#Editorial

GOOD MORNING PRESIDENT: On women,  ant-corruption &  ferry services

Jan 10, 2022, 2:30 PM

Mr President,we implore you to have a more inclusive government with experienced women and youth who do not only form part of your support base but from a wide range for national development.

We have well educated women who can help you run the administration effectively with transparency, good governance and respect for rule of law to put government in the right direction. 

Mr. President, gone are the days worldwide, where women are mere spectators. You need to build stronger institutions and the Anti-Corruption Commission, which will monitor all public servants and contracts.

Contracts should always be advertised in different media outlets and approved by GPPA with awarding contracts and bids.

Mr. President, as the world is going digital,the government also needs to also have a robust Ministry for Information Technology which would facilitate good running of internet service and make government smaller and more accountable.

PURA should engage GSM providers to deliver a good and better network. The media needs your support by subscribing and allocating adverts to them which should be paid on time. They are playing a crucial role in our democracy. Their taxes should be reduced as they are informing and educating the public. The print media should be subvented to enable them maintain their vital mainstream role in media landscape of this country.

Many services being run by the government can be outsourced thus reducing the number of public institutions that are not delivering. The cost of the internet should also be reduced.

Mr. President, since The Gambia is hosting the OIC this year, both Banjul and Barra ferry terminals should be upgraded and all the ferries should undergo maintenance.

The government should accelerate its plans to have a bridge between Banjul and Barra in which people and vehicles would pay for the crossing.

Mr. President, the GPA should have a joint venture with Dubai Ports to get better expansion because there is always delay in delivery of containers which come from overseas and take very long to clear. Since they are playing a key role in the economy, government should list them among their priorities this year to give them support.

GPA has tough competitions with its counterparts in the subregion especially Senegal, which will have two ports; therefore it’s only good investment and equipment that GPA could do better.

Finally Mr. President, COVID-19 is increasing daily since Christmas, according to health authorities.

Measures should be taken for people coming from the borders or airports to make sure they meet WHO requirements.

In public places people must wear masks and respect the WHO rules.

Good day!

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