By Binta Jaiteh
Pateh Baldeh, former spokesperson of the National Reconciliation Party (NRP) has expressed his mind that President Adama Barrow wants to silence all opposition parties by giving them hope that his government would work with them (opposition parties).
In an interview with Mr. Baldeh after the president called all oppositions during the recently celebrated Eid-ul- Adha, he said that President Adama Barrow wants to plant a one-party system in The Gambia in a civilized way.
He claimed that President Barrow has failed the Gambian people and he (Barrow) didn’t want it to reflect in the administration and now intends to use the opportunity to camouflage the people of the Gambia in the name of democracy.
He stressed that what he did during the last presidential election with many opposition parties who had joined his campaign raised concerns about whether they were real opposition.
Baldeh, therefore, called on party leaders to be steadfast with commitment in the building of their parties, meanwhile, he said many Gambians have lost hope in the current administration, and by looking at the currency for many years, there is still insufficient electricity supply with a poor health sector, bad roads, high cost of living and poor transportation management, and corruption is becoming a citizen in the country.
He went on during the interview that the country is with bad markets and poor storage facilities for the farmers with a high rate of youth unemployment which has increased drastically with a poor salary scale for the civil servants.
He lamented the high cost of rent on Gambians that it is becoming unbearable, and the worst part, is poor management of the Gambia’s waste and natural resources. He added that the amount of resources budgeted for the drafting of a new constitution is a complete waste of resources and yet Gambians are hoping that the new members will address the issue of the constitution to be tabled again in plenary.
Lack of real political commitment, he said, starts from the implementation of the TRRC report or its set timeframe for its implementation, above all, to enhance the security sector to take full charge of the territorial security by building capacities and confidence in improving their lives and livelihoods.
