The Office of the President, as a show of compassion and empathy with the masses, has decided to offer rams for sale at 50 per cent cheaper than the prevailing market prices.
No not only that the President has approved the disbursement of the ‘one by six’ loan to civil servants and security personnel.
The high office should be given a pat on the back for this compassionate move, once again.
As the ram sale starts today at the State House grounds in Banjul, a very large crowd is expected to turn out to get a ram to be able to fulfill the Islamic sacrifice.
In view of this, the security officers who would be at the grounds of the sale should be patient with the elderly and women, who would be coming to buy a ram for their households. It would be good if these people could be helped, for they may not have all the strength to stand in long queues waiting for their turn to buy.
However, such large crowd would be avoided if the ram sale is decentralised – at least a selling point in each administrative region.
Otherwise, people have to travel far and wide to Banjul to be able to have rams because certainly the prevailing market price is beyond the reach of the average Gambian.
Had it not been for the intervention of the President, many households would undoubtedly not have been in a position to buy a ram to be slaughtered and sacrificed for the feast, although it is still beyond the reach of many Muslims in the country.
So in order for the help to reach the people who need it most and achieve the desired impact, it is good to take it to them, as many could even exhaust half their ram money on transportation to the centralized selling point in Banjul.
Besides, in the subsequent Tobaski, if there is to be any ram for sale at discounted prices, it should start early, like two weeks before the feast. By the time the presidential announcement on sale of ram was put out, a lot of people had already struggled to buy theirs from the market at very exorbitant prices.
One more thing of consideration is security. Those who will be in charge of the sale of the rams should be vigilant enough because some people might want to buy a large quantity to go and resell at higher prices.
If these little things are taken care of, it is certain that the objective of the discounted price of ram sale at the State House would be achieved, and the President could very well realise the full reward of his compassionate and benevolent act.
“A truly compassionate attitude towards others does not change even if they behave negatively or hurt you.”
Dalai Lama XIV