By: Dawda Baldeh
Hon. Suwaibou Touray, the National Assembly Member (NAM) for Wuli East Constituency has reacted to President Adama Barrow’s State of the Nation address, saying he [Hon. Suwaibou Touray] doesn’t believe Gambia is ready for development. President Barrow delivered the nation’s address at the National Assembly yesterday Thursday 15th September 2022.
Speaking to The Fatu Network, Hon. Touray said the President’s speech has little or no difference with his previous State of the Nation addresses.
“For me, it is the same speech that I keep hearing and sometimes they are far from reality. Gambia is not a serious country when it comes to development. I don’t believe the governments we continue to have are serious about development,” he noted.
The lawmaker added that the country is depending highly on outsiders for its development. For Suwaibou Touray, the country’s development cannot be achieved without the commitment of the government.
“We cannot wait for outsiders for our own development,” he emphasized.
According to the lawmaker, there are lot of agricultural projects that have come to the country but “they all failed.” He said government is depending entirely on loans and grants from external partners in all its projects.
“This has been a serious matter from 1965 to date. If we are serious about development, we could have come up with strong plans to develop this country.”
The Wuli East representative said agriculture should be prioritized for the development of the country.
The Wuli East NAM said government is spending billions of dalasis on importing agricultural commodities annually.
He added that the country cannot depend on loans and grants all the time.
Hon. Touray noted that government should invest in agriculture if they are serious about the sector.
“No country has ever developed through loans. Loans are only meant for short-term and not long-terms developments,” he concluded.
