By: Kebba AF Touray
The National Assembly for Wuli East, Hon. Suwaibou Touray has warned the country against aid dependency, saying development is impossible with dependency on aid and that the country must reduce taking aid, adding that it has never solve a problem of any country. He said this during the adjournment debate at the National Assembly on Tuesday 3rd July 2
He said the office of the Clerk has their questions they have sent to the Ministries and are left lingering, are important and urgent questions, because they are concerned with the electorate and that if the Ministers are not proactive in answering those questions, the office of the Clerk shall take the bull by the horn and get back to these Ministries so that they get the answers, because they are very important, and are not meant to be left lying there.
“This is why I did not raise questions this time because I have raised several questions that are not answered, because you don’t just raise questions just because you want to raise them, but we raise questions for us to have answers, because those answers are very important to the people”, he said.
He joined the Member for Basse in thanking the communities of URR in their immense role in community work and informed the House that several communities in Wuli have come together to solve some of their problems. He said Borro Kanda Kasseh, has bought an ambulance so that whoever gets sick from that cluster, is helped to get to the hospital in Baja Kunda.
He said he tabled the question of security in Macca Masireh in the National Assembly and Ministers promised that they will get there, but still now they have not seen anybody and nothing is done about the security of the residents. He said the PIU are there and hailed them for the excellent work they are doing there, but there are still attacks in, Nyamanare, Dasilami in Sandu and Macca Masireh and the latter has claimed a life, and as result the people of Macca Masireh decided to join hands to build a residence for the security personnel to live there, because they don’t want them to leave.
“Our security situation is very serious and we need help from the government to maintain security in that area”, said Hon. Touray.
He said Sutukoba Village has built a clinic for themselves to provide health care service delivery to whoever that needs such service, adding that lack of medical facility in the village has led to the demise of a pregnant women who was rushed to Baja Kunda hospital, where she was referred to Basse hospital and finally died at the riverside.
“I thank the communities of URR in helping the government in establishing some of these very important structures for their own development”, he added.
On the environmental situation in Sanyang, he decried the environmental degradation caused by the factory as serious and cited that the UNDP Project, mangroves and millions generated therein are dried up and what the stem and pollution by the factory is causing due lack of treatment plant and chimney to allow the stem to go up, as a result gets to the community causing a lot of pollution. He said this pollution is causing havoc in a nearby ecotourism camp where tourists reside.”
“While we clamour for tourism, tourists are leaving”, he said.
On agriculture he said when the price of fertiliser was D700, they advised the government to ensure that the fertiliser must get to the door steps of the farmers; otherwise the price would be more D700 or even D1000 and above, because when middle persons sell fertiliser they add their expenditure and profit, resulting to a rise in the price.
He called on the government to look into the issue with a view to ensuring an affordable price for farmers.
He said soil, chemical and other test can be done in the country and call for the procurement of machine to ensure that the required tests are conducted in the country. He also challenged the National Assembly Select Committee on Agriculture to do its outmost in ensuring that this becomes a success.
On health, he urged for the provision of lab technicians at health facilities, portable drinking water and football gears for rural development, to ensure that to ensure that the needs of the rural people are cratered for. He also calls for price control and reduction of the essential c commodities, to make it affordable to the people.
“If we want to reduce prices, we must look at the reductions made on duty and link that to the whole sale price and from the whole sale price, we should also consider the transport the retailer who is buying from the retailer and the labour cost. If all that is not considered, then the prices will not come down. We must make sure that the percentage of reduction must be the same percentage of reduction at the wholesale level so that the prices will at least be realized”, he said.
He added that it is important to the country’s economy, disclosing that the country is in a death trap which cannot be combated without transparency, as well to reduce corruption.
“It is impossible for dependency on aid to have development , while dependent on aid and has not solve the problem of any country, we must reduce the aid we take”, said Hon. Touray.
He said it is important to use the resources and enterprises and invest in the productive base to build the country’s economy, control corruption and be transparent, with which the economy can be developed, with which salaries can be increased and reduce the poverty of the people.
“That is the only way we can reduce poverty, poverty cannot be reduced by itself. We cannot allow our people to be paid D1000, which is not sufficient in providing them with their needs. We must be serious to see that our people are given the needed support in moving the country forward”, he said
He also thanked his colleges [Legislators] for their hard work, which has put their thinking forward and expressed hope for continuity.
