By: Dawda Baldeh
Alieu Badara Joof, Vice President of The Gambia has told cabinet ministers that it is right to do what is right and get it right.
He was making a statement at a cabinet retreat held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre.
“We have to speak the truth and implement what is right. You cannot make omelet without breaking eggs. I will talk the truth if you want, let the President get me out. I say it as it is and I will continue saying it in this cabinet,” VP Joof said.
If you want let the President get me out,” he said.
The second gentleman of The Gambia said the people of The Gambia have great expectations on the cabinet and they are ‘no longer at ease’ to wait. “To make them at ease, we (cabinet) must deliver the development agenda of this government.”
Speaking on a range of issues, VP told ministers that he doesn’t believe the country has foreign policies.
“Am not sure we have foreign policies and if we do, it’s dormant. We need to make sure that we have effective and well-signed foreign policies. A foreign policy that has differential targets, strategies, partnerships, a foreign policy that can bring a win-win situation for us.”
He said when partnering, the country should consider policies that can bring about developments. He went on to ask about the country’s foreign policy with Senegal, ECOWAS, China, United States and the European Union. “Our foreign policy with Senegal cannot be the same with China.”
“Foreign policy is not just traveling, attending meetings and you come back to say the meetings went very well. Hell no! There is much more than that. It is something that brings development into this country,” Joof emphasized.
He said the ministers are the face of the country and that they should market the country to other nations, adding that the The Gambia should partner with meaningful investors who can help the country and not those who exploitative and destructive.
He reiterated that the country needs strong and effective foreign policies that have strategic targets that will benefit the people.
With regards to tourism industry, he said the country needs serious tourists. “Do we need tourist who will come here buy a bottle of water and keep refiling it from one dispenser to another until they go home? High-spending tourists are what we need,” he said.
“Let’s look at how we can diversify products in terms of what tourists will be buying perhaps using local materials or be creative about it. We should be proactive and not reactive. We can develop our country if we get education, tourism, migration, employment, security, cost of living right,” Joof said.
The Vice President also pointed out that the attitudes of people need to change. “We can only move as a country if we focus on the truth. This country is small and let’s put politics aside and work towards developing it. We cannot focus on politics all the time. It takes us back. When it’s time for politic, we can do and allow the people to choose whom they want to lead the country.”
VP also delved into timber issue which he ask the minister of environment to do the needful. “How can trucks loaded with timber leave LRR, pass through all those security check points up to the ports when you have the security personnel and inspectors at the ports. Something is wrong somewhere and you need to fix it now,” he emphasized.
Joof reiterated that the government wants to see a positive change in all sectors within the next five years, noting that it will not be compromised.
