One year ago today Pres. Barrow was on a countrywide tour and he made lot of promises to the people. Here are some of those promises obtained from media reports at the time. Has he fulfilled these promises or not? That is the question.
1. To embark on a massive roads, drainage and sewage construction exercise in Banjul and Kanifing
2. Announced that Ministry of Works, through Gamworks, has already contracted projects for roads construction in Banjul
3. To construct the Basse-Koina road
4. To bridge the Basse-Wuli crossing point
5. To construct the Fatoto bridge
6. To construct the Chamoi bridge
7. To provide an agricultural project focusing on irrigation farming and rice cultivation for the people of Upper River Region through the help of the French who would arrive in a week’s time after his announcement
8. To provide Wellingara with adequate water and electricity supply
9. Announced that NAWEC has signed a 22-million-dalasi project to end water scarcity in the country
10. To provide women horticulturists modern irrigation systems for year-round vegetable production
11. To build fish processing factories and storage facilities in Tanji and Brufut that would create more than 20, 000 jobs. Work to begin 2019.
12. To construct a feeder road to connect all coastal communities from Brufut all through to Sanyang
13. To construct the road from Brufut Gamtel to Ghana Town soon
14. To construct a standard bridge between Banjul and Barra starting in 2019. Work will last for 4 years and the bridge has a guarantee period of 100 years
15. To make Jarra and Kiang the first to benefit from national electricity roadmap.
16. A $200 million power transmission and distribution funding is secured to provide countrywide electrification programme
17. Tourism Minister Hamat Bah announced the building of a hotel in Basse
18. Minister of Health Dr. Isatou Touray promised the Sinchu Baliya a minor health facility with an ambulance
19. Minster of Education Claudiana Cole promised Kombo North a new and accessible senior secondary school for the district if the people can provide land.
20. Free public Wi-Fi and 7000 smart streetlights for Brikama
21. Wi-Fi navigation systems with weather forecast capabilities for all fishing boats in Kombo South
22. SMS (text message) confirmation after paying tax to GRA or Area Councils
23. A central digital platform for registration of all compounds in the country
24. A 24-hour emergency hotline system
25. Twenty boreholes that would provide water to 85,000 people across the country
26. A digital register that would register all pregnant women in the country to enable health workers to monitor, respond and send alerts to them.
27. Fertilizer subsidy to farmers
Until we hold elected and appointed public officials accountable by monitoring what they say and check if they practise what they preach then we will neither have good governance nor sustainable development! Mark my words!
Good observation Mr. Jobarteh. This is what is expected of you.
A shameless, defiant, pompous, arrogant leader who wants to entrench his rule doesn’t care how much people track his records and promises.
The first thing he learns to do is to corrupt our corruptible legislative, executive and judiciary personnel and all other things remain equal.
Then he doesn’t care to listen or come out to address the people’s needs and rules by proxy; through his most CORRUPT inner circle.
The only way to make him heed to promises and demands is to use the STICK!
December and 3-Year Jotnah are imperative.
The BANJUL-BARRA Bridge to my knowledge, is yet be started..I never believed in that puberty like knee jerk announcements…very pathetic behavior.