By Lamin Cham
An unusually fiery Halifa Sallah of PDOIS has said December 2021 is the last time he will make himself available for an election, adding it is also the last chance for the people of The Gambia to uplift themselves from poverty and underdevelopment.
Addressing the press after filing his nomination papers, Sallah called on the Gambian people to be ready now for a system change. “We are here to seek your mandate to reach the citadel of power. This is my last attempt and I am going to leave you people here. I have done my part. At the age of 16 and a half, I made a commitment that all my life, I will live to eradicate the poverty of not only the Gambian people but the whole African people,” Mr Sallah said to emotional cheers from his supporters and waiting press.
He said 2021 is for a system change to ensure that the basic things needed for a decent living lacking in the villages are attained. “Women produce farming products but cannot find markets for them. They live in poverty, grow in poverty, age in poverty and die in poverty and that is what we wish to end by using the national wealth which is 23 billion in this coming year,” he said.
Mr Sallah said “our ocean is being exploited by other people while the country has a navy that could have been transformed into a productive force to have fishing trawlers to feed the people and export to get money to be invested in the young people to engage in productive ventures. The sovereign national wealth should be invested to provide for the people and that is what we are saying. Give us the mandate and we will deliver,” he said.
