The
former Gambian Vice-President, Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, has said The Gambia is one
country, one nation and one people.
“If
The Gambia succeeds it succeeds for all of us. But if there is retardation all
of us will face it,” she added.
She
was speaking at the ceremony to launch the joint transition team on Wednesday,
held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel.
“We
are one people irrespective of political affiliation; irrespective of our
differences. We should work in unison to ensure the success of The Gambia.
“The
success of The Gambia is for all of us, not just for the government. We need
the success of the entire Gambian people.”
She
added that whatever services are needed from them by the present government,
they are willing and open to give their guidance and advice “because it is all
about institutional memory.”
She
said: “22 years is not 22 days, as a lot must have happened and we can share
experiences which could be good or bad, but its development.”
“There
must be trial and errors, and we can learn from our challenges and failures
just as much as we can learn from our successes and progress.”
This
was why, she continued, they felt that the transition was very important, and
she thanked the international consultants undertaking the process.
“We
never had this sort of transition where a government will hand over to another
government. We’ve only have three governments after colonialism. I presume both
incoming and the outgoing governments are in a dilemma,” she said.
On
behalf of her former colleagues in the ex-government, she thanked the incoming
government for embarking on the transition process.
