He is also urged to prioritise introducing a term limit before the end of his second term and critically address the high cost of house rents in the country.
In an interview with Buba Sowe, a pharmacist: “President Barrow should understand that the people have given him a mandate and the mandate is not just for its sake but a mandate to ensure that there is development in this country and to ensure that there are fundamental and constitutional rights in this country.”
He added that The Gambia has been underdeveloped for over a Golden years due to overstaying of both former presidents. “President Barrow should avoid swaying into their footsteps in order to be the first most admired Gambian president in history for respecting the constitution of the country.”
According to him, on December 7th 2021, “Barrow had announced that the government under his leadership would introduce the two term limit before the end of his second term which I find very noble and that I will urge him to respect to honour that because that will earn him more respect and dignity by not only Gambians but even the outside world.”
“In my opinion, President Barrow should wave goodbye to politics by the end of 2026 and live as a private citizen in the country if he wants to earn respect and love from Gambia, Africa and the world at large.”
Amadou Sillah, a taxi driver, said: “Whatever I will have to say to Barrow would be to urge him to fight tribalism and fulfill his campaign promises but most especially to help us deal with the high cost of house rent. Many people cannot afford to pay rent in this country now.”
“Barrow should put up severe measures that would address this case because landlords use agents to do whatever they like with rents and this is affecting the Gambian people,’ he said.
Isatou Jarra, a cosmetic shop owner, said: “President Barrow should critically look into the high cost of basic food commodities as they are no longer affordable by ordinary Gambians.”
According to her, the scarcity of bread these days needs immediate solutions to resolve it, adding that sellers of flour and agents of bakeries should be engaged to address the issue.
“For the past few days, most of the shopkeepers are selling a loaf of bread at D10 which is very difficult for many people and for that reason, the government should liberalise flour trade and allow importers to do so.”
As part of his primary plans, she added, Barrow should institute a system that would control affairs of basic food commodities.
Nyima Touray, a vegetable vendor, called on Barrow to help address the high price of commodities as he has been re-elected into office. She added that The Gambia is not going on a straight path as far as the buying and selling of food commodities is concerned.
Fatou Manneh, for her part, said: “Now that we have made Barrow assume power as President again, I urge him to take matters of women with serious concern and improve our living conditions.”
“Whatever I earn here at the market on a daily basis, I spend it to feed my family. A bag of rice is very expensive; the high cost of house rent is another problem. We want our children to go very far in education; so I would also task him to look into the tuition fees of both the College and University.”
