This was disclosed in a statement signed by its chairperson, Seedy Cham, and titled: “We are Not Backed by Any Political Party.”
“We wish to make this very clear as it has come to our attention that His Excellency, Adama Barrow, has misleadingly associated the Coalition of Progressive Gambians to UDP and 3 Years Jotna. We want to make it categorically clear to all Gambians that the Coalition of Progressive Gambians is neither UDP nor 3 Years Jotna, as our agendas are completely different.
“We believed that UDP is a registered political party that can initiate and push any agenda of their own without hiding behind any group or association. Again, Coalition of Progressive Gambians is totally different with the 3 Years Jotna because our agendas are far different.”
The alliance noted 3 Years Jotna was calling for the president to respect and honour the coalition 2016 MoU as agreed in the convention, whilst their (CPG) agenda is to fight corruption which “is rampant in your government.”
“We know, Mr. President, you are very worried about the plan protest in November, but it will happen if you fail to address our demands, because our concerns are very clear. You must fight corruption, such as audit report on the D669M of the illegal special security account, publish the joint commission's report on the burning of fisheries ministry and the malpractices in the Banjul rehabilitation projects.”
It also demands that president address the high cost of living, promote transparency and provide better services for the country, adding there would be no protest if these are addressed.
“We know you're indeed desperate because you don't have the political will and commitment to address these legitimate concerns of your citizens. Therefore, you are trying to blackmail and mislead Gambians by describing the CPG as UDP and 3 Years Jotna to discourage the mobilisation for this protest.”
It further stated it would continue to call on all Gambians to join them, as all that they want is better services and corruption-free in our institutions.
In conclusion, it stated: “In conclusion, Mr. President, the oppositions or CSOs are not your enemies but your lack of political will to fight corruption, poverty, unemployment, poor electricity and water supply, etc. Failure to address these problems would mean even unity with all opposition parties cannot prevent protests against you. Protesting means your failure to pay attention to public outcry.”
