President Jammeh on his presidency
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Wednesday, September 07, 2011
The president of the Republic and leader of the Ruling Alliance for
Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) Monday held the last of
series of meetings with different regional delegations at State House, using
it as an opportunity to once again take stock of his achievements since he
assumed the mantle of leadership 17 years ago.
His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, during the meeting
with the people of Lower River Region (LRR) who like other regions called on
him to renew their allegiance and appreciation of the developments brought
to the doorsteps of the citizenry by his regime, seized the opportunity to
express thanks and gratitude to Gambians for their loyalty to the APRC
government.
Despite the massive developments that all the regions have highlighted and
applauded, the president told the high-powered LRR delegation that Gambians
have seen only a ‘tip of the iceberg’ of the developments, promising that
more will come their way.
“My intention is that with God’s grace, time will come I will crisscross the
length and breadth of this country and yet the citizens will request nothing
from my government development wise because they would have been provided
for. If you observed, during the tour, many said that they have nothing to
request for, but only to thank my government in view of the fact my
government did not only provide their development needs, but also because we
have provided what they didn’t even request,” he told the LRR delegation
that was headed by the governor of the region, Lamin Waa Juwara.
President Jammeh, in assessing his developments said the work is not
complete, recalling that he had earlier promised Gambians that he will
transform the entire country into a capital. He stated that the achievement
of this ambitious goal is certain, stressing that nothing can stop that
apart from God. He told the LRR politicians and Council of Elders that most
of the promises he made to Gambians that have been fulfilled were pledged in
1994 when he came to power.
He added: “I have said in 1994 that time will come it will be difficult to
distinguish Gambian women that work in the office and those on farming. I
have also said in 1994 that time will come it will be difficult too to
differentiate at high institutions of learning children of farmers and that
of those who are well-off. This was the case in 1994 because you could
easily tell between children of poor farmers and the rich. Even the look of
the uniforms of students, you will be able to tell who is who. In fact if
schools open, any student that you see carrying table and chair was the
child of the poor. But tell me whether that is happening today.”
Tip of the iceberg
The president, while reiterating that Gambians have not seen all the
developments that he plans for the country, stated clearly that whatever he
promised the people in terms of development to is non-political; but
anchored on the fact that the time that he made the pledges in 1994 was a
period when there were no elections.
Belt tightening
What is incumbent on every citizenry, President Jammeh maintained is for all
and sundry to tighten their belts in the march towards developing the
country, because as he puts it, “the West will never develop an African
country”.
He added: “Even if I don’t tell you, you should know for yourself that the
West would not develop an African country. The West would not develop an
African country because if they were here for 400 years and refused to
develop this country, they will not do so now. Who can tell me which Gambian
was trained as a doctor during the rule of the British? Before we came, it
was very easy to count major high schools, but today they are countless
under my regime.”
Best tour
The Gambian leader also harped on the successful 2011 Presidential Dialogue
with the people’s tour; one he qualified as the most successful since he
assumed the mantle of leadership 17 years ago.
He explains: The amount of people that turned out during this tour was
unprecedented and I don’t think it can even be compared to 1994 when we took
over the reins of this country. If it can be compared to the turnout in
1994, then the turnout for this year is more important. This is because some
of the people who turned out in 1994 were inquisitive to know who Yahya
Jammeh is. But anyone who turned out in 2011 did so to show love, allegiance
and appreciation of the 17 years of progressive governance.
“Some people thought that the tour makes me happy, but it makes me sad for
the simple reason that anytime I go around the country in spite of the
developments I have brought to the people, I still feel that I have not done
anything for the country in view of my ambition. But a human being should be
grateful to God because of the fact that he has given you something that
someone else is fighting to achieve all through his life and could not get
it.”
Democracy
President Jammeh also commented on the smear campaign launched against
Gambian democracy, questioning the West’s credibility to preach democracy to
Gambians, and Africans in general.
He said: “Those who were here for 400 years and didn’t do anything to
develop the country are today the very ones sarcastically saying there is no
democracy in The Gambia. Who can tell me of an election that occurred in The
Gambia in 1957? There were no elections in the country at the time but there
were elections in Britain at that time. Why would there be the need for an
election there and not in Africa at the time?
“But what they [the West] continue to say is that there is no democracy in
the country. Our youths who want to travel to their countries to learn about
democracy are denied visas to do so. You said there is no democracy in The
Gambia, you didn’t teach us about democracy in your 400 years rule; but now
our youths want to learn that democracy in your own country and yet you
refuse to that.
“The reason why I am telling all this is because in 1939 to 45, the West
themselves who were engaged in a brutal and devastating war ripped Africa of
its healthy strong youths to fight for them, especially for France and
Britain. Just a little while ago, they commemorated the 70 years
anniversary, and yet not even a single Blackman was decorated among the war
veterans. I think that is enough to serve as food for thought for Africans.”
President Jammeh cited recent events that unfolded in UK as something that
should further serve as food for thought for Africans.
He continued: “Wherever there is problem, they support those people as
pro-democracy forces and brand the government as dictatorial. But God is the
greatest. Forces that get up to instigate chaos are supported as
pro-democracy and the government branded as corrupt, bad and so on. But the
same youths took to the streets in UK to replicate what happened in other
countries, yet the authorities say the youths are not disciplined.
When Mubarak blocked the blackberry phone and Twitter used in Egypt to stage
the demonstrations, he was condemned for that move in the name of freedom of
expression. But when violence erupted in UK, only one person advised for the
same communication facility [Blackberry] to be shutdown. In fact what they
did was to take young ones to court around 3-4 am. Before Muslims could get
up for early morning meal in the month of Ramadan, they jailed people as
young as nine years. All of them stood up to say that the youths were not
disciplined and their media never criticised the authorities for such
actions.”
Speaking earlier, the vice president and minister of Women’s Affairs, Her
Excellency Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy stated that even those who oppose the
regime did acknowledge the development achievements of the leadership, while
calling on the opposition remnants to join the bandwagon of the ruling
party. Similarly, the VP equally challenged the party militants to welcome
the newcomers with open arms, as that is very important to the growth and
development of the party.
She also harped on the achievements of the present government, noting that
one of the Gambian leader’s achievements is his success in eradicating
ignorance in the country through the promotion of education at all levels.
She also lauded his support to women, citing the free maternal care women
enjoy at health facilities in the country.
The vice president then urged the people of LRR to vote for the APRC in the
upcoming election.
The minister of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters,
and the deputy minister of Petroleum, Lamin Kaba Bajo and Teneng Ba Jaiteh,
respectively both took turns to stress on the developments registered by the
present regime, while calling on the militants to remain not only committed
but open to newcomers.
Stalwarts’ account
Other speakers at the meeting took turns to heap praises on President Jammeh
for his achievements, while reassuring him of LRR’s desire to give him a
historic percentage at the polls in the upcoming election.
The governor of the region, Lamin Waa Juwara, said The Gambia’s political
temperature has never been so low before as it is this year, noting that the
country is just less than three months to election, yet it is as if there is
no election; a situation he attributed to the love majority of the people
have for the Gambian leader.
Juwara declared that Gambians will stand up to defend any smear campaign
against the APRC regime by portraying the true picture of what prevails in
the country in terms of development.
The LRR governor, who used the opportunity to solicit for government’s
intervention in reconstructing the Kiang West feeder road, concluded by
assuring the Gambian leader of his region’ s readiness and commitment to
record the highest percentage of votes for the ruling party in the upcoming
election.
Honourable Njie Darboe, NAM for Jarra West and APRC desk officer for the
region, Chief Yahya Jarjusey of Jarra West, and other speakers all thanked
the president for the achievements, while also assuring a landslide victory
for him in the region in the upcoming election. However, they appealed for
campaign materials to boost mobilisation at the grassroots.
Author: *Hatab Fadera*
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GOD BLESS THE GAMBIA.
LET US JOIN HANDS AND SUPPORT SHEIKH PROFESSOR DR. ALH YAHYA JAMMEH (NASIRU
DEEN) TO BUILD OUR COUNTRY. *
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