(JollofNews) – Gambia’s new president, Adama Barrow has used the 52nd independent anniversary celebrations of the Gambia to unveil his key development programmes for the country.
Mr Barrow, 52, who was elected in last December’s election, was also sworn-in as Gambia’s third president on Saturday at the Independence Stadium, Bakau.
Addressing tens of thousands of supporters including school children, Mr Barrow said: “May I begin by thanking Allah for making me the 3rd President of this great country through the support of the Gambian people. I seek guidance and blessing for me and my cabinet to have the strength and wisdom to serve our beloved nation to higher heights.
I would like to first of all welcome the distinguished heads of states and international guests who are here to share this joyous occasion with us.
Today is symbolic because of two important developments in the history of our dear motherland. It was on this day that The Gambia was declared Independent. I was just three days old.
Now I am the President of the Republic of The Gambia after 52 years of nationhood. Few people would have thought that I will be addressing the nation today.
I would like to thank the Gambian electorates for their astuteness. They exercised their civic rights in a peaceful and non-violent manner during the campaign, on election day as well as after the elections. I will not do justice without recognizing and expressing my sincere appreciation to the Gambian Diaspora. They spent time and resources to support my candidacy through the social media. They encouraged family members and friends to vote for me. This is a victory for democracy. It is a victory belonging to all Gambians. It is the decision of Gambians to change a Government which has entrenched itself through the ballot box. That has made it possible for us to gather here today.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Gambian people, ECOWAS, AU, The UN and all our international partners in general for supporting us at the most critical period of our history. This has ensured that democracy has a meaning to our people.
Gambia has changed forever. The people are fully conscious that they can put government in office as well as remove it. No government will ever be able to entrench itself against the will of the Gambian people. This is the lesson we must draw from the change that has been brought by the people.
We are now confronted with many challenges. We have inherited an economy that has declined because of political uncertainty. During the political impasse, businesses were shot down, offices and schools were closed. Foreign missions scaled down their staff, 50, 000 left the country and over 126, 000 became internally displaced.
People restricted their movements and the country became ungovernable. The country would have remained in such a situation if the new government did not succeed in finding a solution to the impasse.
Fellow Gambians
Health
The Government under my Presidency will strive to ensure the survival, protection and development of all children.
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is charged with the responsibility of doing an inventory on the needs of the hospitals in the country in order to determine the inputs necessary to upgrade health services. It is to ensure staff audit in order to identify constraints and develop programmes to enhance staff motivation.
The Government will seek to partner with ECOWAS, AU, the UN, other traditional development partners like the US, the EU, UK and new development partners to improve on infant and maternal health. The aim is to improve their wellbeing and reduce mortality.
We will work to improve nutrition, sanitation, access to clean drinking water and ensure that primary health care is accessible and affordable to both rural and urban centres.
Education
The law of the land instructs that basic education shall be free, accessible and compulsory. All Gambian children must go to school. The Gambia under my presidency will respect the dictates of the Constitution and work with our development partners to make free education for all a reality.
Agriculture and Fisheries
Agriculture shall be given added support to move towards food security and growth in export. Production and processing crops, livestock and fisheries will serve as the base for food security. These will be linked to job creation and increase in income through agro-industrial development.
Service Sector
The service sector, which is now the largest contributor to the Economy, will be given the incentives necessary for them to contribute more to employment creation and the GDP of the country.
Macro-economic stability will provide a fertile ground for telecommunication services, banks, hotels, insurance, housing companies and other sectors to grow and develop partnerships in Africa and all over the globe.
Information and Communication Technology
The Ministry of Information and Communication Infrastructure will be given support to sustain its local area networks. This will make it possible for the Government to maintain the regional community information centres and provide them with the necessary ICT services. The e-government data centre will create better coordination and cooperation between government institutions.
The media, both public and private, will enjoy freedom to disseminate divergent views and dissenting opinion as required by the Constitution. The Media Law shall be reviewed and code of conduct for responsible journalism promoted.
This will include re-orientation of the state media to take up its public service responsibility.
Employment creation
As part of the reforms to be undertaken to improve on job creation, e-government will be utilised to ensure that the Personnel Management Office and the Labour Department would be able to store data on those seeking employment and the jobs available at each given period. This will facilitate proper assessment of employment and unemployment rates especially among the young people. The Government will undertake a major drive to promote employment in all sectors.
Works and Communication Infrastructure
In the area of infrastructural development the Government will give the Ministry of Works, Construction and Infrastructure time bound deadlines for the construction of the Basse-Fatoto, Fatoto-Koina and Laminkoto-Pasamas roads.
The ministry will undertake to identify all the key feeder roads in the country that require feasibility studies to prepare solid plans to source funds for their construction.
Energy Sector
In the area of Energy, the ministry is charged with the responsibility of ensuring adequate and affordable electricity supply by diversifying energy sources for basic household needs. The energy sector would be improved. The development of port facilities, road infrastructure, river transport and other services will attract foreign direct investment at a larger scale.
The Ministry of Petroleum will focus on developing the potential to exercise control and direction over the seismic surveys being done to explore the potential for oil production in the country. Industrial production shall be expanded to include robust development of the mining sector and the processing of raw materials into value added goods.
Transparency will be shown in this area to enable the people to know all developments regarding the sector.
Civil Service Reform
Civil Service Reform will be undertaken to link appointment to merit and income to performance.
A Ministry of Planning and Good Governance is to be established to facilitate and monitor the development and implementation of a blueprint for socio-economic development. The Provision of quality social services is the fundamental objective of the government under my Presidency.
This would require sustainable Macro Economic stability and growth. This is why I established a Think Tank, The Agency for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development (ASSED). It is charged with the responsibility to establish an expert bank. This will provide data on the different expertise available to share their knowledge and skills. Their expertise will be tapped in order to put in place an inclusive development agenda.
Regional administration will be done by public servants not political appointees.
The pay and grading structure of the civil service will be reviewed and pensioners will also benefit from the reforms.
State enterprises are to be reviewed with the view to adopt policies that would ensure that they pay dividend to government instead of being a liability.
Constitutional and Legal Reforms
The Government will undertake key constitutional and legal reforms which will be highlighted in my first address to the National Assembly.
It intends to enforce constitutional provisions that are entrenched to protect the fundamental rights of the citizens. Orders have already been given for all those detained without trial to be released.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice will receive information regarding all those who are arrested without being traced. An appropriate commission would be established to conduct inquiries into their disappearances.
A Human Rights Commission will be established without delay to complement the initiatives of the Attorney General.
The National Council for Civic Education will be provided with the facilities to conduct civic education to promote national reconciliation in collaboration with other organisations that are set up to promote national unity and reconciliation.
The judiciary will receive adequate support in terms of personnel and independence to enable it to deliver justice without fear or favour.
On Foreign Relations
The Gambia during the impasse knows what solidarity means. Senegal has proven to be a friend in times of need. The people of Senegal hosted the people who fled and the government hosted me as President-elect and worked hand in glove with ECOWAS, The AU, UN and the international community in general to ensure that the verdict of the Gambian people is not violated.
In this regard, my first trip as a head of state will be to Senegal so that we could discuss and conclude on matters such as the SeneGambia bridge, our common borders, the status of the Senegalo-Gambian Secretariat and other outstanding issues. We want the relation between the two countries to be a model for African integration.
I would like to give special thanks to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Chair of ECOWAS, President Muhamadu Buhari of Nigeria, President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone and former President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana who undertook the first mediation efforts.
I cannot conclude without adding the names of President Alpha Conde of Guinea and President Abdul Aziz of Mauritania who stepped in at the right time.
My special gratitude is also extended to my host President Macky Sall of the Republic of Senegal during the impasse. I was given a choice by ECOWAS to stay in Liberia, Nigeria or Senegal during the impasse.
I chose Senegal because of the fact we are the same people occupying two different countries. I must say I made the right choice and received the greatest hospitality.
Your Excellences, honourable guests and fellow citizens, I would like to conclude by emphasizing that for 22 years the Gambian people yearned to live in a country where our diversity will be bridged by our tolerance and our determination to work together for the common good.
We decided to form a Coalition so that those speaking Jola, Serer, Aku, Serahuleh, Manjago, Mandinka, Fula, Wollof and all other groupings would ensure that we build One Gambia, One Nation and One People. Justice will guide our action and this Government intends to maintain that spirit of national unity.
The whole world supports us and The Gambia will remain a beacon of peace and hope for others to draw lessons from.
Long Live The Republic! Long Live the United People of The Gambia! Forward Ever! Backward Never!”
Great Speech! N ow lets all join hands to make the articulated goals a reality!
Happ independence day to all Gambians, friends and well wishers of The Gambia.
If President Barrow follows through with the programs herein delineated, then we will have the building blocks for a peace progressive and prosperous Gambia. But as always the devil is always in the detail, or in the actual implementation on the ground, other wise it all become just that, a wish list. So one can only hope that those lucky enough to be tasked with implementation do everything within their capabilities, and more to ensure both the letter and the spirit of the President’s pledges are achieved in time and to budget. There is a lot riding on the total collective Gambian effort, not just on the President. Please do not disappoint!
Wonderful speech and is time to move on way for better gambia.
I welcome the President’s speech and wish him success in implementing important programs that will benefit all Gambians. I was hopeful that the president will also talk about two important areas of our lives.
1. Reform of GAF.
2. Trade between Senegal and Gambia by building ” The Bridge ”
Gambia is entirely surrounded by Senegal, we are incapable of defending ourselves against an invading Senegalese Army for several reasons. Our soldiers are unprofessional and poorly trained thugs in uniform demoralized by years of abuse by Jammeh’s incompetence and nepotism. They are ill equipped to fulfill their duty and responsibility to protect the nation. The entire force is useless and need to be disbanded. A well trained police force can assimilate those few professional officers left in the army for maintenance of law and order. Internal security should be our priority.
Trade is essential to improve our economy and building the important cross way between Dakar and Banjul should be a priority. This will boost our GDP significantly and clear significant economic efficiency in the system.
Overall I am very happy and encouraged by the president speech.
God Bless The Gambia
Gambia in my opinion needs a well trained, civilised and disciplined army re-established.
Gambia being vulnerable and can’t defend herself, so should avoid making enemies as it may imply, is perceptible but quite intangible.
Dr Sarr, you have made very important observations above. He has made reference to Senegal and building the Senegambia bridge in the second paragraph under foreign Relations section of his speech. As for the security services, I would like to make a suggestion and would very much like other contributors on this forum to expand on it. My suggestion is to reform the security services from the bottom up by changing the criteria and entry requirements for joining the services and also the content of their training manuals and curriculum. A new job description and person specification should be drawn up that puts emphasis on merit, and satisfactorily passing a psychic test. We don’t want psychopaths hiding behind the uniform with guns terrorising the citizenry ever again. All current security personnel should be required to apply and meet these new criteria like all fresh applicants if they want to stay in the services at the end of their current contracts. Failure to meet the minimum entry requirements should mean an automatic termination of service at the end of their contracts. There should a strong emphasis on subjects like government and governance, law and ethics, human rights and up holding the rule of law in the training of the new recruits. And only recruits who demonstrate a strong aptitude in these subjects should be allowed to wear the uniform and insignia of a Gambia security service. This will ensure the recruitment of only the best into these services. It is time that we stop accepting mediocrity in the security services. We need right people in right places more so the security services as they play a vital role in the maintenance of peace and security in the country. With a good recruitment strategy in place we will be able to easily replace the old relic in the security services with new young and vibrant talent. These new talent will be able to change the relationship between the public and their respective institutions on the frontline and behind the scenes as they climb through the ranks. I believe if we do this, we will see a significant change in attitude and professionalism of our service personnel within 10years.
I like the speech, summary of the development agenda. I hope we will do everything we can to promote unity, peace, and security. I also hope we will do our best to developed our country and fight any form of corruption. May GOD bless us and may GOD bless the administration and the country.
Any thoughts on building our urban streets/roads. WOW, they are muddy and dirty during the summer and dusty in the winter. Please don’t mention the Area Councils, because I don’t know what they have been doing.
Buba, thank you for your thought provoking discuss. I agree with your suggestions. I am still not sure about the need for the GAF. Sentiments aside, the core responsibility of the military is nation protection both external and internal. Our country is geographically unique in that it is entirely surrounded by another sovereign nation. Our territorial waters and air space is shared. The only incursion I can foresee can only come from Senegal. Our only other security challenge is internal agitation and disruption. Spending money to build, train and equip an entity that historically can only be used to actively or passively manipulate the will of Gambians is not advisable. The entire African subcontinent is replete with examples of rogue military. I accept a professional entity to maintain law and order with strict entry criteria that will include both physical and psychological minimum requirements.
The country is broke. We spend large sums of money on the GAF, and we get absolutely nothing in return for our investment, except to wake up one day to hear some fool announcing that he has taken over the government. I see no need for the GAF. Frankly like Japan we can spend our money wisely in other areas.
Dr Sarr, I agree with your analysis of our country’s security vis a vis our geographical position. However you have hit the nail on the head about sentiments. The GAF has become a symbol of national pride for most Gambians. Therefore any attempt to get rid of it will bug down any democratic government in a legal and constitutional quagmire. However if the government changes the recruitment criteria like we all suggested above, they will be able to turn the GAF into a world class professional institution whose role will be more of civil defence with low running cost instead of the semi professional body it currently is, which is financially unsustainable. Analogically I see developing Gambia to what FIFA did with football. The game is still eleven players a side and two goal posts at opposite ends of the field, so no changes there. What FIFA did was they change the rules of the game because they realised that some of old the rules were resulting in many players getting nasty career ending injuries. Example, some tackles on opponents and dives near the opponents goal post and taking substances to give yourself added advantage are illegal now but were acceptable in the past. Players who cannot play by the new rules soon found themselves surplus to requirement so they became redundant. Thus cleaning the game. If president Barrow and his team change the rules on how things are played in the Gambia, we will soon see undesirable behaviours and elements of society become marginalised, isolated and completely unacceptable. If we change the rules we will change the Gambia if we keep the same antiquated rules which are not fit for purpose then the mess we are in will only deepen no matter how many players we change. That was the problem Jammeh had, he refused to accept that it was his rules that were the problem not the people he appoints. President Barrow and his team need not to look far for positive outcome of rule changes because they themselves are the perfect example. The single most important act that seals the end of Jammeh’s tyrannical regime was a simple rule change in how votes are counted. At the time he and his cohort didn’t realise how profound that simple act will be in determining his fate and theirs. The rule change made it hard for them use their old tricks. Because whilst in the past they were able to monitor and control all activities of the counting process and information from the seven or so regional counting centres, they couldn’t do the same faced with nearly 1500 counting centres due to lack of resources, be it human or other forms because of the fluidity of events. It means Jammeh couldn’t send his goons to intimidate polling agents. It also means thousands of Gambians are privy to the actual results simultaneously therefore making it harder to control the flow of information. The evidence of this is that despite it taking Jammeh up to late afternoon to concede defeat, the entire country knows that he was defeated. So he had no choice but to finally made a public acceptance of his defeat.
During the political impasse i commented if we really need the GAF. I also thought the GAF must be purged to avoid the likelihood of future military coup. I believe there are still incompetent untrustworthy elements in the GAF. Military rule has always been a disaster for Africa and in other parts of the world. We don’t want to be taken for a ride to hell again.
H.E President Adama Barrow on the occasion of our nation 52nd BD, just gave us the best birthday gift as a nation. Freedom. Freedom to ALL prisoners who have been denied their due process. The best is yet to come.
God Bless The Gambia.
All glory be to the Almighty God for branding a new day for us in our Mother-land The Gambia. I appreciated and keeps appreciating God for everything puts in place bringing us to this new days. May the many-sided wisdom of God rest on our new President Adama Barrow, to ignite fire to all departments necessary to take this Nation forward. Well, regarding the (GAF), especially the Army “Lower-Basic recruits” seems as if they receives little or no salary at all, whereby they turn to beg civilians money or food. This also is a platform where they can easily be bought over to overthrow the Government, please let there be a review into this BOX to know who is in the (GAF) and who is not and what are their positions, duties and wages. Thanks.
You are a confusing bull rubbish GHADAPHI. Try write something atleast legible! you idiot! look at all the nice things people with brain to write are writing. why won’t you link the online radio for you to learn something good in a language you can understand, because you don’t just have to be a writer to be helpful to good cause. Your scribblings soils every serious thing writen by resourceful people. It is not the freedom of expression of idiocy and bricks dropping, but of opinions, ideals and viewpoints. Perhaps you fail to realise that its is easier to acquire a computer than learn a bit more better english.
Buba, Dr Isatou and Bourne, thanks for the comments.
What we do have at our hands is a dynamic and evolving Gambian conundrum with no clear prescriptions for remedial action.
First, I must say that I agree with Dr Sarr that the need for keeping the bloated Gambian army and other security services is difficult to justify on account of the geographic placement within Senegal, ethnic ties and the current dire state of the Gambian economy. A strengthened Senegalo-Gambian Secretariat could very well handle the subject of a merger of the two national armies and may present synergies realized with most mergers.
You’ll note that the Ministry of Finance spokespersons hinted to evidence that plunder to our economy, the external debt and internal debt burden, that’s been uncovered thus far, is just the tip of the iceberg. It should also come as no surprise if the Central Bank (CBG) is found in shambles and unable to pay principal funds and interest on Treasury Bill and other instruments held in the interest of Gambian investors. I expect “I Owe You” chits will be offered to investors with monies tied in T-Bills whenever they call upon their funds from the CBG.
Under the gloomy economic outlook, The Gambia certainly does not have the luxury or the wherewithal to shoulder the expense and frustration associated with the upkeep of dysfunctional, self serving and obsolete entities. One can count a bunch of these enterprises that include the NIA/SIS, PURA, AMRC, the GAF and a couple of Ministries of state. Or do we have to wait for donors to tell us that the bus is overloaded and cannot budge with the payload?
Where in the spirit of compromise, the government chooses to keep institutions that are hardly worth their salt and value, we must learn to shy away from the notion that disbanding security services in Africa represents undue risk to national security. Instead, massive restructuring that will involve pin point intervention aimed at cost savings, trimming deadwood and filler material must take precedence to send a clear message that BOLD steps are being taken to undertake reforms needed to salvage what is left of the core of Our Dear Gambia! It is important to emphasize that The Gambia doesn’t at this moment have the resources to retrain every redundant public servant but could commit to doing so as part of a massive restructuring of the public service. The government could also work with the donor community to re-institute the extension of early retirement with full benefits to public servants and security personnel that are deemed redundant or wish to retire early in order to make the transition into the private sector. This benefit could be expanded on in another segment.
I’d like us and other subscribers to table and discuss the subject of The Relevance and/or Phasing Out of State Entities in this new dispensation at an appropriate forum.
On the subject of Gambian Agriculture, the government made the pronouncement below:
Agriculture and Fisheries
“Agriculture shall be given added support to move towards food security and growth in export. Production and processing crops, livestock and fisheries will serve as the base for food security. These will be linked to job creation and increase in income through agro-industrial development”.
It is common knowledge and an indisputable fact that policy pronouncements of Agro-Industry and Agro-Processing can only make sense where the food deficit has been balanced out and all hungry Gambian mouths have been fed. Food processing for human and animal food can only thrive in an environment where the nation is able to adequately produce food to feed its people and further register a surplus for Aro-Processing and exports. I believe that in the absence of food security, Agro-Industry cannot take a foothold as the very clientele/markets that would be targeted by the enterprises therein may not have the disposable income to spend on products of added value and consequently higher prices. It is noteworthy that the average Gambian family’s income is largely consumed by the demands of the household food budget. A situation that can only be eased by increased and efficient food production that will in turn bring down the price of food items in The Gambia. Agro-Industry in itself doesn’t offer an increase in income or employment without a market that offers a pool of willing buyers. In Gambian agriculture, it is suicidal to undertake ventures in the mistaken belief that once food items are produced, buyers will come. Agro-industries work with perishables that demand stringent standards of quality management, expertise and post harvest storage that mostly call for secure and reliable sources of power. Is the Gambian energy sector able to offer these securities in the short term?
I wish to add that policy pronouncements on The Service Sector must not leave out private agricultural services and service providers since agriculture still remains a main driver of the Gambian economy albeit that Tourism has taken center stage of late. A thriving agricultural service sub sector, that hitherto has remained untested and unproven in The Gambia could be a real game changer in the overall goal to attain food security for Gambians.
The Barrow government must seek support in the establishment of PRIVATE Agricultural Service Agencies if meaningful change can be realized and sustained in Gambian agriculture.
The task of providing evidence that Gambian agriculture can be a source of livelihood for Gambian youth still remains to be proven!
Andrew Pjalo you made it food for though again. I think there should still be a practical way out to food self-sufficiency. I am simply convinced that more food needs to be grown. Lack of sufficient food for our livestock equally means food shortage….Thanks for providing the link. I think in time soon, a mere cultivators can learn more feasible ideas from your types.
Andrew, thanks for this insightful contribution. I welcome the idea of us on the forum to table a discussion on some institutions that are a burden on the state to reach a consensus on whether they should be kept of dissolved. Am sure Dr Sarr, Bourne, Stan and Dida Halake just to name a few will all join in with their brilliant contributions.
Buba, you and the other folks may drop me a line at pjalo@icloud.com
Thanks
I believe in my Gambia and I believe in my brothers and sisters. In our unfortunate accident of history gifted by a brutal dictatorship, we have an opportunity to recreate a vibrant, self sustainable and rich nation where we can all work and play. I believe the sons and daughters of Gambia are capable and competent to understand our challenges and mitigate them. I am amazed and proud of the depth of our understanding of geopolitical issues across all spectrum. With people like Buba, Andrew and Halake to name just a few, The Gambia future is bright. Andrew I concur with your last piece, it is well thought out and articulated, same goes for Buba, always with incredible understanding of the issues and suggested action plans. God Bless The Gambia.
Dr Sarr, I do share your belief in the competence of Gambian brothers and sisters being able to deliver desired results on national growth and development challenges. In my international travels and visits to The Gambia, I am left with no doubt as to the immense resources in the form of smart Gambian minds in support of our aspirations.
When I listen to Nyang Njai on Fatou Radio analyze, deliberate on and deliver pertinent responses to DIVERSE subjects of national importance, from Financial Instructions (FI), Information Technology to International Banking, my core beliefs on the capability of Gambians to find appropriate answers to our development goals, is further reinforced.
What The Gambia really needs is folks like Nyang and others who, not only can take charge, flesh out the meat off of the bone but also present complex subjects in a manner that the lay person can follow. That ultimately not only leads to a better understanding of burning national issues on the part of the populace but goes further to achieve buy-in on shared visions. Clearly, Nyang’s perspective is what The New Gambia sorely needs.
The New Gambia wouldn’t benefit much from lethargic “professionals” or “Online Professors” alone but importantly folks with the aptitude, track record and credentials to walk into a room full of experts and leaders, make a pitch and sell ideas on subjects of national importance. In other words, folks that will fill the role of GO-GETTERS for The Gambia!
Bring these bright and alert minds together and they’ll, together, work wonders for The Gambia. Equally, Gambians within and outside of The Gambia must not shy away from coming together to deliberate on, analyze and present recommendations on pressing development goals and aspirations irrespective of whether the government of the day calls for such.
At the end of the day, someone somewhere will benefit from well thought out, plausible, tested and adaptable policy recommendations.
My two cents and food for thought for, Daa Saamo (breakfast) to start the day, Bourne & Buba! Let’s keep this momentum going folks. Thanks.
Andrew, I have listened to Nyang Njai’s interview on Fatu Radio and I couldn’t believe that Yahya had the intellect of such people at his disposal but never used it. I was really impressed with his impartiality in his analysis. People him, Bourne, Dr. Sarr and your good self have re-invigorated my belief that Gambia can be a model nation in Africa if we work together. It always warms my heart to see or hear Gambian women discussing and debating political issues. It is therefore apt to say Gambian women are leading the drive to change the country for better. I am pleased with the appointment of two more women into cabinet positions bringing their number to four. I know some people would say that is small compared to the number of men but I would like to point out that these four women occupy positions that can have direct immediate impact on the lives of Gambians across the lifespan. They are the mothers of the nation in that their combined ministries will oversee the wellbeing and care that our wives and sisters will get pre, ante and post natal, the primary care of our children, the basic and secondary education of our children, the type of economic standard they will grow up in, the social welfare safety nets that will be available to our children and the type of health care that will be available if needed in sickness till death. In other words the decisions of these four women will have a direct impact on us from cradle to grave. That makes them more powerful than the men in cabinet. I am really proud of them.