By Tabora Bojang
President Adama Barrow has called on Gambians to vote wisely in the upcoming December presidential election and reject candidates who are running purely for positions.
Addressing several delegates including members of the disability community who called on him at the State House over the weekend, Barrow urged citizens to put The Gambia first and be cautious in their voting decisions.
“I call on everyone to commit to peaceful elections. We should work this journey together as one people, remain united and not allow politics to divide us. Politics is all about national development. But we have other people who now consider politics as a business. They don’t have any political base or backing but they are using politics as a strategy to secure appointments in government after elections. Such position-driven politicians cannot develop this country. The Gambia belongs to all of us. No one will be intimidated or scared. The decision you are taking at the polls is yours. Use it cautiously. Vet all the candidates and make sure you choose the best, the one who has the country at heart,” President Barrow stated.
Dwelling on his record in office, Barrow said the country has witnessed significant infrastructure uplift and his government had built schools, hospitals, roads, expanded electricity among others.
“These are visible projects. Nobody can deny them,” Barrow noted.
He attributed these achievements to “diligent and wise leadership” saying a country with limited resources and highly tax dependent requires “a level-headed leader” who is wise in expenditure and prioritises salient issues.
Addressing concerns raised by the disability community representatives, President Barrow pointed out that the disability community enjoys unprecedented greater support from his government citing the passing of the Disability Act and allocation of monthly allowance.
He revealed that his government is giving a monthly allowance to 35,000 families including the disabled, and the elderly.
Turning to farmers, the president assured them of his government’s commitment to enhance mechanised farming and make the country self-sufficient.
He noted over one billion dalasis have been injected in the sector in the form of subsidies on fertilizer and groundnut price and issuance of matching grants of up to D25 million.