By Omar Bah
The opposition leader, Gambia For All (GFA), Bakary Bunja Darbo, has expressed concern over the country’s economic challenges and poor living conditions. He also noted that “the Year 2023 has witnessed a further deterioration of the living conditions of our people. Access to food and other basic services has remained difficult because of their high costs. In addition to the high costs, there is the deplorable service delivery to the public, which is the consequence of poor public service management.”
Bakary said it is sad that Gambians continue to bear the high cost of an administration that has repeatedly demonstrated its unwillingness or inability to effectively address the daily needs and priorities of the Gambian people. Furthermore, the “increasing salaries and other benefits of the executive, legislative, and judiciary in the present circumstances of unprecedented socioeconomic hardship reflects the total disregard of the worsening conditions of the people whose welfare these institutions are supposed to promote. The ostentatious lifestyle of the executive amid pervasive poverty demonstrates a cruel mockery of the ordinary citizen.” He also said the issue of insecurity continues to be a significant threat to the peace and stability of the country.
“The recent murder of two police officers reflects the new dimension of this insecurity. We extend our condolences to the families of these officers. Still, we insist that this and other forms of prevalent violent crime are a serious indictment of the Government’s security policy. The country is at a crossroads, and it is up to the progressive forces to work together to usher in the new era that this nation so desperately deserves. In this respect, our party will not be found wanting in the effort to bring about this much-needed change,” he noted.
Commenting on his party’s progress, Mr. Darbo said the party continues to actively pursue the program of strengthening its organs at the local and area levels to ensure improved organization and responsiveness to the challenges ahead. “An important component of this strengthening process is training and capacity building for all the party structures but more specifically at the branch level,” he said.
On external relations, Darbo said the GFA, as a full member of the African Liberal Network, has been working closely with other liberal parties in the promotion of the principles of democracy and human rights as well as the creation of conditions for citizens to improve their lives.
“Recently, our party participated in the Biennial Summit of the Network held in Dakar, Senegal, on December 6th of 2023. The Summit assessed the challenges and opportunities facing the organization and its members and formulated a forward-looking strategy to build on our strengths and address the challenges ahead. The party also participated in the RENEWPAC Summit in Dakar from December 3rd to 5th, which is an association of African and European Union liberal party members of Parliament to discuss the relation between the EU and the African liberal parties and define a collaborative framework that is more responsive to the present-day challenges.”
