Our Development agenda

The last two weeks have witnessed the culmination of activities that in effect completed the electioneering processes that would see us settle for the actual battle ahead. The actual battle is meeting the challenges for the attainment of our development agenda. This calls for a concerted effort by all and sundry.

Loyalty to the nation far significantly transcends party, tribal or any other factional loyalty. And this has always been the call by His Excellency, President Yahya Jammeh. Loyal and meaningful citizens do not identify themselves on partisan basis, rather as citizens of their nations. These are in fact echoes of the President’s  acclaimed independence speech, which calls for disregard of ideological differences in the crusade of nation building.

It follows that in order for us to register positive impact in our development endeavor, we are under the obligation to make a retrospective exploration of our attitude towards realism. Experience has proven to us that our approach, rather than our level of willingness, has always been responsible for our woes. We are good at conceiving good ideas and often we formulate near-perfect ways of seeing them through. But most often than not our approaches eventually betray us, rendering these ideas virtually meaningless.

The viability of our choice of priority is greatly dependent on how we execute our respective duties. And of course our level of commitment to our nation also has a great bearing on the execution of these duties. Misplaced prioritization is another phenomenon that perpetually threatens to derail our efforts. Like it or not, our seemingly obsessive urge for wasteful lifestyle has also been a threat to sustainable development. Imagine an individual living in the privileged areas of, say, Fajara, spending up to D3000 just for a few moment’s enjoyment; half of which amount can take care of up to five families in a village somewhere. In the eyes of capitalists this looks normal, but as a matter of conscience it sounds ridiculous.

Also, imagine the fact that the majority of the Gambian population reside in rural Gambia, yet development programs are mostly concentrated in the increasingly populated urban centers. This is an issue we would want to see the newly installed local government officials look into. The developmental drive of this government is to uplift the living standard of the masses. This means involvement of the people in the effort of their own development. Depriving them of the basic necessities, whether knowingly or unknowingly, will serve as a push factor on them.

It is imperative that we all come together and support government in its crusade as Gambia belongs to all.