By The Voice Team
The Gambia is set to host the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) scheduled for 4-5 May in Banjul. This forthcoming OIC Summit is the 15th edition of the Islamic Summit of Heads of State and Governments of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), it will be held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba International Conference Center. The Summit will bring together Presidents, Kings, Sultans, Prime Ministers, Rulers, and other world leaders from the fifty-seven member countries of the OIC and beyond with the theme: Enhancing Unity and Solidarity Through Dialogue for Sustainable Development.
This Summit recognised as the second largest Summit in the world is meant to discuss various issues on the OIC agenda and the challenges facing the OIC Member States. The Islamic Summit Conference will be preceded by a preparatory meeting of senior officials on April 30 and May 1, 2024, which will discuss the documents of the session and submit its report to the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM).
Ahead of the conference, The Voice Reporters sampled the opinion of Gambians on the nation hosting the Summit.
Lawyer Assan Martin cum Politician said the government’s propaganda on the envisaged OIC conference is to blindfold the public against the ongoing hardships.
“Such events are all about photo opportunities and handshakes. That will not change the hardship situation Gambians are suffering with. The preparation to host the summit is still incomplete, looking at the state of roads and hotels for the anticipated guests. The environment is very dusty and polluted around our hotels and Tourism Development Areas (TDA). I believe it would be better to postpone it for another year to get us to be well prepared with better security arrangements in place.
“It might be a mess if the preparation doesn’t go down well. All things are rushed in the name of hosting OIC, and since they recognize that 2026 is around for the regime’s departure.”
Mbye Lowe, a taxi driver at the Coastal Road, said “Hosting OIC in The Gambia is significant but the government has failed especially in terms of infrastructure. The OIC road construction is not a good one, the flyover in Old Yundumshould not be there as it brings a lot of challenges for the community because of the manner it is.”
Sat Nyang, a concerned citizen said “The Summit is welcomed but the only issue is that the citizens are not seeing themselves in it and a lot of businesses are affected.
Mariama Bah, a shop owner who was affected by the construction of the OIC Road said it was a difficult situation for her as her shop was removed and she decided to sell on a table and got arrested.
“The OIC coming to The Gambia is good but a lot of us have cried because we lost our businesses, we have no place to sell our goods. And the manner they are treating us is not good. Arresting us and packing us in pick-ups is painful. This is the place where I got my end meets to feed my family and send our children to school,” she lamented.
Ebrima Secka is a driver he said their garage was moved from its place to a location that is not favourable to them as they found it difficult to get customers. He explained that they used to have several trips but now they can sometimes sit for the whole day without a customer, saying it is making life very difficult for them.
Muhammed Kanteh, a National Assembly Member for Busumbala said the OIC represents an opportunity for Gambia to show its beautiful hospitality, and rich culture as well as improve their diplomatic ties with other nations around the globe. So, he said such an event will undoubtedly boost the country’s foreign exchange and investment opportunities.
In addition, he noted that the 50-kilometer OIC road project and the 20 new feeder roads, if completed will greatly help in decongesting the traffic and also improve economic activities. The Summit will forever remain in the history of The Gambia after the event. The Gambia will never be the same as it comes with both infrastructural development and structural adjustment.
Notwithstanding, he added the country lacks proper accommodation facilities to host the OIC event considering the size.
Abdou Saho, a medical practitioner, said hosting the OIC summit is an important event for The Gambia. “I expect the event to increase our international attention, boost our chances of attaining potential economic benefits from tourism and infrastructure development, and opportunities for diplomatic engagement,” he asserted.
On his expectation, Mr. Saho anticipated the OIC to
lead to a discussion of global issues such as climate change, and security issues as well as economic cooperation, and humanitarian efforts. “It’s a great opportunity to network and make lasting impacts.”
Hon. Yahya Menteng Sanyang, the NAM for Latrikunda, differed in opinion. He said the Summit wouldn’t be as impactful as expected on the businesses and the economy of the country.
“It is very unfortunate the OIC will not have any major impact on the business due to lack of proper conference planning and foresight. The President Barrow administration is in a haste to hold the OIC Summit as a public show but in actual sense, the conference will not have any meaningful impact on the businesses and economy of the Gambia. There is no plan to invite businesses and investors from other countries to come to the Summit to interact with local businesses and investors, all they have invited are the Presidents and Prime Ministers from other countries. The Summit doesn’t have the foresight to host the conference as it doesn’t bring permanent jobs for the youth.”
Musa Bassidi Jawara, a Gambian based in America and economist wrote on his Facebook page that “not building the five-star hotels is a lost opportunity of mega proportions for The Gambia and it’s inexcusable.
“How many Gambian youths could have been employed in this facility and the boost to the tourism sector, if it had been built?
“Comparing the Gambia with the neighboring country Senegal which hosted the Summit previously transformed the infrastructural landscape of Dakar into a modern city: two grand hotels built and magnificent road networks amongst other things of sizable national benefit. Senegal’s diplomatic muscles and intellectual capacity are far superior to their Gambian counterparts.
“I’m not privy to all the details that led to the failure of the building of the Radisson Hotel in Bijilo, but awarding the contract to a Senegalese businessman with a checkered history and abominable reputation did not help at all,” he added.
Babu Jawo, a businessman said he is not convinced with the Gambia’s preparedness to host the Summit, “I feel like this OIC summit is being rushed. I don’t know why, normally all the projects should be done before the Summit but that’s not the case, everything is being rushed right now it would have been even better to push the date till November or December but May is around the corner and things are not done yet.”
