By Yankuba Jallow
The people of Wuli Barrow Kunda have on Saturday organised a political rally for the People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism.
Sambang Juwara, a PDOIS supporter said their party stands for the truth and their interest has always been to salvage the country from poverty and degradation. She added that the programmes and policies of the party can address the problems the country has been faced with for the past 50 years. She said PDOIS can address the country’s economic problems.
Halifa Sallah, the party’s Secretary General and Sidia Jatta, the party’s Chairperson along with Honourable Suwaibou Touray of Wuli East and Edrisa Jallow, the Administrative Secretary were in attendance.
The leadership of the PDOIS have on Saturday discussed the party’s policy on bringing solution on the most desired ‘system change’.
Honourable Sidia S. Jatta said the meeting was organised to enlighten people about sovereignty. He said what happened on the 1st December 2016 should teach each and every Gambian that the power of the government is derived from the people because for the first time in the history of the Gambia, a leader was removed through the ballot box. He explained that there cannot be a New Gambia without a new Gambian, adding that the new Gambian must be a person who is conscious of his rights and duties; that the person is one who knows that he is a sovereign being and that power resides in him or her.
On political parties, the member for Wuli West said political parties are very important in the country’s democratization process, adding that they are instruments for development. He said political parties are tools for development and this is why they should engage in meaningful activities including enlightening the people. He said Gambians must now begin to interrogate the policies and programmes of political parties. Jatta discouraged politics of deception, adding that this is why the country has been faced with the same problems for the past fifty years.
Halifa Sallah said PDOIS wants to eradicate poverty in the country and this is why their politics is different from the politics of the other political parties. He said what PDOIS desires to achieve is different from what the other political parties want. He added that PDOIS wants to eradicate poverty and degradation in the Gambia.
He said what interests them since 1986 to date is how to develop the country and eradicate poverty and ensure that people live in dignity. He said Gambians since on the 1st December 2016 knew that power belongs to the people because they were able to remove former President Yahya Jammeh through the ballot box.
Sallah enjoined Gambians not to allow that win to become futile by allowing ethnic sentiments into politics. He said people must not use ethnic sentiments in politics because politics is about ideas. He said politicians who do not come to the people with ideas but with ethnic sentiments should not be trusted because they want to deceive them.
He said people leave The Gambia for other countries using the ‘Backway’ because of poverty, adding that people are dying at the hospitals due to the poor condition of the health facilities. He said the fishing sector is not properly utilised because the Government’s ideology is to only issue license to foreign vessels to catch fish. He said if the sector was properly utilized, the country would have benefitted more than it is currently, including creating employment opportunities for several youths.
He said the Islamic Development Bank since the First Republic to date has pumped into the Gambia about 38 billion dalasis. He added that the fund was not wisely and rightly used.
He said The Gambia spends over two-hundred million dalasis as per the GBoS statistics on the importation of rice which according to Sallah could have been produced here.
He said people should not allow themselves to be used again by people entrusted by them to lead.
“People must see themselves as sovereign and leadership as a position of privilege and public trust.”
