Recent remarks by the leader of the opposition National Reconciliation Party (NRP) about the development strides of the Jammeh Administration over the past 19 years has been applauded by a prominent militant of the Ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC).

It would be recalled that in the run up to the 19th Anniversary of the July 22nd Revolution, Hamat Bah in his most recent interview with The Point newspaper, acknowledged that the APRC has achieved 'some progress' since it came to power.

"One must admit that the APRC has registered great achievements. I will tell you that the APRC has really made some gains in terms of infrastructural development. One must admit that they built some roads, schools and really made some impact," Bah was quoted as saying.

Basiru Gassama, APRC divisional youth adviser for the Kanifing Municipality, who walked into the offices of Daily Observer Monday, said the acknowledgement by Hamat Bah, is a show of what he called his 'honesty.' "I want to commend him for being honest and telling the truth," Gassama, fondly known in political circles as 'Bass' stated.

Shifting his comments to other issues, Bass, a senior intelligence officer during the First Republic, congratulated President Jammeh for the 19 years of peace, development, democracy and good governance. He said development has virtually reached every sector of the Gambia economy.

He told the Daily Observer that Jammeh's developments cannot be compared to that of his predecessor, recalling that during the First Republic, elections used to be conducted by the Local Government Ministry, in which the minister serves as the returning officer. "But when the 22nd July Revolution came, it stopped that and created the Independent Electoral Commission to conduct all elections," he pointed out.

Bass also hailed the nature of this year's July 22nd Commemoration, which took the form of Q'uranic recitation and an Islamic conference, thus commending the State House Imam and all the other organisers behind the event. He used the opportunity to thank President Jammeh for the donation of thousands of bags of sugar as Ramadan gifts to Muslims across the country, saying such a gesture has and will continue to be apolitical.