Kanilai Festival Chairman speaks

Alagie Modou Sanyang, the Chairman of the  Organising Committee of the 4th edition of the  Kanilai International Cultural Festival, who is also the Director-General of GRTS has described the ongoing festival as a definite success as all the neccessary logistics needed for the smooth running of the festival have been put in place.

Speaking to the Daily Observer in Kanilai over the weekend, Mr Sayang said,”Actually the festival up to this point is successful. As you can see the set up and all the people here are comfortable. We have learned a lot from previous ones [festivals].This years’ organisation is perfect.”

Integration

According to Chairman Sanyang, the festival is here to promote integration as people learn from each other’s cultures thus leading to cooperation between people from different areas. “For example, when I traveled with the President to Mali sometime ago, one of the participants from the Malian troupe sighted me among the lot and rushed to greet me to the surprise of his colleagues. But he told them [his colleagues] that he knew me in The Gambia when we invited them for the previous festival. Then I started asking him so many things and he assisted me. Look, the Venezuelans [from Latin America] will also be coming to take part in the event which clearly shows that the festivities are meant to foster integration. This is what the President wants, for the human race to know each other, for mutual peace and understanding.”

Jammeh,  a  humanist

He described the Chief Patron of the event President Yahya Jammeh as a humanist for demonstrating his love for the human race. ”We used to call him a pan-Africanist but I think he has gone beyond that as the coming of the Venezuelans is a crystal clear example. The leader of the Malian group has attested to the sterling qualities of President Jammeh because of his love for humanity. People should thank the President for bringing cultural integration which results to unity.”

Mystical Powers

Commenting on the famous mystical power competition that draws the attention of many spectators, Mr Sayang said that again there are performers from Mali, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau and The Gambia.

”We want all this groups to be optimistic of victory, to make it more competitive and interesting. It is a competition so let each of us do their best. At the end of the day, whoever emerges as the winner should be accepted in good faith,” he said.

He however added that the organising committee remains neutral as none of them are members of the panel of judges of the event.