By Lamin Njie
Vice President Dr Isatou Touray declared ‘this is a bitter experience that I have seen’ on Saturday after paucity of labourers ensured the launch of the government’s coronavirus food aid program would have to wait until Sunday.
President Adama Barrow was set to launch his government’s COVID-19 food aid initiative which will see the government distribute tens of thousands of bags of rice and sugar to Gambians.
The launch however suffered a setback after all the rice and sugar couldn’t make it to the McCarthy Square, were the ceremony was to take place.
The president then made a brief stop as labourers scrambled hard against time.
The vice president Dr Isatou Touray who was on the ground to supervise work told reporters ‘labour was a challenge’.
She said: “Labour was a challenge. You will find that most of the young people who are offloading and uploading are not Gambians, and this is a bitter experience that I have seen.
“As a vice president, when I listen to the radio and TV, what I hear… The young people complaining about unemployment for the young and the last two, three days we have been looking for labourers who can come and be paid.
“It’s not that they are not going to be paid but hardly any Gambian who is here. All these people you’re seeing uploading and offloading are Guineans, Malians, Senegalese or Sierra Leoneans and other nationalities.
“So this is a big surprise… To say that there is no job. This is a great job. The amount of work these people are going to do here, they are going to earn a lot of money. This is [also] dignified.”
