By Nelson Manneh
Members of ‘Pro-Gambia’ Association have disclosed to the press on Monday August 19th that they are ready to meet political leaders and stakeholders in their pursuit of bringing a peaceful solution to the 3 Years ‘Jotna’ issue.
Momodou Bah, President of the association told Journalist at a press briefing that the association is set to engage Politicians and Political Party supporters regarding the three- or five-years debate regarding Barrow’s term; that the association was established with the aim of solving this issue and maintaining peace in the country.
Bah said after the 2016 Presidential Elections, they have been working on modalities on how to go on a countrywide tour to educate people on the importance of peace and peace building.
“We have plans regarding peace building but due to financial constraints, we are not able to embark on any of them,” he said. He added the association has prepared its members to engage the politicians and political parties in the country to make sure that they speak the language of peace. “Our wish is to meet the citizenry and engage them on peace building, but lack of funds is impeding this exercise,” he said.
Essa Jesus Jatta, Secretary-General of the association harped on their constraints in fulfilling their aims and objectives which also includes finance. “It is not easy with us as an Association, but we still continue to contribute within ourselves to make sure that we achieve our goals,” he said.
If readers can recall, President Adama Barrow became President when he resigned from his party to become a Coalition candidate for seven political parties, and an independent presidential aspirant and two independent National Assembly members and civil society groups. After serving for almost three years as agreed, the presidential candidate of Coalition 2016, President Adama Barrow, disclosed his desire to complete the five-year tenure as enshrined in the 1997 Constitution.
This brought about a lot of debate among the citizenry giving birth to two groups that are in support of these different positions for the President to either leave or stay on.
‘Pro-Gambia’ Association was inaugurated in 2016 before the Presidential Elections. The Association participated in the observation of both the 2016 Presidential and subsequent National Assembly elections. They wrote a report on the Election proceedings which was sent to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and other stakeholders.
