The future is the only arbiter between those who raise challenges and those who make promises. The future is the final judge.
What is important is for Gambians to note that the time has passed when those who take the stage during presidential visits would only sing praises and keep the concerns of the people under the carpet. President Barrow has been told by the people that fertiliser, seeds, farm implements, labour saving devices, bad roads, hospitals and youth unemployment are all burning issues for his government to address. He has promised to build a bridge across Barra/Banjul, construct mosques and did not hesitate to further assure all those who raise challenges that their concerns will soon be a thing of the past.
An evaluation of all the messages from the North to the South Bank would reveal similar problems. The problems of the past are still the problems of the present. However, speaking about it is no longer a herculean task. People freely express themselves with the hope that this new found freedom to demand from leaders what they are elected to deliver would never come to pass again.
We hope a day will come when they will demand not just to exercise their freedom of expression but to have those demands answered by a government that is sensitive and responsive to their fundamental needs and aspirations. This is when democracy will mature to its highest level of uniting words with deeds; precepts with practice.
