Below is an article from the Observer
Monday, October 15, 2001
Free, compulsory education for girls President Jammeh promises
As the overall political campaign winds up ahead of the
forthcoming Presidential election, the ruling APRC presidential candidate,
Yahya Jammeh, has announced that Western Division would also benefit from
the free education policy for girls.
Speaking last Friday during rallies in Gunjur, Kartong Darsalami and Brikama
attended by thousands of APRC militants, President Jammeh said girls in
Western Division schools, from Grade One to Twelve would benefit from free
and compulsory basic education. The president
however urged parents to desist from withdrawing their daughters from school
for early marriages. He emphasised that every Gambian girl-child had the
right to free and compulsory basic education.
In Kartong, President Jammeh promised to provide a high school for the area
and also said a school bus service between Brikama and Kartong would begin
by December. President Jammeh also promised to provide electricity, portable
water supply and improve the fishing industry for residents of Kartong.
He disclosed that his government would also construct the road linking
Berending and Kartong. “All what is done in the Western Division is just the
tip of the iceberg,” he said. Also speaking at the Kartong rally, Masary
Sonko and Famusa Camara said Kartong had been neglected by the Jawara regime
and alleged that money earmarked for the
construction of their road network had been squandered by the First Republic
politicians.
In the Darsalami and Gunjur rallies, President Jammeh disclosed his
government’s plan to build an ice plant for the people of Gunjur and to
construct the road linking Brikama to Darsalami.
In Brikama, the president called on the people to be law abiding and to
maintain the peace and tranquillity The Gambia is known for. President
Jammeh stressed that the peace and stability of the country will never be
compromised.
Speaking earlier, the SoS for tourism and culture and the national mobiliser
and campaign chairman for the ruling APRC, Yankuba Touray, accused
politicians in the former PPP who are claiming to be the planners of the
development projects implemented by the APRC
Government of plundering public funds. SoS Touray called on the people of
Brikama to do away with the opposition and vote for the APRC.
Lamin Kabba Bajo, former SoS for local government and lands, recounted
events of the 1981 failed coup when the PPP Government arrested innocent
people in Brikama, stripped them naked and tortured them without any
justifiable reason. Mr Bajo reminded the people of Brikama of a time
under the old regime when they were forced to buy water from public taps. He
urged them to be mindful of the same politicians who subjected them to such
inhuman treatment and were now opting for a comeback.
The lady councillor, Aminata Sifai Hydara, said the women of Brikama were
determined to ensure an APRC victory for the forthcoming Presidential
election. She said Brikama had undergone lot of changes “because a lot of
people have joined us in the crusade to flush out the opposition in Brikama.
Several speakers, among them Seyfo Dembo Santang Bojang, assured the
president and the APRC of a landslide in the forthcoming Presidential
election.
Meanwhile, President Jammeh having completed a 15 day tour of the provinces,
returned to a tumultuous reception as a multitude converged on the Brikama
highway in a procession. Thousands accompanied the president’s motorcade in
procession amidst slogans and songs of praises for the president to the
gates of the State House.
PEACE
Tombong
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