President Jammeh Inspires Citizens - as 2009 Dialogue With the People Tour Ends

26 May 2009

The Daily Observer -- The 2009 presidential Dialogue with the people tour has come to an end with the Gambian leader, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh calling on the people of The Gambia to unite.

The president also urged that Gambians shun tribalism and hatred based on religious differences and all other social vices. Hard work, he maintained, must be done in the interest of the development of the country. President Jammeh stressed these important points in Banjul, while addressing thousands of Gambians, last Saturday evening. According to him, the tour, which he described as a constitutional requirement, has given him the opportunity to have dialogue with Gambians across the country, enabling him to know what their problems are and what needs to be done. He observed that despite the effect of food crisis globally, which has resulted in scarcity of fuel, The Gambia was not much affected.

The president implored on Gambians to learn to appreciate what one has and to thank the Almighty Allah for such. The food crisis, he said, has even affected some oil producing, exporting countries and The Gambia is not an oil producing country. "I don't want Gambians to suffer in anyway, despite your political affiliations. We should believe in God and always do the right things. We must also make sure that we forget about tribalism and hatred among ourselves and work hard to develop our country," the caring leader told Gambians.

President Jammeh used the opportunity to once again commend Gambian women for their commitment to the development efforts of the country since 1994. Gambian women, he noted, engage in all kinds of jobs in the country, and they work all year round to ensure sustainability of good living in their families. He called on the Gambian men especially the youths to change their attitudes and to emulate the women in contributing towards national development. "My government has created all the necessary facilities needed for every one to excel. We have established a university and we provide scholarship for students, both at local and international level. Therefore, the youths should forget about illegal migration and work towards eliminating poverty in the country," the Gambian leader remarked.

He went on: "I am not stopping anyone from going to Europe but I want you to work and help yourselves. If you are hard working you can become a millionaire in the country." "If foreigners are engaging all kinds of jobs and make big profits in the country, then why not Gambians? The president asked, stressing that "the reality is that we should change our attitudes and work hard." He added that by the grace of the Almighty Allah, there will come a time when The Gambia will be developed 10 times more than Dubai. Dubai, he said, has only petrol, but The Gambia now has petrol and other natural resources some of which he promised to disclose later.

Plans for Banjul

President Jammeh also disclosed his plans to change Banjul into a state-of-the-art capital city, promising Banjulians that the city will be developed in such a way that it will be the dream of everyone to live there.

According to the Gambian leader, a feasibility studies will be conducted to see how to rehabilitate and prevent flooding at the Bond Road in Banjul. He also promised to extend the street lighting project from the Arch 22 to the RVTH, up to the State House. President Jammeh also recognized the efforts of the Banjul mayor, Samba Faal, commending him for his hard work in complementing government's efforts in the development of Banjul. The president finally thanked all those who contributed in one way or the other to make this year's tour a success.

Speaking earlier, Yankuba Touray, secretary of state for Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters, who doubles as the APRC national mobiliser, recognized that Banjulians have always rallied behind the APRC party and President Jammeh since 1994. He commended the people of the city for their support towards the APRC party and advised them to strengthen unity among them. SoS Touray spoke at length on the numerous development projects the President Jammeh has brought for the people of Banjul. He echoed the president in commending Mayor Samba Faal for complementing government's efforts in the development effort of the city.

SoS Touray went on to advise the youths of Banjul to desist from illegal migration and to endeavour in acquiring gainful skills that will enable them work in their own country while contributing towards its development. For her part, Fatou Lamin Faye, secretary of state for Basic and Secondary Education, who is also an APRC liaison officer for Banjul, advised the people of the city to unite and to rally behind the president in the interest of development. She called on the youths to capitalize on the opportunities created for them by the Jammeh Government.

Other speakers included Mayor Samba Faal; Aji Fatou Sallah, deputy national mobiliser of the APRC party; Aji Louis Jobe; Hon. Abdoulie Saine of Banjul Central among others, all of whom commended President Jammeh for the numerous developments registered in the country, especially in Banjul. They assured President Jammeh of their continuing support.

Hon. Alhagie Sillah, National Assembly member for Banjul North, chaired the meeting, which was also attended by Her Excellency, Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, vice president and secretary of state for Women's Affairs, Hon. Fatoumatta Jahumpa-Ceesay, speaker of the National Assembly, Chief Justice Abdou Karim Savage, Teneng Mba Jaiteh, secretary general and head of the civil service, secretaries of state, National Assembly members, security chiefs, religious leaders, foreign diplomats, APRC supporters, youths, women, teachers and students, among a cross section of the Gambian community.

Visit to Rue Chicken Company in Latria

President Jammeh, on Saturday morning, visited a poultry farm called Rue Chicken Company, located in Latria village, Kombo North, Western Region. The farm is owned by a young Gambian called Jewru Touray, who recently returned home from the US where he had been based for almost 12 years. The farm, with a hatching capacity of 19,500, turns in about 18,000 chickens every 3 weeks. And officials of the company who informed the press that they import their poultry feed from Senegal and Belgium, disclosed plans to set up their own poultry feeding manufacturing plant.

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