Kebba Ansu & Aminata Hydara
Halifa Sallah, secretary general and party leader People’s Democracy Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) has emphasized that The Gambia is a wealthy country but the country and its citizens remains hungry either due to ignorance or self-interest.
He questioned why Gambians remains hungry amidst wealth and abundant human resources in the country, as he addressed hundreds of party faithful militants while presiding over the official launching of the “Party’s Transformative Agenda, 2021”, ahead of the next electoral circus beginning on the 29th of this month to April, 2022, local government elections.
Sallah, currently serving as the National Assembly Member for Serrakunda constituency has played a pivotal role to end 22 years one man reigned in the country in 2016, while serving as the spokesperson of a group of seven opposition political parties plus one independent Presidential candidate that eventually led to the defeat of long serving President Yahya Jammeh to the assumption to power by President Adama Barrow in 2017.
His landmark remarked that found the former President Yahya Jammeh and his supporters annoying during the nation’s political impasse were ‘If you (President Yahya Jammeh) don’t leave power by midnight of 19th January, 2016, you will be considered a rebel leader’.
However, PDOIS 2021, Transformative Agenda seek to build a progressive Gambia divorced from ignorance and poverty and it anticipation is to journey the country to the promised land of ‘system change’ in 2021, after a ‘regime change’ in 2016.
“We own the water, whatever is there belongs to us, we are wealthy but we are hungry, why? Because we have betrayed the contract either because of ignorance or because of interest,” Sallah in tears, while questioning government strategies to developing the country.
He added: “If the state can say it sympathises with the poor to the point it has to take out eight hundred and forty five million dalasis (D845million) to buy rice, sugar and oil and distribute it to those people what excuse can that state gives that it cannot buy fishing trawlers and put it on our waters.
Our people have to wait for other personalities to bring trawlers to our waters, fish from our waters, take it to their lands and sell it, whatever is the leftover they bring it to our people to consume.”
The veteran politician observed that for fifty six (56) years of Gambia’s independence the marine resources remains poorly managed, stating that even the fines levied on captured fishing vessels would have bought fishing trawlers for the country. “What is the logic, for 56years, how many vessels have been captured on our waters?
Even if you have a strategy that every vessel captured, you will pay would have enabled us to buy fishing trawlers,” Hon. Sallah said as he unlocks the huge potentials of River Gambia.
He also announced free breakfast and lunch for Gambian students if he comes to power in December, 2021, stressing that these free meals for school children is doable in time if Gambians gives him the votes.
