By Amadou Jadama
The leader of the opposition People’s Alliance Party, Ebrima Tabora Manneh, has claimed that the high rate of poverty in The Gambia is due to “corruption, mismanagement and misplaced prioritisation.”
“Poverty in this country is not a natural phenomenon. It is man made. We must put most of the blame on the authorities, they care only for themselves. Close to 60 years since independence, nothing meaningful has happened in this country. There is not a single sector that we can identify as a success area. Instead, there are lot of misplaced priorities, corruption, inefficiency and mismanagement,” the PAP leader said at a recent press conference.
He said these and many other factors such as high cost of living and rents, foreign domination of the economy, poor health care, and underutilized agricultural sector are responsible for the mass exodus of young people seeking for greener pastures elsewhere.
Mr Manneh said Gambians should not expect these challenges be fixed by miracles. He said it takes commitment, patriotism and love for country and desire for change. “No angel will come to help us to make the change, but only Gambians can make changes they deserve, “he added.
According to him, the country is blessed with resources which if well utilised, would position The Gambia among thriving countries in the world.
“It is incumbent on all Gambians to ensure that, we come together to make sure that the changes we deserve as a nation happen,” Manneh said.
