#Editorial

Good Morning Mr. President: Tobaski is fast approaching 

Jun 29, 2020, 10:54 AM

Mr. President ‘Tobaski’ is barely one month away (according to calendars, it could be 31 July 2020) and the demand for Tobaski Ram and local produce are usually high and not enough for the whole population. 

This could be a wakeup call for the Agriculture Ministry and all parties involved in the importation of cattle and other necessities to start making plans on how to tackle this year's problem of movement of goods and people. 

The health personnel should also be engaged to advise on how the cattle dealers can be allowed to enter the country amidst the border closure to come sell their cattle.
Mr. President, now that the transit and re-export trade have resumed, government should allow the cattle dealers to come freely without paying taxes to make it easier for them to bring their cattle for sale at reasonable prices. 

There should also be identified venues for cattle dealers to be stationed and be selling their cattle to also avoid unnecessary movement of people from different locations. 

The security, health and agriculture units need to start putting together strategies to prepare for this eventuality, otherwise, there will be a scramble for the little available in the market and the majority will battle with affordability.

Mr. President, the Central Bank should also engage the commercial banks to assist in giving soft loans to their customers provided they have guarantees to pay back. 

This will help many families as many breadwinners have not been working and remittances have also reduced since the beginning of COVID 19.

Mr. President, the statement on the position of the Gambia Government on the issue of the gay and lesbian rights was very timely and important as there were a lot of debates, speculations and arguments in the country concerning that issue, which is now laid to rest.

Our religions, Islam and Christianity as well our culture condemn gay and lesbianism so we should never entertain that because of financial gains.

Religious leaders and majority of Gambians welcome your stance.

Finally Mr. President, Gambians should come together to fight COVID-19 and work for the development of the country rather than concentrating too much on the social media by castigating people, insulting and making serious allegations which sometimes have no proof. Your government should focus on your mission to work for the betterment of the people and not to be distracted by criticism.

The Gambia has so far registered 45 cases of COVID-19 with two deaths and 370 quarantined. The Gambia's COVID-19 cases are mostly imported from Senegal, our next door neighbour and this calls for more efforts and stringent measures to secure our borders and all entry and exit points.

You need to consult with your brother and colleague President Macky Sall to tighten border control as we continue to register more cases mostly from Senegal; and Senegal's cases are on the rise on a daily basis.

The health authorities of the two countries should also join forces as is possible to tackle this COVID-19 pandemic especially during the Tobaski to avoid community transmission.

Together we can eliminate this pandemic

Good day!

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