“We had a courtesy call and the delegation comprises the president of the Chamber and other directors from the Gambia Chamber of Commerce. Firstly we congratulated him (Barrow) on his victory and secondly to assure him that the private sector will be partners in the new dispensation in the Gambia,” said Alieu Secka, Chief Executive Officer of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
He said, earlier on, they had released a condemnation statement on the outgoing president’s refusal and call for re-election against the will of the Gambian people. He clarified that the business entity that disassociated itself from the step they had taken is a non-member of the Chamber.
“We have no energy to use to respond to someone who is not a member of our organisation. We released that statement based on consultation and there was unanimous agreement by all and sundry in The Gambia as there is a new president and the incumbent should relinquish his position. As a business community we need to confirm that the community stands with president-elect and we need peace and stability so that we can go about our businesses and everyone can go about their free life,” said Secka.
He noted that there are serious concerns marring the current political situation but added that he is hopeful that the matter will be peacefully resolved as the incumbent may relinquish power and hand over peacefully. He said the issue of external intervention depends on numerous factors but according to him he doesn’t think things will get to that.
Talking about the uncertainty in the businesses in the country, GCCI CEO said “they have been monitoring newspapers and the radios where a lot of indigenous businesses are complaining about the uncertainty and that their businesses are not going on well. It is normal to expect that but be rest assured that we are hopeful that in the next few days the issue will be resolved peacefully and the businesses will continue to thrive.”
Mr. Secka said private sector is a key partner to national development and assured the new government that they will continue to do that. He added that he is encouraged by the positive vibes coming from Coalition team that things will be better and they will look forward to that.
