As he wishes the President a successful tenure Basidia M Drammeh has called on President Adama Barrow to start working on healing the divide in the Gambia, something which he attributes to the recently concluded elections.
“Elections are over, the healing process must start now,” this is among a litany of priorities that the President-elect should focus on Drammeh says.
“The president-elect should take tangible steps towards uniting the Gambian people deeply polarized along political and tribal lines. The healing process must start now. About 47% of Gambia’s population has not voted for Mr. Barrow, and this segment of society must not be alienated for their choice to foster national unity.
“After all, the president-elect is President for all Gambians and not only those who voted for him. In this vein, the President may call a national unity conference or form an inclusive Cabinet,” Drammeh advised.
He further called on the president to take positive steps towards fighting what he described as ‘rampant corruption in the Gambia’.
He strongly established the need for President Barrow to fully implement the recommendations of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission to ensure that the perpetrators of heinous crimes and gross human rights violations face justice and the tears of the victims wiped.
He called on government to devise policies to address the hike in prices and make livelihood affordable for the Gambian people.
“Living cost is becoming unbearable for the average Gambian, with the prices of basic commodities skyrocketing every day beyond the means of the bulk citizenry of the impoverished nation. The Gambia has a liberal market system, but that does not absolve the Government of its primary responsibility of devising policies and strategies to bring down the prices and make life and livelihood affordable to the people.”
He ended by calling for the establishment of strong institutions and the appointment of competent people to oversee the institutions.
