By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
Just less than 24 hours after President Adama Barrow’s rally speech at Buffer Zone where he alleged that UDP is preventing him from bringing more development to the country, the party leader of UDP Lawyer Ousainou Darboe has responded by saying the Barrow government cannot and does not know how to bring development to the country and should therefore give way to those who can.
Speaking to the press when asked about President Barrow’s comments on UDP and its mayors and chairmen holding back the developments of this country, Darboe responded:
“They have their government, and they are not working. What business does the UDP have [with that]? They are frustrated. They don’t know how to do it and cannot do it. If they can do anything after we left the government, they should do something.
“UDP left the government in 2019. Since 2019 to date, why can’t they work? We are not in the government, so why [sic] are we blocking them?” he asked.
President Adama Barrow, while calling for support for Bakary Badjie, Ebou Faye and Seedy Sheriff Ceesay, said voting for those candidates means voting for him.
He accused the UDP of only being there for themselves, saying the mayor of KMC, Talib Bensouda has turned Kanifing Municipal Council into a UDP council and claimed that the party is blocking his development projects.
“The council is only interested in promoting the UDP party. When they hold events, you only see yellow colours. They have turned the council into a UDP council, not a council for the people of KMC. This is unacceptable because your money is paying for it,” Barrow said.
According to the UDP leader, the government cannot even work on the national development plan that he and others designed when they were in the government. He said that the United Democratic Party developed the NDP and sought funds.
He noted that they went to Brussels and had 1.7 billion dollars pledged for the Gambia.
Darboe said the Barrow administration cannot work on the development plan. He urged them to leave and give way to those that can do it.
“They cannot even work on the national development plan that we developed. Please let them (NPP) leave us. If they cannot do it, let them leave the way for those who can do it,” he stressed.
Reacting to Barrow’s speech on the issue of UDP mayors and chairmen blocking his development agenda, the National Assembly member of Busumbala constituency, Muhammed Kanteh, described the president’s remark as “irresponsible”.
“That statement is irresponsible. Any head of state who said that, it is better for the citizens of that country to vote him out,” he said.
