By Omar Bah
As the United Democratic Party commences its 2020 congress today, the party spokesperson has promised a congress with a difference where issues of national concern will dominate discussions.
The UDP will commence what would be a three-today congress to elect a new executive and renew discussions about the party’s future.
The spokesperson, Almamy Taal told The Standard yesterday: “What you have on the day of the congress is a report to the congress of the activities the party has been engaged in and a financial report from the national treasurer and the secretary general.
“Following the submission of these reports, the congress will consider and discuss the salient issues that these reports raised. Following that, you will have discussions around resolutions, party renewal, positions and direction which is then followed by elections of officials. As you know some of our officials have either resigned, died or expelled.”
He said on Sunday, there will be a national rally where the party will unveil “what will be its next direction and its new leaders. There will be as many frank discussions as we used to have in our previous congresses.”
To demonstrate how serious the congress meant to the party, it has outsourced some of the event aspects of the congress to a private professional company so that the messaging and some of the arraignments are taken away from the amateur.
The company will deal with housing, food and organization of the congress.
Taal said now that the Barrow administration, which was supposed to be a transition government, has failed in all indicators, “there is going to be some sober reflection about the realities on the ground. We are going to make 2021 a referendum on progressive politics.”
“It is part of our agenda that the state itself should add value to the lives of people and economic well-being. It needs to empower Gambians, youth and women to be able to live a dignified life. This focus of building a developmental state is not the reinvention of the will,” he said.
He said the Barrow administration is prone to shooting itself on the foot.
“We had an opportunity to devoid away from a dictatorship constitution and they did everything humanly possible to frustrate the will of the Gambian people. We have seen President Barrow going to Nigeria to seek for certain support and now hear that the former Nigerian president is coming here. So all this clearly demonstrates that this government is clueless,” he added.
