By: Momodou Justice Darboe
UDP’s youth leader Haji Suwaneh has asked President AdamaBarrow to explain to Gambians the outcomes of the labor agreement that, he said, his government signed with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, arguing that the government’s announcement of visa exemption for Saudi nationals was a farce.
“The press release about the visa exemption exposed Barrow’s usual politics of deception and emptiness,” said Mr. Suwaneh a few hours after the foreign ministry announced the visa exemption.
The government said the lifting of visa requirements for Saudi citizens was borne out of the need to attract them to The Gambia for investment and tourism.
However, the UDP youth leader pointed out that visa exemptions cannot attract investors.
“The factors that attract investors include robust security and we’re all well aware of the security situation of this country. Every day, people are being assaulted, killed in cold blood, robbed and there is burglary everywhere and rampant drug consumption,” he stated.
To Mr. Suwaneh, it’s counterintuitive for the government to give the impression that it can woo investors, considering the country’s struggling power sector and infrastructure deficit.
“The Gambia’s energy system is unstable. What type of investment are they wooing? The existing infrastructure cannot motivate investors to come. All the institutions that can spur investment in this country have all gone to the dogs,” he added.
According to him, one of the surest ways to make investors enamored of the country is to adopt a zero-tolerance stance against official graft.
“The other way to woo investors is to have a zero-tolerance policy for corruption. You must adopt a radical stance against the vice. Bribery is rife in the government and there are demands for quid pro quo at every stage of the investment process. This government cannot spur investment. The press release from the government was just intended to hoodwink Gambians,” stated Suwaneh.
He emphasized that the Gambia government should vindicate its promises of creating more jobs for the youth and a safe path for labor migration to Saudia.
“What we should hear is the delivery of the promise by the President to create jobs for youths and the implementation of the agreement that he claimed to have reached with the Saudi authorities for safe labor migration to the Gulf State. He [President Barrow] should update us on the statistics of Gambians that have gone to Saudi to work under the touted agreement,” the youth leader of the Gambia’s biggest opposition party maintained.
