Given that the government of The Gambia recently declared that there will be food shortage this year due to the poor rains; and that over 1.7 million Gambians will require food aid during the coming year, it is absolutely insensitive to tell citizens to spend four hundred and fifty dalasis (D450) to acquire an ID Cards.
Given that the company contracted by government to issue these ID Cards is embroiled in many corruption scandals and that they have been shown to be fund of bribing their way throughout Africa in order to win contracts; and given that it has been revealed that they issue ID Cards and Passports to foreign nationals, it is wrong for government to ask Gambians to get ID Cards from this company.
Given that there are companies in the country that can do this work; that is issue these ID Cards presumably at a lower cost to citizens and that whatever profits generated will remain in the country, it is wrong for government to tell citizens to pay that huge amount of money to Semlex in order to get ID Cards. One would have thought that the government will promote indigenous companies in order to boast our economy.
This government has repeatedly told us that the economy they inherited was not good and that IMF advised the country to cut spending and put austerity measures in place to recover our former economic status; yet, we observe lavish spending on its part which suggests that the economy is not as bad as they want us to believe. Now that they want us to also pull out huge amounts only to acquire ID Cards, we should not allow them to drag us into that.
Due to all the above, I call on citizens to boycott the ID Cards from the Semlex Company!
Tha Scribbler
A Concerned Citizen
