Emulate President Jammeh - Foni Jarrol NAM urges Gambian business community

The National Assembly member for Foni Jarrol, Honourable Borry Colley, has called on players in the Gambian business sector not to hesitate to emulate The Gambian leader, Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, in rescuing the masses from exploitation.

Honourable Colley was speaking on Wednesday at the Assembly, during the adjournment debate of the first meeting of members in the 2009 legislative session. According to him, President has come to the rescue of the masses by importing quality cement that is affordable. The business community, he said, should emulate this move.

The honourable member pointed to Alhaji Muhammed Sillah, a prominent Gambian business tycoon, as exemplary for his quick response in emulating the president. He noted that Sillah has also imported cement into the country and that he is selling them at the same price as the president.

To this end, he stressed the need for people to work together to overcome the underlying problems that the country is facing. “As a businessman, no matter who you are, you are never secure if the rest of your community remains poor,’’ he said, and added, ‘‘You should not be in the sky while we are on the ground.’’  

Honourable Colley went on to appeal to the president to consider intervening in the metal rod sector, saying that construction materials are very expensive. Turning his focus to the civil service, the honourable member called on them to ensure that public funds are judiciously administered in the interest of the general public. He also called for investigations into the affairs of non-governmental organisations, saying that some of them are   “pocket NGOS.” “Some of them operate in the name of the Gambian people with pictures of children affected by kwashiorkor, and they bring these monies and put them into their cases,” he alleged.

The Foni Jarrol NAM went on to tell his colleagues that information had emanated from The Association of Non-Governmental Organisation (TANGO), indicating that not all NGOs in the country were registered with the body. He therefore called for swift action against such a state of affairs. “There must be control mechanisms put in place to control them,” he stressed.