By: Momodou Justice Darboe
UDP regional spokesman Karamo Njie has sharply reacted to President Adama Barrow’s assertion that what he was able to accomplish in his eight-year tenure outpaced the 52-year reigns of former presidents Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara and Yahya Jammeh.
The president earlier this week boasted at a meeting in SinchuAlagi as part of his Meet The People Tour that if Jawara and Jammeh had attained the level of development that his government did, then Gambia would not have suffered any publicinfrastructure deficit.
Mr. Barrow bragged that he was able to construct over 1000km of roads while his predecessors were able to build only 800km.
But Karamo Njie contended that Barrow must be kidding when he tried to compare himself to Jammeh and Jawara.
“Jawara took over the reign of this country at a time when we had very little resources of economic value. Road conditions all over the country were horrible, many Gambians did not have access to electricity and basic social services. However, he was able to achieve a lot by constructing the Trans-Gambia Highway, the Banjul Highway, Brikama Highway, feeder roads in several parts of urban and peri-urban Gambia. During his time, the dalasi was stable. People were living dignified lives as cost of living wasaffordable,” said Njie in an interview with The Voice last evening.
According to him, Barrow’s development accomplishments could not overshadow that of Yahya Jammeh.
“The Coastal Road, which stretches from Brikama and Brufutright through to Gunjur and Kartong was constructed by Yahya Jammeh and the many roads across the country,” he added.
The UDP’s North Bank Region spokesperson argued that he could only concur with Barrow when he says that he presides over the ineptest government since records began.
“I can only agree with him [Barrow] if he says that Gambians are going through turbulent economic times under his watch. I can agree with him if he says that The Gambia drowned in debt under his watch. I can concur with him if he says Gambians are hungry and economically-deprived during his rule. But to say he did better than his predecessors in terms of development, I vehemently disagree,” argued Njie.
He further argued that Mr. Barrow would be making a costly mistake if he thinks he can play with the intelligence of Kombonkas.
“He [Barrow] was trying to make Kombonkas laughing stock but that’s an expensive mistake on his part. Kombonkas are politically enlightened and intellectually sophisticated. They voted for him en masse in 2016 but he took all the development projects to URR. Come to think of it…Out of the 52 settlements in the URR, Barrow won only in Wuli Baja Kunda in the 2016 presidential election but Kombonkas will teach him an unforgettable lesson come the 2026 general election,” added Njie