant to serve.
