By Mama A. Touray
Floriculturists who barely depend on flower products for living have expressed concerns as OIC continues to stretch roads ahead of 2022 Islamic conference in Banjul.
Lamin Sanneh, 28, who grow flowers along the Bertil Harding Highway described the OIC road extension as a hindrance to their flower growing business.
He called on the government to compensate them with a piece of land to allow them continue their flower garden business.
“I have been in this flower business since 1994 which is twenty-eight years now, from 1994 up to date my feeding depends on this business of flower gardening. So, if the government is to stop our flower gardening business from us without compensating us with a land it will really be a challenge to us,” he lamented.
Under appealing, he said “I am begging the government and the responsible authorities for the extension of the highway to help us by locating a garden for us that when people need us they will find us.”
Like other floriculturists, he said they too are citizens of this country “let them know that we are all citizens and through this selling we contribute to national development. We want the government to help us with land and also with a car to transport these flowers to any destinations they can give us. If we want to randomly move with these flowers, it can kill most of our plants and flowers. If we want to move this flowers and plants here it will cost us money as some flowers here and trees if you are to move them you can take ten trips and that ten trips will cost a lot to us. The new place, if there is any, if you move there before you commence business proper it will takes times,” he decried.
According to him, the OIC road extension is a good initiative that any citizen of this beloved nation will not go against it but the government should give them a helping hand as it will be a challenge to them.
In a loud and worried voice, he said “They are just telling us to move without a land so how and where do they expect us to move to and that is a big challenge to us, if am unable to move that will cause a lot of difficulties in the family because this is where I feed my family.”
