BY:Kebba AF Touray
In line with the fulfillment of the pledge he made to the Wuli East Development Initiative (WEDI), Hon Suwaibou Touray donated the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dalasi (D150, 000.00), to the organization. In view of this magnanimous gesture, this medium sought the opinions of the WEDI Executive and some of the electorate in the constituency and these are their comments.
Abou Keita, the President of the organization expressed gratitude to the NAM for Wuli East which he said will go a long way in helping them carry out their activities with ease. He said such gestures can only come from patriotic leaders and citizens who have the interest of their people and nation at heart. He thanked the Hon. Member, for the humanitarian support and urged him to keep up the good work.
Tida Sanuwo, the Wuli East Women Mobilizer of WEDI said the gesture by their elected representative, was the moment they have been yearning for, over the past 22 years; that the support is a culmination of many years of hard struggle. She urged the electorate of the constituency to be united with hands in one glove, for the development of their district. She called on all and sundry to continue to rally behind the Hon. Member and his Party, PDOIS, to make the country that every patriotic Gambian wants it to be. Ms. Sanuwo applauded Hon. Touray for the gesture which she described as the first of its kind in 22 years.
“This is the first time the electorate in Wuli East have benefited from such benevolence from our own elected representative, since the first and second republics. We never knew that a member of the House of Representatives, can serve his/her people with such a gesture,” were the comments of Kekuta Keita of Wuli Passamas. Keita also thanked the Hon. Member and urged him not to relent in his efforts towards helping with the development of Wuli East.
Lamin Touray, Tamsir Jagne, Abou Juwara were also among the many who expressed gratitude to the NAM of Wuli East for his magnanimity and called on their fellow constituents to continue their loyalty to the NAM.
Johnson Sirleaf, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for helping bring peace after civil war all but destroyed her country, closes the page on two terms in office. Our colleague Charlotte Attwood has sent these photos of people waiting patiently in line to vote at St. Theresa convent near the capital Monrovia’s seafront. She reports that some of the elderly have brought plastic chairs to sit on, including 70-year-old Charles Daniel who says “we want a good leader, not a ruler”. Just over two million people are registered to vote in the election. Ex-football star George Weah and Vice-President Joseph Boakai are the main contenders in the race to succeed Ms. Sirleaf. Liberia, founded by freed US slaves in the 19th Century, has not had a smooth transfer of power in 73 years. Ms. Sirleaf urged people to vote peacefully in a nation still recovering from a 14-year civil war.
